Spoke Issue #67 - Preview

ISSUE 67 SEPT 2016 NZ $10.90 AUS $11.90

STEFAN BENNETT AND BERND SOMMER, ROTORUA, NZ.

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SPOKE ISSUE 67

Shoulder Season Is snow the new dirt?

Words & Image Mark Bridgwater

For those of us in the cold South Island, we’re faced with a tough conundrum at this time of year. Do we get overly excited about the approaching snow season and go for a ski tour before the resorts open?

Or do we take the chance to make the most of the last few days on the bike before trails get shut down and that option is taken away? For Renee and Jonas, the choice went the way of the bike, the couple taking the rare opportunity to blur the lines between the two seasons with a layer of fresh snow covering the Canterbury mountains. Skids, slushy mud in the face, bails and pinned lines; snow added an extra element to some familiar trails for their last few runs of the ‘season’.

Riders: Jonas Meier and Renee Wilson Location: Craigieburn, NZ

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SPOKE ISSUE 67

Outrunning Mother Nature Beating the winter blues Words & Image Cameron Mackenzie

Is winter really all that bad?

When your local dirt isn’t year-round hero dirt, the answer is yes! Particuarly in Auckland, your bike and wallet will simply hate you from the moment your tyres touch dirt. It’s this viscous cycle that we as riders repeat ever year, and one I currently find myself in. The struggle of finding the motivation (and funds) to venture out in the cold, to spend hours cleaning post-ride and then hating yourself for being too much of a wimp one month out from racing.

The solution?

The grass is always greener on the other side, a saying we’ve all heard and a commonly dispelled myth. However, it really is greener in Rotorua. A place where the dirt’s always good, where you and your bike can love each other more than your wife and her wine. A happy bike, no pre-season panic and winter full of loose times!

Next time you look out your weathered window, and think you’d best skip that ride, gather your mates and go explore!

Rider: Jack Fisher Location: Rotorua, NZ

PLACES

Chest Peak

Searching for New Zealand’s Alpine Epic Words Richard Goldsbury | Images Odin Woods “Yesterday’s helibike mission morphed from a relaxing four-hour alpine cruise into a ten-hour gutbusting epic resulting in police being notified of our overdue status. I just wanted to acknowledge the correct and calm actions by everyone involved. The various partners at home made a sensible decision to contact police based on their expectations versus information they had. The police didn’t overreact, waiting for us calmly at the end of the exit road from the valley, and were very friendly. The various members of the group supported each other throughout the mission by sharing food, water and banter as the highs and lows of fatigue fluctuated through us all. Thank you to everyone for playing their part in an epic day in the mountains. I had the best day!” – KJ Randell, following our eventful Kathmandu staff team-building trip.

The author dropping into a side feature on the way to the burnt section.

PLACES

Capital Connection Canberra’s got it going on Words Neil Kerr | Images Damian Breach

Australia’s capital, much like our own, isn’t the country’s largest or most wellknown city. On the contrary, Canberra’s obscurity is such that Singapore Airlines has only just announced the city’s first international flight. That’s right; the capital of Australia has just gone international, 80 years after the rest of the country.

The good news for Kiwis is that this groundbreaking flight is connecting our two capitals and we can now make the trip direct to ACT in a little under three hours.

I took the chance to head to Canberra to discover what the city had to offer the discerning mountain biker, and was surprised not only at the quality of riding but that there were a few similarities to our own capital. We know that what Wellington lacks in size and settled weather it makes up for with culture and an abundance of superb, easily accessible mountain bike trails. So how did our

warmer cousin across the Tasman fare with these essential ingredients required to satisfy the sophisticated city-dwelling rider?

First impressions of Canberra are of a contemporary, affluent city designed with surgical precision. A myriad of busy cycleways indicated a strong underlying bike culture. I later discovered that close to ten percent of the population commute to work by bike, an impressive statistic that puts “clean green” New Zealand to shame. After a whirlwind but worthwhile tour of the National Museum I headed to bed thinking that perhaps the joke about yoghurt having more culture than Aussies was a little unfounded; Te Papa’s counterpart had turned up a few surprises and taught me a host of new interesting facts.

the search for brown powder Japan’s underground bike scene I’m used to having a hard time at Tokyo’s Narita airport, pinballing my way through a sea of black-haired business suits, wheeling a piece of oversized baggage and dressed for the wrong season.

Usually carting an enormous ski bag and clad in shorts and jandals appropriate for a New Zealand summer, this time is different.

I’m overdressed and the humidity of the Japanese summer hits me as I weave my bike box through the arrivals hall looking for my companions for this year’s Japanese adventure. It’s my first time in this amazing country in summertime.

Words & Images Camilla Rutherford

ISLAND HOPPI NG in

CROATIA

With Bike and Boat through the Kvarner

Her size was what hit me at first sight in the port of Omišalj. I felt amazed, almost reverent.

She was berthed in port, brilliantly white. I saw her from a distance, and approached slowly. I reckoned she was about 30 or 35 metres. Arriving at the bow of the impressive motor yacht, I was able to read her name: Andela Lora. Incredulous, I stood there thinking, ‘no way is this ship ours’. I looked around, unsure.

With a broad grin, a young man came up to me and my three travelling companions and introduced himself as Sasha. He asked us to bring our luggage on board across the narrow gangway.

So it was true; we were going to be staying on the Andela Lora for the next few days, eating, sleeping and relaxing. Sasha, one of our guides,

promises us our bike tours will begin and end directly at the ship. My estimate of 30 to 35 metres was off; she is a full 40 metres long, 8.5 metres wide, boasting 17 guest cabins and a swimming pool on the sun deck. The cabins are 12–14m² and equipped with a sink and toilet, large beds and storage space. I grinned in anticipation; I hadn’t expected this luxury.

Shortly after arrival, the assembled team made us and the rest of the cyclist groups welcome with tea, coffee and cake. Everyone introduced themselves in turn, from the captain through the kitchen staff to our bike guides and tour guides, all of whom were warm and friendly. Even at this point there was a lot of laughter and every question was answered in detail. We felt completely at home.

Words: Gerhard Czerner | Images: Martin Bissig