Rotorua is the home of MTB in New Zealand and it's also a great place to ride the roads, with great scenery and a good mix of terrain. Not dirt, but great if you have the road bike along for the weekend. (And check out ROAD CYCLING NZ...it is our favourite local roadie site for all the latest news)... • First up on our tour of Rotorua road loops... Round Lake Rotorua...
View Larger Map Hit Fenton St heading south to the big intersection. Turn left into Amohau St and and follow the signs as if you are going to Whakatane - there is a bike lane as far as the airport. Stooge along ignoring the Whakatane turnoff and climb over the saddle between Rotorua and Rotoiti. Cross the bridge over Ohau Channel and take the next road on the left, signposted Hamurana. Roll along the lakeshore, over a few bluffs, and back to the shore again for a very pleasant 8km until the road curves away from the water and rolls into Ngongotaha. Straight through town, straight through the roundabout, and you are back in Rotovegas. About 40km. Many additional options: Te Waerenga Rd on the right at Hamurana, and back down Central Rd, which you enter by crossing Tauranga Direct Rd, a nice loop with spectacular views. Oturoa Rd gives you a 12km climb to State Highway 5 which you can cross for a ride across the plateau to Mamaku, then back down the very fast Dansey Rd. Cut back around Mt Ngongotaha to Paradise Valley off SH5 a few kilometres up the road from the roundabout for another quiet and interesting loop.

Some alternatives: • Loop 1: 65km Head out of Rotorua on Paradise Valley Rd at the northern end of Pukehangi, or western end of Clayton Rds. Meander around the back of Mt Ngongotaha, which involves one stiff climb then a long downhill with perfect corners and a valley. Rollout towards the lake and State Highway 5. Shortcut left through Agroventures (marked with sign on Paradise Valley Rd), turn right when you get to the attractions, proceed through tunnel, and left then out to Western Rd. Turn left on Western Rd and cross SH5 (carefully) to turn left into Dansey Rd. Stick it a nice low gear and climb for 12km, mostly pretty gentle gradient, to the historic logging town of Mamaku. Follow road through the village and head across plateau to SH5. Cross SH5 (carefully) heading right then take Oturoa Rd on left. Stick it in a big one and go downhill for 12km, mostly gentle gradient. At Hamurana Rd turn right, back to Ngongotaha for an excellent coffee (and chocolate brownie) at Essence Cafe. Trundle 6km back to town.

• Loop 2 70km: Head out of Rotorua on Te Ngae Rd, there is a primitive cycleway which terminates at the airport, after that there is a good shoulder along the busy highway all the way to the Hamurana turnoff. take care at the Whakatane turnoff - the guardrail squeezes riders out into roadway for a short time. Same deal at Ohau Channel. If you have plenty of time and a couple of bucks, continue on to Okere Falls Store for a coffee and some fine food. Then back track to Hamurana Rd. Take this road around the edge of Lake Rotorua. The road is narrow but traffic is usually light and not moving very fast. On the hill over the bluffs after the coastal section there is plenty of shoulder. Watch the fast left hander after the descent off the bluffs: there are quite bad corrugations in the apex. As the road drops down to the lake shore once more there is a choice to make: straight on to Ngongotaha, or right up Te Waerenga Rd. If you go right you will face a tough climb, but be rewarded with a fantastic view, sometimes of both lake and ocean. The road takes you on to the northern rim of the Rotorua caldera, and then you have another choice. You can continue along Te Waerenga to Tauranga Direct Rd, turn right then immediately left onto Jackson Rd, which will take you back down to the Hamurana Rd, which you turn right into to go to Ngongotaha. The other option is to take Penny Rd at the top of the Te Waerenga climb. This drops you down into Kaharoa via a brilliant twisting downhill, to Kaharoa Rd. Turn left and ride back to Tauranga Direct Rd. Turn left and ride carefully about 2km to Jackson Rd on the right. There is a small shoulder, but it is a busy road so take care. Once you are on Jackson Rd it is a nice ride down to Hamurana Rd. Head back to Rotorua.

