About Us

Who we are and our sustainability commitment

Inspired by the formation of The Great Taste Trail, The Gentle Cycling Company was the first cycle tour company to be formed in sunny Nelson. Since 2009, thousands of cyclists have made use of our knowledge, support and inspiration to explore the Top of the South Island on two wheels. Our passion and commitment towards providing bespoke cycle tours to suit the needs of your group makes for peace of mind travel at your own pace.

When you visit us at The Gentle Cycling Company, you will be welcomed by a family who are passionate about Nelson. For us, travelling by bike is the best way to really explore and experience the many varied pleasures to be found in the top of the South!

Meet the Gentle Cycling Team

The Whitaker whanau

We don’t make chocolate…

But we love to have regular adventures on two wheels together.

Will loves to race ahead, race birds, race rabbits… even his shadow! Lily prefers to stop and create structures with rocks & flowers or watch the clouds (and her brother) race by.

We all love to take time cycling around our backyard and Rabbit Island is a favourite spot to stop and explore the beach and forest alike.

Bernie Whitaker

The boss

Bernie is the organised member of the family. She works tirelessly to make sure that everybody is happy and prepared for what’s ahead.

Being surrounded by nature keeps Bernie grounded and she will encourage you to take your time whilst on your tour. Her mantra is not to rush, but to regularly stop, breathe and take in the wonders of the natural world around you. An accomplished cyclist and triathlete in a former life, Bernie prefers extolling the virtues of life in the steady lane.

“Breathe in the world around you”

Chris Whitaker

The chatterbox

Chris enjoyed 18 years of teaching, before literally getting on his bike and leaving the whiteboard for a set of spanners and a shed full of wheels, maps and tools to play with.

Happy to talk for hours on end, Chris is the person to ask questions; large or small. Once started, he might not stop so be careful what you ask!

Felix Laufcotter

Fix it Felix

We are very lucky to have Felix as our “on-call” bike mechanic. Felix’s bike workshop is a pristine wonder-land of bike tools, and his attention to detail is legendary. This is no doubt one of the main reasons he has been the bike mechanic with the NZ Paracycling team in Italy in August 2018. Felix is a treasure. Enough said!

Will

Junior mechanic

The next generation inspired by cycling and adventuring on two wheels

Our kids bikes can handle a bit of off road cycling and mud, but Will can give it a clean afterwards, he’s used to getting dirty!

Lily

Junior mechanic

A rocket on two wheels and with great attention to detail.

Lily loves to take breaks on bike rides to climb trees and build huts. There are some great places to build or add to huts and teepee’s along the Great Taste Trail.

Proud to be Climate Positive

and Kaitiaki (guardians)

As a Climate Positive business and Kaitiaki (guardians) of The Gentle Cycling Company, we are evolving and adapting as best we can to minimise the impacts of our tours. Choosing to offset 120% of the carbon emitted by our vehicles and electricity consumption, the wonderful people at Ekos are rewilding Mohua, an indigenous forest in Golden Bay. We’re proud to support this and many other great initiatives to improve the biodiversity and resilience of our natural habitats.

Sustainability means more to us than simply paying for trees to be planted. We are continually reviewing what, why and how we do things to reduce our use of the world’s precious resources and to reuse whatever we can in innovative ways day to day. Furthermore, we take part in community planting, weeding and pest eradication programs and regularly clear up plastic and glass waste around the Great Taste Trail, coast and bush, recycling / upcycling whatever we can.

See below about the Zero Carbon Weekender, an amazing eco-friendly holiday that we are proud to be a part of.

The Zero Carbon Weekender

A joint Nelson Tasman Tourism initiative

We are proud to be part of the Zero Carbon Weekender – your eco-friendly holiday in the Nelson-Tasman region.

It is a joint initiative created by Nelson Regional Development Agency involving like-minded businesses that are Zero Carbon or Climate Positive. That means we are regularly audited to measure, reduce and offset our emissions. What’s more, when you book this itinerary through Nelson Regional Development Agency, they’ll help tailor it, especially for you and will offset your travel to, from and around the region. Check out the Seven Sharp feature video below and click on the button to book your spot!

SEE ITINERARY AND BOOK

What our adventurers say

Chris & Bernie provide a A++ service. From great condition bikes to Chris's chat, our day was easy, carefree and the kids had a blast on the trail aswell. Cheers again for looking after us while we were in Nelson👍🏽

Karl Kitchen (Kitch)

Totally recommend this. I had an amazing time riding around Nelson using the rented e-bike. Bernie was willing to accomodate my schedule, so everything is easy as. Special thanks to Bernie for the encouragement for going the extra miles 😊.

