The first-ever peak at the brand new $12 million MTB track running through the Paparoa Mountains on New Zealand's wild West Coast. Full ride through of the 8.5km downhill by the trail builders.
This trail was built with a lot of oversight and careful planning to preserve the flora and fauna. It's going to be a huge asset to the local community as well as mtbers & hikers.
It's not supposed to be a flow trail. It's a low grade walking/biking trail which, if the management got their way, would resemble a sidewalk. The builders made it a lot more appealing to a wider scope of riders by adding some fun to it.
That description kinda sounds like the development of a typical ski resort on any mountain face, minus the chalets, parking lots, lift systems, condos. At least this is meant to be a huge memorial project.
Very little impact to environment compared to what goes on in third world countries with heavy toxic, air, and garbage pollution. If it wasn't maintained for a couple years, the trail would disappear in to the environment like it never existed. Water caused erosion does way more to impact environment than mtb trails.
@Kaicycle: That's how you build things in rock. Whether you believe this was worth the effort or not is another story, but funding like that doesn't just fall out of thin air, so there was a large group of people who thought this project was a good idea and would be beneficial to the community.
@Boondocker390: @Boondocker390: ah, so bureaucrats building trails. Bureaucracy never ruined anything ever....nah....bureaucracy is good, just like communists
Also, bikes ride over rocks and nearly straight down them
Sad to see so many negative comments about an inspiring project. Some of you seem to have missed some context here. This project was not just about building a mountain bike trail. It was a project for walkers, multi day trekkers, the local community, mountain bikers and above all the 29 miners who died in a remote location, which this trail now makes accessible. Watch this if you still don’t get it: youtu.be/ADarB5tgNrI
If you think that trail building can keep up with growth in mountain biking without the use of heavy machinery you are deluded. Likewise if you don’t understand that even the most natural and rugged trails require some maintenance and man hours to keep them open. Obviously low environmental impact is important but cutting a narrow path through a vast, wild, forested mountain range it’s hardly changing the landscape. Maybe you just want to ride trails without recognising that others have to build and maintain them for your benefit.
@Otago: Exactly, its certainly allot more environmentally friendly than what used to go on underneath them hills. While still bringing important dollars to a region struggling to keep up with changing times.
@AgrAde: Exactly and I was responsible for the funds I would be concerned. The scope was a "walking/biking" trail. There is no way it was ever going to be a sidewalk due to country, but running the top of the crest and not worrying about no pedal design would have delivered. In my mind they have missed the design criteria as cant see how is safe for pedestrians in design and in execution. In the video it is clearly designed for cyclists over foot traffic, the video of the secrets is pretty damming, #fknows what they were thinking releasing that if they have been paid.
Did you deliver the client spec? No?. Well here are some penalties in the progress payments....and final account payment.
@commental: So you would rather dynamite the forest to kill possums than use a natural occurring, quickly degrading poison that does a fairly good job of being target specific (yes... there is some collateral mortality), that can be cheaply deployed over vast areas that would otherwise be difficult to access.
@AgrAde: So this is really a hiking/walking trail that bikers are allowed to ride. That makes more sense. It would have likely been much more rowdy if it were targeted more squarely at MTB.
@b-boyben: Yes, the problem is that this trail is presented as a biking trail, when in reality it is a multiuse trail that inherently requires it to be tamed down a bit to be more passable on foot. I do think they overtamed the trail, making what is essentially a gravel sidewalk through the mountains. That said, the context of the trail was not well communicated by PinkBike. It was instead presented as a long new MTB trail in NZ, which immediately drums up expectations which it ultimately fails to meet since it's not a dedicated MTB trail, and not even a difficult hiking trail. It a beautiful nature experience. MTB riders will find satisfaction on it, but not as much as on an EPIC trail more intended for MTB.
@SuperHighBeam: No, this is the first MTB track where walkers are allowed. Everything before this has been the other way around way around.
However being an MTB track doesn't mean it needs to be a DH racer track with drops and jumps the whole way down. This is a different type of track built to allow everyone to get into the back country on multi day mountian biking trips.
