{"id":4102,"date":"2013-02-09T06:19:50","date_gmt":"2013-02-09T05:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?p=4102"},"modified":"2019-12-31T02:29:28","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T07:29:28","slug":"taking-to-the-trails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/taking-to-the-trails\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking to the Trails!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mountain biking trails on a fully loaded bicycle?\u00a0 Yes, it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

I know.\u00a0 From experience.<\/p>\n

No entirely positive experience.\u00a0 But one I ultimately don\u2019t regret.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019d come to New Zealand expecting some fairly laidback cycling.\u00a0 I got about 100 kilometers of it.\u00a0 On the Otago Central Rail Trail.\u00a0 That was easy.\u00a0 No steep gradients.\u00a0 No headwinds.\u00a0 No killer climbs.\u00a0 No crazed drivers of milk trucks wanting to find out what it\u2019s like to make road kill out of an overseas cyclist.<\/p>\n

So why\u2019d we decide to take on the Timber Trail?\u00a0 I blame it on Wellington-based bicycle advocate Patrick Morgan .\u00a0 It was Patrick, after all, who gifted us a copy of the (amazing) Kenneth Brothers Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails guide.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The book that started all this trail frenzy! Get it if you want to cycle NZ.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And it\u2019s that innocent looking book that got us turned on to the idea of cycling the Timber Trail.<\/p>\n

The Timber Trail ushers you through majestic native forest, across the flanks of Mount Pureora, over long suspension bridges and down to the village of Ongarue on historic bush tramlines.<\/p>\n

Cool.\u00a0 I liked the idea of cruising across a suspension bridge tucked away deep in Pureora forest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don\u2019t do it if there\u2019s rain.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be too muddy.<\/em><\/p>\n

That was Patrick\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n

By the time we reached the trailhead, it had been raining off and on for the last 24 hours.\u00a0 Heavy, drenching rain.\u00a0 The kind that washes out mountain biking trails, I imagine.<\/p>\n

The locals were overjoyed with the much-needed precipitation.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t rained for weeks, they told us.\u00a0 Farmers were getting worried.<\/p>\n

Was I surprised that our arrival into the region had been ushered in with a rainstorm?\u00a0 Absolutely not.<\/p>\n

We weren\u2019t entirely certain if it was prudent to take on the trail under such weather conditions.\u00a0 The official NZ Cycle Trails website<\/a> warns that the Timber Trail is a remote backcountry ride.\u00a0 Check the weather forecast, it says.\u00a0 Take warm clothing and food!\u00a0 Inform someone of your whereabouts!<\/p>\n

Okay, okay.\u00a0 Maybe they were going a little overboard on the precautions.\u00a0 But lost cyclists make for bad headlines.<\/p>\n

A question of perspective<\/h3>\n

The Kennett Brothers rate this ride as easy to intermediate.\u00a0 Which may be accurate if you\u2019re Julie Bresset or doing the trail from north to south where it\u2019s mostly downhill.<\/p>\n

Heading the opposite direction (as we were) is not so easy.\u00a0 Here are a few of the highlights:<\/p>\n

\"\"
It started off so easy!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"\"
It’ll be a breeze if the route stays like this!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"\"
Naturally, the trail got a bit tougher. We pushed quite bit. Past the obstacles and over the steep bits.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"\"
These very cool suspension bridges (there must be about ten of them) are scary. It’s a loooong way down and I kept my glance straight ahead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
It was pretty late before we made it midway and set up camp for the night.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"\"
It got down below freezing at night! Luckily the sun shone brightly in the morning and warmed us up quickly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"\"
Pushing! One of the less romantic parts of bike touring!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"\"
Sometimes you just want to throw down your bike and give up for awhile@<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
And then the cycling gets easier again!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Finally we make it all the way to the end of the Timber Trail and pitch up for the night at the conservation campsite in Pureora.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enough!<\/h3>\n

Had we had enough after our trials on the Timber Trail?\u00a0 No way!<\/p>\n

Adventure was calling.\u00a0 We found it in the form of the Waikato River Trail.<\/a> We did stages 1 (easy) and 3 (intermediate).<\/p>\n

Most of the cycling wasn\u2019t too tough\u2026except for this part:<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
It was really rough going for awhile on the Waikato River Trail! Back country, indeed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Fortunately we were rewarded with a beautiful view of Lake Waipapa!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ready to cry uncle now?<\/h3>\n

Now have we had enough of the New Zealand cycle trails?\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 Next up is the Hauraki Rail Trail<\/a> in the Coromandel region.\u00a0 But this one, promise the Kennett\u00a0 Brothers, is easy.\u00a0 VERY easy in fact.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see about that!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mountain biking trails on a fully loaded bicycle?\u00a0 Yes, it\u2019s possible. I know.\u00a0 From experience. No entirely positive experience.\u00a0 But one I ultimately don\u2019t regret. Now, I\u2019d come to New Zealand expecting some fairly laidback cycling.\u00a0 I got about 100<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[178,49],"tags":[182,183],"yoast_head":"\nTaking to the Trails! - Worldbiking.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/taking-to-the-trails\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taking to the Trails! - Worldbiking.info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mountain biking trails on a fully loaded bicycle?\u00a0 Yes, it\u2019s possible. 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