The boys at Diaries Down Under drop their first summer episode.

Lance has a dream job in a dream location. He is head trail builder/ maintainer at the Skyline accessed trails in Queenstown. For those of you who have had the pleasure of riding his masterpieces, it’s fair to say he does a damn fine job. If you want proof of this statement get down there ASAP. You won’t be sorry.

How old are you?
39

Where do you live?
Closeburn, QUEENSTOWN

What do you like best about living where you do?
The abundance of things to do, and great people to enjoy doing them with.

What do you dislike about living where you do?
No waves, keen to surf more.

How did you get involved in the mountain bike scene to begin with, and how long ago was that?
Well back in the day living in Auckland a group of us formed the Eastern mountain bike club, riding in the Whitford forest in maybe 1990, and of course the weekend missions to Rotovegas. Trail riding is where my roots are at but I enjoy downhill and dirtjumping too.

What’s your ‘day’ job? What does it involve?
I work for Skyline Queenstown and have been employed to carry out trail maintenance in the Queenstown Bike Park within the Ben Lomond Reserve. It’s great if you like raking up berms, picking up sticks and putting in drains, haha. Generally I’m out and about working by myself or with a small crew and the focus has been on getting the trails ready for a beating this summer, making things as sustainable as possible and working to reinstate some of the older trails. We have nine tracks but more would be great.

What are five benefits of working with bikes all day every day?
It’s great to have seen things evolve to this stage, having worked in various capacities in the cycling industry in New Zealand over the past two decades, it;s rewarding to see the growth of the bike culture in Queenstown and nationally with big thanks going out to Queenstown Mountain BikingCclub for their ongoing commitment to developing the scene here. Seeing people enjoy riding the trails and buzzing about their day is great.

How would you describe your riding style?
Mellow, I like to keep it tame these days but still really enjoy the sensation of shredding some corners and boosting some jumps. It’s great chasing your mates around and having some laughs.

Favourite trail?
Mmm… tough one, depends on mood. We have some good flavours here in Queenstown. My backyard being 7 mile is pretty awesome, but I like the QBP because you can get your fix easy and mix it up. Long live the Fernhill Loop.

What’s one thing you’ve learned in the last 10 years?
Hard work pays off in the long run, and don’t throw dirt because you lose ground…

What’s wrong with mountain biking?
Lycra and bar ends.

What are three things right with mountain biking?
QBP, gondola rides up, and props to those who dig.

Top two mountain bike developments in the last 10 years (bike park, part or whatever)?
The opening of QBP and the trial opening of the Heaphy, yeah!

All time favourite rider?
Lots, those who have inspired me to get back in the saddle after being knocked down rate highly. But I think back in time to those crazy videos of Chain Smoke etc, those riders that are still around now and doing it for the love of it.

Top five favourite bits of mountain bike kit?
Specialized Demo8, Troy Lee helmet, Five Ten shoes, and of course I wouldn’t go anywhere backcountry without my CamelBak.

Who do you look up to?
Those who put back in, dig and inspire others to do the same. Props to NG.

What are your vices?
Time, need more.

Finish this sentence: “On a Saturday I like to get up and….”
Have a yummy breakfast, catch up with my mates and go ride bikes or play in the mountains and be content for what I’ve got — stoked on living in New Zealand.

Hungry for some Dirt Park action? I am after watching this nicely pieced together video by Jon Bokrantz for Queenstown Bike Taxis.

From the QBT website, “Queenstown Bike Taxis offers a transport only service to help you and your bike get to the trails around Queenstown. QBT can pick you up from the airport, get you started for a cross country mission, drive the shuttles for a downhill run or take you on a 3 day trip to some of the best riding in the South Island.”

As most people will already know there is plenty of good gravity riding around the Queenstown area. Again, from the website, “Wynyard Express is pretty much in the middle of Queenstown, Zoot Track is only a 15 minute drive, Dirt Park is an hour away and Clyde/Linger & Die is only just over an hours drive. QBT do transport for all these tracks and also tours further afield to Christchurch, Mt Hutt and Dunedin.”

