Yesterday was a lovely, sunny day so I decided bike to Cable Bay,
about 25 km away from where I live. The picturesque inlet is made up of a long pebble beach with a mountain on either side, making it somewhat of a hidden gem. It has been so useful having my bike with me here in Nelson. I’ve been able to explore so many places that would otherwise be impossible to see by foot.

Cable Bay

In Nelson (and I think in all of New Zealand) it is mandatory to wear a bike helmet. And this is not a joking matter! If you embark on a two-wheeled adventure without a helmet you are sure to be pulled over and fined $55.  Furthermore, you cannot get back on your bike after you have been stopped. You need to find some alternate form of transportation to get back to where you started and return to your bicycle once you have the appropriate safety attire. I think this is brilliant! The roads are so busy and the roundabouts so confusing (at least for me) that cyclists are bound to get hit once and a while. We should totally do the same in Canada, agree?

WB in NZ

Last week I went on one of those Wednesday night group rides with a local bike shop. Five of us showed up and as usual, the ride started out with a long steep ascent full of switchbacks. At the top of the first hill, we reached a seemingly vacant farm field with a sign reading, “If your dog is caught disturbing or worrying sheep, the dog will be DESTROYED”. For the first time since I’ve been in New Zealand, I was glad to have Oli safe and sound in Sudbury Ontario. Had he been with us, I guarantee he’d be “worrying” the sheep. And imagine seeing your pet be DESTROYED?! Gees louise, intense. 

About an hour into the ride we came upon a woman laying in the middle of the trail, holding a potentially broken ankle. We called an ambulance but because we were in the middle of nowhere, we were not accessible by vehicle. Luckily one of the riders was equipped with a Garmin 705 complete with a GPS that "knows no limits" so he was able to give the HELICOPTER!!! paramedics precise coordinates of where the traumatic incident had occurred. We waited for about an hour, comforting the wounded lady, testing out each other’s bikes, and kicking the ground aimlessly until we spotted a far away chopper heading our way. After we full-body flagged the helicopter down, which probably wasn’t necessary as they had our exact coordinates, a paramedic jumped out and came to the lady’s aid. The pilot let down a wire and the woman was taken up up and away! And that was the end of our ride. It was getting dark by then so we all just biked back down the mountain and went our separate ways once at the bottom.  

The beach in Nelson

Today it is pouring outside. So hard. It's going to be a wet 2 hr ride today!

Free sunscreen on the beach sponsored by the skin cancer society!