Adrian Irwin Jerah

Friendly and accommodating family run business. Great communication and efficiency. We’ll see you again next time we’re in Nelson!

mel ray

Chris & Bernie were incredibly helpful and accomodating, definitely eager to share the best that Nelson has to offer! We had an awesome day out, with easy pick-up and drop-off, can't wait to plan a longer ride for our next trip.

Cherry Sun

Great bikes and great hire price! Love the basket on back of the bike to put backpack in

Tina Thomas

TGCC really went above and beyond for customer service! Highly recommend the e-bikes for a fun activity in Nelson.

Daniel Field

Great bikes, and a lovely area. But most importantly such lovely people! No problem to fit out an ebike with a child bike attachment when our small person had a bit of a wobbly about riding her own.

Charlotte te Riet Scholten-Phillips

A fantastic way to see the sights of the area, we had such a cool day!! Chris was incredibly helpful with transfers to and from our accommodation and with planning a personalised route so that we were able to visit wineries, cafes and breweries, as well as riding part of the Great Taste Trail along the coast. Well maintained and set up bikes (carry box on each bike for the essentials) . Couldn't recommend this company highly enough. A must do when in the region!!

Katie Wheeler

Brilliant company, the bikes were really comfy and well-maintained and the owners Chris and Bernie couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating for us and our young kids, even offering a pick up service. 5 * service, thanks Gentle Cycling Co

Pippa Macneal

Excellent team. Very accomodating to meet us where we wanted, and provide great info.We changed a few elements due to poor weather and they were great.Even considering doing it again with them :-)

Rachel Richards

Just back from a four day cycle trip with this team. Highly recommended. Both Chris and Bernie go the extra mile to ensure the success and happiness of the tour is maximised. Nothing is a problem to them. Good bikes, good quality stops, interesting country side. Great accommodation, and we visited excellent wineries and wine tastings and restaurants. Put them to the top of your list.

Roger Dickie

Great experience. Great owners who run a really good operation.Well worth taking the time to use their bikes to go for a ride.

Judith St John Ives

Great company, with amazing people and service. Bikes are perfect for all sizes... e-bike for my pregnant partner was perfect. Easy to get on and off. Very informative before you set off on your journey. 10/10

Brendon Turner

We had such a lovely experience hiring our bikes from TGCC. Owners were super friendly, gave great recommendations on bike routes, were very patient with questions and also really helpful. I could see their passion in their business through the service they provided. Bikes were also in really great condition. We were given all the information we needed and the hire was a just so easy and no fuss. I would highly recommend these guys if you're visiting Nelson, its well worth it!

Rebecca Tan

Great stuff

Frankie Dalglish

A wonderful holiday experience, thanks to Chris and Bernie’s exceptional service and organisation. Nothing was too much trouble for them to arrange for us. With six kids (ages 8 to 13) there was a lot of admin Chris and Bernie did for us including arranging extra pick ups and changing of bikes. Would absolutely recommend the Gentle Cycling Company to families and all travellers alike.

Bridget Lem

Really lovely family business! We picked a perfect day and were really impressed with the customer service

Aimee Evelyn

Really great company, Chris and Bernie are really friendly and full of of some great recommendations. The bikes and equipment is all good and well maintained. Can't recommend these guys enough. We had a fantastic couple of days!

Max Flynn

Awesome company. Kind people, great service and price especially for novice cyclists. Recommend 100%

Jane Dempster

Chris was great. We did the Great Taste Trail on our own bikes. Chris helped us plan our days and shuttled us and our bikes so we could ride back to our own vehicle. He gave us maps and advice and booked us in to a fabulous wine tasting!! I think we'll have to go back some time and do a craft beer tour...

Craig Wightman

Very friendly and helpful. We got a flat on our trip and they came straight out and replaced the bike, no waiting about.

John Whittaker

Excellent customer service. My partner and I hired two bikes for a day cycle on the Great Taste Cycle. Chris and Bernie were super flexible to accommodate our schedule and gave us lots of valuable information. We planned to cycle from Nelson to Motueka and return, but got a bit stuck with time, Chris coincidentally was driving back from Abel Tasman and gave us a ride, dropping us in front of our Airbnb. We were impressed with how they really look after their customers, and how friendly and helpful they are. This was our first visit to Nelson, we loved the experience and expect to be back soon for more adventure and we will definitely contact The Gentle Cycling Company again!!

