Saturday, January 28, 2012

National Super D

Pictures now up on my website. One day I'll ride one of these....... Posted by Dave Chadwick on 28/ 1 / 12; 7:10:31 AM   Discuss

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Dun Mountain Trail Fully Open Again

Nelmac has done a great job in clearing the rest of the slips on the lower section on the Dun Mountain Trail so its now fully open for business again. Riders are advised to take extra care when using the new sections of trail around where slip damage has occurred and to also be aware that the Maitai Valley road is closed from above Smiths Ford due to pipeline works on the road, however this does not affect the trail as it exits onto the Maitai Valley road below this point. (From NCC) Posted by Chris Mildon on 26/ 1 / 12; 6:33:44 AM   Discuss

Monday, January 23, 2012

Waingaro Forks epic day trip

Waingaro Forks on the Kill Devil track had our To-Do list for some time, but the thought of carrying overnight gear up the Kill Devil was a bit off-putting. So when Rob Kay suggested we do it in and out in one day we said "You're on." Saturday the weather looked great so we were up at sparrow's fart and riding soon after 7.30am to miss the heat going up the hill. Knowing we had a long day ahead Liz and I took it easy going up the zig-zags walking a lot of bits we'd normally ride whilst Rob and Hamish preferred riding. An hour and 45 minutes saw us at the top of the main climb after re-joining Hamish's chain for the first time. Too much power these young guys. He'd snapped another chain a few days before at Kaiteriteri and broke his chain a second time later on this ride; three times in a week, can anyone beat that? After the second disconnection Hamish decided to adopt a lower geared technique, which paid off. Read more and see the photos here. Posted by Alan Eskrick on 23/ 1 / 12; 8:29:31 PM   Discuss

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Rameka Track Update

This update from the GB MTB Club. Rameka Track: open & unaffected by December rains Pack Track: open & unaffected by December rains Project Rameka - Great Expectations: top half (original section) open & unaffected by December rains, bottom half (new) CLOSED Two Click: open, rebuilt One Click, open rebuilt, a bit shorter Really we have lost the lower, new section of the project, which will be up and running soon. Posted by Alan Eskrick on 18/ 1 / 12; 8:46:01 AM   Discuss

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

National Championships Information Jan 27-29th

The MTBNZ website has now been updated with a Technical Guide for the Champs next weekend, and the full document can be downloaded here. This guide contains the course maps among other official looking information, and shows especially the cross country course which will be used next weekend (in map form and verbally described). Any worries finding your way around the trails please give Chris a call on 021 2309120 and he'll sort you out. Posted by Chris Mildon on 17/ 1 / 12; 10:10:30 PM   Discuss (1 response)

Marshalls urgently required for Nationals

Thanks to those who have replied regarding helping out at the NZ National Champs. However we still need more hands. If you are able to help out in some capacity please reply as per below. We are on the look out once again for Marshalls for the following NZ National Championship races in Nelson. The more volunteers we have, the less you have to do as we will be able to rotate. Downhill: Friday, Saturday & Sunday - 27th, 28th & 29th January Cross Country: Saturday & Sunday - 28th & 29th January Lunch & drinks provided plus a thank-you function Guaranteed entertainment & action Please contact Julie Bennett: Email: juliea_bennett@hotmail.com or 548 4567 wk, 548 9989 hm or 027 2222 095 cell Thanks Julie Bennett Posted by Alan Eskrick on 17/ 1 / 12; 11:52:29 AM   Discuss

