Off road tracks - unofficial 'nursery circuits'

If you’re anything like me and haven’t ridden a bike in a while, the thought of sharing the road with cars can be a bit of a daunting prospect.

I reckon the best place to build up your confidence is the off-road cycleways - kind of like an unofficial nursery circuit.

I found some pics of other people riding the off-road tracks. See our Routes & Maps page to see where our off-road and on-road tracks are.

Heels on Wheels a success!

It was a full house at the Opera House yesterday for iWay's Heels on Wheels Fashion Show.

It was a chance for us to show people that you can actually bike safety and still look fashionable, from the flashy...


To the fancy...


To the cutesy...


And even blokes can look fashionable on a bike too you know!

Hire a bike and do a bike tour

We’re using an image similar to this to promote the Hastings District to visitors arriving at the Hawke’s Bay Airport, and it got me thinking...

I’ve got two city-loving Wellingtonian girlfriends coming to stay with me next weekend and even though I can bet they haven’t been on a bike in years, they’d love to do a cycling tour of the wineries (weather permitting of course).

In my search for places to hire bikes and info on tours, I found out that there are a truck-load of places in Hawke's Bay that hire out bikes for the whole day or for an hour or two. Most places have guided tours or have mapped out their own routes for you to use too, which was really handy!

Here's what I found:
- AvantiPlus, Hastings www.avantiplus.co.nz/hastings 06 870 3500
- AvantiPlus, Taradale www.avantiplus.co.nz/taradale 06 844 9771
- Bike About Tours, Greenmeadows www.bikeabouttours.co.nz 06 845 4836
- Bike D’Vine, Taradale www.bikedevine.com 06 833 6697
- Coastal Wine Cycles, Te Awanga www.winecycles.co.nz 06 280 5352
- Fish Bike, Napier www.fishbike.co.nz 06 833 6979
- Hastings i-SITE www.visithastings.co.nz 06 873 0080
- Hawkes Bay Cycle Tours, Clive www.hawkesbaycycletours.co.nz 06 870 1114
- On Yer Bike, Hastings www.onyerbikehb.co.nz 06 879 8735
- Pedal Power AvantiPlus, Taradale www.pedalpower.co.nz 06 844 9771
- Revolution Bikes, Havelock North www.revolutionbikes.co.nz 06 877 8477
- Takaro Trails, Bay View www.takarotrails.co.nz 06 836 5385
- Village Tours & Cycle Hire, Havelock North www.villagecycletours.co.nz 06 650 7722

Will keep you posted on how we get on!

Riding a bike really can be chic - Heels on Wheels Fashion Show

iWay are putting on a fashion show at the Opera House this Sunday afternoon (including bubbles for the first 200 people) proving you can still look fashionable and ride a bike (see pics above!)

Miss Universe New Zealand 2010, Ria van Dyke is hosting the show and a live DJ will be playing as models strut their stuff down the runway with clothes by Thomson’s Suits in Hastings and Sally-Anne in Havelock North.

So if it’s fashion and champagne you’re after on a Sunday afternoon, head to the Opera House from 3pm - see you there! Join us on Facebook to see who else is attending.

Watch Out For Cyclists Week - first winner announced

Congratulations to Teri Sadd of Meeanee who spotted our wacky clown biking down Omahu Road yesterday morning, part of Watch Out for Cyclists Week.

Every day this week you can win a new iWay bike if you spot a mystery cyclist out on the streets of Hastings. Text Martin and Sarah on Classic Hits to 4487 and tell them where you saw the cyclist to go into the draw. Winners announced daily.

The week aims to raise awareness to motorists of cyclists on our roads.

Your pink face matches your pink shirt - running 16km at Country to Coast

Boss: Your face is as pink as your shirt Eloise.
Me: *pant* *pant* ummmm yes *struggling for breath* so it is Paul.

That was the first thing my boss said to me when I arrived at the finish line after running 16km (‘’You’re now running 17km’’ said the starting man - errr WHAT?) Country to Coast event in the weekend.

Talk about a warm welcome!

Starting the race at Riverlands Road in Havelock North, I was thrilled to have another member of the 40-strong council iWay team to run with - thanks Bruce Allan! After being thoroughly briefed on what to expect along the Rotary Pathways track, and pleasantly informed we’d be running about 17km not 16km as planned *panic starting to creep in*, the race started in that quiet, eery way any race starts with a build up of nervous energy, mentally preparing for the next few kilometres of pain that lies ahead, and where the first drink stop will be. Well, that’s what I was thinking anyway.

After the terrible weather Hawke’s Bay had experienced over the previous week, I was expecting to have my newly pink running shoes soon filled with water and turning a lighter shade of brown. To my surprise, the track was dry, easy to run on and had the most spectacular views imaginable. Think Te Mata Peak to the left, cows and grass all around you and the coastline directly in front. Talk about a way to take your mind off what you’re doing!

Thank goodness for the drink stops along the way and the toots over the bridge all made possible by the team at Rotary Havelock North.

Still hobbling two days later (insert sympathy here), the event was well worth it. The crowd that hung around at the end of the event was impressive - I would be as bold as to estimate about 1,000 of the 1,142 people who entered brought their family, friends and dogs in tow to be into win spot prizes including a brand new iWay bike.

Thanks to the rest of the iWay team for participating on the day and thanks to my boss Paul, who by the way didn’t run or walk, for your warm reception at the finish line - I’ll be making sure you get out there and run in 2012!

Must queue: will win bike

A queue not for the faint hearted, nearly 400 people waited for up to an hour to go into the draw to win a new iWay retro-style bike as part of the Country to Coast event in the weekend.

People had to correctly answer the question ‘’How many kilometres has iWay developed in Hastings’’ which Chris North from Havelock North correctly answered as 60 kilometres.

Good on you Chris!

Spot a gorilla on a bike and win one...a bike we mean!

Dangling the carrot much? We’ve lined up three of the 10 brand-spanking-new bikes you could win if you spot a mystery cyclist (a gorilla included) out biking on our roads starting from next Monday (9th).

Why the crazy costumed-people on bikes you ask? Well, it’s part of iWay’s goal to make drivers more aware of cyclists in the Hastings District.

Just text in who you've spotted to Martin and Sarah on Classic Hits and enter the prize draw each day - more details to follow - we're having too much fun coming up with crazy costumes!

Now there's no excuse not to bike into town

Here's me, trying out the new iWay bike racks installed outside the Hawke's Bay Opera House earlier today.

Made of steel and covered in flameproof rubber from recycled car tyres, the racks are designed to be the same height and length as an adult-sized bike making it easy to lean your bike on and lock - I can assure you it was a breeze!

The rest of the bike racks will go up in other main areas of Hastings, Havelock North and Flaxmere in the next few weeks. We'll start to put the locations of the installed racks on our Routes & maps page soon.