Busy On The Hill
It's been busy on the hill lately, leaving little time for photos! Here's a couple from the Pikikirunga trail, as the nights draw in closer we are getting nearer to finishing off another season of construction.
The Pikikirunga Trail - Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park
Check out this amazing track, Can you Help ??
Thanks TDC 18/2/24
The Pikikirunga Trail has just received a sizable grant from TDC. Thanks to Golden Bay Ward Councilor Chris Hill for taking an interest in our project and advocating on our behalf. Thanks to TDC for investing in the next great regional asset.
UPDATE 8/2/2024
Thanks Townshend Brewery for Donating refreshments to our trail crew volunteers, we really appreciate it.
NPD Fuel providing fuel for the volunteer trail builders of the Pikikirunga Track in Golden Bay. Thanks team
.Just one of the many beautiful features on The Pikikirunga Track, thanks to NBS Takaka for their continued support.
Heres some of the pikikirunga trail builders heading up for a really nice B&E pie donated by De-Lish Delicatessen. Thanks team,the lads loved them
Thanks heaps Bay Takeaway For Donating burger and fries to Jono our generous trail builder up on the Pikikirunga trail build.Thanks Reece &Stevie
Volunteers hard at work building The Pikikirunga Trail in Golden Bay. Thanks to Pub Charity Limited for their grant to fund a significant portion of digger time.
17/1/2024
The volunteers are going strong alongside KP and the digger. Here are some snaps from Karens ride up (with baking) to the guys. If you want to get involved, we still need volunteers to come help. Please get in touch with Karl or Bruce to sort out some days.
Are you passionate about mountain biking and community, with proven experience writing successful fundraising applications? Golden Bay Mountain Bike club are looking for someone with experience in this area to volunteer their time to write funding applications. Become part of a buzzing club who are building an amazing mountain bike scene right here in Golden Bay. Call Bruce for a chat 027 622 2228
The Takaka Hill Track 1/12/20
The club is excited to start this fantastic project. The long term aim is to create three interlinking tracks enabling riders to mountain bike from the top to the bottom of the Takaka hill. After over a year of planning the Club has signed a commuinty agreement with DOC to build a grade 3 descending track though the Takaka Hill Scenic Reserve.
Each of the three tracks will be stand alone, with track one taking us from the Takaka hill saddle to Horshoe Bend. Track one will be just over 3km long and was started in December 2020. Since then local contractor KP contracting and club volunteers has made 600 meters of awesome fun single track to get us well underway. So far the club has financed the project itself, spending money generated by club events such as the Milk and Honey Race. We are pleased to welcome Ground Effects onboard with a recent donation of $2000 towards further work. Thanks guys!
We will be continuing to seek funding to keep moving this exciting track forward so everyone who comes to the Bay can benefit from this long term recreational resource.
Community benefits
We see huge community benefits from this project. Golden Bay is already a mountain biking destination with the start of the Heaphy and the Classic Rameka. DOC figures show 2500 people riding the Heaphy annually and 3500 the Rameka. There is also heavy day use of all the Rameka Valley trails by locals and nelson riders. The Horseshoe Track will certainly add to that reputation. It’s accessibility and easier grading will make it very popular. This year has seen a huge surge in the popularity of cycling and demand for mountain biking has never been higher.
The tracks will also open up the Takaka Hill Scenic Reserve to other usrs and we believe that it will also be popular with walkers. The Takaka Hill Reserve is a large area of regenerating bush that contains a lot of noxious weeds. Pest management of the area, both mammal and flora, will benefit greatly from the increased accessibility the tracks provide. The Tākaka Hill Biodiversity Group Trust have already expressed interest in using the track as a trap line.
The track design and build brief
As the Mountain Bike Club aims to build an iconic track, we will be building a high quality and long-lasting robust footprint.
The line would aim to maximize the distance for fall and keep into the gradient of 6-8 degrees specified for grade 3 descending tracks in the New Zealand Mountain Bike Trail Design & Construction Guidelines. This document was co-written by DOC and has their approval.
The Takaka Hill is in a high rainfall area averaging 2000mm per year, so we see water management, and surface as key design parameters. Across the length of the trail, we have a mix of soil and rock surfaces so speed and cost of track construction will vary as we progress. A higher quality build will enable us to mitigate a large ongoing maintenance schedule.
BrIEf
The track is very accessible due to its start and finish are close to the Highway, so we foresee heavy use in summer by a range of mountain bikers. Therefore, we want to build a fun, interesting track with a variety of playful natural features, including rock gardens, roll overs, small drops and natural pump sections. We are also aware that a broad range of abilities will be using the track hence the Grade 3 descending grade, this will allow the track to be a wider footprint with lower gradient but still enable us to incorporate some fun features.
We see the track best described as a descending Rameka track. A cross between old school single track and flow. Another example would be the top section of the Historic Rameka Track in the trees.
To achieve this, we will actively be seeking out natural features to use, be they rocks or trees. Culverts where needed can be used to increase pump flow sections and control speed.
technical considerations
A Grade 3 descending track has the following key parameters:
A target gradient of 6 degrees with a maximum gradient of 11 degrees. Trail tread width should be in the 600-1200mm range dependent on side slope angle. Vegetation needs to be cleared back to allow 10–20-meter visibility ahead depending on trial riding speed. All features must be rollable with 600mm drops allowable. Jumps must have a max ramp angle of 35 degree with max gap of 2 meters. Our agreement with DOC allows for the building of rock features only. No wood structures will be in place.