@tomwtrails: Make no mistake the builders did awesome work. As an MTB track, though, it should have had more natural features retained along the duration. Virtually every natural impedance was removed in place for an extremely smooth, lightly undulating path. Yes and MTB track doesn't need to be a DH racer track, I'm not saying it does, but a rock or root garden here and there along with small natural ledges, rollers, slabs, etc., give a trail a lot more character and excitement. There is a middle ground between gravel path and 4ft+ drops and massive doubles and tabletops. If I had to stick trail difficulty to this, it would be green, when it should have been blue with maybe some sections with single black diamond. I not familiar with the trail network it connects to, but the little that was explained in the video doesn't tell me this has multi-day potential. People ride 30miles (50km) in day all the time, this is nowhere near that length.
@SuperHighBeam: You've pretty much hit all the misconceptions people are making here. It is most certainly not a green trail, but it's meant to be accessible to most reasonably competent bikers that want an adventure and will bring money to the region. Not just broke dirtbag shredders. It is not a trail network, it is in a very isolated part of the country, those other trails mentioned are still over 50km by road away from each other. Serious bikepackers will link them into one trip but it's not some trail network you roll up to with the bros after work. Some people will ride this track in one day (same with the similar experience Old Ghost ride), I could manage it with a big effort. But the whole experience is centered around a multi-day backcountry adventure. Lots of people fly and then drive 4 hours to do these rides. The idea isn't to get them over with as quickly as possible. It's to take your time, stay in some huts, and soak it all in. You also require car relocation or shuttle transport as it's point to point. Have a look on trailforks for more info/context www.trailforks.com/trails/te-ara-paparoa
@tealdub: Honestly by the time its covered in cornflakes and the moss has started to reclaim the edges it'll be pretty damn sweet to ride. No one is gonna ride it and and not be stoked.
Then you can stay the night in Reefton and ride the natural stuff there. The region is only just getting started with its riding potential.
@rosemarywheel: The possums in NZ are Australian brushtail possums (not opossums), and their introduction and subsequent spread has been utterly devastating to the native flora and fauna of New Zealand, where they have an overabundance of food and no natural predators.
They're a protected species in Australia, but a terrible pest in NZ.
@SuperHighBeam: yep there are 3 proper huts on the overall trail, at least 1 of which was already there, the first section of trail and hut was a pre-existing hiking trail/ride/hut. That's the only Paparoa section I've done, as an out and back 3 years ago. This addition in the video is a side hit off the main track, but obviously still very remote. I'm dead keen to go back and do the whole thing but the main huts booked out for like 6 months solid! It's just a different kind of trip. If I want to ride proper MTB-specific gnar Ill go to Nelson or Qtown. This is an adventure ride. Diversity is key, different places are filling different niches. Some more good background info here: www.groundeffect.co.nz/blogs/hot-rides/creating-the-paparoa-and-pike29-memorial-tracks
@TobiasHandcock: Yeh man On re-reading I realised my comment sounded more flat than intended! I'm definitely stoked on the trail and can't wait to check it out.
From a trailbuildjng perspective it looks like pretty reasonably narrow trailbed given the machine built nature. You can see parts where care was take to narrow the bed. Well done.
Interesting to see the critical comments. From my experience those who are most critical of "flow" type trails are usually from populated areas having an idealized view that only "natural" trails have merit. That makes sense. If you don't have much wilderness you don't like losing it
Looking at a map this trail is a location without many people and lots of precip. I would guess that without this trail being built with so much pump and flow (ie drainage) it'd not last long. Also I'd guess there's not many trails around here ( please locals correct me if I'm wrong) so there's no shortage of "wilderness".
Was interested enough so did some reading. Lots of mines around here so there's existing human impact. That isn't surprising as we're everywhere. Sounds like the routing may have linked old mining trails and infrastructure plus cut new trail. blog.doc.govt.nz/2019/07/08/history-on-the-paparoa-track
There's nothing but wilderness for hundreds of kilometres in every direction.
The entire West Coast is draped is rainforest with massive trees that go all the way up to the glaciers coming down from the mountains inland.
As far as civilisation goes in this region, all there is a few grotty little mining towns which used to be bustling main centres 100 years ago when the mines were good. After that there's nothing for 100's of km.