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Riding Mt Patriarch

Club members may wish to try a non technical ride up to Mount Patriarch in the Blenheim area.   Four of us headed over on 28th December. Dave Lewis/ Stu Mckenzie /Tim and Olivia Miller Easy to find where to go by googling  "Lake Chalice".  Just Turn right prior to Wairau River on to the North Bank Road" which  heads you in the right directio. After about 15-20 minutes turn right at the Lake Chalice sign. The ride can either start at the very bottom of the hill as we did or drive up the majority of the altitude to Lake Chalice. It is possible to continue into Mount Patriarch in a 4 wheel drive. If you start at the very bottom of the hill as we did it's 26kms to the end of the 4 wheel drive track at an elevation of around 1500metres. It is possible to climb up the rocks further to 1696metres, though we left that for others. Approx 11km in from the bottom there is a car park and a sign saying "lookout". Bike the 200mtrs to the look out where there is a picnic table and fantastic views down the Wairau valley. We carried on past Lake Chalice, approx 200mtr above it looking down into it.  The views changed as the road crossed from one side of a ridgeline to the other, looking West to the Nelson and Mount Richmond range, South to the Mt Tapuaenuku area and both up and down the Wairau Valley. The track/road does get rocky in parts with slips that have crossed the road but its pretty easy going. Recommmend the ride in and the massive downhill return ride.     Stu, Olivia and Dave at the highest point we reached. Submitted by Tim Miller Posted by Alan Eskrick on 10/ 1 / 12; 6:59:01 PM   Discuss

Riding the Ghost Road

After Dave Mitchell's article in the NZ Mountainbiker magazine we were keen to check out the burgeoning Ghost Road. The last time of riding was in the solid frost of mid winter 18 months ago so the brain said wear warm poly. As it turned out the day was balmy and as we climbed the hill away from the Lyell sandflies, it was soon time to cut down to a riding shirt only. Previously we reached the 8-Mile Creek and then bush-bashed. This time it was a cruise and the grade continued steadily to our lunch stop at the bluffs. We viewed our destination, the three bumps of Lyell saddle in the distance and contemplated the verticalness of the country through which the track builders had pushed the next section. It was time to try it and, with eyes firmly glued to the track to avoid the view of the vertiginous drop, we rode across. From there the grade was easier and our only upset was a cut side-wall in Bryce's tire. The track became flat and swoopy near the saddle and suddenly there were signs indicating "Blasting, No Access". At that point a small track branched off and we soon found the hut. It was perched on the saddle with a fantastic view of the wild country beyond. After drinking our fill we blasted back down the hill, 3 hrs up and only an hour down again! Team members were Byce Buckland, Mike Merrick, Hamish and Rob Kay. One of the many creeks along the trail The new hut on Lyell Saddle More photos from our trip here and the previous winter trip here. Submitted by Rob Kay Posted by Alan Eskrick on 10/ 1 / 12; 2:41:18 PM   Discuss

NZ MTB Cup Queenstown - Nelson Riders On Fire!

Nelson club members were well amongst the podiums in several age group categories yesterday at the Queenstown Downhill round of the NZ MTB Cup. And with Kelly McGarry really a Nelson boy, the masters one podium was a real Nelson whitewash! Check the press release and results here. Posted by Chris Mildon on 10/ 1 / 12; 11:06:20 AM   Discuss

Old Ghost Road/Mokihinui Work Party 21-22 Jan

Here is your opportunity to help stake MTB's claim to the Mokihinui Gorge in its pristine state for mountain biking. The date for a work party to reopen the historic mining trail up the gorge is the 21-22nd January. Concept: get in there on Saturday 21st and move rocks, prune trees, etc, so that people can ride the Mokihinui Track as far as possible. Have a big feast on Saturday night at the local campground. Ride/walk the track on Sunday, or do more track work, and/or paddle part of the Mokihinui River. After opening up the old track it will be a fantastic ride, and will become part of the 80 km Old Ghost Road - a ride to rival the Heaphy Track. If you have any querries or ideas, please reply to Jonathon Kennett, phone/fax 04 499 6376 www.kennett.co.nz If you would like to travel down, Murray Drake will be coordinating some Nelson transport, flick him an email (hellomurray@gmail.com) if you'd like to join that tavel group. Posted by Chris Mildon on 10/ 1 / 12; 11:02:31 AM   Discuss

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Volunteer Thanks from the Committee

