Category Archives: Mountain biking

Contact Epic | The most EPIC ride

Fitness aside, food preparation for a ride like this is critical. After experiencing the early stages of being hangry two years ago, I had to ensure the perfect snacks and lunch was packed for the 125km ride. Wrap ingredients from Fedeli were ideal!

Ready to roll the night before...
Ready to roll the night before…

The EPIC ride clockwise day ride around Lake Hawea was my first so it was important to pace myself and spread out my energy. As we jostled for position, staying with a pack of riders with similar cadence seemed to work well. Cheers of support from the friendly farmers and locals made all the difference, especially those at Hunter Valley station!

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Sting Ray is delicious… | Biking Queen Charlotte Sounds

After spending much of my Summer guiding multi day cycle trips down the West Coast of the South Island, it was time to hit the trails – at my own pace! Tommy Parker, Keith Stubbs and I packed up my truck with the necessities, including a decent rain jacket, snacks & headed toward the Alps. From Wanaka, it was going to take 3.5 hours to get to Frans Josef where there is a 4km loop track, just north of the township. After hearing of the recent deluge there, we were happy to know the track was intact, due to a passionate few local shredders.

Camping with the fellas
Camping with the fellas

It begins at Ship Cove | Queen Charlotte Track
It begins at Ship Cove | Queen Charlotte Track

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Richie Johnston – Queen Charlotte Sounds | Image: Keith Stubbs
It gets me stoked to know the local councils and government is pumping cash into creating and extending trails. The West Coast Wilderness trail is over 120km of track that will keep riders with a range of abilities happy. The section from Ross to Hokitika starts off super flat, however the bush near Mahinapua makes for great bush riding with small gradients.

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Keen as for Summer!

It was a fun afternoon charging around the Millennium track with Dom Channon, bikes and cameras. The awesome crew at Icebreaker needed some photos of their new Corespun merino so we found a cool beach and went to work. A huge thanks to Dom for his time & creativity along with Icebreaker for the continued support!

The summer ahead seems like a great balance between sun & snow… There are a couple of bike trips lined up with VBT which will mean plenty of exploring on the West coast of the South Island. We stay in Hokitika, Frans Joesef, Moeraki, Queenstown & Christchurch.

If you happen to be in Japan late Janurary & early Feb, hit me up! I’ll be shredding pow with my Mum (who also rides) in the Niseko area.

 

 

Riding into the Alps | Aspiring Hut bike packing 

Few people will venture beyond the sealed road along the Matukituki valley. Especially with a mountain bike! I had ridden this track to Aspiring but before, but this time we planned to stay over night.

Sheep are awesome!
On the right track

Within 2.5 hours we drove out of Wanaka and ridden up the valley while taking photos along the way. Only a few river crossings to tend with which made both driving and riding great fun! Memories of jumping in puddles those years ago flood back to me.

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Kenya | Exploring a new world

An opportunity to travel to Kenya does not come up very often. Especially with some adventurous people and the destination being a luxury Eco-lodge nestled on a remote ridge called Borana. We were 4 hours north of Nairobi and close to Mt Kenya. With lions and hyena calling during the early hours of the morning, it was easy to wake up and enjoy the view.

Set high on Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, Borana’s 32,000 acre conservancy was about to treat us very well. Owned by Michael and Nicky Dyre and managed by Flick (Hollie’s sister) & Sam Taylor. Sam has an important job of looking after many of the rangers that patrol Borana protecting the animals, specifically the Rhino. Lewa conservancy neighbors Borana and the two of them combine is a massive 100,000 acres, home to countless species.

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