andy&georgina

Hi All

Andy asked me to post this for him (as I never let him use the unsername)

Will be visiting sometime next year - concentrating on Auckland and the North Island.

Can anyone recommend suggestions for the following:

Places to hire good bikes? (do they provide helmets - as I understand these are compulsory???)

Bike Parks

Natural Rides to try

Many thanks

Andy (well Georgina typing)

lapsed kiwi

Not sure about rentals but there are some good rides in Woodhill and Riverhead forests, both about 30min out of Auckland. There are some marked special bike trails, and loads of general forest tracks (single-track and up). Caters for all levels of difficulty.

andy&georgina

Hi there,

Thanks for the info on areas - much appreciated.

Another thing I wanted to know was whether it is easy / permitted to cycle along he coast / sea front?

I notice that trees go down to the beach in alot of places - are there many paths that can be follwed by a mountain biker?

Many thanks,

Andy

Jack The Lad

If I find any rental places I will let you know

andy&georgina

Ahh thanks for that - will keep Andy happy for when we go out there!

He said cheers too - I have taken my username back now, he has had his 5 mins on here

Apple12

Christchurch is the place to be! Heaps of tracks here, both in forest (easier single track) and in the hills (some more challenging hill climbs, some specialised down hill, and about 50 km of cross country!)
In the north island I only know that Rotorua is the mecca - heaps of single track through the forestry, of all levels, this is where the world champs were in 2006.
Wellington has a big bike park just north of Upper Hutt, again heaps of challenging riding.
Do a google for mountain bike clubs in NZ and you will get an idea of what is available.
No issues with hiring bikes from any town with good serious biking. Any bike shop should be able to help you out for where to hire and what to ride. Helmets are compulsory at all times, by law, and you will be issued one when you hire.
Biking isn't permitted in the national parks, but an excellent multiday trip is the Queen Charlotte, in the Marlborough Sounds.

If this is something that you want to include on your trip, then can I suggest trying to track down the Kennett Brothers book, on ebay - here is a good website to start you off http://www.kennett.co.nz/ and http://www.mountainbike.co.nz/
Any further questions, feel free to pm.