January 2022 Newsletter — Trails Wellington

Welcome to 2022, which is lining up to be an EPIC year on a trails front.

A massive thank you to the thousands of people who have already become paid members of Trails Wellington. Your support helps create epic trails in and around Wellington.

If you are yet to become a paid member, simply open the app and finish setting up your account! The more paid members we get, the more epic trails we can create – it’s that simple!

Trails Wellington is a coalition of passionate locals focused on creating epic trails in and around Wellington. By joining you also become a member and supporter of Wellington Mountain Bike Club , Mākara Peak Supporters, and Brooklyn Trail Builders, as well as supporting our affiliate partners WORD and Revolve.

Our core focus is helping to create epic trails that cater to a wide variety of riders, all within riding distance of Wellington’s CBD. Initially, we’ll be focusing on areas such as Mākara Peak, Waimapihi/Polhill, Matairangi/Mount Victoria, Maupuia, and Te Kopahou. Over time we’d like to see some new zones opened up for trail development, as working across the Wellington region.

Con Air and Saddle Jumps are open

For those who like to get a bit of air, two new jump lines have recently been funded by Trails Wellington (TW) and opened.

The Saddle Jumps on Matairangi (Mount Victoria) provide a great option for people wanting to learn to jump. This rebuilt jump line has become a firm favourite with the WORD riders, plus a number of parents wanting to improve in the air.

Con Air opened on Christmas day on the Miramar Peninsula. This area has been completely revamped by the team at Total Trail Solutions.

With progressive wooden drops and jumps there is something for any skill level. There are some sizeable features so ensure you’re riding safely. Do this by employing our pro tip into your riding plan. With any new trail remember to Pre-ride, Re-ride, then Freeride. It takes three runs to understand and own the trail. By pre-riding you can understand the trail and its features, re-ride to gain confidence, then freeride like you own the trail.

Pyramid Scheme Gets One Step Closer

It was epic to see the Wellington City Councillors recently vote in favour of moving to the next stage of considering the new Pyramid Scheme trail on Matairangi (Mt Victoria).

TW are looking to fund this exciting new trail which is a flow and jumps trail on the eastern side of Matairangi that will be 2.3km long. which will be funded by the Trails Wellington’s membership base.

We are hugely excited to announce that the public consultation has opened. During this process the Council wants to receive the public’s feedback to help them form their view on whether they should approve this new trail. Accordingly, it is critical that as many people provide feedback through this process.

The link for providing consultation is here:
https://www.letstalk.wellington.govt.nz/mt-vic-trail

Over the coming weeks we will send through details of Trails Wellington’s submission. Feel free to use any elements of this in making your own submission. Let’s work together to get this EPIC new trail created.

Upper Pohātu Under Contruction

TW have funded the construction of an exciting new trail in Mākara Peak - Upper Pōhatu. The team at TGL Contracting have been busy building the upper section of Pōhatu.

The new track will run off the top of Ridgeline, cross below North Face, and then join the existing Pōhatu trail. We think that this trail will quickly become a firm favourite for lots of riders. With the ability to link into Starfish, riders will have an advanced level mountain bike track that runs from top to the bottom of the park. Upper Pōhatu will have a good mix of features – a lot like the existing Pōhatu trail.

2021 in Review

We are pretty stoked with what we achieved in 2021 alongside our coalition partners Wellington Mountain Bike Club, Mākara Peak Supporters, Brooklyn Trail Builders, Matairangi Trail Builders, Miramar Track Project, Mana Cycle Club, WORD and Revolve. Some quick highlights included:

Launching Trails Wellington, including the new membership app. By joining Trails Wellington (through the app) you become a member and supporter of our coalition partners.
Jail Brake at Miramar upgraded.
Serendipity in Waimapihi Reserve (formerly Polhill) was upgraded.
Hippy’s on Mātairangi (Mount Victoria) was upgraded and realigned.
Hospital Jumps and Saddle Jumps all got major upgrades.
North Face at Mākara Peak was upgraded with Trails Wellington Funding. The Mākara Peak Supporters also built Whā Out with funding from the Wellington City Council, while volunteers also continued to refine and upgrade Starfish – adding lots of new features and challenges in the bottom section of the trail.
Te Kopahou - Alongside the Brooklyn Trail Builders, we spent a lot of time working with the Wellington City Council on the plan that includes an extensive new trail network in the Te Kopahou Reserve. This is the area between the Brooklyn Windmill and the coast at Red Rocks. While we think that the Council’s final trail plan wasn’t as EPIC as Brooklyn Trail Builder’s proposed network, this ultimately will result in a lot more trails being built in this area.
A new descending trail is being built by Mana Cycle Group in Tawa with some funding from Trails Wellington.
We successfully lobbied the Wellington City Council to get them to fulfill their commitment to employing a full-time ranger at Mākara Peak.

Trails Wellington provided significant funding to build and upgrade trails around Wellington, which in turn has come from the generous support of the Drury family, your Trails Wellington membership fees and donations, plus our sponsor businesses which includes the incredible teams at Armstrongs and Bayleys.

Upcoming Events

Mākara Peak Justin TruDuro - 29th January - More Info
Bamba-Duro - 12th February - More Info
Wainuiomata Enduro - 19th February - More Info
Karapoti Classic - 5th March - More Info
Revolve Super V - 12th March - More Info
Waimapihi Enduro - 19th March - More Info
Matairangi Enduro - 26th March - More info

2022 Wellington Enduro Series

The Wellington Mountain Bike Club is kicking off the 2022 Wellington Enduro Series (WES) with the Justin Truduro being run at Makara Peak this Saturday, and then the BAMBAduro out in Belmont on the 12th of February. Registration for the races can be found at the Wellington MTB Club Website, and your membership gives you discounts on entry fees.

The series will have 9 rounds, so you’ll bound to have your favourite Wellington trail in a race at some point during summer. Proceeds from the races go to the trail projects building and maintaining the trails raced on, so you’ll also be topping up the karma bank.

With the recent government move to Covid-19 traffic light red setting, the club is having to adjust how the races run to give as many people as possible a chance to race while maintaining a safe environment for everyone. Places will be limited, so don’t leave registration until the last minute!