Opinion: Six more reasons to enjoy mountain biking

Crankworx returns next weekend. Photo/Clint Trahan

Six new trails approved, six (more) reasons to join the Rotorua Trails Trust in 2017.

There's already been some hard work put in by the trust to get to the approval stage. There are a number of stakeholders to negotiate with - forest owners, forest managers and Rotorua Lakes Council.

That's just a starting point. Building trails isn't inexpensive and writing applications to trusts for the necessary funding takes time. The trustees do this work on their own dime.

Every dollar will count this year, which is where you come in: rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz/join
Annual memberships start again on Saturday, April 1.

I got a new bike in late December. I calculated that my donation to the trust when I joined was 0.00263 per cent of the cost of my Zerode Taniwha. If there were no trails to ride, this state-of-the-art bike would be pretty much useless.

There are other compelling reasons to join the trust (and add a donation). If there were no trails built over the last quarter century, then there'd be no Crankworx or Enduro World Series round one over the next couple of weeks. I'm really too old to be polite, so show them your money.

There are other ways to contribute with regular working bees most weekends.
During Crankworx there will be a Dig Day on April 1 combining with the regular Trails Trust working bee and hosted by Specialized New Zealand and Cyclezone and supported by Croucher's Brewery and Southstar Shuttles.

The trail to be worked on is still to be confirmed, but the plan is to get plenty of muscle along and make a very large dent in it. Depending on numbers, there may be two trails in the mix.

Here's the timetable:
8.45am: Meet at the bottom of 8 Mile Gate Rd, at the intersection with Reservoir Rd for waiver sign-in and safety briefing
9am: Shuttles head off up to the dig sites
11.30am: Diggers down tools and head to the barbecue at the Waipa Mountain Bike carpark on bikes or shuttles
1pm: All over and packed down

You can find out more and register by searching "Rotorua - Dig Day" on Facebook.

That evening features one of the more significant events of the year, in my humble opinion. The Mountain Bikers Ball will be a time of celebration ... and reflection. This year's beneficiaries are mental health, concussion awareness and the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club's Forest First Response Unit.

The ball is in memory of Mark Dunlop, a talented young mountain biker who passed away just over a year ago sending more shockwaves through the community. Buy your tickets from the What's On page at www.bluebaths.co.nz

I'm having a real run of date and day dyslexia. Seriously, I actually suffer from this. Not really, but I do get them mixed up every so often and I'm not making light of those who do experience dyslexia.

First, I had Crankworx starting on March 19 a couple of weeks ago. There was a good reason as this is when the course for the Enduro World Series will be announced - and that is genuinely exciting. Then, last week, I got the start date right, March 25, but identified that as a Sunday. It's a Saturday.

If you don't believe me check out the website www.crankworx.com/festival/rotorua/
In fact, always check event information on their websites.