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New Zealand Riding/Riders/Rides, and General Discussion and etc

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New Zealand Riding/Riders/Rides, and General Discussion and etc
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flag commental
Posted: Jun 14, 2022 at 13:49 Quote
I toured around a few years ago and visited all of the spots mentioned (mudcycles, I'm not sure if you remember, but you kindly showed me some of the riding in Wellington). I'd agree that Nelson takes some beating, especially when you throw The Gorge into the equation. What's happening with Cable Bay? It had only just opened when I was last in town, the place has definitely got some potential.
Wanaka's good (I lived there for a while around 20 years ago), there's some good riding in Sticky Forest and Cardrona's okay, but I like riding in the trees and it can be a bit exposed in bad weather. Glendhu Bay was just opening when I was there and very loose and sandy from what I was told at the time. Hopefully things have bedded in by now, although it has the same problem of no trees iirc. I'm hoping to be back around Xmas time, so looking forward to seeing what's what.
flag mitch1992
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2022 at 15:37 Quote
commental wrote:
I toured around a few years ago and visited all of the spots mentioned (mudcycles, I'm not sure if you remember, but you kindly showed me some of the riding in Wellington). I'd agree that Nelson takes some beating, especially when you throw The Gorge into the equation. What's happening with Cable Bay? It had only just opened when I was last in town, the place has definitely got some potential.
Wanaka's good (I lived there for a while around 20 years ago), there's some good riding in Sticky Forest and Cardrona's okay, but I like riding in the trees and it can be a bit exposed in bad weather. Glendhu Bay was just opening when I was there and very loose and sandy from what I was told at the time. Hopefully things have bedded in by now, although it has the same problem of no trees iirc. I'm hoping to be back around Xmas time, so looking forward to seeing what's what.

Cable bay is definitely becoming a destination now as well. They run an annual Enduro event which attracts some decent entries including high level riders. Its terrain is top notch if you love the raw single-track style courses (proper Enduro IMO).
They are constantly building new tracks and it has a real grassroots vibe which is what I like most. It hasn't gone full commercial which I think can kill some bike parks. Its free to ride up or you can shuttle up on the can-am buggys (its a pretty quick shuttle as they don't waste any time). The base building/cafe is great for the after ride and its close to town; 15minute drive max. I highly rate it. Has that Gorge style of riding that is very accessible.

Haven't been to Glendhu but everyone I speak too says take an E bike. Don't believe the elevation gain is massive so the trails might suffer a bit. Maybe its selling point is the location and the views as opposed to the trails but that's subjective anyway as depends what your into. I hate motorway trails so the tech in Nelson is right up my alley.
flag VTwintips
Posted: Jun 14, 2022 at 16:29 Quote
mitch1992 wrote:
VTwintips wrote:
mudcycles wrote:
The most suitable towns for that from north to south would be;
Rotorua
Wellington
Nelson
Queenstown/Wanaka

What's the status on Chch these days? I went to uni there for a semester and it was such a good setup with the trail network in by Flying Nun. I think it was 2013. I liked how you could take a public bus to that church and then bike the fire road. The guy who was doing the rock work for flying nun was regularly working on the trail when I was riding. Cool guy. Really great city for biking (at least when I was there). I would have thought it would make this list.

Christchurch is good. Flying nun is a pretty popular track and access has been improved with the opening of the adventure park below. If you are not familiar with the Christchurch Adventure Park (CAP), it was opened end of 2016 and is a chairlift assist bike park which provided great access to the original trails in the area and also added more. It was almost like a mini Whistler of sorts. Unfortunately there was a wildfire 8 weeks after the opening and 80% of the pine trees covering the mountain where the park was located burnt down. The chairlift and base building got away unscathed luckily and after logging the burnt trees, they rebuilt some of the tracks. Unfortunately due to no tree cover, they quickly degraded due to being to exposed to the weather. The remaining area that still had tree cover is still being developed to this day and is quite good and makes the park worthwhile and definitely adds Christchurch to the map in NZ.

Other than CAP, there is other riding in the area however it seems to be either poorly maintained or quite confusing to ride, I’m specifically referring to Victoria Park which is right next to the CAP. There are many “cut” lines that shorten tracks or link one track to another and riding there for the first time can be quite frustrating as you think you know where you are heading and next minute you are lost.

There is also riding on the greater port hills area toward the sea but limited options.

Further afield there is Mt Hutt which is a ski field that has a few trails next to the access road. These can be shuttled.

IMO, In comparison to those in the list above, I don’t think Christchurch would quite make the cut. There are good trails yes but fewer and far between. I haven’t ridden everywhere as different riding zones are a good distance from on another. Take that with a grain of salt though as I live in Nelson and we are very spoilt with the variety we have available to us all in close proximity and with massive elevation gains if your feeling fit.

I returned and did Tour Aotearoa on enduro bikes, but it was close to the burn time so it was not rideable. I got pretty well adjusted to Vic my first time there. Rad^Sick was in good shape back then. Things were kinda in disrepair when I went through later on. It seemed that the effort relocated to CAP and trails weren't sustained as well elsewhere, at the time.

