http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.riderotorua.com en-us Fri, 01 May 2026 01:54:14 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/146604/a-big-weekend-in-rotorua/ Whakarewarewa Forest near Rotorua is not that big. Only about six kilometres from one side to the other, and not much longer than that north to south, it contains hundreds of kilometres of forestry roads and trails for walking or running, horse riding, and best of all, bike riding.There is a lot of topography packed into the area. Elevation gain from the main entrance to the very top of the highest hill is about 450 metres, and there are several other summits that are not far below that height.&... Thu, 05 Jun 2025 14:41:09 +1200 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post146604 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/94783/forty-years-or-thereabouts-riding-rotorua/ I took this photo because I want to share the significance to this signpost to me, and the bike leaning against it is part of the story. My first mountain bike came into my life a long time ago - my mate who got one from the same batch reckons it was 1983, but it could have been earlier. Prehistoric, anyway. I didn’t meet that mate until some years later, and I didn’t know anybody else who had a mountain bike. There were no magazines available here, and the internet was still an undeveloped ... Fri, 25 Nov 2022 14:52:34 +1300 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post94783 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/87867/mountain-biking-has-a-big-impact-on-rotoruas-economy/ $139.8 million spent in Rotorua by mountain bikers who visited in 2021 A new report commissioned by RotoruaNZ that assesses the contribution of mountain biking to the Rotorua Lakes Economy shows that $103.4m was spent in Rotorua last year by visitors who visited for the sole purpose of mountain biking. Other visitors who mountain biked while staying in Rotorua for other reasons spent a further $36.4m, a total contribution of $139.8m to the local economy. RotoruaNZ Chief Executive Andrew Wilson s... Mon, 05 Sep 2022 12:16:17 +1200 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post87867 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/87561/turkish-delight-is-back-on-the-menu/ The block at the top of the Nursery Road hill between Katore Road and Tokorangi Pa Road has been logged. That area contained Turkish Delight, Soakhole, and the finish of Corridor, Eastern Spice, North face and Tokorangi.Re-construction is already underway, and so far a nice little Grade 3 trail leads from Katore Road just below the settlement ponds, up over a small hill and down to Tokorangi Road not far from the intersection with Nursery Road.There is a lot of terrain uncovered by logging ... Fri, 26 Aug 2022 17:22:23 +1200 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post87561 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/86665/a-grade-3-ride-from-putake-o-tawa/ We recently got an enquiry from a visitor planning to stay at the Blue Lake Holiday Park, and looking to do a 3-4 hour ride.  We pointed him at The Forest Loop - that is a simple solution - but then we banged this loop out for him. I realised I had never actually done this exact lap, so i went and did it. If you want a decent 30 kilometres of flowy trail with no real awkward bits, here you go! Starting at the carpark called Putake-O-Tawa o Tarawera Road, head out through the gate ... Fri, 05 Aug 2022 12:34:26 +1200 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post86665 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/75686/five-great-ways-to-upgrade-your-forest-loop/ The Forest Loop is a fantastic introduction to Whakarewarewa Forest, and the amazing environment it occupies. It is also a great way to gently get yourself into mountain biking. The Forest Loop is a great ride, but we reckon there is more to it - here are five ways to modify the Loop in entertaining ways.... Fri, 07 Jan 2022 16:17:27 +1300 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post75686 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/73379/the-riderotorua-trail-survey-is-complete/ Thanks very much if you took the time to respond to our Whaka Trails Survey! We received a lot of opinions, with some great comments to back them up. What really surprised us was not so much the result - the most popular trails we could have guessed - but the clear lead those trails had. The most popular pick in all three sections (favourite, next most favourite, third choice) was Eagle vs Shark, by a decent margin. In the absolute favourite column EvsS got an amazing 20% of the vote. ... Fri, 15 Oct 2021 14:53:26 +1300 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post73379 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/73376/ma-te-wa/ Last night I even went for the season’s first after-work ride. Unlike some of my after-work efforts, this one started outside of what normal people consider to be working hours. The goal was to ride a few new trails, one of which is called Ma Te Wa. That broadly translates as See You Later, which is a good attitude to adopt as you drop in. It can also be read as Time Will Tell, which it turns out is equally pertinent. When we decided to move to Rotorua to kick off the Nzo project, we rented a ... Fri, 15 Oct 2021 14:22:07 +1300 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post73376 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/73302/four-new-trails-in-whaka-forest/ Spring is here, and with it come four new trails in the ever-expanding Rotorua trail system. Two are on the east facing slopes above the new Forest Hub carpark at Te Putake O Tawa. There is the new Grade 4 hand-built Black House Down. Created by Velosolutions it is a quick run from the road near the picnic table and lookout halfway down Eagle vs Shark, to finish at the carpark. Heaps of fun, lots of off-camber and steeps coming at you the whole way.  Much mellower is the Rotorua Trails Trus... Thu, 14 Oct 2021 13:25:38 +1300 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post73302 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/post/73218/illegal-trails-in-whaka-forest/ We need to talk about illegal trail building. Illegal trails, community trails, unsanctioned trails… whatever you want to call them, they are something we all know about, and regardless of your personal view, here’s what you need to know. Part of why the Rotorua MTB Club was originally formed and why the Rotorua Trails Trust exists today, is to facilitate building trails with full landowner consent and a long-term strategy for keeping them open and maintained to the correct standard. T... Tue, 12 Oct 2021 15:52:21 +1300 http://www.riderotorua.com/blog/#post73218