tourism

Have you sampled a Cycle Trail this summer?

This morning at 5.30am I was on my bike. I'll be on it again tomorrow at the same time.

I don't own any skin-tight cycling clobber. Nor do I own much of a bicycle, just one of those easy-rider roadster bikes with a comfy seat.

In serious cycling circles, I'd be considered a bit of a joke.

But that doesn't stop me getting on my bike every morning before work. The fact that I have a fabulous limestone cycling pathway along the coast from my home has made the morning bike ride an irresistible ritual.

The Ministry of Economic Development is planning to expand the New Zealand Cycle Trail.

It intends to add a number of back country routes to the 18 predominantly off-road trails being built.

The first expansion ride will be on State Highway 43, known as the Forgotten Highway, which runs through the King Country and Taranaki.

Ministry of Economic Development spokesperson Sarah Berry says other routes will follow.

Cycling advocates are picking Hastings as a cycling tourism mecca to rival Otago's rail trail.

A mass bicycle hire scheme, said to be the largest of its kind in the UK, has been officially launched in Blackpool.

The £1m initiative, funded by Cycling England, Blackpool NHS and the council, is aimed at boosting tourism and its profile as a cycling destination.

Modelled on the popular Paris scheme, it involves a number of stands located around the resort's promenade, pleasure beach, and in local parks.