There is no one way to organize a bike tour. In our travels and through online blogs we have heard as many plans for bike touring as people making those plans. There are many ways to approach an itinerary for a bike tour.

Riding the Golden Valley. Not to be missed!

Some opt to meet a certain distance each day. While others opt to hit a specific destination. Still others will dictate their tour by hours on the road. Some will stop often along the way while others put thier heads down and pedal hard.

On the road to Whangamata.

We adapt as we go. We factor in our preparation (or lack thereof), days of travel, destination, weather, people to visit, sites to see, bakeries and unforeseen circumstances.

An AirBnB in Thames. A weather induced lodging decision.

We didn’t make any plans for our current tour on the north island of New Zealand. We have flights in and out of Auckland. That’s it. We made up our route along the way with input from locals. The weather (it’s rained a ton) has also influenced our path.

Our advice for anyone embarking on a bike tour: be adaptable and ride your own ride!