• Ngakuru/Waikite:
View Larger Map There are also awesome road loops in the Ngakuru/Waikite area to the south of Rotorua. These loops can be ridden in either direction or shrunk or expanded on-the-fly as your time or fitness permits.

I tend to ride them clockwise if the wind has any westerly in it, but if it’s from easterly quadrant I generally go anti-clockwise. That way you have a tailwind on the way home, which important for me as the first and last bits of the loop are on state highways, and it’s nice to have that tailwind assistance to scamper back to the city with minimum time on the busy highway.

So, going anti-clockwise head out through Hemo Rd, turn right onto SH30 and out to the Ngakuru turn-off [18km approx]. Note, you can do the loop around Apirana Rd off to the right and around the foot of the magnificent Horohoro Bluffs to add another 5km or so of quiet country roads, and the quaint little old church on the marae just before the Horohoro School is immaculately maintained – quite picturesque.

Loop 1 [Short 50Km]: Turn left to Ngakuru on Whirinaki Valley Rd. Here you can go left again into Waikaukau Rd less than 50m from SH30, and you’re on the shortest loop - so to complete that, Waikaukau Rd, left into Rehi Rd, left into Corbett Rd and that brings you out on the south end of Tumunui Rd, about 24km from Rotorua [this intersects with longer loops].

Loop 2 [approx 70km or 75km]: Turn left off SH30 toward Ngakuru on Whirinaki Valley Rd, go through Ngakuru, past the school and down the hill before taking a left turn into Waikite Valley Rd. This drops across the headwaters of Lake Ohakuri [generally well stocked with waterfowl] before climbing steadily up to the Waikite Valley School . A short distance past here you can take a left into Hossack Rd [70km loop] or continue on to Corbett Rd [just short of the Waikite Valley Hot Pools and a great coffee stop]. Taking the Corbett Rd loop back onto Hossack Rd adds another 5km of super nice country road. Carry on north on Hossack Rd to the southern end of Tumunui Rd before tackling several good climbs on the north to SH5. At SH5 there is a good shoulder all the way back into Rotorua but take extreme care when you pass the junction with SH30 on your left as you are now in a marked bike lane which goes smack through the zip junction of the two state highways and the speed limit for vehicles is still 100kmh! The trick here is to look left down SH30 as you go past, and if nothing is coming, as soon as you are past the grass island, bail left out of the bike lane and get onto the shoulder of the feeder lane coming in from SH30.

• Loop 3 [100km] : This is best done clockwise, but is primo on a calm day outside of commuter traffic. Head south on SH5 turning right into Tumunui Rd, left into Hossack Rd, Left into Corbett Rd, right into Waikite Valley Rd, right back along Whirinaki Valley Rd, and a short way past Ngakuru School turn right into Rehi Rd, keep heading now to Waikaukau Rd and back onto Whirinaki Valley Rd. Instead of going right to the nearby junction of SH30, go left back toward Ngakuru, then right into Nicholson Rd. You are now heading in the general direction of Tokoroa, past Poutakataka and Parsons Roads on the left, you come out onto SH30 out past the motocross track. Turn right here and it’s some 30km back to Rotorua taking the Apirana Rd loop up to the base of the Horohoro Bluffs and out onto Kearoa Rd [Treetops is down to the left at this junction on a gravel road] right is past the Horohoro School and the church back to SH30. this is a real honest 100Km. There’s more nice tarmac out this way. At the junction of Whirinaki Valley Rd and Waikite Valley Roads you can head south on Whirinaki Valley Rd down alongside the lake. Just as you pass the southern end of Poutakataka Rd the road swings left across the ‘lake’ and up to the junction of Mangatete Rd Sth and Puaiti Rd. Go right up Puaiti Rd past Dods Rd and the tarmac eventually peters out but it’s very pretty down there. Retrace your steps to the junction of Whirinaki Valley and Waikite Valley Rds before completing loop 2 and you will have added on enough to make this another 100km loop.