This years NMTBC Committee sends a massive Thank You to the very many volunteers who have pitched in in some way to help progress the club's activities. From that big group of trail builders on the many diverse trail projects running under the club's banner through to event marshalls, timekeepers, drivers and heaps of other roles that you all fill to keep things humming - it is greatly appreciated. And getting noticed as well! We've reached something of a tipping point this year, where Nelson has finally got the bones of a trail network in place to be proud of, and which is attracting visitors in droves to come and play. Its a valuable resource we have, and people are catching on to what we've all known for a long time - its a wonderful place to ride a MTB! And thanks to all of our 520 2011 club members for your support this year. We look forward to more of the same in 2012. Posted by Chris Mildon on 31/ 12 / 11; 8:46:11 AM   Discuss

National MTB Champs (Nelson), NZ MTB Cup etc

MTBNZ, our parent national bodies summer event package is about to roll out with the first NZ MTB Cup event kicking off in Queenstown next weekend. Nelson is hosting the National Mountainbike Champs 27-29th January, and its going to be a big weekend for the club and the region when the racing circus comes to town. Check the MTBNZ website for more info, entry detail etc.  We'd encourage riders to have a race at the National Champs, on your home courses and with all normal age groups catered for. Its not often you get to rub shoulders with international MTB stars, or measure yourself against NZ's best! This is the ideal opportunity to mix things up and have some fun on really good race courses. Posted by Chris Mildon on 31/ 12 / 11; 8:33:27 AM   Discuss

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Trail Status Update December 22nd-31st

Wow, what an awesome day and week it's been. After the miserable state of the hills Friday last week, the progress made this week coupled with the amazing response of trail diggers for the four days we've been plugging away has been inspirational. I'd never have thought we would have got to where we are today in a week, so here's a good wee Christmas present for trail riding in Nelson this summer. Codgers MTB Park All trails open and riding. Today we dealt to and enhanced Gulley, and sorted out P51. There's a temporary fix at the worst spot on P51 which won't make climbing that spot too easy, but it'll be fun coming down! So every MTB trail in Codgers is open with only the slips still sitting on forestry roads, but they are hardening up and aren't really too much of a problem. The only route to be aware of is Jacks Track - there are two slips on this that won't be sorted for a while, with the main one above lower Firball the big issue. This track is officially closed.  Involution Latest (Dec 30th): Involution damage cleaned out on Wednesday and some other degradation from shortcutting walkers fixed as well. Nelmac couldn't quite get there last week and with the potential for a major at the two rootballs these needed to be fixed. The short section below the 4WD access road hasn't been fixed yet (creek crossings badly cut up) - this can wait until the weather clears. Plenty of MTBers using Barnicoat Road - NCC advises it is still officially closed and to use at own risk.  Dun Mountain Trail Good to go. Preferred access to the rail route is via the Classic until the slips are cleared off the section between Tantragee Saddle and Four Corners - this part of the DMT is officially closed. Smiths Ford extension all sweet. Maitai Valley Track Generally all good, except for the section between Hanby Park and Maitai Valley Road past Black Hole, which is closed. Hira Forest, Sharlands Creek Minimal damage to the trail system, and crews working again tonight cutting grass growth and some minor tweaking. Lost one bridge on Waterloo, so be aware of that one if you are riding the Valley Trail. Supplejack, Matai and Rimu in the Sharlands Bush Covenant are fine. Normal access conditions apply, after 6pm weeknights and daylight hours in the weekends. Fringed Hill FDH all good, Black Diamond is fine, Sunshine Ridge and Peaking are just great and 629 is still intact and an awesome challenge with the new trail coming along fast. Centre of NZ Front side closed (no bikes on this anyway) and Sir Stanley Whitehead traverse is open through to Davies Drive, however the section down through the gums at Walters Bluff is closed. Kaiteriteri MTB Park All fine, and more than ready for the summer madness that is Kaiteriteri over Christmas and New Year! Rameka Sufferred some major damage in the valley Takaka side and apparently is back open now, although Great Expectations down through the Rameka Project is still closed. The (few) Bad News Stories Grampians closed until further notice Easby Park, and other access points in to the Kingsland Forest trails all closed. There is some serious damage and instability up there and the TDC request that MTBers and other recreational users don't go in. Huge thanks to the many people who gave up their time this week to shift slips and repair damage. It's been hugely appreciated, so now it's time to put down the grubbers and get on the bike and enjoy some Nelson summer riding. Posted by Chris Mildon on 22/ 12 / 11; 6:24:28 PM   Discuss

