I spent 3 days down south in Queenstown riding the gondola. All i have to say is.. I LOVE IT DOWN IN QUEENIE! The riding is epic.. gnarly, steep, rocky, rooty downhill with an uplift. What more can you ask for. I arrived on Wednesday at 3:00, met up with my mate, built our bikes up and then headed straight up the gondola. In 3 hours we managed to get in 7 runs and finished with an epic last run down my favorite track!
Amped after the ride we hit up the Atlas where we met some locals, drank too many beers and had the night disappear on us. Next morning was welcomed with a headache and hangover.. luckily it was raining so there was no riding to be had.
Friday was an intense day. The gondola starts running at 10am and we were first in line. It was going to be a gruelling day of runs.. The plan was to get in as many runs as possible.. we hit a couple secret tracks that you have to push too. These trails are not maintained like many of the other tracks in the park, making it more intense/fun to ride. To me that is what riding is all about.. goat like trails that are untouched wtih an element of sketchiness. At one point we were actually chasing a wild goat down the trail. If you come off on a trail like this.. it’s going to hurt and help wont be coming to get you anytime soon. We hit this track a couple times in the morning and then it was lunch break. We had a good feed and then got back on the bike. By late avo my body was feeling the laps. We hit up a double black diamond track and it was here i had my only crash of the trip.. steep and fast i was hard on the breaks and they werent working. Heading for trees i layed it down in hopes to not break my body.. luckily i came out unscathed, but from that run i knew that was the last double black of the day. I ended up banging my derailieur pretty good, which bent it. I could still ride, but shifting was an issue. I rode some easier of the tracks and finished the day in one piece… winning!
That night was filled with a couple beers and early to bed. We rode of 9 hours and managed to do 21 laps. I was pretty happy with that, even with a crash!
I flew out the next day, with hopes of soon returning.
A couple weeks back I took a mate out to Woodhill to hit some jumps. He hasn’t had a lot of experience jumping, so I took him to a fairly easy jump line. You pretty much just point the bike in the right direction and you are good to go! It’s wide open, so even if you do bail there shouldn’t be dyer consequences. We hit this line for about an hour. At the start he was pretty timid and maybe a bit overly cautions but as time passed he got off the breaks and was really doing well. You could see his confidence growing.
Confidence is a funny thing. 1) You have to be confident when hitting jumps. If you think you are going to crash or you cant do it; walk away. 2) There is confidence and then over-confidence. It’s very important to know the difference.
We finished riding that jump line and decided it was time to head back to the car park. One of the trails we took on the way back has a drop and good little gap jump, well first time down my mate just went around it. While talking about it at the end of the trail and eye balling it, he thought he could manage it. I had my doubts, but didn’t say anything. I don’t want to be that guy, saying ‘you cant do it’, ‘ I don’t think you are ready for this’ so I kept my mouth shut. Well I should have said something. He hit the drop and it was all slow motion from there. When he hit the jump he turned his wheel in the air and landed a bit sideways sending him out of control. Boom… face/chin right into a tree.
He lay there, gasping for air and groaning. Ah fuck! We told him to lay still and just relax the best he could. He mentioned his neck was sore which is a pretty big issue. I didn’t want to move him in-case of serious injury, so we rang the ambo to come out and get him. He was totally concussed; didn’t know where he was, where he lived, how he go there..memory gone. The ambo showed up in 45 mins. In the end there was no major problems other than a concussion…thankfully.
A crash like that definietely takes care of that over confidence, but unfortunately destorys the confidence too. I dont think he will be coming out to play anytime soon.
While I was over in Waiheke I managed to get out to some of the there local bike trails and I must say they didn’t disappoint! Weather was pretty average, so the trails were sticky getting to the point of muddy by the end of the ride. They are located Onetangi Sports Club and the trails are marked very well so you cant miss them.
I would classify all of the trails at Ranghoua Hill single track/cross-country. There are some enjoyable downs and switch backs, but no big jumps, drops or gaps. It is all pretty flowy stuff.
