Monday was my second day in Christchurch. I’m staying at a backpackers a little out of the city, so it’s small and quiet. Despite still aching a little from Mt Anne (my left thigh was killing me) I felt like getting out and about, so decided to ride from down to Lyttleton, about 12 km south east of the city. To do this, I had to get across the Port Hills, a small range (~ 450 metres) which runs from the eastern shore, between the city and Banks Peninsula.

I chose the most direct route, a walking track known as Bridle Path, as this would take me near the summit of Mt Cavendish. Bridle path is a wide walking path which goes straight over the Port Hills down to Lyttleton; it was actually the main walking route between Lyttleton and Christchurch for early settlers in the 19th century. It was tough on a bike though; the track isn’t overly steep, but goes on for a while, and consists of loose gravel in some parts. I eventually made it up, and decided to head over to the Mt Cavendish summit via Summit Road. The Christchurch Gondola ends up here, so I had a coffee, and headed off towards Lyttleton.

I thought I’d read that Major Hornbrook Track was designed for mountain bikes, so I started down it, only to come across a set of steps fairly early on. Most of the track was rideable however, and I found myself in Lyttleton after about 15 minutes. I stopped here for lunch, and made a phone call to the Tasmanian Police, to see if anybody had handed my camera in (no luck), then set off along Sumner Road. This was an enjoyable ride back through Port Hills; the sealed road winds its way through Evans Pass, about 200 metres above sea level, then descends down into Sumner, a beach suburb east of the city.

Here I took a break from the bike, and went for a short walk along the coast from Sumner to the beach near Taylor’s Mistake, named after a captain who ran aground after mistaking the beach entrance for the entrance to Lyttleton Harbour. There were some nice views of the coast, and of Port Hills jutting out into the ocean. After finishing the walk, I got back on the bike, and headed straight back into the city.

Chrischurch is a great place for cycling; most of the city is dead flat, so I made the 20 km journey in less than an hour. I forgot to turn the gps on, so am not sure how far I rode, but I estimate that I covered about 50 km throughout what turned out to be a long, but pretty easy going day.