One of the main reason's for putting a track in this region is to give some industry back to these dying towns which sit in such a spectacular and remote location.
@Randomscruff Scenery is only part of the equation. There are expectations about the difficultly, rowdiness, and character of the trail as well that go into the criticism of a new MTB trail. This isn't an MTB trail. It is a trail accessible to MTB targeted at light walker/hikers, and long distance trekkers (i.e. backpackers).
I rode this track in February of this year as a tourist. Seems like forever ago that we were able to travel, yet the year is still 2020!
When I rode it the track wasn’t fully finished, I think there was a landslide just past the Honeymoon Hutt. I rode up and stayed at the hut one night, rode back down the next day then rode up the southern end of the trail to the landslide area. Thanks to Mel and Ritchie for the sweet recommendation!
There’s so much “anti-flow trail” talk on here. I live and ride in BC so I get to see plenty of tech. I loved riding this trail. I thought it was a really beautiful way to pay patronage to the miners who died in the explosion. The trail itself was stunning. I’m glad it’s a “flow” trail because otherwise I think I would’ve ridden off the trail several times. The views were incredible. I’ll remember that sunset for the rest of my life. Thanks to the builders and to NZ for making incredible tracks like this one.
Trail looks amazing. The negativity is almost funny. Keep in mind that $12M NZD is only $8.5M USD. Really not that much for a regional development project. Look into what town sport complexes (fields, stadiums, clubhouse, etc.) cost to build and those need continuous utilities, staff and maintenance.
haha it's just the internet. Someone is always bound to have a bitch and a moan about something.
The 12 million could've been spend on a new cancer ward at the children's hospital and they'd be bitching about the car parking.
It's nice to see a community come together to make such a cool memorial after the wake of a disaster. Best of luck on the ongoing mine re-entry efforts.
I rode the Paparoa track afyer the Old Ghost Road. This wasn't y open of course. Looking from the Paparoa you could not see any damage. The Paparoa itself an awesome ride very light on the environment.
The government investment is a quid pro quo. Extractive industries (coal and trees to a lesser ectent gold) are largely shut down. West Coadt will have to survive on tourism as a main source of income. Of course a barista on minimum wage not throwing around as much cash as a miner at the Blackball Previously Known As The Hilton Hotel, but the guy who owns and operated the car relocation service and his adventure employees earing a decent crust.
Anyway, the Paparoa was fantastic, lookimg forward to the Pike.
Considering the type of weather this area receives (extreme), I'm genuinely curious to see how this trail holds together over time. It cuts across such steep terrain, surely some serious erosion will occur in many sections, particularly the blast zones. That being said it would be an amazing ride and I'd love to do it someday!
If many of you think this was a good project, you should goggle “the dragon” at hardy dam in Michigan and make a donation. So far having trouble finding the total of 2 mil they need to complete a 47 mile loop, so far we’re all riding the 10 finished miles as an out and back and it’s epic. It will be a national mtb attraction if they ever get it done. Love to see you all come to Michigan and enjoy the 1000+ Miles of well maintained trails.
Amazing work to Tom and your crew. From a fellow trail professional, I don't think many of these commentors have any idea the amount of time, money, risk, and passion that goes into getting equipment through terrain that steep, rocky, and remote. I have not had the pleasure of completing projects anywhere near as epic as this...and I can't wait to visit and ride this one. To the keyboard warriors acting like some rake n ride would have cut it in that terrain...smoke another. The trail looks great, and in that climate/terrain, you'll be trimming it back in a year and wondering where all the rocks came from. Keep up the great work.
Hey, thanks for the props. Yeah I'm pretty sure a lot of the commenters are office bound and have limited experience with the wilderness. Also the track is built for everyone which it's why it is how it is, and not a DH track. I'm not worried, as I said in another comment, if we'd built a new cancer ward on the children's hospital they'd be criticising the new car park.