The first trail I rode was Ragihoua Loop track. This trail will take you to other trailheads or you can ride it as a loop. It is a short climb up and then it winds it way through native bush with a lot of fun turns to keep you on your toes. It isn’t overly long, but fun to loop out over and over. It also links to Zoom-Zoom and Nice & Easy. These tracks start at the top of the hill, which gives you a great view of some wineries and Waiheke.
I then hit up Zoom-Zoom, as I thought the name was promising and it didn’t disappoint. It was pretty much all down and a lot of fun to ride. There isn’t a lot of peddling involved, its pretty much winds you down the hill and has some nice off-camber spots. You can get some good speed going and if you are creative pop off of some of nature’s booters to make it even more enjoyable!
I pushed back up zoom-zoom so I could ride it again! I really didn’t want to ride all the way back around the family loop and up Rangihoua loop to get to the trail head. It took about 15 mins and I then decided I would only ride it a couple more times as I really wasn’t enjoying the pushes… since it was all down the push was all up. Argh! I may have been a bit out of shape since all I was doing the couple days prior was drinking and eating. Heheh.
After hussing Zoom-Zoom a couple of times I hit up Nice & Easy. The name is deceiving. I was thinking it would be a nana track, but I was wrong. This was a great trail too! It is a tight winding track that takes you through thick native bush. With the majority of the trail being covered by bush it was the wettest/muddiest of the trails after all of the rain we had. I really enjoyed this trail as it was just switch back after switch back. This track comes out to the mid point of the Rangihoua Loop, so you can either keep looping it, hit up Zoom-Zoom or jump on to the Rangihoura Loop and head back to the car park. I looped it a couple of times as well.
There were a couple linking tracks too. The Prairies takes you through a field and on too Chicken Run, which links you back to the start of the track. Both of the tracks are just linking trails and not much to go on about here.
Overall it is a fun place to ride your bike. I rode each track a couple times and then headed back to the batch muddy and happy! Kudos to the Waiheke Mountain Bike Club for creating and maintaining such great little trail network. I cant wait to come back and ride again!
My prayers were answered and I awoke to blue skies and sunshine on Wednesday. The lifts weren’t opening until 1pm, so I lazed around as long as I could at the hostel and then went back to the library to jump on a computer and read.
At about noon I headed back to the hostel, changed into my riding gear, built up the bike and then it was off to the skyline for an afternoon of riding. Being that it was mid-week there wasn’t too many people out riding so no waiting to get on the skyline! Last time I was down I managed 12 runs in a half day so that is what I was shooting for.
My mate wasn’t arriving until the evening so I rode solo just getting used to the speed of riding downhill again. Around Auckland it is mostly single track so it does take a few runs to get used to flying down a hill with trees, roots, rocks and drops all over the place. I warmed up on Hammy’s track, which is the easiest, but one of the most fun trails. It is pretty wide trail, but it littered with HUGE berms, lips, tabletops and jumps to pop off of. Also hit up Vertigo, Armageddon, Original, Shit Sandwich and Thingymajig. I managed to get in 11 runs in about 4.5 hours. Not bad, just one short of my goal of the day.
At 6pm the skyline stops taking mountain bikers up as it gets pretty dark in the forest, so my day was done. Complete success, no crashes just heaps if fun. My mate arrived just at 6pm and met me at the bottom of the hill as I was coming off the trail. He was all geared out and ready to get up the hill, but he missed the last run of the day.
Hungry from riding we hit up Fergburger for a feed and then we head out to our accommodation to set-up our tents. We are staying on a mate’s front lawn about 20 mins outside of Queenstown. The location is stunning – over looking the lake surrounded by the mountains! One of my favourite things about this place is the outdoor shower. Nothing beats a steaming hot shower while gazing up at the stars.
