Table of contents for No.70 in Spoke

While I fully subscribe to the group rider mentality, I seem to have an insatiable habit of scurrying up the local hill, sans company, iPod on play and camera in tow. But it’s during all this sodding me time that the most delectable photo opportunities seem to present themselves. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I can indulge in my own slow-arsed company and take more time to drink up the delights of the trail and its surroundings. On this occasion, light, landscape and a temperamental wireless shutter release all played ball, the rapidly-disappearing sunset bathing the track in a delicious concoction of yellow, orange and purple. Sometimes playing Billy No Mates has its advantages. Rider: Luke Jarmey Location: Te Mata Peak, NZ…

While filming Raw 100 v3 in Savona, BC, I shot Semenuk on this step-down late in the day as we waited for the light to drop. Although you can see the lip (hardly), the landing is way out of the frame. The features Brandon built for this edit look larger than life, and the fact that he chose to ride them on a slope bike rather than a DH bike is yet another testament to his freakish precision on two wheels. Rider: Brandon Semenuk Location: Savona, BC, Canada…

Winter gets a bad rap. For many, it’s something to be endured until it passes, like high school, or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (no, Chris Pratt, I do not care about your daddy issues, I just want you to blow stuff up in space). Artists and writers like to use winter as a metaphor for bad stuff. Examples include William Shakespeare’s “now is the winter of our discontent” soliloquy (winter = a metaphor for the state of the British monarchy, or of Richard III’s mind, depending on who you ask), and “winter is coming” on Game of Thrones (winter = rabid ice zombies are on the way to destroy you and everything you love). It’s not all bad, though. Take The Doors’ classic, ‘Wintertime Love’, with the lyric…

There was a nervous tension around Karori Park in Wellington as women from Iran, Syria, Colombia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, China and Rwanda gathered on International Women’s Day. I heard one say, “if I could ride a bike today, I would be so happy.” I think that every day, but for her this was different. In the group of thirty refugee women, only ten had ever been on a bike. Where these women are from, riding bikes isn’t something that females do—it’s either frowned upon or banned outright. But that day they had a chance to ride, and ride they did. The morning came about because the ChangeMakers Refugee Forum and Nicola Macaulay of Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies wanted to provide…

It’s mid-summer, it’s getting dark and I’m on my way to The Pioneer stage race. The day’s racing is long over and most of the competitors are already asleep, but the guys I’m going to visit are a very different type of endurance athlete—they’re nocturnal. Multi-day stage races are pretty brutal on riders’ bodies, but they also take a heavy toll on their bikes, especially the rough and rugged Pioneer course. So how do you nurse your bike through seven days of hardship in the wilds of the South Island? Enter the team from Bike Therapy. This motley crew of skilled mechanics are the race’s onsite overnight repair solution, rejuvenating your trusty steed back to its best while you sleep. Sounds pretty straightforward, but with more than 300 competitors, remote…

“These tracks were never put in with bikes in mind, so you won’t find bermed corners or flow trails; Grade 5 is standard and to travel alone would be asking for trouble” Tucked away in the central North Island, east of the Desert Road, lies a mostly forgotten section of New Zealand bush. Home to terrain similar to that of the Tararua Ranges and the mountains of the upper South Island, the Kaimanawas have a mix of pine-covered forestry land, sub-alpine native beech forest, and scree and tussock. Criss-crossing this maze of steep canyons and rowdy ridgelines is a network of trails used mainly by hunters and some hearty trampers. Covered in roots, rocks, and challenging terrain, it’s also a haven for the more adventurous rider. With some of their…

“It was great having Wyn there. He’d give me shit, but helped me out at the same time” - Brook Macdonald Before the factory rides, the endorsements and enough social media followers to fill concert venues, Brook Macdonald was a 13-year-old kid heading to races with nothing but a common Big Hit on the tow bar and a super-supportive grandmother at the wheel. Back then, Brook was determined to prove that a modest upbringing and a pit crew of one weren’t barriers to success against the flashier kids around him. It was this attitude, coupled with an instinctual urge to hit stuff hard all day and shake it off when it hit back, that caught the attention of some of the older Whanganui crew like Wyn Masters and Sam Blenkinsop.…

