Welcome to
Rose on Wheels
my bikepacking journal and tracking site

Bikepacking found me in 2020 as I rode my first Tour Aotearoa, starting at Cape Reinga in the north and completing at Bluff in the south, 3000km and 26 days later.

I loved the simplicity of pedal-eat-sleep-repeat, the challenge, the grovel, the new friends. I immediately said I'd do it again. Then Covid impacted our plans, and we all stayed home for 2 years.

In 2022 my friend Anna took on the TA challenge, so I jumped in for TA#2. Again it was The Best Fun on a Bicycle, and at the end of it I wanted more. More distance, more scenery, more challenge, and travel restrictions had been lifted so I started to plan...

In 2023 I went on two bikepacking adventures - Sounds to Sounds (S2S) and European Divide Trail (EDT) - check out the photos and reports on the relevant pages

First up - Sounds to  Sounds (S2S) - the third of the Kennett Brother's long distance bikepacking trails (1495km).

We did it!

What a challenging, beautiful, awesome ride!

14 days of eat-sleep-pedal with my two great friends from TA 2020 - Graeme and Marty. Head over to the Sounds to Sounds pages for journal updates and photos.

Main course - European Divide Trail (EDT) (link to T2 page) - an epic, mostly off-road trail from Portugal to Denmark (5000km) over 3 months (March - June) with touristy side trips to places like Barcelona and Geneva - this is a holiday, after all!

Come with me, watch the fun, and maybe put this one on your bucket list.

I'm excited - and slightly daunted - by what I have committed to, and I expect you think I'm crazy?

Well, follow along, and let's see if I prove you right!

My plan is to post updates from the trail - S2S is a pilot for the much bigger EDT- and I'd love your encouragement to keep posting through the harder bits, and if you can distract me with comments, that would be awesome.

 My brother used to say - "if it was easy, everyone would do it" - and now, having put the idea out there, and spent a chunk of money in preparation, it's become like eating that elephant, climbing that mountain, or starting any journey - I've just gotta start (and don't look up for a few days!)

I hope you enjoy the ride and I sure hope I enjoy some of the ride, and that its not all Type 2 fun!