Hawke’s Bay Mountain Bike Club hopes to attract members at opening of trail

The Hawke’s Bay Mountain Bike Club is geared up for an influx of new members at the opening of a new trail in Eskdale.

The club, which uses Pan Pac land, was left devastated after the Mill Block was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle, resulting in the loss of members and the permanent closure of the park.

Scott Richardson at the new Mountain Bike trail in Esk Valley. Photo / Scott Richardson

At its peak, the HBMTBC had more than 4000 members who paid a fee to be able to ride on the trails but this dropped significantly after the cyclone.

Because the club operates around the life cycle of a pine forest, they had already planned to build the new trail, which is set to open on April 6.

Currently, the new trail stretches 40km in the Waipunga Block, between Napier and Taupo on SH5, which can be reached via Esk Valley.

Long-term mountain bike enthusiast and Hawke’s Bay Mountain Bike Club (HBMTBC) president Scott Richardson spoke by phone to Hawke’s Bay Today about the massive achievement – as he rode his bike.

“The mountain bike community is hanging out for this park to open.”

He said the track allowed for growth through its levels of difficulty from grade one entry-level to grade 5, catering to technical skills and fitness.

“It’s quite steep in places, but that means you get some cool downhill.”

The trail also boasted impressive views, with a 300-metre elevation and vistas at the top that overlooked Hawke’s Bay.

The track had been built with volunteer time and a “shoestring budget”, with parts of it being done by hand.

“It is the nature of our sport, we have to build the tracks, and they get wiped out and we start again.”

The HBMTBC is yet to develop a second block of land, where the trail would weave through a replanted pine block and take the total trail length to 80km to 100km.

Richardson who had been involved with the sport for 37 years said mountain biking was a lot more than the adrenaline rush, and was great for mental and physical health.

The trail would eventually be opened to runners, but at this stage was only for bikers.

The official opening will take place between 10am and 2pm on Saturday with bike demos, shuttles and food trucks to celebrate the milestone.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.