Water Management will be very important in this high rainfall area. Large drainage culverts will be used where required. A base gravel course (40mm aggregate) or top gravel (15-40 mm aggregate 50-100mm deep) will be used as soil/slope conditions require. Gravel will be sourced from DOC approved local source, in this case Ravensdown Takaka Hill Quarry.
Methodology
Due to the varying terrain over the length of the project, a variety of trail building techniques will be needed to be used.
Initial route clearing will be done by hand with small teams of 2-4. Vegetation will be cleared back to a 1.8m-2.4m wide corridor. As terrain opens up, we aim to make use of the huge depth of local digger operators to digger build slightly wider more flowing sections. Therefore, we will have the ability for multiple teams to be working on different sections of each track at any one time.
The current route has been chosen to maximize the use of all-weather rock causeways to cross the smaller flood streams.
Expertise
The Golden Bay MTB Club is a registered charity and has a strong record of trail maintenance and development. The Club has built over 30 km of mountain bike trails over the last 10 years and currently helps maintain over 50 km of track.
In partnership with DOC, it has created the Canaan Downs trails and currently has a MOU with DOC to work in partnership to maintain and develop these. Through fund raising and volunteer labour it has created a network of trails in the Rameka Valley, which link the Rameka Track to Project Rameka’s trail network and down the valley to Takaka – one of the longest sections of downhill single track in New Zealand.
In 2010 the club Secured $26,000 from the Canterbury trust to build the Gold Creek family loop Track in Canaan Down Scenic reserve. The club still helps DOC maintain this track through yearly volunteer hours.
In 2014, the club secured funding from the Community Conservation Partnership Fund for $66,000 for a three-year project of remediation work on the Kill Devil Track in the Kahurangi National Park. This project was completed successfully ahead of schedule and under budget.
In 2019 the Club secured $26,000 from Back Country Trails Trust for a complete rebuild of the Cannan Loop track. Once again, this project was successful with the club contributing 1/3 of the labor and $4000 of extra funding to extend the project.
The Club has members with the technical expertise and experience to complete these projects. We have two club members who are skilled and experienced in use of a digger for track building. Club members have been involved and instrumental in the following projects:
· Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park,
· Gold Creek Loop Canaan Downs
· Canaan Loop,
· Rameka Pack Track,
· Historic Rameka Track,
· Rameka Pack Track,
· One and Two Klicks,
· Motopipi Hill Bike Park
· Kill Devil Track.
Stihl Chainsaw Raffle
1st Feb, Itm chainsaw raffle was draw down at our local Itm by branch manager Luke Brown.Jeff Duncan from Nelson was the lucky winner and he was a happy man, thanks Jeff.
The saw was donated and we sold 1000 tickets at $ 5 a pop.$5000 +
Funds raised to go to our biggest and best undertaking to date, the Takaka hill project (pikikirunga trail). A BIG thanks to everyone who bought a ticket & to those who gave there precious time, you no who you are, your really awesome and I really appreciate it, good mahi.
Kind regards Bruce.
Pikikirunga Trail update 17/5/23
An update on our progress, stage one of the Pikikirunga trail. K.P and crew of Trail craft N.Z https://www.facebook.com/kieranparish.goldenbay made there way down 1.25 km forming some awesome fun and fast new trail. We had some very dedicated volunteers doing some fun and skilled mahi, There's a bit for sweat up on that hill. Thanks heaps team.
So the piggy banks empty for now and funding applications are underway.If you would like to help in anyway please contact Bruce Chick 0276222228 or donate below
Please use Ref - T HILL with your donation.
http://www.goldenbaymtb.club/donate
Pedal on
The Horseshoe Track
Sponsors
Brightwater Motor Inn
Collingwood Tavern
Post Office Hotel (Motueka)
Wakefield Hotel
https://www.nbs.co.nz
Pupu Hydro Power Scheme :
https://www.npd.co.nz
Contact Person :
Bruce Chick 0276222228
If you would like to get involved with the building of this fantastic project in anyway please contact Bruce ASAP
Work has Started again
Progress Report 20/01/2023
Trackwork on the new Pikikirunga Hill Grade 3 descending track has been underway again since January 4 of this year. The enormity, scope and huge excitement of this project make this a significant undertaking for The Golden Bay Mountain Bike Club. Initially slow going due to some detrimental weather, work has now continued in earnest with stalwarts Bruce Chick Project Managing, KP and Frazer Wilson of Trailcraft on digger work etc and a few much-appreciated volunteers chipping in on various days. As planned, the opening section of trail has been re-shaped and groomed to bring it up to the quality intended to form a robust and long lasting track with low impact on Flora and Fauna. New ground has been broken with close attention being paid to gradient, camber, flow and features in line with creating a fun and flowing grade 3 descending trail. Water litigation is a key factor here so good drainage has been addressed through careful track shape, ongoing rock work and minimizing disturbance to surrounding vegetation. Whiskey Creek has already been forded high up on the trail with a good solid rock foundation forming a water run-off. Continued focus will be on maintaining a high quality of build, sourcing more volunteers and encouraging rider feedback on progress to date. Response so far has been encouraging and easy to see that the trail already has the “wow” factor for viewers and riders alike. This has been a monumental effort by a small and dedicated team who have got this trail off to an absolutely rolling start and have set the bar high for the trail to continue on as it has been started.
