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World's Best Trails? |
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 It's a bold claim. But the thousands of locals and visitors who ride the Whakarewarewa trail network every year will all tell you they are a fantastic place to mountain bike.
In a country with some great mountain biking, these trails on the southern outskirts of the city are some of the finest.
And research confirms the significant role they play in the lifestyle and economy of Rotorua.
The trails have evolved over the years with a lot of people involved in building, maintaining and developing.
This page will evolve, too, to bring you snapshots of how the trails were blazed...
• A few years ago Mike Ferrentino of US magazine, BIKE, described the Rotorua trail network like this:
“Rotorua…Tourism central…This haven of geysers and mud pools is, and always has been, New Zealand’s meeting point between tourism and Maoritanga…Not that we really had time to notice or care, sucked immediately as we were into the local forest, onto trails built by mountain bikers with mountain bikers in mind. Trails in verdant shade that dip and weave and roll. Trails that sneak through trees in a way that makes hard riders hoot with joy yet at the same time could coax a huge grin to the face of a 70-year-old grandma on her first bike ride ever. Sure, gawk at the geysers, wrinkle your nose at the stinking mud holes, soak in the springs, but get down on your knees and kiss the mulchy earth of these trails because they are the true hidden treasure here."
Our tracks provide a rich playground for locals and tourists (from New Zealand and overseas) all compressed into around 50 hectares of lush, ferny forest and catering for everyone - from beginners and family groups right through to the experts.
In August 2006, Rotorua hosted the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials Championships. These were held on Mount Ngongotaha, one of the city's main landmarks on the northern edge of town.
Visitors rode the trails in Whakarewarewa Forest visitors and they were a perfect training ground for competitors in the Worlds.
Every year the 24 HOUR ROTORUA, rounds of the New Zealand National Championships, XTERRA, Wild Moa and the MOONRIDE 12 and 24 hour race all feature on the Whakarewarewa calendar.
The Highlander is run every August and was the finale of the 3-race NDURO Winter Series. This was a 70-kilometre marathon.
Chairperson of the 2006 Rotorua Organizing Committee, Dave Donaldson, and the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club ran the first Highlander back in 2002.
In 2006 it was on Saturday August 19, on the weekend before the UCI World Mountain Bike and Trials Championships and the first event of champs week in Rotorua.
In 2007, the series was expanded to 5 races to celebrate it's 5th anniversary. The Highlander was race 4 with the all new Whaka 100 (yes, 100 kilometres) in October the last race of the series.
In 2008 the NDURO Winter Series reverted to a 3 race series.
The Highlander in late August (and extended to 80 kilometres) and the Whaka 100 (early in October) are now the NDURO Classics and stand alone as two of the toughest challenges on the New Zealand MTB calendar.
In 2009 The Highlander will change to an early April date and double as the New Zealand MTB Marathon Championships.
In 2008 the first Pig & Whistle New Zealand Singlespeed Championships was run in the forest on Anzac Weekend, April 25-27.
The Highlander, the Whaka and the Singlespeed Champs all feature the full range of the Whakarewarewa Forest - through Pine, Californian Redwoods, Australian Eucalyptus and native New Zealand ferns.
In 2009, all these events will be run again bringing riders and support crews into town and continuing to benefit the local economy.
The fifth and final round of the 2009 UCI World Trials Cup will also be run in Rotorua in September. The Trials in 2006 were a big success and thrilled big crowds at the World Champs site on Mount Ngongotaha.
in 2009, the organizers will run the trials zones around the Village Green in the heart of Rotorua CBD - bringing the event right into town.
Over the last 100 years visionaries in the New Zealand Forest Service planted experimental stands of trees from around the world to create the Whakarewarewa Forest. And it’s this variety that gives the mountain biking trails their distinctive flavour.
Best? Maybe.
Unique? Absolutely! >
Photos: Graeme Murray - filteredvision |
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04/07/09
..this week..
...working bee on Sunday...
• RMTBC WORKING BEE...this Sunday July 5 - MORE INFO...
• ROTORUA MTB CLUB AGM: July 6, 7PM, upstairs at Pig & Whistle...
• KIWIBIKES NDURO WINTER MTB SERIES... Round 2 is on Sunday July 12 - the three race series incorporates a Duathlon for the first time...enter online...
RESULTS RACE #1...
• Whakarewarewa Forest (& Ride Rotorua) gets a mention in latest issue of Air New Zealand in-flight magazine KIAORA...
• WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIDES: are on again from Waipa carpark...
• WEATHER UPDATE... more rain on the way - draw your own conclusions about state of trails!
• TRAILS:...muddy and wet - so no braking on Old Chev!!
Core trails like Genesis, Challenge and Creek are holding up well. So is Old Chevy, most of Pondys and BRN2.
Richie's doing good work on RollerCoaster - well worth riding all of it, not just the section at end of Pondy.
Soakhole in Tokorangi Pa triangle, in north of core network, is riding really well - it's a great Winter trail. That's old-school, but the new trail that intersects it - Turkish Delight - is also working well because of pumicey ridge line location.
South facing trails are all struggling with less sun when it does come out - though recent southerlies are doing their big hair-dryer thing!
Here's a tip: ride a trail you haven't been on for a while.
Trails always need work and you can help: ADOPT-A-TRAIL OR HELP ON RMTBC WORKING BEES...
• DAWN 2 DUSK RESULTS: now available to download...and PHOTOS...
• WHAKA 100...the ultimate challenge is on again in October - get training NOW...
• DH WORLD CUP IN MARIBOR...Fabien first in Slovenia; Kiwis: Leov 4th and Blenkinsop 11th...RIDE ROTORUA TV: Video highlights of a weekend in Maribor...
• DR KAT"s BIG ADVENTURE...Katrin (Dr Kat) Walbert is in Canada for the BCBIke seven day stage race, late June/early July - and raising money for a good cause...
• UCI MTB & TRIALS WORLD CHAMPS - Canberra, September 1-6, 2009
• NZ MTB BIKER MAG ...June/July issue out now...
• SPOKE ...Issue 32 out now...
• ROTORUA CYCLING ACTION... these are the guys who advocate for all things cycling in our town. It is free to register and the more the better...
• IMBA TRAIL BUILDING...Definitive guide - on video, on line,
on Ride Rotorua...
• Willkommen, Bienvenue etc...
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