If you are planning on visiting the Queenstown area and you want to look beyond the Queenstown Bike Park then QBP are going to help you find the goods and get you there. A must for anyone wanting to follow in the footsteps of the pros who have shralped trails in the area over the years or just want to blast through some amazing Kiwi scenery.

Is this Dan McMullan of NZ Freeride Guides? Did I also see the very rapid and always spacey Cam Bro?

Kelly “McMassive” McGarry or Kelly “my arm has a vagina” McGarry as Caleb put it, shreds Queenstown for my camera.

Kelly is one of the hardest working riders out there, putting massive effort into his video segments.

Conor Macfarlane has had a great season overseas and is killing it in Queenstown for the summer.

Here’s his clip from LKTV from the 2012 Wide Open Product Launch.

Skyline chief Ross Davidson offloads the Zerode bike at the top of the gondola

Just got this press release in from the folks at Skyline. Looks like it’s all on.

The world-class Queenstown Bike Park opens to the public for its first full season this Saturday (17 September), offering the only gondola-accessed downhill mountain biking in the southern hemisphere with over 30 kms of purpose built tracks.

Dubbed the ‘Whistler of the Southern Hemisphere’ by some of the biggest names in the international biking fraternity, including the royal family of biking top pro riders Dan, Gee and Rachel Atherton, the Queenstown Bike Park already has some famous fans after being used for offseason training during a very successful four-month trial earlier in the year.

The Queenstown Bike Park is part of the Ben Lomond Recreational Reserve, managed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, and is built on a steep pine-covered hill with spectacular scenery. It is 790 vertical metres above sea level with 500 vertical metres of uplift from the bottom to the top of the Skyline-operated gondola. The trails vary from fast bermed and groomed trails to off-camber goat tracks, rock gardens, and natural singletrack. Runs are graded just like ski runs: green, blue and black for beginner, intermediate and advanced respectively.

The park has been a labour of love for many people, with collaboration between the Queenstown District Council, the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club, Skyline and Cookie Time Limited co-owner and bike enthusiast Michael Mayell. Guest of honour at this Saturday’s opening is former Junior World Champion Scarlett Hagen. Hagen, who also has a raft of international and national titles to her name, will take the first run down along with Skyline chief engineer Ross Davidson, a passionate mountain biker who has been pushing the park project for 15 years.

Davidson has been instrumental in the park’s development, designing the hooks that allow bikes to be carried on the gondolas, and project managing the park’s trial season.

“During my teens and early twenties I was always involved in motocross and enduro riding and racing. I’ve been a keen recreational mountain biker ever since we moved to Queenstown 25 years ago,” 53-year-old Davidson says.

“Prior to Skyline opening to mountain biking, cross-country riding was my thing, always with the emphasis on the downhill. And I still get great enjoyment out of kicking my brother, son and nephews’ butts on the downhill.”

In a unique sponsorship arrangement with Cookie Time Limited (CTL), every bike park lift ticket this season will come with a One Square Meal ‘bite’ bar. The official fuel of the park, One Square Meal is a breakthrough product that delivers one third of daily nutritional requirements.

CTL founder, Christchurch-based entrepreneur Michael Mayell, fell in love with the park during the trial opening earlier this year. He has also been helping with park launch plans, branding and a new website launching on Friday (www.queenstownbikepark.co.nz). Mayell is the proud owner of the latest in mountain biking downhill technology, the Zerode frame.  Designed in New Zealand and made in the US, the Zerode is the top of the line for downhill handling.

“The first time I arrived at the gondola base station having ridden from the top, the adrenaline was flowing. Then I got to go up in the gondola and take in those beautiful views. With sightseeing up and trail thrills all the way down, I was hooked,” Mayell says.

“And the One Square Meal deal will of course help keep everyone riding harder, for longer.”

Cycling is a huge growth industry in New Zealand, with 1.2 million New Zealanders riding bikes and more than 200,000 bikes imported each year. Cycling tourism is also on the rise, both domestically and internationally.

Ross Davidson says the four-month trial season at Skyline was a “huge” success, with 5,000 people completing more than 58,000 runs down the mountain.

“It shows that there’s a growing market for an outdoor activity in a stunning location that’s suitable for everyone from beginners to families and advanced or pro riders,” he says.