Iasmin Garcia

Welcoming staff, great service, good bikes for a fair price. Good recommendation of itinerary by staff but I would still advise guests to research the area themselves prior to start the day!

Julien Dallaire

We did the return cycle between Nelson and Mapua (and had lunch in Mapua which was lovely). Was beautiful and almost entirely offroad. Was around 50km, but was great with the electric bike. The bikes have 3 settings so you can choose how much effort you want to put in yourself! Would recommend!

Stephanie Apps

We really enjoyed our day long gentle cycle around the vineyards of Nelson. Chris and Bernie were very knowledgeable about the local area and went out of their way to look after us. The bikes were well maintained and very comfortable and our group now want to do a multi-day trip! Highly recommend!

Simon Louise

Great staff, super helpful and friendly

Billiam James

What an amazing tour provided by new owners/operators, Chris and Bernie! We commenced our tour with a 1 hour detailed brief of the Tapawera 4/5day loop. From there we took off to Mapua, ferry ticket from Rabbit Island to Mapua Wharf included. Was a lovely 22km, easy riding to our first destination. Spent our first night at the Puffed Peddler B&B and what an amazing place this is. Would of loved to stay at Coralie and Paul's a 2nd night. Our 2nd day took us through Motueka and Riwaka. Recommend a lunch break at the Toad Hall Cafe, (Brisket Toastie and Mushroom Blues Cheese Pie, both to die for!). After lunch, we took to Kaiteriteri where Chris and Bernie added an additional day/night for us. Really recommend a 2nd night there, not only to rest, but to spend some time in the waters. We spent the second day in Kaiteiteri hiring a kayak and paddled to Split Apple rock. Our 3rd official day of cycling took us to Tapawera. Make sure to have a big breakfast at the Ginger Dynamite Go Go Food & Coffee just before leaving Riwaka, its a big day ahead with not many cafes along the way, but such beautiful scenery. Take your time, no rush at all, with plenty of recreational reserves to stop for a breather of 2. Tapawera hotel is a wonderful place to rest your feet after a long day. 4th official day was the last, but this was by far our favorite section of the tour, which lead us through to Spooners Tunnel (torches required). Such wonderful history but the section AFTER the tunnel was even greater. A 5-6km stretch, of a decent which peddling is not required, nice cruise all the way down and through farm land. It was a sad end but will definitely love to do another tour with TGCC again in the future. Not only did Chris and Bernie go above and beyond with assisting in some personal matters, but they definitely nailed the accommodation, cafe/eatery and sight seeing recommendations, all on the head. Best of luck to the upcoming summer season!

paul m

Great service, good bikes.

Sally and Pete Bridgens

Very friendly service with helpful advice on local activities! 5 stars!

Joana De Sousa

Great service

Andrew Parkinson

Amazing cycle ride from Tapawera to Stoke on e-bikes. The journey was 61km and definitely worth having an e-bike with the head wind. It's the longest I've cycled in one day! The Gentle Cycling Company was awesome.

Yvonne Weeber

Had a wonderful time riding around a few Nelson vineyards and food stops. The e-assist bikes were perfect to help make the trip fun and easy. Jude was fantastic in showing us where to go on the map and which places we would like the most. 11/10, will do it again next time!

Haydon Rogers

This is the best company to rent bicycles from ever. Rose and Jude were really friendly with lots of local knowledge. We rented 4 bikes for 4 days they transported us to the start of the great taste tour, stored our bags so that we only had to bring camping gear. We did 2 days on the great taste coastal route and Rose even gave us a route to do for our day in the vineyards! All in all the best experience of the Nelson region!Great bikes, great people and great local knowledge

Chloé Fong

Great service and friendly staff. The bikes worked perfectly, and the indications were easy to follow. We enjoyed very much the Great Taste Wine. Very recommendable.

David Mayo

Such great service at this place, we rocked up before 9am after finding other bike hire places in the area were not open and were immediately helped with helmets and bikes. We then got clear instructions on the options for the great taste trail as the sign posting is not fantastic. The bikes were also very comfortable and the prices were lower than we expected at $50 and $15 for full day hire of adult and kids bike respectively. Highly recommend this place.

truusje matthews

Great place for bike rentals. Even last minute we were able to rent two e-bikes for the day and cycled to Rabbit Island. Very friendly staff and the bikes were awesome and very new.

Kristina Bauer

Friendly, fast and professional. Thank you to Rose and her team for making our Nelson holiday one to remember. Will definitely be recommending the Spooners bike trail to family and friends and look forward to trying the multi day bike rides in the near future.