A story about fearing death while whitewater packrafting through newly-created earthquake rapids on the Clarence River might seem odd for the pages of Spoke, but this was a kayaking trip with a twist: we used mountain bikes too. The result was an old-fashioned wilderness adventure made possible by the latest technology in modern packrafting and long-travel trail bikes. Damian Stones was a driving force behind the trip, nutting out one hell of a mission with ex-rafting company owner and adventure lover Deane Parker. The plan was to travel, unsupported, from Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park to the Pacific Ocean on the Kaikoura Coast. Deane’s estimation was six to seven days: bikepacking more than 150 kilometres, kayaking 170 kilometres on the Waiau and Clarence (Waiau-Toa) Rivers to Bluff Station,…

The Christchurch Adventure Park has been closed longer than it ever opened for. It’s a hard thing to believe for the many riders who made it a part of their daily lives. It must be impossible to understand for those behind turning a big impossible dream into a brilliant reality. For eight brief weeks, there was a world-class facility right on the doorstep, created by a collaboration of varied and unlikely partners. Its presence lifted Christchurch folk, even those who didn’t ride. CAP was a symbol for the type of city Christchurch wanted to be. It felt like the start of something really good for a place that’s been up against it for a long time now. It put Christchurch on the map for something positive. It was a really…

Yeow, can it get any better? For a German MTB-freak-aka-photog, it’s kind of a dream to get the chance to spend the European winter in the mountain bike paradise that is New Zealand. After a few short visits over the last couple of years, I finally managed to spend a full month on the other side of the world. Even better, I got a Facebook message from Bernard Kerr asking if I wanted to come down for some shooting and riding with him, R-Dog and Bas van Steenbergen in Queenstown. Four days with these guys were freaking amazing, packed with everything that brings a massive smile to your face. Taken on a day which included riding Rude Rock in the morning, Skyline for lunch, and an evening at the legendary…

What use is having a private property littered with jumps if you don’t use it? And what kind of friend would you be if you didn’t share the fruits of your labour with your mates? Over the last six months, Queenstown local Sam Robbie and a group of his buddies have been putting in some serious spade work on his family’s new land near Lake Hayes, resulting in a small set of perfectly-crafted jumps and deep berms just asking to be ridden hard. Thankfully, Sam was more than willing to let David McMillan head around and rip his fresh berms to pieces for a video project with DEITY Components. With only hours before he had to jump ship back to Australia, Dave left big holes, literally, for the boys to…

I have to be honest and admit I may have misled you, my readers, by convincing you that I’m a guru of all things bike-related. I know I look amazing on (and off) the bike, but I need to share with you my Achilles heel: I can’t ride fast when the trails are wet, especially when tree roots are involved. I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping this secret by never riding if there is even the threat of precipitation, but I recently got busted big time at the NZ Enduro, where my race times went from fast to last once the heavens opened. I even got passed by the race doctor, who was heading down the trail humming merrily to himself until I held him up and he…

It was a balmy summer’s evening in February. The Rotorua town green was awash with people and bikes, all hovering around a massive seven-metre ramp constructed by scaffolders the previous day. At the bottom of the ramp was a short run-in and a jump, which sent competitors sailing onto Agroventures’ new Freestyle Airbag, hauled into town that morning by a small army of guys and gals. Judges were stationed in a semi-trailer, and people were wandering into the excitement on their way to and from their Friday night dinners in Eat Street. The more daring photographers scrambled up the ramp to get better shots, then realised it was actually getting down that would test their mettle. It was hard to believe this scene had materialised in just three short weeks,…

