Cycle Touring Route North out of Auckland

As already outlined getting out of Auckland either south or north can be problematical. This is because the busy roads have difficulty in coping with the traffic cars and trucks let alone cyclists and the roads mostly have minimal shoulders.

There is a way around this if you head north out to Helensville rather than going on the main road north through Albany.  Use the north western cycleway to get to Helensville although at the moment the cycleway is very difficult to follow because of  the motorway reconstruction. Having reached Kumeu use the state highway to ride to Helensville. There are some back roads from Kumeu to Helensville to use to miss the traffic on this stretch if you have a map. 

From Helensville the ride up the coast to Wellsford includes some demanding hills and is a distance of 57km. From Wellsford unfortunately you need to ride on the main highway for a period and then turn left onto State Highway 12 on your way to Dargaville which is 98ks away.
The next step is to ride to Rawene which is 106ks where you catch the ferry north.