Hope you get the chance to get over here and ride it some day
well done and glad to see how much thought went into building this trail on alot of different levels. Respecting the forest itself, the peoples land,animals and fauna.hopefully people use it respectfully and appreciate how beautiful and precious this kind of land is. education
How much is the elevation drop? How to get to the top? Realy, realy nice trail! I love to ride trails these length nonstop. At Kronplatz/Southtyrol there are two of them, with a drop of 1.250m (Herrensteig) and 1.100m (Gassl-Trail). Due to it´s worldcup-skiing infrastructure, there are fast lifts up to the top. You actually run into the lift station when you are at the bottom and until you´ve stoped pumping, you can do it all over again... if you can :-)))
@deadbeat: Americans aren't used to having nice things. The notion of local governments investing in an epic trail with nice infrastructure and accommodations is shorting some brain circuits.
@withdignityifnotalacrity: in my State, they hand out $1.6M in grant funds for Recreational Trails Program every year. That goes for all types of trails, would love to see more new mountain bike trails being built. If you are a trail builder, look and see if you are eligible for these type of grant funds!!
@like2pedal: we get $100,000 in trail building money in our town of 2000 people. And free healthcare. And 2000/mo per person when we are shut down for covid. And lots of good stuff. My family in WA and UT get basically nothing but a nightmare. And my buddy building trails in ID says the same.
@like2pedal: Often we are! Remember that the RTP grants cover a wide range of trails and associated projects (signage, etc) and can be extraordinarily competitive. They scrutinize grants pretty aggressively so the average joe can’t just pocket 100k to build a jump line in their back yard.
I’m with you though. The more mtb trails the better!
@like2pedal: I am involved in trail work locally. I am not saying no public funds ever gets spent on trails, there are lots of great orgs busting their ass, applying for grants, etc. But how often to we see state governments go "right, let's invest real money into an epic trail in the middle of nowhere to help local communities and attract outsiders to visit the area. Oh and let's build nice amenities and a few huts for multi-day treckers as well." At least here on the east coast, that's basically unheard of.
@wtmorgan1: no. Taxes pay for it. What is stupid is paying taxes and having them go to other countries in a big way instead of coming back to the taxpayer. I used to do that in the USA.
Greta called. Said you are all fucked and she wont ride your bike trail coz you have provided for life sustaining technology and energy for the populous and she is woke to all your politicians. She is fine here sitting in the snow.
What's with the 12 million? Someone paid these two guys 12 million to build the trail? Or what?? Where did 12 million change hands for the sake of this trail?
@Lylat: \We were paid well because they had so much trouble getting guys to stick around in those conditions. However there's a lot of bitching I could do about the planning but better not since it's a public forum lol
@MatthiasAWhitten: Thanks, I'm not sure those comments were there when I wrote this but I have since seen the files on the YouTube link. Sure, it's a hell of a lot more than just a trail. I don't get the downvotes on my comment though, not that it bothers me but it's weird.
It's 12million NZD which is like 8.5M USD. Most of it went towards heli rental, excavator rental/fuel, dirt bike fuel/mx, and administrative salaries responsible for the planning and coordination of the trail build. The builders themselves did not get rich off of this. It would, however, be interesting to see what the actual cost breakdown was.
Gonna be awesome but I'm disappointed that its dug into the dirt as the natural ridgeline terrain would have been mind blowing, but much to challenging for the intended gradient.
So although this looks like a beautiful nature experience and altogether a very enjoyable experience to ride, I would like to express my disappointment with the builders (or the financiers) for not leaving more natural features along the duration of the trail. The total lack of roots, rocks, ledges, etc. leaves a lot to be desired. This trail would have been so much better had a natural feature presented itself at least once every half to one kilometer, with that super sweet flow between features. As a result, I don't think there would be a need for a bike of more than 100mm travel on a trail like this. This trail really should have been built with 130-160mm travel bikes in mind. All said, it's an awesome trail, but it does leave something to be desired. I also wonder how much of that $12million went towards helicopter service and fuel for the motorbikes and excavation equipment. Seem's like an awfully steep price tag for what was delivered.
Yes of course that's where the money went, to pay for all the equipment necessary to build in such a remote location. You can't peddle up there to do an hour of digging after your day in the office. Have a look at this video to see how it was built and then you'll see where the money went www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlfNcpRq-Io
@tomwtrails: It would have been better and less expensive were it hand built, but it would have also taken much longer. Again I wish the entire thing wasn't a machine excavated path. Surely that wasn't necessary for the entire length of the trail. Surely many sections could have been sufficiently cleared with conventional hand/power tools used for trail building to retain more natural features. I've ridden trails that are a blend of both and those are super enjoyable.