“Riders from all walks of life rode, raced, drank beer, ate from the sausage sizzle and, importantly, kept morale levels high on some energy-sapping, sodden climbs” I watched her fly past me on a sliver of singletrack no wider than a cereal bar, and a realisation hit me. As I grasped the concept, I recognised its simplicity, its obviousness and the clear nature of it. The feeling sank in and my shoulders sagged, my weight travelling down my arms and into my hands where it sat like lead on my handlebars. Sure enough, the next slick rock took me out. BAM. I went down with a thud, my elbow taking the brutal first contact with the ground, the loud sound of grinding metal (steel to be precise) intruding over the…

“The riding in Alex was one of a kind. I absolutely loved how fast-rolling the ground was, and the speed you entered the biggest rock gardens ever! I definitely touched cloth a few times.” - Dan Hole A broken hub, a snapped pivot bolt, near-bald tyres, a creaky headset and brake pads with a hair left; as usual, I’d put off servicing for too long. I had the parts, I just needed to get around to doing it, but I find it hard to say “no” when someone invites me out riding, or if I have a job involving my bike. So naturally, when the call came to do a shoot in Alexandra with the Hope Tech Enduro team, I was super keen. No sooner had I agreed, though, I…

“She’s about fifteen years old. When she reaches twenty-five, she’ll become churrite,” says the Che Guevara-lookalike cowboy with a wry smile. Churrite is a type of meat. It’s clearly a tough call being a horse in Chilean Patagonia, but the life of Lito, the cowboy—or gaucho—on its back, isn’t much easier. Gauchos, like everything else in this untameable landscape, exist in a brutal struggle with the elements. Everything is tinged with survival, including riding bikes. I learn this the hard way when I’m nearly brought to my knees by the ferocity of the wind. I’m trying to scale the 1508-metre high Cerro Paine, my bike slung across my shoulders. The wind catches my bike, pushing it deep into my back as though it’s instantly tripled in weight. My knees buckle…

Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro are the two highest mountains in Africa. And while they’re well known, they’re not known as biking destinations. We wanted to try what had never been done: ride both mountains consecutively. thermos livens our spirits a little. But Danny isn’t feeling well and has a headache—a sign of altitude sickness. We’re worried, and tell ourselves to drink more and ensure we don’t walk too quickly. Another thunderstorm roars behind us. A few hundred metres of perfect bike terrain lead us to the last steep terrace before camp. Danny and I ascend the final passage at snail’s pace. He is unwell. We synchronise our breathing with our steps: every step a breath, and every thirty breaths a break. Danny fights on. Half an hour later, we…

“This bike is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It pedals better than any bike I’ve ever ridden, with no bobbing even in the open setting” Just when you could be forgiven for thinking Santa Cruz Bicycles had completed their full bike range update and were about to take a breather for a year or two, out pops a revamped Nomad. No, scratch that. It’s a completely new beast. And a beast it is. At a time when trends favour a mid-travel 29er as a do-it-all trail bike, there have been a few leaps into the long-travel 27.5 market, and the new Nomad is one of them. Everything about this Nomad is new, except the 65-degree head angle. But now you can slacken it to 64.6 degrees, while dropping the threaded…

As a rider, you are always pushing your own limits. Whether it’s physically or mentally, you are continually trying to progress yourself and your riding. You ride however many hours per week in the quest for better fitness, you fight with reason when trying to hit a bigger jump, and you pick yourself up and keep going after you bin it. But when was the last time you looked at wet cold weather outside and decided to actually go ride in it? As a photographer, I always push myself in the same sense. It’s easy to shoot in the same dry, warm and well-lit conditions, but you’re not learning new skills. Getting out in forest when the heavens are wide open and the light is poor, with your pack and…

Now that the season is coming to an end and the leaves are changing colour, you can’t help but reminisce about the summer that’s been (well, almost been). We did have a few really good days of riding, and the consistent rain for most of the summer meant the trails stayed in awesome shape and maintenance was easily done. Well, that’s my “glass half full” theory anyways. But it gets me thinking: winter’s not all bad. We get more time for digging and creating an even better scene to be enjoyed next summer. Rider: Emmerson Wilken Location: Gorge Road, Queenstown, NZ…

