Tineli Kaiteriteri Beach MTB Challenge

On Saturday, 16 October, the MTB Park is hosting its first mountain bike event.
Sponsored by Tineli Performance Bikewear, Stoke Cycle Centre & Konica Minolta, the event is part of an inaugural 10 day long Konica Minolta Nelson Cycle Festival.

The emphasis is on participation, mostly using the Park's Easy circuit but also diverting onto some of Kimi Ora's narrower, bike-friendly, walking tracks. Also included is some new track yet to be officially opened!

All levels of mountain biker are catered for, even if some younger or less-experienced riders may prefer to dismount for the odd corner. Depending on your level of fitness, you can opt to do one, two or three circuits.
There'll be lots of spot prizes, followed by a free More FM barbeque on the beach afterwards.
For added novelty, there's also the option of catching a lift back to Nelson on Wilson's new Vista launch for just $45.

The event will start at 11.30am.

Entry fee is $10 for U14s, others $20 or a Family Package of $40 for 2 adults & 2 chn.
All riders who register online at www.nelsoncyclefestival.co.nz will receive a bag, a drink bottle and a wrist band that identifies them as a registered rider.

Proceeds from this event will go towards more track development at Kaiteriteri so what better way to show your support than by joining in a day of mtb fun!

Bogs and logs

You may recall a couple of posts back (The Good News & the Bad) that we had a large pine come down on Glade Runner, leaving its massive rootball lodged uneasily just above the track.

Bob Roborgh & Matu of Tree Care came in and successfully separated the trunk but the now upside-down rootball was too heavy to shift from its new home in the middle of the track.

In the process of using a digger as part of the operation, a fair bit of the track got chewed up - revealing a very boggy sump that nearly snared the digger. It certainly explained why this short section of track had never properly firmed up.



The rootball was cut back enough for the track to be re-opened for the w/e but the bog required a bit more sorting out. So, early this week, Karl Thompson & I headed in.

We began by felling some nearby pines and cutting them up to make a 'corduroy' bridge.

This enabled Karl to walk his digger over to where some good granite soil was available.






We then put down some filter cloth and overlaid it with the quarried soil.

Once spread and compacted, Karl set about removing the excavated sludge to improve the drainage.


A bit of a rake and, Viola!, we're back in business - with a better track surface than before we started.

Which just goes to show there's always a silver lining when things go bad...

Young guns to the fore..

For the first time in our working bee history, those 'trackies' under 20 outnumbered the...er, over 30's last Sunday morning.

We veterans see this generation of track-builders as the ones to take over the mantle as some of us gradually wear ourselves out. Not that any of us are thinking of retiring soon but it is encouraging to find young guys not only acknowledging the hard work that goes into creating trail but being prepared to front up at the coalface.

Here, Dougie, Doug, Thomas (from Upper Moutere), Mike & Reuben (from Mapua) pause for a snap.

This section of the Intermediate-grade singletrack we are benching counts as some of the gnarliest terrain in the Park. It's steep, laced with fallen, semi-rotten, pines, thick with sub-story vegetation and riven with gullies. We've even hit clumps of granite that require patient chipping away at.
What's been created in the process, though, along with the camaraderie that comes with toiling alongside fellow trackies Sunday after Sunday, is a superb, flowing singletrack that will add a whole new dimension to biking in the Park.

While many hands may not necessarily make this work any lighter, they will certainly help us achieve our objective of having the Intermediate circuit ready for the Summer. Our volunteers come from as far afield as Nelson & Richmond and represent a community of mountain bikers who not only appreciate what's being created at Kaiteriteri but are prepared to donate some of their Sunday mornings to help make it happen. We have great plans for the expansion of our track network - our only limitation is the manpower.

So, if you've been thinking about maybe putting in a w/bee or two, come along and join us. They're every Sunday morning from 9.00-12.00 and we post details on our website calendar. Instead of feeling like a MTB Park 'consumer', you'll feel great about contributing and enjoy your riding so much more!
And don't forget to put your bike on the back for a ride afterwards :-)

This week's treat was supplied by Mick Zeewoldt: "Paul & Gorse on Flamin' Nora" and can be viewed on our Park TV.