Samuro Karoro

Helpful team, made it really easy to go on a quality cycle trip. Would recommend.

Chris Logan

Would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for some day time fun!Choose an e bike if you haven't ridden in a while and you'll get to more places faster 😉

Christy Williams

Super helpful and gave detailed advise about the trail and time it takes to reach the vineyards. Middle Earth vineyard was our favourite and the cheese shop is also worth a visit!

Jenny

Highly recommend this tour. Jude was a great driver & very knowledgeable about Nelson. We had e- bikes which came in so handy when we cycled through the rain. Loved the organic vineyards & cycling was a great way to see Nelson. Special mention to Frank who cycled to McCasshins brewery to guide us back to base.

Mauigoa Leilua

Rose is absolutely delightful and helped us plan a great route for the day. The bikes are fantastic and we really enjoyed our day out. I’m so glad we found this place to hire bikes from as the whole experience was spot on.

Tom Norton

A fantastic 3 days (2 nights) on the Great Taste Trail as the focus for a get together with friends visiting from UK. Rose got the whole trip together with great efficiency and helped us make the little changes we asked for without any trouble at all. Good bikes, good maps and great accommodation in superb weather. An excellent way to explore the Tasman area. Thanks Rose!

Douglas Rolland

I did the multiday tour with the Gentle Cycling Company. I booked from the UK via email and Rose patiently answered all my questions and organised this great little trip for me. Everything about the company is very professional and friendly from the moment they pick you up. The bikes looked brand new and were very comfortable and there were plenty of detailed maps provided. I visited wineries and craft shops and cycled through some fantastic countryside, cycling is a great way to see NZ if you have the time and at the end of the day I finished at some of the best B&Bs out there. Great job and thanks for everything Rose.

Punta Paloma

Great day out

john Spencer

Great morning out with the tag along bike. Thanks gentle cycling company

Shane White

Rose is a total legend and we had a gorgeous day on her bikes. Everything was really slick and she set us up with a great intro and good insider knowledge! Thanks Rose, definitely recommend bikes from her for a wonderful day cycling through vineyards!!

Huw Morgan

Could not do enough for us very pleasant and affable staff probably need to have a more prominent sign on the road entry nearly drove past it

Leo Brown

We had an excellent family biking trip on the Great Taste Trail, and credit goes to The Gentle Cycling Company for organizing, managing and supplying quality bikes for the excursion. We certainly recommend Gentle Cycling to those looking to arrange a biking trip in New Zealand.

Stephen Godfrey

We had such a wonderful experience cycling around the family route. Great company, lovely people and awesome experience. Definitely recommend for anyone who wants to explore Nelson on bikes.

Xiaohan Zhang

What a great day. The Gentle Cycling Company were so efficient in picking us up and making suggestions for our itinerary for the day. Bikes were great and the advice was spot on. Well recommended

Kate Herstell

Excellent bike hire company. Rose was very welcoming and gave very sound and helpful advice. Very good selection of bikes for hire, along with helmets, locks, tyre puncture repair kits, day-glo jackets, and cycle trail maps. We were very satisfied.

John Holschier

Very friendly staff; really good Ebikes; very interesting trail into Nelson CBD.trail has such a great range of scenery and gradients. We loved it. very memorable 2 hours.

john burry

Extremely personal and ProfessionalWe highly recommend The Gentle Cycling Company. Rumour has it that the 10 year anniversaryis coming up, a big congratulations, this should be celebrated as a very caring and successful business.

Darren Diserens

Great experience here today. We turned up mid morning on the off chance of hiring bike. The lady we met was really helpful and explained the different route options when our planned destination of Rabbit Island was closed. We headed to Brightwater instead. A good ride but not too far, nice and flat and cycle track 95%. Nearly all flat. The bikes we got were in good working ordered and we were provides with helmets, maps, a bike lock and a puncture repair kit. The bikes also came with trays attached so for our 1/2 day trip we didn't need to take a bag. Ideal. (1/2 day is 4 hour and normally runs from 9am-1pm) Kindly the lady let us do later today as we didn't arrive until 10:30am and they weren't too busy. I would advise booking at peak times.

Melanie Moloney

We took a couple of e-bikes out on a food and wine tour.. what a great way to see the region.The team were amazing and really looked after us, thanks guys!

Brent White

Staff was really helpful. Bike condition was good. We toke the trail to the rabbit island, brought some fresh corn and have a nice smoothie along the trial.