“It’s adding a new and exciting activity to the visitor mix as our figures already show that more than 40% of riders who used the park during the trial were international visitors. It’s expected up to 100,000 rides will be completed in the bike park’s first full season. “

The Atherton siblings, who have an extensive list of major international bike titles between them, think the Queenstown Bike Park has the potential to equal Canada’s mountain biking mecca, Whistler. While here earlier this year, the trio were filmed for their reality TV show, the Atherton project.

Twenty-nine-year-old  Dan said the gondola runs were a huge drawcard. “It’s so easy just to be able to bang out some runs without having to pack the truck and go out for a big expedition.”

The Queenstown Bike Park officially opens Saturday 17 September at 10am for an eight month season to April 2012. Lift tickets cost $60 for a full day or $45 for a half day.

Some of you may know that Caleb went on a wee road trip around the States recently. As well as sticking his beak in the secret drawers of Greg Herbold, stretching out in Ross Schnell’s planet killer, and discovering that we really weren’t blowing smoke up the Tallboy’s arsehole, he visited the TEVA Mountain Games to see if their shoes are just as useful for mountain biking as they are for uphill kayaking, extreme hacky sack and stinking hippy slack lining. The shoes are in New Zealand now and some of Vertigo Bikes guides have been given a few pairs to test out. Useful really, because there’s been more mountain biking than snow skidding in Queenstown recently. Here’s what the tantric snake Paul Angus has to say about the shoes.

Words by Paul Angus aka T-Pang, aka Pangus, aka The Nutty Monk, aka Snipers Nightmare, aka possibly the most sublimely skilled rider in the under 30kg category.

Teva—that’s “teh-vah,” not “tee-vah”—has been around for 25 years, and has built its reputation on water based sports shoes, stemming from rafting operations in the Grand Canyon. Does this make it a suitable candidate for producing a mountain bike shoe? Well, it has all the technology in place, amalgamated with a well chosen collaboration with legendary freerider Jeff Lenosky, to produce a new purpose built flat soled freeride shoe.

Teva has been supporting mountain biking at the Teva Mountain Games for the past five years and the event is now recognised as one of the premier freeride competitions. It’s a very environmentally aware company, and support many environmental initiatives such as the Waterkeepers Alliance and Conservation Alliance. The company philosophy is great, stating that, “In the end, we want to make shoes that help you see the world, but not at the cost of making a world that you don’t want to see.”

Does this philosophy suit mountain bikers? Yes, I think it does! We’re a curious breed that likes to see new things, explore new areas and find special moments of solitary in beautiful environments. We love nature and being in the mountains, and if we can support a company that is dedicated to keeping the mountains the way they should be, that has got to be a good thing!

So as for the shoe itself, well Vertigo Bikes has been lucky to get some samples from Teva New Zealand to try out over winter, and the model we received to use and abuse is the Link. It’s a great looking shoe, and the attention to detail is what really impressed me; they have obviously gone all out to produce a real competitor to try to dilute the Five Ten monopoly out there at the moment.

The first thing you notice when you pick them up is how light they are. They have definitely done what they can to keep the weight down without sacrificing performance and protection. The second thing you notice is the sole which has three distinct sections to it. You have the main grip pad taking up most of the space perfectly where you want to have your foot on the pedal. Then you have a more aggressive tread design at the front and the back of the shoe. The front is to aid traction when walking up a trail, and the back section on the heel (Teva calls it the E-Brake) has a reverse lug pattern to help aid traction when walking down the trail. Very clever and great for trail building days! There’s also a rigid heel stabiliser to help keep your foot centred in the shoe.

These are all great little features that add to the overall package but the bit I like best which will probably appeal to riders who like to ride in the mud is the special technology that Teva has brought from years of experience in the water sports industry to make the shoe resistant to absorbing water (on a molecular level they say!) Sounds very Star Trek, but Teva’s Ion Mask technology, combined with waterproof materials throughout the rest of the shoe, means that the shoe should keep your feet a bit drier and will be easier to wash after the end of a muddy ride. Love it!