Since my mate didn’t get any laps in he was itching to ride so we quickly tossed up our tents and headed out to 7 mile to get some runs in. We were told of a short cut to the trail head, but in typical fashion we ended up in the middle bush just making our own track through the bush. We ended up going to high in elevation and had to ride our way down which was an adventure in itself. We soon found our desired track; Kochong, which is one of the best tracks at 7 mile as it is super flowy with jumps. We were able to get in 3 laps as the sun fell. Once back at home we drank some well deserved beer. I was beat and was wondering how my body was going to feel the next day. I had a full day of downhill a head of me… fawk yah!
What an epic day – 11 laps at the bike park, 3 laps at 7-mile. Sweet!
This weekend I was out ripping around at Woodhill Bike Park have a pretty goodtime. Usually when I see someone on the trail Ill bust my ass to catch up and pass them, just a bit competitive I guess and it keeps ya pushing yourself.
Well this weekend some dude passed me and I thought, not today buddy. So I get off the saddle and catch him staying on his back wheel. He’s fast and a good rider. We have a bit a chat as I follow, just the usual; where ya from, what are you doing in NZ, have you been to Canada ect. He is a pretty chill dude, but a hell of rider. So I ride out to the trailhead on his tail and he just breaks into another track, no break/water just riding. So I follow suit and ask him if he minds me riding with him. He’s keen and we are off.
As we ride he tells me that he is an ex-pro tri athlete and that he is training for a couple races. That explains the speed and super fitness – this isn’t a ride in the forest it’s a race against time. Buddy would sprint for 4 minutes and then ride for 4 minutes and then back to sprinting – yikes! I ride with him for an hour and we hit a tonne of tracks. We end up at the back of the park and I am done. I need a water break and I know buddy is not stopping, so we part ways.
It was a great ride and really pushed me. I hope to catch up to this guy on the trails again so I can try and keep-up. That is what it is all about, meeting someone who is better and just trying to hang. It only makes you better I guess, though it did make me feel like I was going to puke ehehe.
Here is a short video from my gopro helmet cam from Grundy’s Track in Queenstown, New Zealand. This track is basically a link between a couple other trails. Fun track.. enjoy!
Woke up way to early – 5:30am. Not sure why as the hostel was quiet, but for some reason I was up. I watched The Big Lebowski and managed to doze back off to sleep around 7ish. I woke up at 8:30 and packed my bags. I then dropped it in the storage room and headed off to find a coffee.
At 10am I was first mountain biker on the gondola and up the hill! I knew that I wouldn’t get the full morning session in as I had to break down my bike and get to the airport by mid afternoon, but I was hoping to get in at least 10 runs.
I started the day by riding Hammy’s track twice… what a fun trail! It is so wide open that you really don’t have to worry about crashing. It is not technical, just fun! I did see one mountain biker run into a tree, wrecking the front wheel and dislocating his shoulder. Shitty for him it was only his 2nd run down and he came up from Christchurch for the weekend. If you didn’t know – Moon Man, Ken Ring predicted that another earthquake would hitting Christchurch around the 20th of May, so a lot of locals left Christchurch trying to avoid another major shake. There was never another quake, but I did meet quiet a few mountain bikers from Christchurch in Queenstown. To me he was just being a fear monger!
I did a circuit of tracks like earlier in the week. Vertigo, Hammy’s, Ants, Thingymajig, The Oringinal, Shit Sandwhich.. I was taking advantage of all the amazing downhill tracks before I had to pack up.
The end of my riding came too soon. By 2pm I had managed to get my 10 runs in and it was time to head back to Nomads and grab my backpack. I then headed to Fergberger for one last amazing feast! I love that place! I took my burger to the park across from the bus pick up ate it and then broke down my bike, changed out of my riding gear and repacked by backpack.
I was at the airport only a ½ hour before my flight, not a good idea when flying with a bike. In the end I made it on my flight and I was off back to Auckland after 5 days of glorious downhilling!
Even if you do not downhill mountain bike you should give it a go in Queenstown. It will cost you roughly $100 for a full suspension downhill rig, full protection gear and your lift ticket for half a day. Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand, so while you are there bungee jumping, sky diving, canyon swinging you may as well huss down a hill on a bike! You never know you may just love it!
