Kia Ora - Bike Taupo

Welcome to another edition of Pedal Talk from Bike Taupo
Issue #28
Kia Ora
Well, I do believe that perhaps Spring has finally Sprung! Its been fabulous to see all the people and families out over the
holidays riding bikes, along the lakefront, on the roads and mountain bike tracks. Our Spring membership is underway and
with only another couple of months till 2016 membership starts, we are definitely on the countdown to Christmas. I would
like to take the opportunity to say a BIG thanks to Tony Pietersma at Taupo Key & Lock for generously sponsoring our bike
tags again for next year, your bike will once again be looking very stylie into 2016 with the white and purple
tags. Membership will once again kick off from December 1st, 2015, watch this space for reminder.
At our recent Partners evening we included our 2014/2015 achievements, this really does make for good reading, and
although we don’t want to be seen to "blow our own trumpet" it really does highlight the amount of work that Bike Taupo
does in our District for the cycling community. As members we appreciate that you buy into our vision and help us progress
into the future, so these are the things we do for you. Please view the link here: http://www.biketaupo.org.nz/blog/641940
On the 15th of October we swung in motion with replacing Paddy's bridge on the Rotary track. This replacement was with a
BIG thanks to the Lion Foundation for their funding. These photos were kindly supplied by David at DBCon and myself, I
went up to take photos and watch the proceedings but the exfoliation I was receiving from the dust blown about by the
helicopter really wasn’t that enjoyable!!.
Photos show the old bridge being deconstructed and lifted out.
The new bridge in place but not quite rideable yet!
Another way to support Bike Taupo:
Teamfund Fundraising
How it works
All you have to do is snap pictures of your shopping receipts to earn cash donations for Bike
Taupo.
TeamFund has developed a “pay-it-forward” funding model that puts the donation power in the
hands of communities.
Support our local businesses and at the same time raise funds for BT that will enable us to continuing improving our tracks
and support Kids Bike Taupo.
TeamFund is an easy to use fundraising app: turn pictures of your everyday shopping receipts into cash donations with this
free app.
Get started today:
1. Download the free TeamFund app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
2. Shop in participating businesses and start taking pictures of your receipts
3. Submit to TeamFund and earn cash donations for Bike Taupo.
There’s no limit to how much money we can raise with TeamFund – the more support, the more we will raise for our track
network.
Thank you for your support! Check it out here: http://www.teamfund.co.nz/#!bike-taupo/c23s9
Results of: Name that Photo competition
Thanks to all those who put forward there captions for this photo, we had some good laughs in the office. But after much
deliberation the winning caption goes to Dave Nicol who wins himself a Tee Shirt with this caption:
"Joe finds out why they are called Rock Shocks"
Other highly commended captions include:
"Stoned again"
"I should've gone to specsavers"
"Crikey! Rowan needs to get those kidney stones sorted"
"I'm telling you one more time - get out of my way!"
So, here’s another opportunity to score yourself another Great Lake Trail Tee shirt, send
me your caption for this photo, I actually think this guy looks a bit like Carwyn
May?? Anyway, send your best caption to [email protected] for your chance to
win.
Look forward to reading those and in the meantime, get out there and enjoy our trails and
the warmer weather. Dont hesitate to contact us if you have any feedback/suggestions or
see anything that requires our track crew's attention.
Cheers, Melissa
"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and
shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire
community.”
Words of Wisdom - from our leader
Hi all, and it is great to see the longer and warmer days which provide more opportunity to get out
on our bikes and enjoy our fantastic piece of paradise. A couple of weeks ago, myself and BT’s ops
manager Pete Masters, headed down to wellington to attend the New Zealand Cycle Trails AGM. It
was a good couple of days hearing about the what all the other trail builders are up to, swapping
notes and talking about how to ensure that our trails are ticking all the right boxes. All in all we
walked away feeling like that we are doing pretty well. The Great Lake Trail is experiencing some
very good numbers and feedback on the trail and the ride experience is always very positive. While
we are always looking at ways to improve our trails, i think we are setting a good standard.
Our ability to maintain our trails sustainably is also one of our strengths. I put this down to two key factors being,
1. we take our time to get it right and build great trails, and 2. Collaboration. The support we get from the local community is
what enables us to keep on building and maintaining quality trails, getting kids on bikes and also start to look at new ways
and facilities to get more people on bikes in Taupo District. This support was evident at our annual partners evening a
couple of weeks ago. With about 60 people in attendance, it was a great occasion to thank our partners and let them know
what we are up to, what we have achieved and what is coming up in the future. You can find a full list of our partners on our
website, but these are the individuals, businesses and organisations who fund us and support us and enable Bike Taupo to
keep moving forward. It is also great for us to provide an opportunity for these good people to help us out, and if you are
interested in becoming a Bike Taupo partner please get in touch. So thanks to all of our partners you are awesome!
