NEWS

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks battling the weather, flying the Little Yellow Digger, dealing with bog and chatting with the locals (Kea) on the Lagoon Saddle Track above Cora Lynn in Arthurs Pass area.

Check out more here

Our latest project with DoC sees us up on the Lagoon Saddle Track for some track remediation, removing boardwalks and a bit of trail tweakage.

Great to get the Little Yellow Digger up in the air again, big thanks to Anderson Helicopters, based in Hokitika, for making this happen. No mobile coverage in there so will update you on progress once we hear from the boys!

Thanks to Jamie, Ground Crew from Anderson  Helicopters, for the photo

It’s been another productive week in at Haven MTB Park…always a few wee curly things on offer in there, so great to see the finished (almost) trail at the end of the week.

Check out our latest Testimonial from Shailer at Haven here.

Stoked to receive our latest Testimonial from Ian MacDonald of the North Canterbury Cycling Club for our work over the last couple of years on the Wharfedale Track . Check it out here…

We’ll be back in there in the next few weeks…in the meantime, if you’ve got any feedback for us on the Track, either the work that’s been done or you think needs doing, let us know… All feedback is welcome so that we can create the trails that you want to ride!

While you’re checking out the Testimonial, we’ve been updating our website over the last wee while (still a bit to go), so take a peruse to see what we’ve been up to and what we are about!

Sometimes ya just can’t find what you’re looking for off the shelf…that’s where Kiwi ingenuity, the pioneering spirit, N0.8 wire thinking comes into the fore. We’ve had this a few times and have put our thinking caps on…

The man and his shed!

Our T5 apprentice…

First challenge:
We have a small excavator, that is, 1 tonne, and we need a tilt bucket. Not just any ol’ tilt bucket; it needed to be robust yet lightweight and with 45° each side of tilt to be the perfect trail building tool. Not exactly in high demand., so…Scott created one! From many initial drawings to the finished bucket, we have exactly what the brief required and are stoked with the result.

Second challenge:
Bought a brand new Stihl 460 Scrubcutter, noticed that the bottom plate, where you sit the machine down on, was already showing signs of wear…and this is just from being on the shopfloor! So…one piece of checker plate later, some careful shaping and reverse riveting and we have a protection plate to rule all others!

3 weeks toiling away on Craigieburn Trails – Castle Hill…
3 trails tweaked (in one way or another!)
3 more reasons to go ride up there!

Once again, huge thanks to Trail Fund NZ and also to the Team doing all of the behind the scenes stuff at Craigieburn Trails – Castle Hill for making this happen.

Bridge Hill – rideable access…done…tick!

Cheeseman Downhill – 500+ metres of sustainable trail installed to avoid the 100metres vert of super-steep, unmanageable sections. All hand tools (no excavator), so the trail is very raw and will need plenty of use to wear it in… Go ride it, see what you think and let us know!

Hut Creek…new bridge…tick!

We are now well into 2016, we’ve already created a new trail up at Craigieburn, with more new projects coming up, back into the Wharfedale Track soon and got some new toys (tools!) for more trail toiling/creation/tweaking – thanks WMC Trail Tool, loving the new version with the long handle!

Thanks for all of your support throughout 2015, we’re looking forward to bringing more of the same plus some new stuff in 2016.

We really want to say a BIG UPS to all of the trail fairies and volunteers out there who give up their time to spend time soil toiling on local and further afield trails – this can make the difference between an okay ride to grins from ear to ear! Also to the people who dedicate many hours of work that goes on behind the scenes (thanks TrailFund NZ and others), mostly volunteer, to make things happen. Much of the trail work, whether or not contractors are involved, requires a lot of background work before any rake or trail tool hits the ground…so THANKS!

We always love your feedback, positive or otherwise, so keep it coming. It’s from this feedback that we make sure we are creating/maintaining trails that you love to ride!

It’s the start of a New Year so thought it was time we got blogging! This is our first post, hope it works!

Bring it on…happy trails!

Scott and Emma