Gourmet delights by bike

FUN: Gourmet cycle tour.

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Riding a bike is a fun way to see Christchurch, especially when catering stops are included, writes KIM TRIEGAARDT.

What better way to sample some of the treats from Christchurch's boutique food shops than by bike: no parking worries and you don't have to feel bad about eating more than you should as you can work it off.

Hmmm, but what about cars and the city's notorious tram tracks?

Stephanie Pitt, of Christchurch Bike Tours, says neither are a problem. It's hard to miss seeing a group on old-fashioned, wide- handled bikes, so drivers are quite courteous and the bikes have great fat tyres that ride right over the tracks.

Worries taken care of, we head off on our Gourmet Bike Tour from Cathedral square to our first stop, C1 Espresso on High St, recently named New Zealand's cafe of the year.

As part of the tour we get to meet owner Sam Crofskey, one of the city's early coffee innovators. C1 was one of the first cafes to become barista driven and is now growing its own coffee in Samoa in partnership with several families.

"It's about leading the third wave of coffee," says Sam, "where you tell the whole story from plantation to cup."

Because it's a Saturday morning our next stop is the nearby French Market (soon to be called the Poplar St Market). The menu includes whitebait patties.

Well fortified, we head down High St, up Manchester St and back through Cathedral Square towards Victoria St and Truly Scrumptious, a lacey rose-pink cornucopia of Victoriana.

Stephanie usually brings only all-girl tours here for tea because it's a brave man who would venture inside.

Next we cross the road to the Cupcake Parlour where cousins former finance journalist Annabel Newman and chemistry PhD graduate Kirsten Taylor are turning their grandmother's recipe into delicious treats.

In their 1950s-inspired parlour, they serve rich creamy cupcakes thick with butter icing on old- fashioned servers with cups of tea.

The duo are part of the cupcake wave in New Zealand, and they can make up to 1500 cakes on a Saturday alone.

We pay a fleeting visit to the Cheesemonger next door to see what's on special before jumping back on our bikes and heading towards Curator's House restaurant in the Botanic Gardens and our three-course tasting lunch.

Riding a bike is an unusual and fun way to see Christchurch, and Stephanie says an increasing number of locals are coming along for the ride. Some tours are part of corporate events and hen's parties.

We've cycled just eight kilometres over the four hours and the pace has been easy.

"Anyone can do it," says Stephanie, who has a favourite story about her oldest participants, a Canadian couple, both 82, on their honeymoon. The Gourmet Bike Tour costs $150 per person and include nibbles along the way and a chance to meet the business owners. The tours operate all year-round. Bookings essential. See www.chchbiketours.co.nz call 0800 PEDALS (0800 733 257). or

Kim Triegaardt's gourmet cycle was courtesy of Christchurch Bike Tours and assisted by Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism. For more information: www.christchurchnz.com.

- © Fairfax NZ News