点评:We did the three separate trails of the Great Lakes in three days while on a one week central North Island holiday. While I had read you could do it in two days , I decided to make it a more relaxing trip.
Unfortunately on the Monday of our W2W ride, the weather was bad the night before and our water taxi was cancelled that night. This was one of the main reasons why I had wanted to do the ride so I was a little disappointed, especially as on the actual day of our ride the weather was perfect and the lake was calm.
As the trail is busier in the weekend I think the water taxi is geared more for weekend riders , with several crossings a day in the weekend depending on weather. I would definitely book early to ensure a place on the taxi as there are only limited trips.
Anyway, the W2W itself was a little trickier than I had expected. Having done the Timber trail and really enjoyed it, I expected the W2W to be similar or if not, easier. However I found that the extreme dry conditions, rocky pumice and narrow tracks in some parts plus a few severe switchbacks, made it actually more “technical” than the Timber trail. I had to really concentrate on the rocky bits and some of the uphill switch backs were a killer. Not ashamed to say I ended up with a severely bruised rib and we both had at least one major fall each!
As we didn’t have a water taxi, our bike shuttle provider organised for us to ride 4/5 of the track before we rode back the way we came . We then met him on the gravel road at the carpark between the two tracks for our shuttle rback to our accomodation .
The 2nd day was the w2k with the headland loop included. The start of the w2k from Kinloch felt like a bit of a uphill slog for 6 km but the headland loop made up for it with some really fun dips and wide corners. This was the most fun day for me. We started the day very late morning and finished early-mid arvo and had a nice nap before a yum Indian dinner in Taupo.
The last day we did the k2k as a loop starting and ending at Kinloch. This was a fun but longish day. I was dreading the uphill of Otaketake but after experiencing the W2W, it wasn’t as hard, and quite fun, although there is one severe uphill switchback that had us off our bikes. The Orakau was pretty much downhill and apart from a steepish but doable winding ride from the start of Kawakawa bay , the k2k to Kinloch, was pretty steady.
All up, it was a great three days and we did enjoy it, but its still not a trail to be taken lightly and can be a little tricky in places. I can also say, hand on heart, I though it was harder than the timber trail and we fell off more than we’d like to admit!
We saw a lot of people using e bikes, and I’m sure that may have made the trip a little easier, but you still need to concentrate on some of the switchbacks, and the narrowness of the track in places, and in the summer when the track is dry,rocky and dusty.
We took our own front suspension only ancient mountain bikes and then used Adventure shuttles with Garth London as we were staying at Whakaipo lodge.
Garth was great. His experience of the track and his advice and was very useful and his enthusiasm helped set us up for three good rides..
翻译:在为期一周的北岛中部假期中,我们在三天内完成了五大湖的三个独立路径。虽然我读到过您可以在两天内完成,但我决定让它成为一次更轻松的旅行。
不幸的是,在我们 W2W 骑行的星期一,前一天晚上天气不好,那天晚上我们的水上出租车被取消了。这是我想要骑行的主要原因之一,所以我有点失望,尤其是在我们骑行的实际当天,天气非常好,湖面平静。
由于周末这条小路比较繁忙,我认为水上出租车更适合周末骑手,周末每天有几个十字路口,具体取决于天气。我肯定会提前预订以确保在出租车上有一席之地,因为只有有限的行程。
不管怎样,W2W 本身比我预期的要棘手一些。完成了 Timber trail 并且真的很喜欢它之后,我希望 W2W 是相似的,或者如果不是,更容易。然而,我发现极端干燥的条件、岩石浮石和某些部分的狭窄轨道加上一些严重的转弯,使它实际上比木材路径更“技术性”。我必须真正专注于岩石位,而一些上坡转弯是一个杀手。毫不羞愧地说,我的肋骨严重受伤,而且我们俩都至少跌倒过一次!
由于我们没有水上出租车,我们的自行车班车供应商为我们安排了 4/5 的赛道,然后我们骑回原路。然后我们在两条轨道之间的停车场的碎石路上遇到了他,以便我们穿梭返回我们的住所。
第二天是 w2k,包括岬角环路。从 Kinloch 开始的 w2k 感觉就像是一段 6 公里的上坡路,但岬角环以一些非常有趣的倾斜和宽角弥补了它。这对我来说是最有趣的一天。我们早上很晚才开始新的一天,早中午结束了阿尔沃,在陶波享用美味的印度晚餐前小睡了一会儿。
最后一天,我们将 k2k 作为一个循环在 Kinloch 开始和结束。这是有趣但漫长的一天。我很害怕 Otaketake 的上坡,但在经历了 W2W 之后,它并没有那么难,而且非常有趣,尽管有一个严重的上坡折弯让我们放弃了自行车。 Orakau 几乎是下坡,除了从 Kawakawa 湾开始的陡峭但可行的蜿蜒骑行之外,到 Kinloch 的 k2k 非常稳定。
总而言之,这是美好的三天,我们确实很享受,但这仍然不是一条可以掉以轻心的路线,而且在某些地方可能有点棘手。我还可以说,亲切地说,虽然它比木材小径更难,但我们摔倒的次数比我们愿意承认的要多!
我们看到很多人使用电动自行车,我相信这可能会让旅行更轻松一些,但你仍然需要专注于一些转弯,以及某些地方的赛道狭窄,以及在夏天当赛道干燥、多岩石和多尘时。
我们只使用自己的前避震器,只使用古老的山地自行车,然后在我们住在 Whakaipo 旅馆时与 Garth London 一起使用 Adventure 班车。
加思很棒。他在赛道上的经验和他的建议非常有用,他的热情帮助我们完成了三场精彩的比赛。