Wong Ho Kam Steve

Awesome company to hire a bike for a casual ride. The service is great, they give you a map and point you in the right direction for your ride. Highly recommended.

Willem Steen, van der

Wonderful cycle ride today. Rose told us the best routes & how to make the most of our bikes. I would really recommend the e-bike to make life really easy!

Sue Foulsham

#1 this is a must if you are in or near Nelson. We were keen to see rabbit island and there's no better way than to cycle over and have lunch nearby. They're super friendly and help plan your itinerary in advance based on your preferences. #2, if you do this, go for the electric bikes!

Nick S

We rented out 12 bikes today and rode around Nelson the whole afternoon. The ebikes were great, seats were easily adjustable, they came with helmets, full battery, a map, lock, basket for handbags and were very comfortable to ride. We made use if the electric boost the whole way. The bike track around Nelson was great, we had 3 kids with us and felt very safe. Rose and the team were so lovely and helpful. It was such a fun day out, I would highly recommend.

Jennie Chuor

We had a group of 12 with an infant, kids and grandparents and this experience was terrific for the whole group all at the same time! Everyone had a lot of fun relaxing and moving at the same time!! We would recommened this to everyone.

Julie Chuor

Hired two bikes to go to Rabbit Island. The bikes were in great condition and the staff helped us ensure the bikes were adjusted properly before we left. The staff had a lot of suggestions for nice routes and places to stop for food/snack/drink along the way. They provided a paper map mounted on the handle bars to make it easy to check the map while riding. I would highly recommend the gentle cycling co!

Sarah Lee-Johnston

We did a half day tour with two young children. One sat in a trailer and the other was in a child seat. We cycled on part of old railway track and part of coastal track. The track is sealed and easy to ride. Both Jude and Rose are very friendly and knowledgeable.

Gina Xu

Was a great day out; Rose and the team were so helpful.Beautiful area and trail.Would recommend an E-Bike; was so chill.

Dan J Brown

Good bikes. Beautiful trail!

Erez sommer

We had a very positive experience with the Gentle Cycling Company. We hired bikes and went off on a winery tour, our daughter got a puncture but all we had to do was phone Rose and she came and mended it for us and we were on our way again. Great service! Would definitely recommend. Ten out of ten for customer service.

Ally Hurst

Offer great cycling brewery tour with choice of bikes. They will pick you up and drop off in Nelson

Em Harris

We did the We love Nelson multi day bike trip as a family group - all adults. It was an excellent trip, accommodation was great and we never had one bad food experience. Even thought the weather gods werent great to us for two half days we still had an amazing trip. At times it challenged us but overall we made it through and it was an experience we will all remember fondly. The organisation of the Trip with Gentle Cycling was hassle free and the one small issue we had to change a bike was dealt with easily. We would highly recommend any cycling trip in and around this area, the scenery was out of this world and the friendly people along the way made it such an enjoyable trip.

Tracey Killalea

The Gentle Cycling Company (TGCC) were just amazing.I was sick one day, so they transported me without any fuss, they provided detailed maps on all the best spots and gave us everything we needed for a stress free ride.The accommodation they arranged for us was great and we're already planning our return trip to do it again!

Kelly Paxino

Beautiful scenery

Edwina Rimaha

‹

›

Our tours are perfect for groups too...

The highlight for the Mt. Pirongia Papier Mache Club’s long weekend in Nelson, was the bike tour. Superbly hosted and organised by The Gentle Cycling Company, we enjoyed the hospitality of the different venues, and the scenery offered by the great bike trails. We give thanks.

Steve

We have just finished our 5 day guided Cycle Tour with Chris & Bernie from Gentle Cycling. There were 16 in our Group & we have had the most amazing time with Chris as our guide. Once introduced to Chris & Bernie they never forgot a name & everything was 100% perfect!! Our accommodation was all split up due to the size of our group & we were all thrilled with our accommodation!! We would thoroughly recommend Gentle Cycling!!

Jaine

About Us

Who we are and our sustainability commitment

Meet the Gentle Cycling Team

The Whitaker whanau

We don’t make chocolate…

Bernie Whitaker

The boss

Chris Whitaker

The chatterbox

Felix Laufcotter

Fix it Felix

Will

Junior mechanic

Lily

Junior mechanic

Proud to be Climate Positive

and Kaitiaki (guardians)

The Zero Carbon Weekender

A joint Nelson Tasman Tourism initiative

What our adventurers say

Our tours are perfect for groups too...

Sustainable & Eco-Friendly

Members of...

Supporters of...