I first arrived 11.9 years ago. I vividly remember standing on the shore facing into a brewing storm at the head of the lake, feeling a solitary tear creep down my cheek. It was an odd experience for me at that stage of my life. It was the first time I’d witnessed something of that nature first-hand. I now understand it was one of the most significant conversations a place has ever had with me. I needed to be here for reasons yet to be revealed. So where is here? I’m a Pom living in Wanaka. And even if you’d never heard of Wanaka, there’s a high chance you’ve seen a picture of that tree, standing alone in the shallows of our lake. It’s one of the most famous trees…

There’s a lot to be said for a sporting event in which one’s aptitude for sculling beer is almost, if not actually, as important as one’s fitness. Not to mention a world championship with only two official placings: first and second-equal, so that every competitor, no matter what their fitness, skill level or ability to consume alcohol at speed, can claim a second placing in a world champs. After seven years, the Single Speed World Champs are returning to Aotearoa, with Rotorua set to host the event for the second time this November, complete with beer shortcuts, winners’ tattoos and the sort of secrecy around the course and start protocols usually reserved for agencies like the NSA, although in the age of Trump, who knows. Besides the fact that you…

“The frame became so sought-after, other race teams from rival companies began repainting and rebranding it” It’s mid-week and I’m making my way down the freeway to meet up with the owner and founder of Intense Cycles, Jeff Steber. Over the last few months, California has been pelted with an unusual amount of rain, and today is no exception. In what is normally a dry and dusty area inland from the coast, the mountainside has turned green and foggy from an incoming storm hovering on the peaks of the Santa Ana mountain range. At the base of the mountains lies the city of Temecula. This area is the birthplace of Intense Cycles and its home since the early nineties. The city is a mix of old and new developments, known…

“Beyond it sits a tiny boat that has been decorated with glory more than once; this Lilliputian vessel twice became the smallest boat to cross the Atlantic” Only the wash from the CalMac ferry bound for Skye disturbs the glassy water as we enter Loch Nevis under a cloudless sky, a far cry from the din and dusty heat of the Fort William World Cup that came to its climax the previous afternoon. Even with a 350-horsepower diesel lump under our feet urging the boat forward, the contrast between today and 12 hours previous is hard to take in, especially knowing many are currently driving countless motorway miles back to offices. This is truly what summer days are made of: cormorants making their low-level dashes across the mouth of the…

“The bike uses very few current standards since it has been developed as a design concept rather than a product design exercise. Maybe not the best solution for compatibility, but when you make every part, it gives you the opportunity to manufacture a bike without compromise” - Hope • Travel: 160mm • Wheel size: 27.5’’ • Frame: Carbon HB.211 prototype • Swing arm: CNC’d aluminum • Suspension design: four-bar • 17 x 130mm rear hub spacing • Zero dish rear wheel • Brakes: Hope Tech 3 E4 • Radially mounted rear brake • Wheelset: Hope 35mm rims & Pro 4 Hubs • Bottom bracket: Hope proprietary 30mm design • More info - hopetech.com/hb-211…

Words Adam Wight | Images Rachael Gurney Norco, like many brands, have been an integral part of the bike world for some time—in Norco’s case, more than 50 years! They’ve always been a rather progressive company, offering bikes with suspension forks before many other brands knew what they were, and helping to redefine Canada’s North Shore scene. With the progression of 29” wheeled bikes as aggressive and capable trail and enduro rigs, there’s a new breed around these days, and the Norco Sight 9 range is one of them. With a carbon front triangle and seat stays, and firmly in keeping with Boost industry standards front and rear, things are stiffer than a stiff thing as well as aesthetically pleasing. With 130mm of ART formed rear suspension and a 140mm…