So the nitty gritty! How do they ride? The sole is made from Teva’s ‘Spider365 sticky rubber’ and to put any rumours to rest straight away, out of the box, the sole is not as glue-like sticky as a Five Ten; I would describe it more like a semi worn set of Five Tens. Is this a bad thing? Those of you who have been Five Ten users for a while will know that they are too grippy when new, and don’t start to feel their best until they do wear to a certain point, whereas the Teva Links feel like this straight out of the box. A lot of flat pedal riders use flat pedals because we like the feeling of freedom that being able to move your foot around on the pedal gives. We like the little positional shifts that happen so naturally when you are really flowing with a trail and in the air, and sometimes having a shoe that is too grippy really impinges on this. On the trail, like any good product, you didn’t even notice them. Blasting down the rough and fast Vertigo Trail in Queenstown Bike Park, I felt completely confident in the shoes from the first straight, jumping into braking bumps, rock gardens, roots and holes; there was no sign of them going anywhere on the pedals. After using Five Tens for almost 10 years now, I was blown away that I could even think I could ride another brand of shoe. So well done Teva, you’ve hit the nail on the head with the Links!

They should be available in all good bike shops soon, including Vertigo Bikes in Queenstown! www.vertigobikes.com

Specs
T.I.D.E GRIP
Our Spider365 Rubber sole will hold its grip in all kinds of environments.
The sole of the Links was designed specifically to interface with the unique platform of a bike pedal.
Aggressive tread designs at the toe and heel will grip the dirt when you’re hoofin’ it.
Teva E-Brake in the heel features a reverse lug pattern to give you downhill traction when you’re off your bike.
A rigid heel stabilizer keeps your foot centered in the shoe.
T.I.D.E HYDRO
Ion-mask™ technology actually prevents the materials in this shoe from absorbing any water on a molecular level. It sounds like sci-fi, but it’s real.
Waterproof materials throughout the shoe make it easy to wash the mud off.
T.I.D.E COMFORT
A rubberized grid over the toe area is a breathable armor that prevents puncture or ripping.
Leather and mesh upper.
A Shoc Pad™ in the heel makes for a smooth ride.
Extra padding throughout the upper softens your landings.
Strong plastic wraps around the back of the shoe to protect your heel.
Elastic gores on the tongue give you a snug fit.
Our Mush® Infused Insole brings the absurd comfort of our flip flops into a shoe.

Added to the team’s main partners of Animal clothing, Fox Racing Shox and Shimano components is the Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport van. The Vito Sport is the perfect van for any mountain biker or outdoor enthusiast making it a perfect match to the Atherton Family.

Gee floating somewhere above Queenstown. Photo Sven Martin

The team has also forged a partnership with the Italian bike Mecca, Alpi Bike Resort. Just 45 minutes from Turin airport and with a variety of riding means the team has a great base between European rounds of the World Cup. The family will be working with the resort throughout the summer to help and develop the region.

The Athertons rolled out the new Commencal Supreme V3 with a few new additions for the 2011 season. Having worked with Continental tyres for two seasons on development the team showed off the latest addition, which they referred to as the ‘Rammstein Project,’ a dry tyre that incorporates the Black Chilli compound and the quality of a hand built German built tyre.
Working alongside the Continental tyres the Athertons will be using Stans No Tubes tubeless solution in a bid to save those ever important, tenths of a second.

Rachel shredding Queenstown just prior to the $2000 excess baggage charge! Photo Sven Martin

Also new on the bike is headsets and Tiramic cartridge bearings from Token. These trick and lightweight components help keep the Supreme’s weight a cool 2lbs lighter than 2010.

To give an added edge on the race track the team also adds Contour to the roster; the cutting edge GPS head cameras allow the Athertons to learn the track while sat in their hotel rooms.

Rachel also announced her plans to skip South Africa in a bid to ensure she is 100% for the rest of the season. With a host of tracks on the calendar that Rachel hasn’t ridden before she is raring to get going this year and will return for Fort William along with brother Dan.

Dan. Steez. DH. Three good words for 2011. Photo Sven Martin

Gee will be looking to start the World Cup season off in style down in South Africa in two week’s time but before then he will tackle the British Downhill Series on home turf at Moelfre, Wales just four miles from the Athertons’ home.