Now I know I say it every time, but make sure you have a shot at leaving your car at home in the morning and getting on
your bike and ride to work. With the warmer and lighter days you really have no excuse. Also the more people on bikes in
town the better off Taupo will be.
Kāti ake nei and GO THE All BLACKS!!
“Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.” Grant Petersen, bicycle designer
Rowan Sapsford
Track Crew News
Eastern/ Huka tracks
There is a lot happening with tree planting, Paddy's Bridge replacement and general maintenance. The
landscape has been changed significantly as the area is prepared for next year’s tree planting around Paddy's bridge. This
will ultimately improve the track making it a better riding experience and reducing the required maintenance of the track.
The link on the Eastern Bypass to Aratiatia is being realigned to remove the nasty hill that has matting on it.
Thanks to funding from the Taupo Rotary Club, realignment of the bungy hill to make it easier is also about to begin. This
entails a lot of work so it will be spread over two or three years and split into various stages to meet funding demands.
Craters
The tracks are riding great at the moment with everybody providing positive feedback. The skills course and wave ride
continue to be a big hit with the 6 to 70 year old kids.
The track crew is about to start spraying for weed control. Pete Manning has realigned the end of Outback so it links better
with Skunkworks—this will be open shortly. The Mad Engineers are also in the process of realigning Steamfields so the track
extends out to a lookout overlooking the top of the steam fields. Both of these are hand built single-track improvements.
Great Lake Trails
Apart from a little bit of water damage on the Waihaha section, which will be tidied in the near future, the trail is riding better
than it ever has.
Huka MTB Event
A reminder that the Huka MTB event is happening on Saturday 28 November. It is a great way to check out all of the eastern
tracks. There are three distances to choose from: 35km, 60km and 85km with the longer two distances incorporating more of
the great single tracks in Craters. Check it out here: http://www.cyclechallenge.com/
Track Crew Contact Details
Email [email protected]
More info: http://www.biketaupo.org.nz/news/track-crew
The big excitement has been The Moe Show biking episode.
Watch it AGAIN on http://www.four.co.nz/THE-MOE-SHOW-Series-2-Episode12/tabid/3695/articleID/118337/MCat/3639/Default.aspx
The best bit starts from around 4 minutes.
Another cool clip is from the Paetiki Community Day. Check it
out https://www.facebook.com/Tauharanpt?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
I think you need to be logged into Facebook. These TDC Our Neighbourhood Days and Community Days are a very cool
way for Kids Bike Taupō to connect with the whanau of the kids we see at the schools. If there is one in your area, please
support it.
Term 4 is completely full, with spare dates available. Bertha is going all over the district.
Monday’s Random Ratbags has been relocated to the Spark Trails at Spa Park. Only one more before we return to the BMX
track after Labour Weekend. The dirt jumps and pump track have been so popular that we might have to consider another
regular afternoon there. The support from parents has been marvelous, but kids have trouble getting there under their own
steam. That is the strength of being at the BMX track.
The Kids Bike Taupō bikes were also used in the $10 Queenstown Challenge for Cure Kids over the holidays. The
participants stopped at the BMX Track in Taupō for a quick couple of laps each on our BMX bikes. It was not so easy for
some and a couple of teams even politely declined!
Cath has been talking to a couple of groups at St Pauls and that has lead onto an engagement with the Pakeke Lions in
November. It is always fun to spread the word about what we are doing.
We have had a couple of koha from grandparents who borrow bikes over the holidays for their visiting grandchildren. Kylie
Leonard also randomly paid for a new helmet for us too.
$4,600 COGS funding was received which will take us well into Term 1. We are always negotiating for ways to pay for Kids
Bike Taupō. The feeling may be out in the community that because there is no fee for Kids Bike Taupō that we must have
plenty of money. We are always applying for funds and a big thanks to Melissa for keeping up with the paperwork.
