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The Nzo founders’ annual visit to the South Island has now been underway for a couple of weeks. We have been calling in to our favourite southern spots and doing some product testing at the same time.
Because only one of us is enthusiastic about riding for the sake of it (me), most of my bike rides have been solo, but as always, its the people we meet that make the rides memorable.
A feeble attempt to revisit the Coppermine out the back of Nelson ended up being a lap of the trails closest to town. Started too late, sundown was approaching too soon, etc. I did find some very nice trail, and met a kindred spirit at an overlook who pointed me in the best direction for both trail quality and eventual arrival at the correct exit. On the way I came across a merry band of volunteers hard at work on a trail, their project for the day being the completion of a picnic spot with a view. Like volunteers everywhere, they were fizzing about what they were doing and very happy to offer info on how best to share the best of their local.
A few days later in Golden Bay I climbed a very big hill to visit some friends on a property they are developing. One of them has been hard at work building trails, and offered me a loaner e-bike to check them out with him. He has a small fleet up there. It was amazing to see what he has accomplished: we rode around for the best part of an hour without repeating anything. Mostly in native bush, all very narrow and tight, incredibly fun, and regularly emerging to vistas of the entire bay from our 400m plus viewpoint.
While in the bay I beetled up to the northern end of the Heaphy Track, with a vague plan to ride up it for a couple of hours to see what I could see. Two hours in my case got me a consistently entertaining climb that only relented briefly a couple of times. It took me through an amazing variety of foliage and offered a few glimpses out to the river at the bottom of the valley it traversed, which by the two hours mark was a long way below. I am not sure of the altitude at the start but I turned around at about 820m - it is a decent climb. Of course, it was also fifteen odd kilometres of descent that was well worth the effort of getting up there. My meeting on this trail was with a happy looking woman who was well on her way to completing the Kahurangi 500. I met her on a particularly rugged section where she had just crashed. She was still doing her post prang calisthenics when I happened along, and had decided she was ok. She was hanging out for a shower and bed in Collingwood, I passed her several hours later as I drove into that little town. Well done her.
A 40 kilometre round trip into the other end of the Heaphy was next, and it was a top 5 ever ride I reckon. I am now very keen to do the middle bit at some point when the complicated logistics can be arranged. That image at the top of this newsletter gives you some idea…
I have been lucky enough to complete the Old Ghost Road before, so this time I just took a ride into the final section of the trail, along the spectacular Mokihinui Gorge. On the way back I stopped in at Specimen Point Hut and there met two local fellas who had e-biked in there for lunch. It looked to me like the best lunch engagement I can imagine, two hours of sweet singletrack into the wilderness and another two getting out.
Oh yes, the product testing: tick, tick. That is two approvals, and the sound of the clock while we wait for production to be complete.
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