Imagine living in a bike-friendly city, where purpose-built cycleways connect suburbs to the city centre, and getting around on two wheels is easy and safe.
Are you thinking Amsterdam? Well, if you hang about for a few years, that city will be Auckland.
Cycling around the city is on the rise, as the Auckland Council's Auckland Transport arm works on strategies to get more people on bikes, more often, and more safely. Kathryn King, Auckland Transport's walking and cycling manager, says the city wants to provide its residents with more travel choices, rather than just hopping in their cars.
"Cycling needs to be safe and convenient, and we want to make sure our cycle network meets all of these needs, to make it as easy to ride a bike as to take a bus or drive your car," she says.
"It's a big change for Auckland, but we've seen that with other cities around the world, and how much they have changed in just a few years."
AT's free education programmes and events around the city, including the popular adult learn-to-cycle courses are being run again. Around the city there are sessions on cycling on the road, city riding and bike maintenance.
For kids there are Learn2Ride sessions at Forrest Hill's Greville Reserve (also a chance to check out the cool "roads" painted on the reservoir) and the Avondale Central Reserve. Join next weekend's Halloween rides (October 30 and 31) where kids can dress up and win spot prizes.
If you're looking to buy a second-hand bike - or sell your old one and upgrade your wheels - check out the AT and YMCA Auckland bike market on Sunday, November 22 at the Pitt St YMCA. Bike mechanics will be on site doing free checks, while the YMCA is running free spin classes.
The real biggie for Aucklanders on bikes this spring is Bike the Bridge (Sunday, November 15). This year the event has been tweaked to make it more family-friendly, with new courses and two new bases, at Smales Farm and the Harbour Bridge Park at Westhaven.
The longer rides have gone, replaced with a 22km round trip, which crosses the Harbour Bridge in both directions, 7km and 15km options which cross the bridge in just one direction, and a "bike the busway" family 4 km loop between the Smales and Akoranga bus stations.
Event organiser Callum McNair says the changes came from a simple desire to "get more people on bikes", attracting recreational riders and families rather than hard-core racers.
"With the event as it used to be... we found that there was a lot of interest from people in getting on their bikes, but they felt intimidated standing next to people in Lycra with flash bikes, and that the event was not for them," McNair says.
"We felt we could either put on an event like we have in the past, which suited longer-distance riders and weekend warrior types, or put on one which very much targeted at families and getting people on bikes.
"When we talked it through with Auckland Transport and Auckland Council, that was really what we wanted Bike the Bridge to be. It's like Round the Bays, rather than the Tour de France."
For the round trip, riders start at 6am from Smales Farm and travel down the Northern Busway to the Harbour Bridge, then regroup - and are entertained - at Westhaven before a mass re- crossing starting at 7.15am, travelling up the busway to Constellation before finishing back at Smales Farm.
Participants need to be 11 years old to bike the actual bridge, but the 4km family loop from Smales should keep smaller riders entertained, with entertainment and a ramps course at Akoranga Station. Those with stronger legs will have time to do multiple loops of the course.
"It's more of a festival than a race," McNair says. "There are lots of races around, but not an event like this."
The spectacular redevelopment of the disused Nelson St motorway off-ramp into a shared-use walking and cycling path is due to open in December. The first phase , a joint project between Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and the New Zealand Transport Agency, links Nelson St and the western side of the CBD with the Grafton Gully and Northwestern cycleways.
The final piece of the Canada St bridge, connecting Canada St (linking to Upper Queen St) and the disused Nelson St offramp, was lowered into place last week. The 260-tonne bridge was built in sections, varying in length from 14 to 42 metres, and its design is already being recognised internationally; it has been shortlisted in the World Architecture Awards which will be announced in Singapore next month.
"There had been an offramp sitting there for almost 20 years, and by making what in roading terms would be a relatively small investment we have opened it up to a whole new catchment of people who want to walk and cycle around this part of the city," King says. "It will create a fairly large new open space for Aucklanders - somewhere people might want to linger and spend time, and a new and convenient way to travel through that area."
The off-ramp continues in an on-road but separated cycleway down the western side of Nelson St to Victoria St. By mid next year this will extend to Quay St, and there'll be a link along Pitt St to join K Rd.
Back downtown, the second phase of the Beach Rd cycleway is now also complete, creating a continuous cycling route from West Auckland to the waterfront at Britomart Pl via the Northwestern and Grafton Gully cycleways. The project includes new seating, pocket parks and feature lighting.
Need to know
• Check out the details and a cool video of the new Nelson St cycleway at at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/nelson-street-cycleway/
• For information on free Auckland Transport cycling classes and events, see at.govt.nz/cycling-walking/cycle-training-and-events
• Bike the Bridge, Sunday, November 15. For more information and to enter (riders must pre-register), see www.bikethebridge.co.nz
Be in to win
The Kennett brothers have found having young families has made a big difference to their recreational cycle trails around the city.
The guys are famous for their well-researched books on terrific, but hard-core bike trails and Short Easy Bike Rides is just as thorough. November's book features 52 traffic-free trails around the country, suitable for all ages and levels of fitness. Auckland rides include some of our favourites - Mangere, Pakuranga, Highland Park, Henderson, Orewa and the Waitakeres - and others are within easy reach: Waihi and the Waikato.
With recommendations on where to eat, drink and stay, maps and altitude graphs, cafes, playgrounds or galleries, these are all off-road and away from traffic, mostly one and two hours on flat terrain. It's going to be a summer essential.
Their sell-out Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails, A guide to 46 fantastic holidays ($30) is back in print this month.
Both are available at kennett.co.nz
Weekend Life has five copies (worth $25) to give away.
To enter, go to
, enter your details and the words: Short Easy Bike Rides by midnight, Wednesday, October 29.
The trendy spot is just six minutes from the Waikiki beach.