The weekend I ended up heading out to the Whitford Forest Bike Park. It was the first time Ive been out there so I really didn’t know what to expect. The forest is about ½ hour outside of Auckland, so much closer then heading to Rotorua! You need to pick up a trail pass for $5 at the Howick information center. The tracks are about 6 km outside of Whitford and can be found once you hop the gate and ride down the dirt road. There is a trail map, which could be replaced, as it was pretty faded and hard to read. I couldn’t find a map online, so I just took a look at the map and then headed off into the forest. The tracks were pretty decent. Lots of single track, plenty of roots and off camber sections. There are also some tight and technical sections. They also have a couple downhill tracks and stuff with jumps, drops and north shore structures. I can’t remember the names of the tracks I rode, but they were enjoyable. I was able to ride for 3 hours and didn’t many different tracks. The trails do need some love and attention. Some of the jumps and structures have seen better days. It is a pine tree forest so the tracks are littered with pine needles – pretty easy to wander off the trail. They could also put up some new trail signs, as the ones they have out there are really faded and almost impossible to read. I ended up getting lost, getting found and getting lost once again. The forest isn’t so big that you can’t find your way out. Overall it’s a fun place to ride and I would give it a 7 out of 10. Definitely one of the better spots in the Auckland area.
My first week back to work was a grind. Anytime you return back from a couple weeks off its painful settling back into you’re your old routine. Though I really cant complain too much because I really do enjoy my job! One of the first things I did once back in Auckland was of course get my baby ie my bike into the shop to fix the lower linkage. The shop was going to try and get a hold of giant for me to see what they were going to do. I told them I had wanted to ride that weekend and were able to switch out the linkage with one off of there shop flow allowing me to ride. Once they heard back from Giant with the redesigned linkage they would swap that out. Sweet deal.
That weekend I had planned to head to Rotorua for a full day of riding on Saturday, but a Friday night on the piss cancelled those plans. This is the first time since I have been in NZ that I wasn’t able to ride because of a big night out. After a painful Saturday it was off to rock’n roll in rotorua on Sunday. Up early and keen I was on the shuttle by 930 heading up for my first run. First run down, sweet, felt good, bike was working – nice! Second run down – hitting a couple jumps, railing some berms – Sweet! Third run down, got my flow on, hit this section of three jumps in a row; first one smooth, second one real nice, third one – ah fuck! I believe I carried a bit too much speed and landed long on the transition bucking me from my bike and landing full impact on to my shoulder. It hurt. I jumped up moved my arm around in all direction – that’s my medical check. It seemed to be fine. Nothing was dislocated and I was guessing it would be good bruise. I jumped back on the bike and continued down the track. By the bottom of the track I knew my day of riding was over. I really couldn’t raise my arm above my shoulder and it was already swollen.
Once back at the car I knew this wasn’t just a simple bruise. I managed to load the bike into the back with one arm, take off my gear and then it was time to hit the road for the long 2 hour ride home. It really didn’t hurt that bad as long as you didn’t move it. When I finally arrived home I didn’t bother collecting my gear, I just left it in the car and cycled home. I had called Michelle to make sure there was ice in the freezer and that was the rest of my day. Sitting on the couch with ice on my shoulder. I was a bit pissed off, not just because of the injury, but that I only got 2.5 runs in before I hurt myself. 2 hours is a long way to drive for 2.5 runs..argh!
I decided I would hit up the doctor the next morning because there was a noise when I moved my arm a ceratin way, kind of like a clicking. So I was back at the same doctors office when I tore my mcl.. ah fun memories! When I got to see the doctor, she didn’t think it was broken but wanted to get some x-rays to be sure. $30 later it was confirmed – no breaks, no fractures. SWEET! It ends up I tore part of my supraspinatus. Off to physio I go. It looks like it will be another 6-8 weeks before it is all healed up.