@SuperHighBeam: That's not the point. The point is that they want to give access to all New Zealanders to this beautiful sport in a beautifull location. By making a trail technical you're not only making it dangerous for incapable riders, which in a place like this isn't practical at all. You're also gatekeeping the experience from the very tax payers who pay for it in the first place.
If you want to ride that sort of thing you're welcome to ride reefton just over the valley, or the wairoa gorge, craigieburn ect.
@TobiasHandcock: Yes exactly right. As a matter of fact the head honchos had to tone down Milty and I a bit right in the beginning. We're mountain bikers and MTB track builders, if it were up to me I'd have Queenstown's Dream Line jump track sailing around the mountain.
However it is not practical for a such a big trail project to be aimed at so few riders. This track is about everybody being able to access the back country on a bike and take in the pristine wilderness.
Since Milty and I are MTB track builders dedicated this track to MTB. That's why all the bends are cambered and you can pump through everything. The Paparoa Track, The Old Ghost Road and other tracks are just waking tracks that you're permitted to take a bike on.
@tomwtrails: Thank you for acknowledging this fact. I figured this was probably the case since yourself and Milty seem like pretty well versed mountain bikers, so to build such as long tame trail just seemed a bit off. You just have to careful about how you pitch the trail to those unaware of its existence. If you overstate it many riders will be disappointed in the technical difficulty. But if you paint it as just an epic backcountry adventure trail of relatively low difficulty you'll attract the right people and keep the stoke level high.
@SuperHighBeam: this was built in a NATIONAL PARK. To get permission for this is one thing. To get funding is another. Anyone who's ever put an hours worth of time to get something like this going would appreciate that your comments lack understanding of the necessary processes and/or compromises
@leelau: That is a good point, and that wasn't indicated anywhere in the article or video. That is a huge selling point! I'm not from NZ, so it is imperative that those that are promoting a new trail to an international audience effectively communicate why it's worth visiting. Stating that an epic trail had just been completed in a National Park with reservable huts along the way should have been some of the first things mentioned about the trail. Without that, it's simply just not as exciting. That brings a notable level of novelty to the new trail.
@SuperHighBeam: Yeah I guess you're right. When making the video I'm assuming the viewer has prior knowledge of the track. I would probably change that if I could re-make it. Too late now.
@tomwtrails: Hopefully future videos about the new track effectively communicate the uniqueness of the track. Many people do bike centric international travel these days, so making sure those crowds are aware of creations like this is important for those communities that stand to benefit from the tourism. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself though, these factors weren't on your mind when you to put this together. It is easy to forget how diverse of an international following Pinkbike has, especially considering much of the staff are in British Columbia, Canada.
The same people who complain will at some point in their life bin something that's got a lot of life in it or knock down and build their 'dream eco home'
It could have been lower impact by using the machinery less to develop the trail, so I'm not sure I really buy that claim. It's low impact compared to 10ft wide nature trail, but not compared to singletrack that is mostly handbuilt.
@Muzled: This is certainly true. Before I kids I rode 3+ times a week. Now I'm lucky to ride my bike on trails 1x a month, slightly more often in summer/fall. That is a transition I'm not particularly happy/ satisfied with, and apparently it shows a bit. Thank you for calling me out on this.
@RedBurn: Endurance, nah, this isn't going to be that physically strenuous to complete and the terrain is not harsh enough for there to be much risk. Length alone does not create a high level of risk. I suppose it could be viewed as risky if you ride it too fast and crash into the semitropical forest below, but that seems pretty improbable. I also doubt many will attempt riding it during the muddy season; that would be miserable and destructive.
Dont know how successful this is in objectives. If its a shared walk mtb path there is no way that is going to be safe to walk with bikes coming down and blind corners everwhere.
I see geotechnical nightmare with rock toes cut everywhere and fill that is the walk track over void, in a high rainfall region.
