Lonely Planet Cycling New Zealand (Lonely Planet Cycling Guides)

Rating:
Summary: Riding in Circles
Review: As a big fan of cycle-touring and Lonely Planet guide books, I was quite excited to find the LP Cycling New Zealand book. I'm leaving on a 2 month cycle-tour throughout New Zealand soon, and figured this book would be all I'd need guidewise. Structured the same as regular LP guides, it gives all the basic info for New Zealand, including cycling specific info wherever it fits. The sections on taking your bike on trains and busses within New Zealand was especially helpful.

The routes however, were a bit disappointing. While each individual route is well laid out, almost none of the routes are connected. If your plan was to cycle the North Island from Auckland down to the Southern tip of the island, it would be impossible to follow the routes highlighted in the book. Also missing is an overview map showing all the routes. On the positive side, each route description is well done, including distance/navigation info, elevation profiles, accomodation, and sightseeing info.

If you are looking to do a series of shorter tours, I would recommend this book. If your goal is an extended tour covering long distances, Bruce Ringer's "New Zealand By Bike" book is a better choice.

Rating:
Summary: Riding in Circles
Review: As a big fan of cycle-touring and Lonely Planet guide books, I was quite excited to find the LP Cycling New Zealand book. I'm leaving on a 2 month cycle-tour throughout New Zealand soon, and figured this book would be all I'd need guidewise. Structured the same as regular LP guides, it gives all the basic info for New Zealand, including cycling specific info wherever it fits. The sections on taking your bike on trains and busses within New Zealand was especially helpful.

The routes however, were a bit disappointing. While each individual route is well laid out, almost none of the routes are connected. If your plan was to cycle the North Island from Auckland down to the Southern tip of the island, it would be impossible to follow the routes highlighted in the book. Also missing is an overview map showing all the routes. On the positive side, each route description is well done, including distance/navigation info, elevation profiles, accomodation, and sightseeing info.

If you are looking to do a series of shorter tours, I would recommend this book. If your goal is an extended tour covering long distances, Bruce Ringer's "New Zealand By Bike" book is a better choice.

Rating:
Summary: A must for NZ bicycle tourists
Review: I must disagree with bikermitch's review below and must defend this fine guide with five stars.

Lonely Planet's NZ cycling guide is geared to cyclists throughout, so much so that if you had to carry only one guidebook in your panniers, this could be it. There are clear maps for every ride (with the route highlighted in blue). And the rides can easily be pieced together to just about circumnavigate the entire country, north and south islands. So Lonely Planet's guide is useful for those planning mostly paved road tours lasting from a few days to a couple of months.

I agree that New Zealand By Bike is also a must, but if you are going all the way to Kiwi Land (or on any major trip), buying, studying, comparing and cross-referencing two or three guidebooks is the way to go.

As for the Lonely Planet guide, I especially appreciate the authors' list of New Zealand's cycling superlatives, such as Most Challenging Climb, Best Downhill, Best Seacoast Ride, Best Scenery, etc. - and the list of where to ride if you have one week, two weeks, even a month or two. This guide is not an amateurish, small press attempt at being thorough yet concise. It consistently sets a professional, honest, experienced, authoritative and enjoyably wry tone. This book is worth every penny - and every ounce. I predict it'll be the one cycling guide you actually carry along.

Rating:
Summary: Very good book, better country
Review: My wife and I went to New Zealand on Nov 2000 and used this book along with the regular LP New Zealand book. The description of the rides and maps are very accurate. We had purchased New Zealand by Bike by Bruce Ringer but decided to take this one instead. This one fits our needs better as we take 3 week touring vacations every year and there is just so much you can ride and see in that time. Buy and carry this book with you, it offers all you expect from a LP guide.

Now stop wasting your time reading this and go tour New Zealand.

Rating:
Summary: Bicycle At Your Own Risk
Review: The book is really good and well worth the money.New Zealand is a wonder to cycle thru, like Yosmite Valley on a nation scale. But be fore warned! Amazingly, the New Zealand roads are anti-cycle,and you put yourself there at your own risk. 99% of the roads are single lane on each side, they are very skinny lanes. Designed for small cars. Full sized transport semis use these roads with a clearance of inches on each side of their lane. .The roads twist and wind like mountain roads do. There are very few straight stretches of road as you may see in the US. There are no bike lanes,few passing lanes, and no emergency lanes,you are in the path with traffic. Kiwis know their roads and consistently drive fast, 100-120kmph. The problem you are going to have over and over is cycling thru all this beauty in the same lane as cars and trucks...they barrel around a blind curve at 65mph only to find you in front of their windshield going 15mph and no safety margin for anyone. On my recent trip there, I can't tell you how many times I saw this scenario played out and how many near misses I witnessed. Local drivers, particularly commercial tdrivers have real contempt for cyclists. Get the book and dream, but I think I'd look into renting a convertible and live to cycle another day.