e-biking Tour Aotearoa
I did it, I enjoyed it
- thanks to my e-bike!
Sure, it was challenging, but what a great adventure and way to see beautiful New Zealand!
The maps below show where I stayed each night, charging my bike battery while I charged my own batteries with a good night's sleep.
These are some tips that I would like to share with you:
It is much more fun if you start off reasonably fit so that you can pedal the flat bits easily enough if you have to save on battery power.
I depended the Kennett Brothers
Official Guidebooks to plan my days and using the elevation sketches
to anticipate and manage my battery
powered ride. Kennett Brothers
![e-bike North Island map.jpg__PID:520f4f33-7cc3-4065-8ca1-3b8fca583960](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0632/0540/9016/files/e-bike_North_Island_map_7bf2a503-0c31-419a-97f3-94f8b53a53f9.jpg?v=1709011925)
I booked my accommodation ahead of time, ensuring I could store my bike safely.Take a safety lock for ease of mind. My Specialized 22 Turbo Tero battery was easy enough for me to remove. Thanks to MEC Bikes in Ellerslie for a great bike recommendation. mecbikes
Travel light
Pack lightly, the more weight your bike has to carry, the more power you will need. I did not take a tent with me, confident I had a place to stay each night.
Essential bits of clothing were gloves, a raincoat and ear warmers. I kept a set of ‘first layer’ clothes in a dry bag. Mine were Icebreaker
leggings, a long-sleeved top, socks and a puffer jacket. This also doubled up as my ‘going out’ outfit.
(I clearly was not going anywhere, flash)
I wore trail shoes. These are light and dried off easily after a wet day.
![e-bike South Island map.jpg__PID:4f337cc3-c065-4ca1-bb8f-ca583960f33a](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0632/0540/9016/files/e-bike_South_Island_map_7e630a7b-348e-4ff8-b285-bff52d9a387a.jpg?v=1709011960)
I had two waterproof bags tied together on the rear rack. One with my clothes and a quick drying towel. The other with toiletries, food, phone charger and my well-loved kindle. I slipped into my slides after a big day out, bliss!
I had a bag tied to the front handle bars where I kept my heavy battery charger to even out the weight distribution on my bike. I also had my raincoat
in there for easy access.
In my snack pack, I had lip balm, small sunscreen (make sure to protect the back of your legs as well), money and a phone battery power bank.
Besides snacks, I always carried an EPIRB (emergency position
indicating radio beacon) in my
hi-vis vest. Luckily having walked and biked the length of New Zealand, I have never needed to use it.
To anticipate traffic coming up behind me, I had a rear-view mirror tied to my handle bar . On top of my helmet,I had a small, rear facing flashing light.
Optional extras that I had attached to my bike were flat paddle
hand grips and a bike stand. The
e-bike is quite heavy to pick up or lean against something. My bike has tubeless tires.
The Quad Lock secured my iPhone on my handle bars, which I regularly checked using the OsmAndMaps app showing the Tour Aotearoa route. Thank you to the Kennett Brothers.
A final note is to please show consideration to other travellers and service providers along the way. Especially those that allow you to top up your battery while you are having a lunch break.
![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0632/0540/9016/files/EF9476B4-F56F-4228-A2BD-384539FED789.jpg?v=1686631467)