For mountain bikers, most of the trails coming out of the New Zealand cycleway project aren’t that inspiring. MTB riders with young families might be interested, but to most of us the thought of riding along an old railway route on a track suitable for four people to ride side by side doesn’t exactly conjure up singletrack wet dreams.
Enter Hoz Barclay and the Central North Island Rail Trail Cycleway. This 60km length of track is essentially the joining of two old logging tramways in the Pureora Forest. In the northern end you have the Waione Tram Track and in the southern end you have the Ongarue Tram Track. Way back in issue 15 of Spoke we did a story on Hoz’s vision to have a singletrack trail that linked these together. A few years have passed since then and the powers that be weren’t that into Hoz’s vision. Enter John Key and the Cycleway Project and anything with tram or rail in the title is hot property.
Now Hoz’s original aim was for the trail to be singletrack but beggars can’t be choosers and when offered the chance to make your vision a reality, well you have to jump at it. The great thing for us is that Hoz is a mountain biker. Actually a bloody good one, who dare I say it, has been riding MTBs longer than some of Spoke‘s readers have been alive. The Cycleways have strict guidelines pertaining to width and gradient and Hoz has stuck to this (the minimums) and is producing a track that should entice all Spoke readers. And you have to remember that this wasn’t a railway, it was a logging tramway; these things were never highways.
I recently had a chance to check out the first 6km of trail and while it’s not singletrack in the purest sense of the word it’s pretty damn close. There are no straight lines, so you never get that monotonous rail trail feeling. On the ups they don’t hinder the climb and going down they serve to control your speed, and in turn, the life (and liveliness) of the track, which, once people get a good look at it will be important cause this trail is going to be popular. Put it like this, I’m aching to ride this trail point to point. Usually I like my trails pretty technical but after my small sample of the trail, I can’t wait to ride the whole thing. And the best bit? I’ll be able to take my eight-year-old son along as well.
Hoz will be giving us the run down in issue 39’s Selector, but for now all you have is the one photo in this post and my word that this multi day MTB/Rail Trail is going to be awesome. For once, the politicians have got it right.
Nice work Hoz, can’t wait to ride it, the riding in there I’ve done is mint!
Nice work Hoz, can’t wait to ride it, the riding in there I’ve done is mint!
Very nice, good to see a where our taxes go! great work Hoz, particuarly excellent to see a mtber soughting it. Maybe the following summer we’ll be able to manage a family trip through. Are there any huts in the middle / on the way? The picture looks mint and Caleb sounds excited, so its got to be sweet.
Very nice, good to see a where our taxes go! great work Hoz, particuarly excellent to see a mtber soughting it. Maybe the following summer we’ll be able to manage a family trip through. Are there any huts in the middle / on the way? The picture looks mint and Caleb sounds excited, so its got to be sweet.
Cheers guys…yeah it’ll be pretty sweet alright. Should actually be close to 90 km all up – so a 2 day trip for most. There will be 3-sided shelters and campsites along the way for those who want to take longer, plus lots of extra “add-on” loop options that go off the main trail along the way. The half-way point for the main overnight camp is at Piropiro Flats (an existing DoC camp area) and there will be a lodge built there in future as well. Lots of the trail will be on Logging Tramway formations, which do have some pretty straight bits. But lots of cool cuttings and some epic bridges along the way. And the first 20km and middle 10km or so is spanking new trail with easy gradient and heaps of corners. Most of that is through big bush with HUGE rimus, totaras, matais etc. Mind-blowing!
Cheers guys…yeah it’ll be pretty sweet alright. Should actually be close to 90 km all up – so a 2 day trip for most. There will be 3-sided shelters and campsites along the way for those who want to take longer, plus lots of extra “add-on” loop options that go off the main trail along the way. The half-way point for the main overnight camp is at Piropiro Flats (an existing DoC camp area) and there will be a lodge built there in future as well. Lots of the trail will be on Logging Tramway formations, which do have some pretty straight bits. But lots of cool cuttings and some epic bridges along the way. And the first 20km and middle 10km or so is spanking new trail with easy gradient and heaps of corners. Most of that is through big bush with HUGE rimus, totaras, matais etc. Mind-blowing!
Great work Hoz. I rode some of the original sections with you many years ago, they were awesome then! I am sure with the work you have done and the other great riding near-by the area will go-off! 🙂
Great work Hoz. I rode some of the original sections with you many years ago, they were awesome then! I am sure with the work you have done and the other great riding near-by the area will go-off! 🙂
Wow Hoz, let us know when PNP can have a weekend away on your trails. We should make it a club trip. Marco
Wow Hoz, let us know when PNP can have a weekend away on your trails. We should make it a club trip. Marco
Way to go Hoz! Can’t wait to check it out with my family.
Way to go Hoz! Can’t wait to check it out with my family.
great work Hoz….excellent your skills are being utilised to the benefit of all m bikers
great work Hoz….excellent your skills are being utilised to the benefit of all m bikers
Lucky you can build trails boy cause you’re an ugly bastard so you couldn’t be a model and your singing sucks so you’d go nowhere in the pop industry! good work Gutsache, have to show us your tracks sometime.
Lucky you can build trails boy cause you’re an ugly bastard so you couldn’t be a model and your singing sucks so you’d go nowhere in the pop industry! good work Gutsache, have to show us your tracks sometime.
Hoz – Looks like I need to make another trip from Canada to visit your fine trails there.
Hoz – Looks like I need to make another trip from Canada to visit your fine trails there.
Hey Hoz. Great to see what you are up to. Amazing accomplishment. Spending lots of time in Kauai so will do the short hop to NZ soon. Cant wait to ride it! Cheers.
Hey Hoz. Great to see what you are up to. Amazing accomplishment. Spending lots of time in Kauai so will do the short hop to NZ soon. Cant wait to ride it! Cheers.
Thanks guys….livin’ the dream, as they say. Almost have the route across the Maramataha River gorge sorted now….looks like the bridge will be 120m long and about 40m above the river….spectacular
John & Andrew….nice one guys. Would be great to catch up with ya again. Haven’t heard from Ed in quite a while but it’d be cool to ride some more local options with y’all…including this new trail. We are getting more completed by the day, though it will be late 2011 before it’s done! Ed has my email, or failing that get in contact with me via Caleb at Spoke Magazine. We’ll set up a great trip! Cheers fellas
Thanks guys….livin’ the dream, as they say. Almost have the route across the Maramataha River gorge sorted now….looks like the bridge will be 120m long and about 40m above the river….spectacular
John & Andrew….nice one guys. Would be great to catch up with ya again. Haven’t heard from Ed in quite a while but it’d be cool to ride some more local options with y’all…including this new trail. We are getting more completed by the day, though it will be late 2011 before it’s done! Ed has my email, or failing that get in contact with me via Caleb at Spoke Magazine. We’ll set up a great trip! Cheers fellas