About

Ko te eke paihikara, he oranga tinana, he oranga wairua.
Cycling is well-being for the body and the soul.

There's a Māori whakatauki — a proverb — that sits at the heart of everything we do at Cycle Nelson. We keep it close because it captures something we've always felt but struggled to put into words.
A ride isn't just a ride. It's the moment you stop thinking about your inbox. It's the view around a corner you didn't expect. It's laughing with someone you love on a quiet trail in the Waimea, or finding a kind of stillness you haven't felt in months as you coast down through native forest to the sea.
We believe cycling is one of the most powerful ways a person can experience well-being — not just the physical kind, but the deeper kind. The kind that stays with you.
Nelson Tasman is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We think the best way to experience it is on a bike — slowly enough to notice things, freely enough to stop when something catches your eye.
That's why we do this. And we'd love to share it with you.

Who we are
Cycle Nelson is the coming together of two well-loved local businesses — Gentle Cycling and Nelson Cycle Hire — into one home for every kind of rider.
We're family-founded and locally rooted. Our team lives in and loves this region, and that shows in everything from how we design our tours to how we look after the trails we ride on. We welcome everyone: families exploring together for the first time, visitors keen to discover the region at their own pace, adaptive riders proving that cycling is for everyone, and those chasing bucket-list adventures like Wairoa Gorge or the Old Ghost Road.
What hasn't changed through all of this is our genuine care — for our riders, for our land, and for the communities we're part of.

Our connection to this place
We think of our bikes as land waka — modern vessels that carry people deeper into the stories, landscapes, and heritage of Te Tauihu o Te Waka (the Top of the South Island). This isn't a marketing phrase for us. It's a real expression of how we approach our work.
Inspired by the Māori principle of kaitiakitanga — guardianship of the land — we try to leave every place we ride better than we found it. Our team regularly gets out on the trails for maintenance, tree planting, pest trapping, and habitat restoration. We hold deep respect for the rich Māori history of this region and are committed to continuing to deepen our understanding of and connection to local heritage.
We also offset 130% of our operational carbon emissions — funding indigenous forest restoration projects so that every ride with us actively contributes to ecological recovery. And we believe that well-being through cycling should be available to everyone, so we support community projects providing food and resources to people facing hardship, and actively work to enable people who are injured or impaired to experience the benefits of being on a bike.

You're in safe hands
Cycle Nelson is a fully audited Adventure Activity Operator, accredited under WorkSafe New Zealand's Adventure Activities Certification Scheme. This means our mountain bike and walking tours meet nationally recognised safety standards — and you can ride with confidence knowing we take that responsibility seriously.
We hold Department of Conservation concessions across key conservation areas in the Top of the South, allowing us to responsibly guide riders through some of the region's most spectacular and protected landscapes. We work within DOC and local council guidelines on group sizes, low-impact trail use, waste reduction, and safety communication — because protecting this place for future generations is part of who we are.

Come and ride with us.

Cycle Nelson is a fully audited Adventure Activity Operator, accredited under WorkSafe New Zealand’s Adventure Activities Certification Scheme, giving guests confidence that our mountain bike and walking tours meet nationally recognised safety standards. Holding Department of Conservation concessions across key public conservation areas in the Top of the South allows us to legally and responsibly guide riders and walkers through some of the region’s most spectacular landscapes, while supporting conservation outcomes on the land we operate on.

As part of these approvals, Cycle Nelson is committed to kaitiakitanga – the Māori concept of guardianship – which shapes how we plan and deliver every trip. This means minimising our environmental footprint through careful group sizes, low-impact trail use, waste reduction, and ongoing vehicle and equipment efficiency improvements, while actively encouraging manuhiri (visitors) to respect local wildlife, cultural values, and shared spaces. We also work within DOC and local council guidelines to support track maintenance, share safety and conservation messages, and contribute to a sustainable tourism model that helps protect the Top of the South for future generations of riders, walkers and local communities