Riders saddle sore but cheery

Recreational cyclist Helen James reckons New Zealand has some stunning scenery, but she's not sure if she wants to see it again from the saddle of a racing bike.

She was one of the cyclists taking part in the second Tour of New Zealand that has riders starting from either Cape Reinga in the north or Bluff in the south and all meeting in Wellington eight days later.

Yesterday the North Island riders completed the penultimate stage, a 118km slog from National Park to Wanganui, the longest leg of the tour.

Mrs James is showing true grit, having come over from Perth in Western Australia with her husband Tim to take part, just seven weeks after she broke her left arm.

So far the arm is holding together and she was sitting in third place in the female classification.

This is Mrs James' first visit to this country and she said she is glad she came.

"I absolutely adore New Zealand but I don't think I'll be doing it again on a bike.

"It would be okay if we were just tootling along taking in the scenery, but everybody's so competitive."

Meanwhile, her husband Tim has established a commanding lead in the men's section.

He had a 16-minute lead on the second-placed male rider and would have extended that by a few minutes in yesterday's leg.

"It's [the lead] comfortable but I'm not counting my chickens just yet."

This is the first time the James have done the Tour. '

'We heard about it when the organisers put together a really nice DVD and having seen that we thought 'Yep, we've got to do that'," he said.

And he said they are loving the event and experience.

"Every day's been different and in fact the route has been fantastic in its own different way. The scenery has been amazing."

He admits to be being more serious in cycling terms than his wife, while she just calls him "bonkers".

"I do about 350km a week and Helen probably rides twice a week. That's how much to measure the madness. I do more on my bike than do in my car."

The last leg today is a 74km run from Pahiatua to Masterton for the North Island race while the southern tour covers 68km from Blenheim to Picton.

Tomorrow the best team from each island, along with the top male and female riders, will face off in a 10-lap criterium around the Parliament buildings.