New Zealand Adventures - Part One

We were sitting in the airport, when what we were about to do finally set in. We boarded the plane, and there was no turning back. I never thought I would have the opportunity to do a trip like this, but it was for real. My Girlfriend and I were about to escape to New Zealand to ride bikes for a month!

The welcoming committee in New Zealand

Our first adventure in New Zealand ended up being one I will never forget. We landed at the Christchurch airport and were greeted by an ever so delightful, Megan Ross (organizer of the Trans NZ 5-day Enduro). We assembled our bikes at the airport, and drove straight to Flock Hill Lodge in Craigieburn. Coming from California (the land of rolling hills and gradual mountains), the mountains in this area looked deceivingly huge, and not so deceivingly steep. They actually were really steep. That night, we were briefed on tomorrow's race, and let me tell you, it was not going to be a walk in the park… We awoke in the morning to a torrential downpour, which happened to be the first real rain that area had seen in nearly seven months. The ground soaked it up instantly which made for the sloppiest conditions I have ever ridden in. We had to endure five stages of freezing rain, and slip sliding mud, which made even the easiest of obstacles almost impossible to ride. I found myself sliding wildly down the trail going way too fast with both feet unclipped and off the pedals more often than not. These conditions, amazing views, and the most epic trails I have ridden in a long time made for one insanely fun day. And to think, we still had four more days of this!

The trails on day one were slippery, and it was cold!

That next day we shuttled everybody to Mt. Hutt for another day of wild peanut butter mud surfing on two wheels. But first we had to get there. I was placed in a van with a driver named Quintin, and let me tell you; he sure knew how to make the trip interesting! He was a local from Alexandra, so he knew all kinds of little colorful facts about the surrounding areas. He was like our own private tour guide! Oh yeah, he also knew the roads. And judging by his driving, he knew them REALLY well. These vans were all rentals, and let's just say they were a little under gunned with 12 people, all their gear, and a trailer full of bikes. You really had to keep the momentum up in order to get up the hills without slowing to a crawl. That meant gunning it, and rallying corners like no other van has been rallied before! It sure was a good way to wake up in the morning!

Now back to the racing… The rain had stopped, but the damage had been done. The trails were inches deep in mud. Not even a mud spike would save you here. The trails here were steep, rutted, and caused a whole lot of carnage. I crashed nine times that day, and sliced open my hand, which the medic on site said needed some extra medical attention. Since the next day of racing was on Coronet Peak, a short six hour drive (only four and a half if you were in Quinton’s shuttle van), we decided I would just wait to go to the hospital when we got there. The nurse there told me that it would definitely need stitches, and that I would have to take it easy for the next couple days… I told her “hell with that! I need to race tomorrow!” So after some exchange of words, she finally cleaned it out, put some butterfly bandages on it, and sent me on my way. I was good to race the next day! Woohoo!

There's a new fashion trend sweeping across New Zealand, where you ride with one hand wrapped in gauze. I thought I'd give it a try.

Apparently Queenstown hadn’t gotten as much rain as the areas just north, because as soon as my tires hit the ground, I could help but grin from ear to ear. The only person that might be able to smile bigger would be The Joker from Batman. The Velcro feeling of rubber on hero dirt is the only thing that could cause such excitement. This was our biggest day of the five-day race. With six stages, and the final stage being a suicide, brake burning, controlled free-fall, the day on Coronet was not one for the faint of heart. I have no idea how, but I survived that day, and even more surprising, I was 3rd place on the day! The day ended like all the others, with a delicious meal prepared by the wonderful volunteers, and another briefing on what the next day had in store for us.

Rude Rock Trail was full of blind rises like this. You never really knew what was on the other side.

The trails on Coronet Peak were scary fast. You had to be on the gas the whole time.

The views did not suck though.

Day four was set to take place in lovely Alexandra, about an hour south-east of Queenstown. Alexandra is quite different to what we have been riding before. It was dry, loose, and it was HOT! The courses themselves are mostly rock, not as steep, but definitely just as fun. It became pretty obvious early on that our day in Alexandra would be about getting through the day without turning into a shrivelled up raisin under the desert heat. Day four saw the most competitors drop out because of the sheer heat of the day. Quite the contrast to the first couple days in the mud…

Pedalling was the name of the game on day 4.

Alexandra was littered with steep rock features. It was hard to tell where the trail went at times.

The final day of this wild roller coaster ride that is the Trans NZ took place right in Queenstown. With only three stages, this was the shortest race day, but racers still saw five to six hours in the saddle. The last stage of the last day was the best one of the whole five days. It required what seemed like a never ending hike-a-bike to get to the top, but it was definitely worth it! It started way above town at the top of Fernhill loop. It descended through what seemed to be a never-ending highway of roots. You could go real fast, and get as rowdy as the self-preservation section of your brain would allow. It then funnelled into the groomed jumps and berms of the bike park. I never wanted that stage to end! That is what mountain biking should be! It should leave you wanting more, even after five days of a relentlessly pegged stoke meter!

The last stage of the last day. So Sick!

When it was all said and done, I placed 5th in open men. Needless to say, I was pretty surprised to see that result, with many crashes, many mistakes, and a hand that could barely hold on to the bars. But I will take it! Meredith also did well with an 8th place finish in open women. For those that like to nerd out on stats, over the five days, we rode 110 miles, climbed close to 23,000 feet, and were on the bike for 18 hours. This is definitely a race that I won’t be missing next year next year! Stay tuned for New Zealand Adventures part two, with more shredding in Queenstown, and the behemoth race that is EWS Rotorua!

The sun starts to set over Lake Wakatipu.

And now for some shameless sponsor plugs… But seriously, if it weren’t for these guys, I would have never been able to experience this incredible race. These guys are the best! So I would like to thank WTB, Pivot, Fox, Shimano, Deity, Ryders Eyewear, and Bell Helmets for making this a reality.

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MENTIONS: @pivotcycles @foxracingshox @shimano @deityusa @BellBikeHelmets

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