Day 11: E-bike ride to Gibbston Winery
I'm going to cover a lot of details about this bike ride, because this is the activity where a few of us got hurt. This was more challenging than I expected.
ABD does warn you before you go, calling it an intermediate bike ride and suggesting that you should be comfortable operating a bike. The e-bikes are not mopeds and you must still pedal, although the electric boost does help. ABD also cautions that this is not a flat road and that you ride on gravel.
I'm going to get into many more details than that. This trip is not on a paved road with cars zooming by. (There is one short segment that is paved, where you can really open up the bikes.) It's not a really easy bike ride on perfectly flat or smooth roads where there are no obstacles or problems if you go off road. It's also not as bad as a narrow, mountain trail with steep hills where you should be an experienced mountain biker. It is somewhere in between. I think the entire length of the ride was a little over 10 miles.
The bikes were brought by a van with a trailer. This becomes important later on, since you encounter this van multiple times.
We divided into smaller groups where each was led by a guide from the bike company:
The guide explains the operation of the e-bike. There are three levels of boost. I left it at the lowest level of boost for most of the ride, only raising it to the middle level before taking on a hill. The guide said that if you left the boost on at high for the entire trip, it might run out of battery. However, some people did that and reported that they still had plenty of battery left at the end. I think it is unwise to leave the boost at full power all the time because that may run you off the road faster than you expect if you're not going in the direction you want.
I didn't find the hills to be much of a problem. The important thing is to downshift before taking on the hill, and then add the boost level you want.
A bigger issue is that
the brake controls are reversed compared to what we are used to in the US. The left handle control activates the rear brake, rather than the right handle control. If you are an experienced biker or motorcycle rider, this works against your intuition. Casual bikers should squeeze the rear brake before applying the front brake. These bikes are heavy, so there probably is not a big chance of flying over the handlebars if you suddenly squeeze the front brake, but it's still better to not try it. The guide suggested keeping only one finger on the right handle brake control as a tangible way of reminding you what to squeeze second, not first.
We get a chance to practice a bit on the nice huge grassy field before heading off on the path. Here's the only photo I have of the trail:
If everything was like this, it wouldn't be too bad. However, there are other people. Sometimes people pass you. Sometimes people come from the opposite direction. Then the width becomes less than half of what you see here. And when I was going slowly, I had difficulty controlling the bike and wobbled a fair amount. Sometimes I found it challenging to keep the bike on the trail.
This also doesn't show you the hills, both up and down. Going downhill, you either must be confident enough to take the slope at high speeds or carefully apply your brakes to navigate the hills and turns. There are hairpin turns and one 90 degree turn.
There are also obstacles. Occasionally, there is a metal pole or wooden post right in the middle of the trail. So you have to navigate that, avoiding both the pole and the edges of the trail. Because there are many places on this trail where you do not want to go off trail. If you do, you may tumble down quite a distance and perhaps get seriously hurt. There is one stretch where there is a gorge on the left side, and of course you ride on the left in NZ...
Example of a pole in the middle
At one point, I wobbled off trail and fell off the bike into some bushes, by a tree. Got several cuts and scrapes. Nothing serious, and I got back on and continued, but it made me more cautious. Several other times I was losing control so I was quick to put my feet down or to grab something with an arm so that I didn't fall again.
My wife bumped her elbow against a rock wall on one of the hairpin turns. Again, not a serious injury but I'm sure it hurt.
Unfortunately, there was one serious injury. One person hit her hand against a pole or post in the middle of the trail. Kira and a person from the bike company identified a nearby hospital. At the hospital, X-rays confirmed that she had a hairline fracture in her wrist. She got a cast and missed the winery (and unfortunately, the bungy jump) but rejoined us for the boat ride and farewell dinner.
There are three bridges I want to point out. The first is a swinging bridge:
I walked the bike over this bridge. One person who rode reported that it was a nerve wracking experience because the path moves up and down as you ride across.
The second bridge is a long, narrow one. For some reason I convinced myself that I was going to ride this one. The trick is to make sure it is clear and get up enough speed that you can keep the bike straight. I managed to get across without a problem.
The last bridge is the Kawarau Bridge. This is easy to ride across, although there are obstacles at one point that force you to dismount and walk part of the way. This is where we took a break to watch some bungy jumpers. Remember this bridge because we're coming back here later in the day.
The van with the trailer rides ahead of the groups and meets you a few times along the way. This gives you an opportunity to check in if there are any problems, or to bail if you've had enough. They will collect your bike and you can ride in the van to the Gibbston Winery. I think this was a good decision for some people.
If you are an experienced and capable bike rider, especially if you can handle trails on a mountain bike, then this activity will be no problem for you. It is a nice ride. But I strongly suggest that you make an accurate self assessment of your experience and skills before undertaking this. If you are a klutz like me, who hasn't ridden a bike in over 4 years, and the two pedals you're most familiar with are the gas and brake, then exercise caution. Don't be afraid to throw out your feet if you are having trouble, or to stop and walk the bike past obstacles. And it's perfectly fine to try it for a while and then bail when you meet the bike van and trailer. Don't feel compelled to bike the entire length.