You will be able to keep up with all that is Atherton on the ‘Atherton Project’, a biweekly reality online series starting on the 27th May.

Check out athertonracing.co.uk , join us on facebook.com/athertonracing and follow us on Twitter @athertonracing

Mark Weir on Vertigo a few years back.

It’s been a while since we brought you any kind of update on the Gondola situation in Queenstown but I just checked out Skyline’s site and it looks as if everything is on track! Skyline are building a new ticketing window (to keep bikes separate from sightseeing walkers I’m guessing), and at the top terminal riders will unload their bikes and exit directly via an electronic door and elevated walkway to the rear of the terminal and a new bike area. The Skyline Gondola will be open for bikes from Monday 24th January–Sunday 29th May 2011 (but will be closed Easter). Prices aren’t too bad, well single uplifts are pretty heavy at $30 a pop, but you can get a season pass for $475 (full list of prices below) which is pretty sweet for over four months of riding. Register for passes by e-mailing mtb@skyline.co.nz, more info after the jump

Bottom Terminal

Top Terminal

Mountain Biking season dates

Monday 24th January – Sunday 29th May 2011

(Closed to Mt Bikes over Easter 22nd – 28th April 2011)

Open daily 10.00am – 8.00pm

NB: Timings may change during the season according to demand

Adult – 15 Years +

Youth – 5 – 14 Years & must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian (18 Years or older).

NB: The above products will not be available to children under 5 years
Mountain Bike Season pass holder benefits:
FREE Gondola (additional to MTB access)
25% off Gondola photo albulms
20% off Gondola (for up to 3 friends when accompanying cardholder)
20% off Kiwi Haka
20% off 2,3 & 5 ride Luge packages
15% off Souvenir shop items
15% off Luge photos
10% off Restaurant buffet dinner/lunch & beverage
10% off Cafe food & beverage

If you’re in Queenstown during December we’ve just got word that Graeme Cooper is bringing back the goodness that is the League of Gentlemen for summer and the League’s epic season will kick off with the infamous Das Uber D. All you have to do is be at the top of Skyline on December 2nd for a 7pm start. You will have to earn your way up the old fashioned way!! No Gondola assistance until January 24th.

Skyline Enterprises boss Jeff Staniland says the company’s looking at trialling access this summer to its Bob’s Peak cableway if a feasibility study stacks up.
The only gondola access allowed now is during mornings till 11am for clients of mountain bike company Vertigo – their bikes go up on a service cart.
Staniland: “We’re always getting people asking and we thought it was time to relook at it.”
There’s a “reasonable chance” Skyline will confirm a trial, starting October, after an eight-week feasibility study, Staniland says.
Providing mountain bike access would cost a few hundred thousand dollars, he estimates.
Staniland says the main challenge will be getting mountain bikes onto gondolas and providing alternative bottom and top terminal access.
“They can’t go through the ordinary [bottom terminal] queue.”
It’s likely the bikes will be clipped onto gondolas.
“We can’t put them in the gondolas or hang them underneath. If you’ve got a big queue of diners wanting to get on, a big number of mountain bikers, how do you manage the two?”
It might be that mountain bikers couldn’t ride on busy public holidays like New Years’ Day, he says.
Rainy days, because of the mud that bikes would drag through, might also be off-limits. Staniland says the other issue is pricing.
“It would be interesting to know what the real demand’s like. A lot of those mountain bikers have very little money but they’ll have a $10,000 downhill bike.”
Any arrangement is likely to involve day, multi-day and season passes.
Staniland’s comments are a turnaround from last September when then Skyline boss Ken Matthews – now company chairman – told Mountain Scene: “Mountain bikers and bikes don’t make a good mix for our other business, our other visitors.
“We’re not set up to handle it in volume and we’ve maintained that view for quite some years and will continue to do so.”

Vertigo owner Tim Ceci (left) says summer mountain biking would join bungy, jetboating and rafting as Queenstown’s “big activities” if gondola access gets the green light.

“It’s going to be huge for the town.”

Bob’s Peak has six official downhill trails and a dozen unofficial ones, but there’d need to be more track development to cater for less extreme riders, Ceci says.