Sprung Super D Final Results/Photographs

Great night to wrap everything up, and an awesome track combination to push a Super D on. After all the damage and the work done to get these trails riding again it was a fantastic way to see the year off. Last nights results are here and the overall points table here. Dave Chadwick was snapping again up there last night, and has been a great supporter of this series! Being Christmas, you'll notice that theres no watermark and the photos are at a higher resolution than normal so Dave encourages you all to get right click happy. He'd appreciate a Like on his Facebook page that you can find from following the link http://www.davidchadwick.co.nz/news page. Full resolution photos and prints are also available, just get in touch with Dave. Many thanks and Merry Christmas Massive thanks to everybody who helped make this series happen: NCC and Hancocks for letting us play on their land, Julie and Anne for timing, Nick for supplying a feed each night (which went down really well) and Derek for all his support, track marking etc. We'll be doing this again in 2012 I'm sure. Posted by Dave Chadwick on 22/ 12 / 11; 7:01:13 AM   Discuss

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Trail Status Update December 17th

A few more things to add to the list: Easby Park Trails behind Richmond All off limits. Major slips on these faces of the hills right from Lodestone around to Easby, with houses beneath these areas in real danger. Easby Park and all access points up into Kingsland Forest are closed until further notice. Involution Assessed today and in really good shape, although requires a bit of work to remedy a couple of root balls and both creek crossings up on the hill. Access remains closed however till we get these issues sorted, and clearance given by the NCC. But for a bit of good news, Fringed Hill Rd is OK through to the transmitter station - Jamie Nicoll went through Peaking this morning, which is rideable and all OK.  I'll have a work plan on the website tomorrow designed to get some of our trails back in service as quickly as possible, so all of you secondary school mountainbikers looking to generate some good trail karma, stand by for a Monday morning start. Posted by Chris Mildon on 17/ 12 / 11; 8:19:19 PM   Discuss (3 responses)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Super D Postponed (Again)

This might seem a little obvious but tonights Super D (originally posponed from Wed 7th Dec) has been put off again. Great weather if you are a duck, a puddle or a flood but not for riding.... We will be squeezing this third round of Sprung into this Sunday Dec 18th with a 3pm start time at the top of the P51 hill, and won't provide dinner. Entry will be half price to suit. Posted by Chris Mildon on 14/ 12 / 11; 2:11:41 PM   Discuss

Monday, December 12, 2011

Hanmer Hammerhead and Fowler Pass

Several club members took part in the Hammerhead event in Hanmer on Saturday acquiring a good collection of wine for their efforts. Alan and Liz Eskrick won their Vet 4 Expert grades, Jacqui Keay was first Expert Vet 2 woman, although she carried on to do an additional lap after some prodding by Darrel. (Hey Darrel what did you do?), and Tim Bygate was first Vet 2 man in the Sports category. Some new single track has been added to the course, so that there is only a minimal amount of gravel road. This event is well worth attending if you like a flowing singletrack course. On Sunday, Rob Kay, Alan and Liz Eskrick headed up the Rainbow Road to ride the old pack track over Fowler Pass along with 3 other Christchurch riders. Rob and the ChCh crew carried on past Lake Guyon, up the St James cycleway and over Maling Pass to Lake Tennyson. Alan and Liz headed back from Stanleyvale over Fowler Pass and drove up to meet the others. Time in to Stanleyvale was 2 hours and 1h 50mins back to the road. The Maling Pass crew took 3 hours from Stanleyvale to Lake Tennyson. See photos here. Posted by Alan Eskrick on 12/ 12 / 11; 10:03:25 PM   Discuss (1 response)

Wet tracks

When it's wet and the tracks are all soft and easily damaged how about we all show some restraint and keep off for a few days until they dry. This will then show some good Karma to the track and courtesy to the trail team that built them in the 1st place. There's heaps of places to press the steel without trashing tracks that we need to have for many years and riding in the wet tears them to shreds. Posted by Bryce Buckland on 12/ 12 / 11; 9:06:10 PM   Discuss

R & R is open again.