Why did it have to flow and go downhill so much exclusively? Surely would have been safer to run the ridge crest and not cut a line horizontal across the gradient leading to the the ongoing geotech issues.
Looks like a fun easy trail. 100% machine built. Honestly though if I had a chance to ride there or go to the Shore or Squamish I would choose BC any day. Machine built trails get boring quickly for me. Nothing beats natural terrain.
It wasn't built to 'be better than the shore' though RR, it was built as a memorial to 29 people who died in a mine explosion that turned out to be one of our country's worst cover ups with no one being held accountable.
It goes through some of the nicest old growth podocarp forest in our fine country and riding the whole track from start to finish (65'ish km) will blow most peoples minds.
And maybe it's not your cup of tea but us folk down here can't wait to ride it. (esp while the borders are closed might I add)
This trail can also be linked up with the Old Ghost Road and the Heaphy track, all of which are hand built but all very different even though they're close together and all equally as amazing as each other and as good as any 3 days of riding you'll do anywhere assuming you're prepared to pedal all day.
So nope, not the shore but to compare the two is apples and oranges.
@pablo-b you are from Heipzig. Nice city but no meaningful trails. I'd say something mean but you're already being punished as a mountainbiker by living there.
@madmon: more like irrelevant comments from people who live in flat land day. Look at elevation profiles for Frankfurt. This person has no information of relevance
Where do you think your trails come from?
Also, bikes ride over rocks and nearly straight down them
If you think that trail building can keep up with growth in mountain biking without the use of heavy machinery you are deluded. Likewise if you don’t understand that even the most natural and rugged trails require some maintenance and man hours to keep them open. Obviously low environmental impact is important but cutting a narrow path through a vast, wild, forested mountain range it’s hardly changing the landscape. Maybe you just want to ride trails without recognising that others have to build and maintain them for your benefit.
It's almost like some people are going to complain no matter what.
Did you deliver the client spec? No?. Well here are some penalties in the progress payments....and final account payment.
static.wixstatic.com/media/68630f_85ad26ed29414bae988e54160a6d56af~mv2.jpg
However being an MTB track doesn't mean it needs to be a DH racer track with drops and jumps the whole way down. This is a different type of track built to allow everyone to get into the back country on multi day mountian biking trips.
Yes and MTB track doesn't need to be a DH racer track, I'm not saying it does, but a rock or root garden here and there along with small natural ledges, rollers, slabs, etc., give a trail a lot more character and excitement. There is a middle ground between gravel path and 4ft+ drops and massive doubles and tabletops.
If I had to stick trail difficulty to this, it would be green, when it should have been blue with maybe some sections with single black diamond. I not familiar with the trail network it connects to, but the little that was explained in the video doesn't tell me this has multi-day potential. People ride 30miles (50km) in day all the time, this is nowhere near that length.
I would love to ride this trail, but if it was never built, that area would remain remote, six of one/half dozen of another...
Then you can stay the night in Reefton and ride the natural stuff there. The region is only just getting started with its riding potential.
They're a protected species in Australia, but a terrible pest in NZ.
I wasn't aware of the situation over there.
Some more good background info here: www.groundeffect.co.nz/blogs/hot-rides/creating-the-paparoa-and-pike29-memorial-tracks
Interesting to see the critical comments. From my experience those who are most critical of "flow" type trails are usually from populated areas having an idealized view that only "natural" trails have merit. That makes sense. If you don't have much wilderness you don't like losing it
Looking at a map this trail is a location without many people and lots of precip. I would guess that without this trail being built with so much pump and flow (ie drainage) it'd not last long. Also I'd guess there's not many trails around here ( please locals correct me if I'm wrong) so there's no shortage of "wilderness".
Was interested enough so did some reading. Lots of mines around here so there's existing human impact. That isn't surprising as we're everywhere. Sounds like the routing may have linked old mining trails and infrastructure plus cut new trail. blog.doc.govt.nz/2019/07/08/history-on-the-paparoa-track
Anyhow thanks to the builders for the look
Any idea when it's opening?
from Florida ? If so ,can I catch a lift ?
I have beer!
