Mid Winter News
Kia ora bikers
Welcome to winter! Isn't it great that in Taupō no matter how cold it is we can chuck on the layers and hit the trails all year round! We are sooooo lucky that with our pumice based soils we are still able to ride even when its wet, and the coffee always tastes the best afterwards :)
At Bike Taupō, we are always up to something interesting, so read on for our latest and greatest......
Track Crew News
Well, we have had a bit of wind and rain in the last month but the tracks are still in good order and providing great riding.
It’s great to have access back from the Wairakei Hotel into Craters Mountain Bike Park ("Craters") again but please remember that it’s a privilege to ride in the Hotel grounds - we are their guests. You must stay on the tracks if at all possible at all times.
We have got stage two of the old Sugar Daddy downhill open onto the Steam Fields track which means you can now access out to the Hotel. We have started on stage three to join into the bottom of the hill and have a couple of volunteers running the little digger around Tourist Trap giving it a tidy up which includes redoing the water cut outs. Now the trees have grown in that area, with any luck, the track should now stay in good order for years.
There has been a change to the entry / exit into Tourist Trap from the old carpark which not only looks better but is safer for crossing the forestry road. The start/ end of the Craters of Moon express track has been shifted back under the trees for the same reason and to reduce the maintenance requirement.
There is also a new structure on Scraggs being a wall ride which is another great feature in Craters. This has been funded by the Taupo Mountain Bike Club and so a big thanks to them for this.
The Huka Trails are in good order and we have really noticed the difference in weed and grass control since we acquired the new mower.
We hope people are enjoying the new little bridge on Aratiatia loop. We have another area to plant on the Rotary ride this winter and with each year the trees previously planted are now starting to look better but it’s been a long wait.
We have added a track crew white board at the Hub which is updated on Friday’s and is used to state where and what work is happening and what tracks are closed or just reopened.
Please keep those "tree reports" coming in as it’s making a massive difference to our ability to respond as we have a number of volunteers who are happy to ride out and get these one-off trees cleared which is a huge saving to us.
And lastly, a huge thanks to all who helped and rode in Craters Classic. We couldn’t have experienced a better day to show case our free draining pumice tracks after it had poured down on Friday.
Below photo: The chief track inspector was on the job over the weekend checking the track was wide enough using his stick, this is a very technical process requiring great mental fortitude......
Cheers, The Trackcrew
Kids Bike Taupō
We are all talking about the weather and it certainly stops play for Kids Bike Taupō. However, we are very crafty and can kill a couple of hours in an Early Childhood Centre with the windtrainers, a couple of balance bikes and a pump. It is actually a good opportunity to give the really little people the opportunity to play with bikes. They love the pump, particularly doing ‘Puku Farts’. They are always funny!
We have been having some great turnouts at the 3.30pm sessions, weather allowing. Monday is at the BMX Track, Tuesday at Spa Park and Thursdays at Craters Mountainbke Park.
Kids Bike Taupō is very excited about the development at Crown Park. The Arbor Day Planting was a huge community event with thousands of trees being planted. A big thanks to Ken Harris from The Source for supporting the building of an asphalt pump track next the little roadway. TDC is working to make this whole area bike and child friendly by refurbishing the little roadway and adding infrastructure for families to enjoy this area. Alan Vane from Le Pine was his usual helpful Legal Beagle to get the paperwork in order. Thank you, Alan.
We have also had several generous donations from people to help run the programme. You know who you are and we are very grateful for your support.
And as final feel good story, Kids Bike Taupō might need to change its name. We were approached by a man aged 70+ who wanted to learn to ride. He said he was a stubborn child, wrapped up in cotton wool and it has been one of his biggest regrets that he couldn’t ride a bike. He can regret no more. We lent him an adult balance bike for a couple of weeks and he did his homework well, with only one crash. Then, just like the kids, he had his balance and pedalling was relatively straightforward. He is doing lots of practice and we look forward to supporting him to buy his own bike. Helping him learn to ride has been an absolute pleasure. Now he just needs time on the bike.
Regards, Cath - aka Lady Bike
Have you have ridden the Great Lake Trail recently?
The Great Lake Trail ("GLT") is also in pretty good condition but expect it to be a bit slippery under the native tree cover if it’s wet. We have now started working down the Waihaha section with the digger to regrade the track and give it a general tidy up. This is all part of a plan to run a digger throughout the trail to keep it in a better order. We have a couple of areas that we are planting this winter on the GLT which is aimed at reducing maintenance and improving riding experience.
Please can you local riders, if you have ridden part of the GLT, fill out the survey form. The number of forms links directly to our funding from the government and if we don’t hit the target number required, we do not receive funding.
Every person who registers will go into a draw to win a $200 Torpedo7 Voucher.
In December 2020, Bike Taupō modified its concession with LINZ to enable pest control in Craters MTB Park. We now have 156 traps in the park, and we are closing in on catching 1,000 pests. This includes 75 Rats and 6 stoats in the last 30 days. This project, along with the program on the Huka Trails, is now called Huka Trapping. We have over 50 volunteers monitoring and maintaining 439 traps.
There is still work to do on the river and in the MTB park, but we believe pest control on the Great Lake Trail is essential and long overdue. Surprisingly, in this age when Predator Free 2050 gets mentioned every few days in the media, it is bureaucratic process preventing this project from getting off the ground.
In pre-EV terms our project “runs on the smell of an oily rag” and our volunteers supply lots of materials from their own resources. We still have considerable ongoing expenses for bait and for new traps as these are established. If you would like to contribute financially to the cause, please hit the button below:-
BFA Craters Classic
The Craters Classic MTB event will be rocking Taupō again on
15th April 2023
After the success of our last event on 21st May, we are looking forward to bringing you another awesome event over our selection of great single track network.
Lock it in your diary now and join us…