Kia Ora,
Cath Oldfield
KBT Coordinator
027 280 4005
[email protected]
Taupo Mountain Bike Club
Following the AGM the new committee is now established and everyone is getting into the groove. The committee consists
of
Mathew Staddon - Chair
Len Malcolm - Treasurer
Wendy McNeill - Secretary
Greta Donaldson - Communications
Paula Pietersma - Youth development
Kym Mahood - Registrations
Gina Head - Social rides
Jak Brightwell - Youth interests
Shane Blackmore - Equipment technician
Reece Tillson - Equipment technician
Darrin Hall - Race consultant
Sam Stratford - Race consultant
Ben Maxwell - Race consultant
The event calendar is once again looking full starting with the summer series in February and a new event which is the club
champs;
Summer Series - 4th Feb to 24th March
Club Champs - 10th April
King and Queen of the Crank - 8th May
Craters Classic - 12th June
Winter Series - 14th July to 18th August
Gambler - 18th September
You will be all pleased to know the faulty timing system has been replaced and
is running well, so we are all set to go.
Social rides are continuing thanks to
the help of Gina, check the Taupo
Mountain Bike Club Facebook for
upcoming rides. Also keep watching
the Taupo Mountain Bike Club
Website and Facebook page for any
updates and information.
TAUPO MTB DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
The team completed a number of training days here at Craters and in Rotorua. We have received great support from senior
club members Carwyn May, Cameron Paul, Dave Shaw and Brad Groombridge who all volunteered their time for the
training days and helped develop the squad skills.
The squad competed in The Gambler, Craters Classic and in all 3 winter Nduro series held in Rotorua with some great
results. The training days started to pay-off in the winter series where we had a consistent showing on the podium with at
least 2 members of the squad for both male and female sprockets on the podium for each race.
We received lots of positive feedback from riders at the Nduro series about the performance of the squad and how great
they looked in their Taupo Mountain Bike Club kit. It is clear that other Clubs are keen to put development squads together
in their areas after seeing our team do so well.
The squad have been encouraged to enter the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge to further their race experience. At present they
are focussing on building their fitness for the Taupo MTB Summer Series races commencing early next year with fortnightly
squad rides planned at Craters over the summer.
Team Management - Andrew Wilson, Warren Johnson and Paula Pietersma will be reviewing the progress of the squad in
the near future and setting the training and race calendar for 2016.
The tracks are riding well at the moment, thanks to the Bike Taupo Crew. So get out there and go hard!
Cheers, Mat
Taupo Cycling Club
The Spring Series at the Taupo Motorsport park is well underway after 2 races, with
50 and 67 riders racing in the various grades. All grades are well represented with
Juniors racing well in all grades and especially Grade E . One of the races this
Spring is intended to incorporate a road race finishing at the Motorsport park which
should be awesome.
The 8:30 (fast) and 9:00(slower) bunch
rides on Sunday morning continue
unabated with the numbers of riders on
the road appearing to increase with the
reduction in frosty mornings. There are a
lot of cyclists out there training for K2
and Round the Lake so come join them.
Track racing on Wednesday nights is coming alive again so go along and join
Stephen to race a fixed wheel track bike. Bikes are available for use in all sizes,
take along your pedals, helmet and lycra and give it a go. You could be the new
Lewis Eccles.
Don’t forget the first ever UCI Track Cycling World Cup event to be held in NZ on 5th December. Make sure you get your
tickets to support our athletes in what should be a an amazing event over 3 days.
The TCC AGM will take place on Monday 9th November, 6:00pm in the rear room in Plateau. A beer and nibbles provded
some come along and support the club. See you thereAny questions please email [email protected] or [email protected]
More Info: http://www.taupocyclingclub.org.nz/sun-morning-rides.html
https://www.facebook.com/taupocyclingclub
Taupo BMX Club
Taupo BMX Club hosts the 2015 BMXNZ North Island Titles
It will be all go at Taupo BMX Club over Labour Weekend. Taupo plays host for the BMXNZ North
Island Titles and with nearly 800 entries, it is the second largest BMX event in New Zealand.
The event attracts riders New Zealand wide and even the Aussies get in on the action with the NZ Test Team and the Mighty
11’s all racing to claim victory for their country.
Taupo is rapt to have two riders being selected to race in
the Trans Tasman events - Mark Harland Croft is racing
in the Senior Test Team, having battled it out to become
captain at the qualifying meet in September, and 11 year
old Michael Ranford qualified for the NZ Mighty 11’s
team. The Taupo BMX Club wishes both of our riders the
best of luck!
Everyone is welcome to come and check out the racing
over Labour Weekend. Spectator entry is free and there will be plenty of action to keep you
entertained!
It all kicks off with the opening ceremony on the Saturday morning at 10.30 and continues throughout the day. Sunday
morning kicks off at 9am until mid-afternoon.
Photos : Michael Ranford and Mark Harland-Croft show their test team plates.
Dingo Digs
Rowan Rowan Sapsford (Chairman)
Melissa Johnson (Administrator)