One of the big draws of Queenstown are the fantastic hills, and the fact that within these glorious tree lined hills are miles of purpose built mountain bike trails and downhill tracks. After nearly two months of living here I haven't so much as touched a bike, and having decided to leave Queenstown a bit prematurely I finally went out and just rented one, rather than pining my hopes on finding one to buy.
At once feeling pleased I couldn't help but feel that for the price I paid I might as well have just rented a bike every weekend since I arrived here. I went riding with friends Erin and Craig who are both members of the Queenstown Moutain Bike Club and got me a 15% discount on rental. To rent an all round XC ride was $45 for five hours or $65 for the full day. To pay that every weekend to ride is a far better deal than buying a bloody bike. The shop I went to Select_Bikes hired out specialized rides. I got given a Pitch comp which was more than enough for some good old fashioned XC. The shop also catered for downhill bikers with packages around $110 for a full day on the gondola with a Big Hit and a full face helmet.
So I got the bike with Craig, slung it in the back of the Chariot and headed out to Seven Mile trails just outside of Queenstown. The sun was blazing, we couldn't have asked for better conditions, the start of the trails presented you with an incredible view of the hills with the car park being in a bay right on the shore of the lake. We geared up and made the up in little over half an hour. The network of trails here are easy to access with just one big push up leading to a junction of trails that start and finish in one or two locations. The push was an absolute sod for me as I was terribly unfit, it had been a good few months since I last rode a bike in Rotorua and the Queenstown lifestyle has not done my fitness any good so far. I had eaten before I headed out and felt sick to my stomach at one point when I had to sit for ten minutes to pull myself together.
So the next couple of hours saw us picking and choosing trails to follow. Nearly every trail around here seemed pretty doable for me, although some had hard sections which I didn't tackle. Trails catered to different riding disciplines with some more technical than others and others requiring a more do or die approach. Cornering changed frequently with some routes offering shallow berms or no berms at all, and others with long swooping berms or really sharp narrow ones. The weather had been very dry lately so the ground was just pure dust, it was easy to loose grip, however dreaded tree roots posed no problems as they were so dry, and gave some room for serious speed. However another threat presented itself in the form of pine cones. Hundreds of the little buggers covered several corners which at times felt like cornering on marbles. The park isn't the highest of places so the blistering downs were followed by ups on pretty much every route, which was sort of a blessing in disguise, as there's nothing worse than doing a massive up and killing your legs before you hit the down, here you got a good mix. There really is nothing like riding in New Zealand though, especially here as many of the scenes for Lord Of The Rings were filmed around Queenstown so all the forests remind you of the look and feel of the films. Even without that knowledge it is still such a beautiful place to ride.
Having followed a number of trails we came to another junction where several routes converge on a small skills park with log runs laid out for riders to perfect riding narrow lines. We checked out the other routes we could follow and rested up for a bit. I was initially rather ropey with riding, especially down hill as I got used to the bike and re-adjusted having not done it for a while. Erin was having doubts about the down too, but she came prepared. Strapping on her knee pads, we tackled a route full of tight steep berms and she was very glad she wore them. Erin flew off her bike and landed knees first on the ground, she was fine . . . good call lass. I managed not to fall off, however I had some seriously sketchy moments. The hire bike was brilliant at tackling the terrain, much better than my ride at home however not quite as good as the Lapierre I rode in Rotorua. I was so glad to get out and ride. So much so that when we finished both Craig and I met up after an hour of rest and lunch to hit a trail out near my house.
The trail started just round the corner from where I lived, we saw downhill riders flying past as we crossed the track to climb the hill to the XC route up Fernhill. I truly bit off more than I could chew, we did a good portion of the up and we were getting close to the time I had to take the bike back. I struggled all the way and after a while my knees started to lock up and that was it, I was finished. I left Craig to finish the trail and I headed down. It was an awesome down but I had bugger all energy a very sore legs, so I just had to hang on for dear life and try not to do anything stupid. I hit the downhill trail as is was the fastest way down. I could see this being awesome on the right rig and proper frame of mind. The boys back home would love it here.
So a bloody good day was had, I was thoroughly knackered by the end of it all. Thank you to Craig Hughes and Erin Dodds for showing me a great days ride in Queenstown. If you'd like to see more photos check either my photostream at the top right of this blog or click
here for the album.
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