Riding the whole volcano was incredible but obviously a tour and not a mtb ride.

Thanks for the update.
flag Gravelben
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2022 at 16:45 Quote
Glendhu is mostly quite smooth flow trails, there are only 2 or 3 (2 blacks and a dark blue) that you would call more tech than flow. The trails are well built and mostly a lot of fun, but if you are more into tech than flow it might not push your buttons.

Its a great place for intermediate rider progression, but possibly some advanced/expert riders might not find enough challenge to keep them interested for multiple visits.

At least most of the flow trails are narrow enough to still feel like MTB trails not highways like some places, and they are steadily building more trails.

There is around 500m of elevation difference top to bottom, either ride up or pay for their shuttles (van to halfway point or CanAm buggy to the top). The climb trails aren't too steep but it is a pretty long grind to the top. Which is why they do quite well renting ebikes to people.

Last time I was there we mostly rode up, but did one van shuttle to halfway after lunch. Rode around 35km with 1000m or so height gain and maybe 1300m descent, solid enough day for unfit lads.
flag Hannesedinger
Posted: Sep 29, 2023 at 11:34 Quote
Hey! Sea to Sky (Squamish) rider spending a week in Rotorua. I've brought my bike and hoping to ride every day. I'd be glad to connect with some locals and get a handle on the area. Happy to return the favour in Squamish if that's on your list. Trails of any difficulty are welcome but prefer the more challenging ones.

Thanks!
flag mooreoutdoors
Posted: Feb 15, 2024 at 11:49 Quote
Craigieburn is a good option, or just say "f*ckit" and head to Nelson I reckon.
flag HeatedRotor
Posted: Feb 15, 2024 at 12:10 Quote
I say "f*ckit" an travel else where even when the place has been open, Its a Terrible time for CAP now and i feel bad for them but IMO Theres only 2 or 3 trails there even worth riding... but having to ride SC every lap is dumb as hell.

Signal hill in dunedin Is better and cheaper.
flag handynzl
O+
Posted: Feb 15, 2024 at 15:27 Quote
mooreoutdoors wrote:
Craigieburn is a good option, or just say "f*ckit" and head to Nelson I reckon.

Most of Nelson has been closed for fire risks. Nelson club is saying to go to the gorge.
flag mitch1992
O+
Posted: Feb 16, 2024 at 1:45 Quote
handynzl wrote:
mooreoutdoors wrote:
Craigieburn is a good option, or just say "f*ckit" and head to Nelson I reckon.

Most of Nelson has been closed for fire risks. Nelson club is saying to go to the gorge.

Only one area at this stage. There is still Cable bay, Kaiteriteri bike park, up near the dam in Nelson city, Nelson lakes. Plenty of free riding around still and arguably some of the better riding. The stuff that is closed is just the 5min from Nelson CBD.
flag moonsaballoon
O+
Posted: Mar 14, 2024 at 16:29 Quote
Does anyone know how you can watch the upcoming world cups in NZ ?
Last year I got a GCN plus subscription which I thought was pretty reasonably priced and didn't mind paying but that isn't an option anymore.
flag handynzl
O+
Posted: Mar 16, 2024 at 22:40 Quote
moonsaballoon wrote:
Does anyone know how you can watch the upcoming world cups in NZ ?
Last year I got a GCN plus subscription which I thought was pretty reasonably priced and didn't mind paying but that isn't an option anymore.

It's 50:50 I reckon that we'll even have an option.

Seems that you need a US credit card to VPN Max Plus, or a UK credit card to VPN into Eurosport.

Only other possible option is tiz cycling, but watching comments from last year, it was getting pulled frequently.
flag mooreoutdoors
Posted: Mar 18, 2024 at 1:09 Quote
No idea so all I can say is "Yaarrr me hearties!"
I don't have a lot of respect for WB or UCi at this point for what they have done to coverage.
flag JNZ
Posted: Mar 18, 2024 at 12:42 Quote
moonsaballoon wrote:
Does anyone know how you can watch the upcoming world cups in NZ ?
Last year I got a GCN plus subscription which I thought was pretty reasonably priced and didn't mind paying but that isn't an option anymore.

Ive emailed Sophie Ormand who is the UCI broadcast manager for rest of the world and asked her if there is any update for NZ. I'll keep ya updated
flag moonsaballoon
O+
Posted: Mar 18, 2024 at 17:32 Quote
JNZ wrote:
moonsaballoon wrote:
Does anyone know how you can watch the upcoming world cups in NZ ?
Last year I got a GCN plus subscription which I thought was pretty reasonably priced and didn't mind paying but that isn't an option anymore.

Ive emailed Sophie Ormand who is the UCI broadcast manager for rest of the world and asked her if there is any update for NZ. I'll keep ya updated

Thanks ....have just done my fantasy team and am getting excited about the new season.....just need to know how to watch it , ideally without foreign credit cards and VPNs .

 


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