mountain biking
When the fat tyre fever hits you
theres only one thing to do.
Take a power-trip down a twisting, turning, gnarly mountain bike
track in the New Zealand mountains, hills and forests.
Mountain biking is an adventure sport that has come of age in
this country. Many local councils have provided superb
purpose-built training tracks and challenge circuits close to
urban areas. These tracks are customised with sweeping corners,
stream crossings, steep descents, sudden drop-offs and big jumps.
Regular competitive events are held to allow the host of happy
bikers to hone their skills.
There is a whole new wave of riding opportunities for bikers,
either riding independently using hired bikes or joining guided
tours. Visitor Centres will point you in the right direction to
find all the adrenalin-charged steep descents you can handle. New
tracks have been established on awesome routes through native
forest, over mountain passes, old logging tracks, tramping routes
and along some very isolated coastlines. New Zealand pretty much
has every mountain biking terrain you could desire. You can hire
bikes from cycle shops in main centres for a full day or half day
at reasonable rates. Commercial day trips and multi-day tours can
take you to some remote mountain top locations by helicopter or
4WD vehicle for a non-stop joy-ride to the base.
Outstanding rides in the North Island can be found in
Aucklands exotic forests, Rotoruas special challenge
circuits and Tongariros 42 Traverse. The South Island has
heli-mountain biking down ski field access roads, great rides on
Christchurchs Port Hills and alpine ridge tracks around
Queenstown and Wanaka.
New Zealand pretty much has it all, even for the most discerning
fat tyre junkies.
|