Hi everyone, due to the fantastic efforts of our Community Services crew we now have a temporary entrance to make R & R rideable for summer. The new section of trail comes in off Sharlands Road by the small lake/ fire pond about 7.5kms up Sharlands Road. We have placed some trail marker signs at the turn off and along the way leading you down to the new trail. They are the normal white trail signs with big red R & R stickers on them. Please be aware that the new section of trail is fairly rough and ready, so take care as it is very loose and narrow. It is after all only temporary. It joins up with the old trail at the bush line at the point known as Newport's Nightmare, the rest of the trail is in very good condition and riding well. A huge thanks to Dave and his crew for getting this completed before Christmas. Cheers, Juddy Posted by Dave Judson on 12/ 12 / 11; 4:29:06 PM   Discuss (1 response)

Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Inside Info on the Mammoth

Check out the de-brief, photos and maps of the Mammoth here. Photos from the event can be viewed and purchased from Shuttersport. See message on the Forum page if you left your gear at the Start/Finish. Posted by Alan Eskrick on 1/ 12 / 11; 8:15:30 PM   Discuss (1 response)

Leisure Value of Forests

A new forestry study has highlighted the importance of New Zealand's plantation forests for recreational purposes. Read more here. h/t Mick Zeewoldt for this link. Posted by Alan Eskrick on 1/ 12 / 11; 8:11:36 PM   Discuss

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Mammoth Results

Congratulations to everyone who completed the Mammoth today and thank you Andrew for the weeks of work you put into organising such an interesting course. Results can be found here. If your time appears to be incorrect please email me. Posted by Alan Eskrick on 27/ 11 / 11; 6:38:36 PM   Discuss

Friday, November 25, 2011

Dun Mountain Trail - Smiths Ford Section now Open

The NCC, Nelmac and various compliance people have been frantically installing and signing off the new structures that have been put in on the Smiths Ford extension of the Dun Mountain Trail this week. And we've just had the news that the Code Compliance certificate has been issued meaning this section of the trail is open for use. Fulton Hogan are installing a gate at Fiddlers Elbow to block off the road to the dam to traffic with the new pipeline installation starting next week, so there is now no need to worry about how you're going to get out from a Dun Mountain Trail ride. The footbridge up by the dam will also be blocked off for all use from this Monday Nov 28th.  If you bump into NCC's Bob Szrot, Nelmac's Dave Newton and Theo Budel, and Framegroups Rollin Kennedy give them a big thank you, as they have really pulled out all the stops to get this done before the weekend. The Mammoth may or may not be using this piece of trail as per the mystery nature of the course, of course....... Posted by Chris Mildon on 25/ 11 / 11; 3:16:44 PM   Discuss

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Interested in a MTB Based Pest Control Programme?

Bryce Buckland has many bows for his arrows. His long bow represents a real passion for dealing to small, furry animal pests in various places to protect and bring back native bird life. He's been heavily involved from the start with the St. Arnaud programme which recently celebrated 10 years of pest control, and Bryce also started and manages the Grampians programme. He's now looking at starting a pest control line down the Sharlands Valley utilising our great MTB trail system as the access corridor. The NMTBC are fully supportive of this, and we built into our management agreement with DOC on the Sharlands Bush Covenant (SBC) a strong desire to implement a pest control programme like this. DOC are right on board and helping in these early stages, and we are in the process of firming up access conditions with AFM and Hancocks for the rest of the valley land for this purpose. There's some great birdlife in this area, especially in the SBC, but like many other places there's a lot of intuitive sign that these populations are struggling under the pressure of possum, rats, stoats and often feral cats (not to mention pigs and goats, but they are another story). If you're interested in being a part of this - combining riding time with some pest monitoring and control, please get in touch with Bryce (0274860298) or leave a message here to express your interest. Posted by Chris Mildon on 23/ 11 / 11; 8:38:56 AM   Discuss