When I rode it the track wasn’t fully finished, I think there was a landslide just past the Honeymoon Hutt. I rode up and stayed at the hut one night, rode back down the next day then rode up the southern end of the trail to the landslide area. Thanks to Mel and Ritchie for the sweet recommendation!
There’s so much “anti-flow trail” talk on here. I live and ride in BC so I get to see plenty of tech. I loved riding this trail. I thought it was a really beautiful way to pay patronage to the miners who died in the explosion. The trail itself was stunning. I’m glad it’s a “flow” trail because otherwise I think I would’ve ridden off the trail several times. The views were incredible. I’ll remember that sunset for the rest of my life. Thanks to the builders and to NZ for making incredible tracks like this one.
The government investment is a quid pro quo. Extractive industries (coal and trees to a lesser ectent gold) are largely shut down. West Coadt will have to survive on tourism as a main source of income. Of course a barista on minimum wage not throwing around as much cash as a miner at the Blackball Previously Known As The Hilton Hotel, but the guy who owns and operated the car relocation service and his adventure employees earing a decent crust.
Anyway, the Paparoa was fantastic, lookimg forward to the Pike.
Yeah I'm pretty sure a lot of the commenters are office bound and have limited experience with the wilderness. Also the track is built for everyone which it's why it is how it is, and not a DH track. I'm not worried, as I said in another comment, if we'd built a new cancer ward on the children's hospital they'd be criticising the new car park.
Hope you get the chance to get over here and ride it some day
Judging on your comments in the vid it is definitely a two way track? (I called DOC in Greymouth a few weeks ago but they didn't know).
How to get to the top?
Realy, realy nice trail! I love to ride trails these length nonstop. At Kronplatz/Southtyrol there are two of them, with a drop of 1.250m (Herrensteig) and 1.100m (Gassl-Trail). Due to it´s worldcup-skiing infrastructure, there are fast lifts up to the top.
You actually run into the lift station when you are at the bottom and until you´ve stoped pumping, you can do it all over again... if you can :-)))
I’ll watch the first one tomorrow. So it was built as a memorial to the miners?
Often we are! Remember that the RTP grants cover a wide range of trails and associated projects (signage, etc) and can be extraordinarily competitive. They scrutinize grants pretty aggressively so the average joe can’t just pocket 100k to build a jump line in their back yard.
I’m with you though. The more mtb trails the better!
I also wonder how much of that $12million went towards helicopter service and fuel for the motorbikes and excavation equipment. Seem's like an awfully steep price tag for what was delivered.
Have a look at this video to see how it was built and then you'll see where the money went www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlfNcpRq-Io
If you want to ride that sort of thing you're welcome to ride reefton just over the valley, or the wairoa gorge, craigieburn ect.
As a matter of fact the head honchos had to tone down Milty and I a bit right in the beginning. We're mountain bikers and MTB track builders, if it were up to me I'd have Queenstown's Dream Line jump track sailing around the mountain.
However it is not practical for a such a big trail project to be aimed at so few riders. This track is about everybody being able to access the back country on a bike and take in the pristine wilderness.
Since Milty and I are MTB track builders dedicated this track to MTB. That's why all the bends are cambered and you can pump through everything.
The Paparoa Track, The Old Ghost Road and other tracks are just waking tracks that you're permitted to take a bike on.
The Pike 29 Track is different!
I see geotechnical nightmare with rock toes cut everywhere and fill that is the walk track over void, in a high rainfall region.
Why did it have to flow and go downhill so much exclusively? Surely would have been safer to run the ridge crest and not cut a line horizontal across the gradient leading to the the ongoing geotech issues.
Will it last a season or three?
It goes through some of the nicest old growth podocarp forest in our fine country and riding the whole track from start to finish (65'ish km) will blow most peoples minds.
And maybe it's not your cup of tea but us folk down here can't wait to ride it. (esp while the borders are closed might I add)
This trail can also be linked up with the Old Ghost Road and the Heaphy track, all of which are hand built but all very different even though they're close together and all equally as amazing as each other and as good as any 3 days of riding you'll do anywhere assuming you're prepared to pedal all day.
So nope, not the shore but to compare the two is apples and oranges.
Invitation not extended to @pablo-b. I only ride with nice Germans