It's hard to believe...

Jonathan Kennett handed out kudos to ten of the busier clubs building great mtb track around the country in the October '09 issue of NZ Endurance mag.

This is what he had to say about us....

KAITERITERI - THE FASTEST CLUB

"The speed of this club is staggering! It's hard to believe that the Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park Society was only formed this year, yet they have already built four tracks. When I phoned the project manager for this article he was thrashing about in the bush designing a fifth track that will be ready to ride this summer.
There are also several existing tracks that aren't nearly as good as the new ones but they help expand the network into an area worthy of spending a few hours exploring. And other club members are working on a Pump Track.
Next time you head for a holiday at Kaiteriteri, forget the famous beach. The action is in the forest behind the town. The club has a good website at http: etc....."

Well, that fifth, 1.9kms, track is now finished and being enjoyed as Glade Runner, and since Jonathan phoned we've gone on to add Revelation, Shady Lady and a new entrance track into the Park!

Yep, there's some pretty hot action going on up in the forest... but the beach still holds its own.

Track Profile: Salivater

Salivater is where it all begins.



It provides a mouth-watering intro to the Park's growing network of trails. It's only 300m long but when you emerge onto a minor spur at its end, your juices will be already be flowing.







It starts with a gradual climb out of the Trailer Park, to the left of the Pump Track...







before gently gaining some height through two easy, bermed switchbacks.










It then sets off on a little sidle
through some pines












the track flanked by ferns and native grasses
















glinting in the dappled sunlight.


















The undulations disguise the subtle rise in elevation















until another pair of switchbacks reminds you of the height gain











before the final run to the track exit

and junction with SideWinder
and Half-Pipe.






All photos by Steve Newport.

Glade Runner sorted!

An awkward swampy section in one of this 1.9 kms track's many glades finally got sorted this week.


Andrew brought the Chings digger in and quarried on-site granite soil to create a nice little curvey causeway. It began with a culvert to channel the water..










and 50-odd barrowloads later it was hard-packed and ready to ride.











Mark Van Zoelen and his apprentice, Callum, came along to build a bridge over the deep stream cutting at the end of this section. Mark, of MVZ Builders, donated all of the materials along with his time.


Insider knowledge meant Deborah Morris was first to christen this long-awaited link-up, unexpectedly beating notorious track poacher mb!

Park Logo

Here is our new logo - one that says mountain biking has arrived at Kaiteriteri!

Troll through the archives to see the Motueka High School entry that it's based on. Alan & Liz Eskrick, owners of signz n graphix in Richmond, donated the services of designer Sarah De Cent to smarten it up and we're pretty pleased with the final look so many thanks to the team there.

Big thanks also to Mat Tait for the time he put into helping us get there.

We're in the process of finalising our Park map along with a t-shirt & cap order so expect to see the logo out & about fairly soon.

Ferns 'n' Flow...

Tracks used were Salivater, Sidewinder, Swamp Monster & Half-Pipe.

Mega thanks to Ian Patterson.

Kaiteriteri MTB Park Update

An excellent turn-out for our Volunteers picnic last Sunday! It was great to see so many families present and to watch them heading off on their bikes to explore the tracks.
Despite the numerous switchbacks and little grunty sections, the smiles at the end seemed pretty universal, even amongst the little ones with their heavy, single-speed bikes who must have had to do a fair bit of pushing. For some of our most regular volunteers it was their first time riding the complete circuit, starting at the Trailer Park and exiting at Bethany.
Others used the arterial route to link up some of the firebreaks for some more challenging riding.
It's now possible to put together a good couple of hours riding based on the Park's trail network - not bad for less than 12 months work! And, of course, there's the beach & cafes to slope off to afterwards...

The Pump Track also provided a real focus for the morning. The PT team have done a great job in a short time and it's packing down well with the bike traffic. Fine tuning will go on for a while as user feedback refines the berms & pumps but the skilled riders have already demonstrated a full circuit is possible. Here, Mike Kirkwood & josh Fitzgerald consult over the slopes on the staircase pumps....






while, here,Jay Nelson shows how it's done.



We're pretty close to publishing our 3D Google Earth-generated map thanks to Steve Newport. We'll put it up as soon as it's ready (see Tracks) so check in soon if you're planning a ride.

Pump track update

Kia ora team. The pump track is really moving along from the sitting room table now into reality. We have spent a few days on the diggers firstly clearing the area then getting the basic outline and shape. We are now into the sculpting and creating the "pumps and hopefully after good working bee assistance we will be up and pumping for the summer season. see you out there Mike k