Sunday, November 20, 2011

XC3 Results

Click here to view the results and photos. XC Series Overall Points Table Posted by Alan Eskrick on 20/ 11 / 11; 4:53:50 PM   Discuss

Friday, November 18, 2011

Chings Highway is open again

Hi everyone, thanks to the outstanding efforts of the Community Services crew, and their supervisor Dave, Chings, and the lower extension, is now open and rideable. There is still some long grass to deal to in the bottom section of the trail, this has been helped along by the warm damp spring we are currently enjoying. It would be greatly appreciated if there were some volunteers who could go in and do some weed whacking on our behalf to bring the long grass under control. Get up there and enjoy the ride. Cheers, Juddy Posted by Dave Judson on 18/ 11 / 11; 1:23:06 PM   Discuss

Thursday, November 17, 2011

If you are thinking about the Mammoth

Here Is Some Important Information Distance/ Endurance As you should be aware there are 2 courses,  a short Enduro and a long Epic.  The Enduro is approx 38 clicks and the long Epic approx 50. The first poster incorrectly stated 26k for the short Enduro. However at 26k you will find a Marshall. At that Marshall all riders no matter which option has been entered  will be given the choice of joining the short Enduro race or conversely changing  from the short Enduro to the long Epic if you are feeling sprightly. Read More. Posted by Alan Eskrick on 17/ 11 / 11; 1:58:24 PM   Discuss

Sprung Super D Round 2 Results

Cool evening of fun Super D racing. On what was a difficult course to race on (fun to ride but hard to race) some pretty amazing times were put down by 61 eager trail riding fiends. Experienced heads ruled the top of the results sheet tonight, Derek Winwood getting that fastest time winning feeling with Ricky Pincott breathing right down his neck. The Glover brothers showed how to ride at furious pace with their seats at normal XC racing height (they are tall guys, seats way high!), with Ethan winning Seniors. Kieran Bennett lost a back brake rotor early on in his run, the webs breaking apart separating the braking disc from the hub mount, game over. Nick has perfected the art of the charcoal BBQ, with gourmet sausages and slaw ready to go as riders finished their runs and got their breath back. Results here. And David Chadwick was snapping on IV Line last night, check out his gallery here. Next Sprung event is on Dec 7th - there will be a slight course change from the top of No-Name Hill which is like this: Mutation - P51 - Pipilini (back towards Summit Rd) - Pipilini Link - Pipilini Lower Link - Snout - DC - Bridge - Andrews Field (finish) Posted by Chris Mildon on 17/ 11 / 11; 8:17:05 AM   Discuss

Monday, November 14, 2011

TOTS DH Round 4 Results, Overall Points

Squeezed in between rainy days on Sunday was the last round of the TOTS DH, on the upper 2/3s of FDH on Fringed Hill. A greasy layer of goopy mud right over the riding line (and hiding the Riverhead snakes) made for a very challenging course, and created a whole new feel for this trail. A handful of riders were nailing things though, and carrying amazing pace through the Bullock Spur face of Fringed Hill. Jake Boylett finally getting the win thats eluded him this year, and claiming fastest run of the day in Seniors. Massive thanks to Richard Adams, Warwick Sandler, Julie Bennett, Tyra Boylett, Andre and 111 Care, Trudi and everybody else who has rolled up their sleeves and helped make these events happen. And to Hancocks and NCC for access as well - we can't do this without you! The day's results are here, and the overall points table for this year's series is here. Posted by Chris Mildon on 14/ 11 / 11; 11:44:52 AM   Discuss

Monday, November 7, 2011

Two New Trophies for Your Mantlepiece

Two new trophies are up for grabs in this year's Mammoth. The Mammoth has long been overdue for its own trophies. These trophies are for the first male and first female club members home on the 27th November. Be the first one to have your name engraved on the Douglas Fir from the Hira Forest. Many thanks to Tom Sharland and Sharland Engineering for the mammoths. Details of the Mammoth adventure race on the Events page here. Mammoth Enterprises Posted by Alan Eskrick on 7/ 11 / 11; 9:42:37 AM   Discuss