LONG CYCLE TRIP

Taranaki Daily News, 4 January 1933, Page 8

LONG CYCLE TRIP

WELLINGTON TO AUCKLAND.

JOURNEY THROUGH TARANAKI.

Auckland, Dec. 30.

With the object not so much of saving expense as of seeing something of the country, two young Wellington residents, Messrs. A. A. Bell and W. J. Rosevar, left Wellington for Auckland on bicycles last Friday afternoon, making a leisurely trip via Taranaki and the Awakino Valley, and arriving at Auckland on Wednesday afternoon. The trip was made with no intention of breaking records, but the 471 miles were covered at an average speed of 81 miles an hour. Mr. Bell’s family resides in Auckland and he makes the trip annually from Wellington during his leave period. Last year he and Mr. Rosevear made part of the trip by bicycle, coming through the Urewera Country. This year they decided to take the West , Coast route. They travelled fairly light, carrying only a ground sheet, blanket sleeping bag and change of clothing each, together with cooking utensils. Each cyclist travelled with a pack weighing about 201 b, and food was bought en route and cooked in the open air, generally beside a running stream. However, refreshment shops along the road were not entirely neglected during the five days of the trip. The two cyclists left Wellington at about 3.30 last Friday afternoon, and before nightfall had covered the 41 miles to Waikanae. On the following day they pushed on to Patea. This was actually the best day’s cycling of the trip, 126 miles being covered in 13 hours. There was a comparatively short Sabbath Day’s journey of 35 miles from Patea to Ngaere, but on Monday the cyclists travelled 85 miles, spending the night 'in the Awakino Valley. On Tuesday an excellent run of 102 miles was made from Awakino to Hamilton, and the final stage of the trip from Hamilton to Auckland was completed on Wednesday, the two young men arriving at the home of Mr. Bell’s family at one o’clock that afternoon. “Time was no object to us,” Mr. Bell said yesterday. “We still have. 15 days of leave left, and we should not have worried if the trip had taken us twice as long. But it was a holiday in itself. The weather for the most part was gloriously fine. Rain* fell one night, and we had to sleep inside a church, but on the remaining nights we slept out in fields or under trees. The run through from Ngaere to Hamilton alone was worth the energy and expense entailed by the trip, and I might' add that, with the purchase, of extra equipment, cycling in this instance proved more expensive than railway travel.” Both cyclists had special gearmg attached to their machines for the trip, with the result that they were not forced to dismount on any of the hills encountered on the journey. They were even able to cycle over Mount Messenger. It is their intention to spend the remainder of their holidays in Auckland, making cycle trips to some of the beauty spots within easy distance of the city, and then to return to Wellington by train.