“The new face of town will be a full face in goggles.”

NZSki closed down a summer mountain bike operation on Coronet Peak last summer, citing lack of commercial viability and disruption to pre-winter capital works.

NZSki charged $249 for a two-month adult pass during the 2008/2009 summer.”

Queenstown, idyllic.

This week there’s no excuse for a late Track Day Tuesday, apart from the fact I was actually out riding the track and attempting to take some photos and remember what tracks were what.

So with out further ado Track Day Tuesday (on a Wednesday again!)  this week it’s not just one track but a general area, the often overlooked ‘Skyline Hill’, Queenstown.

Blair entering 'Turd Sandwich'

Attacking what’s known by the locals as “Skyline” is not for the faint of heart and weak of legs. Although a Gondola accesses the hill, no bikes are allowed on it unless you are doing a guided tour with one of the Vertigo Bikes guides. The main access to the singletrack is via a long, and at times pretty darn steep gravel road. Generally the gravel road takes most people 30-40 mins to get to the top of it where the Gondola station is with a combination of riding and walking.

Token Queenstown scenic pic.

After a slog up the hill, stop and chill for a bit at the Heli-pad, taking in the view and if you’re a visitor take some snaps on your point and shoot or the disposable number from the Day/Night in town. From here it’s basically all downhill. A good start is the Vertigo track, flowy smooth singletrack and a good introduction to what the hill has to offer. Once you’ve taken that on if you’re looking for something more tech, this is where Skyline really can deliver.

Autumn has hit, the leaves are falling, and things are getting a bit drifty!

I’ve visited Skyline hill on a few occasions now and every time I finish a ride with a huge smile, having been both physically and technically challenged on the bike. Most trails up there are reasonably steep and vary from the swoopy berm lines on ‘B line’ and ‘Vertigo’ to gnarly steep, rocky and root infested sections down ‘Ants’ track. Relatively new addition ‘Turd Sandwich’ runs from mid way down the hill and has some really good flowy fast singletrack dispersed with some tighter steep (but reasonably short and safe) sections. (See helmet cam video below.)

Vertigo Guide and general rad dude, "Pang" (Paul Angus) hooking!

The ‘Fernhill loop’ is a killer trail, well suited to those who like roots and rocks and lots of them, without being too technically difficult to ride. The climb goes by pretty quickly as you pick and choose your way up each section, and then finally pop out into tussock lands. After a short descent you fire (almost literally as this section is fast!) back into the forest and back onto the track you just climbed up. Awesome views and a super fun trail.

Blair Christmas dropping into the 3rd corner of 'Turd'

The Skyline / Fernhill area would rate up there with some of the most exhilarating, flowing singletrack I’ve ridden around the country. Although most of the riding is a slog up, the descents are well worth the effort.

The area would be most fun for fit, intermediate to advanced level riders (most tracks are around grade 4) on 6 inch travel or more trail bikes (ie not a full blown DH bike) and some sort of ‘dropper’ style seat post would help maximise your fun too!

Once you've ridden it once you'll just want do do it over and over. The boys head up for another hit.

Blasting trails with mates, what it's all about.

Thanks to my buddies Blair Christmas and Paul Angus for showing me around, and Queenstown for being generally awesome!

Classic NZ Mountainbike Rides have a little info about the area HERE

To take advantage of the Gondola and get the local knowledge, maps etc. hit up the guys at Vertigo Bikes.

When in Queenstown it would be just plain rude not to go for a roll at Gorge Road Dirt Jumps.

Queenstown central hot spots.

If you have a trail in your area you think SPOKE readers should know about, contact us (quietchaos007@gmail.com) and we’ll try and get out to have a look, alternatively take some photos, write some words, give us some directions and email it all through. We’ll get it up and get some people your way!

The boys from Vertigo in Queenstown along with their band of merry men, now dubbed ‘the Alliance’, have been busy on the tools lately. They’ve been putting in some new trails up on Skyline Hill that adds to the already awesome network of trails up there.

Paul Angus put together this clip of ‘Turd Sandwich’ which looks like a whole lot of fun!