Having taken a 10-year break from any form of bike riding, the Redwood Forest posed a challenge.
I loaded the bikes on the back of the vehicle and I dragged my father along with me for this one as we used to bike the Redwoods when I was much younger.
The drive to Rotorua is roughly an hour from Hamilton and well worth it.
My first challenge of the day was to figure out how to steer. The old saying of 'it's like riding a bike' didn't apply so much here. Balance was a little shaky and trying to figure out how to navigate a corner in the car park was hard enough ... how on earth was I going to survive mountain biking? As my last experience as a child ended with me face first in a mud puddle and my bike somewhere further along the track, I'm pleased to say I not only survived this time, I mastered it and had a lot of fun doing so.
We began the day with an easy level one track, also called the 'kids' loop'. We arrived about 10am and there were plenty of families out with kids of all ages, even on those walk-along balance bikes.
The track was a good warm up for avoiding little tree roots and getting corners right. We moved on to what is called the 'dipper'. This track was the perfect in between and a good step up. There are a variety of twists and turns, humps which if you went fast enough could possibly be jumps (I was using my brake more than my pedals so jumping wasn't a thing that I was willing to do) and a few good downhill gullies.
In less than half an hour I had developed confidence and was able to figure out my gear changes, how to get the balance between front and back brake right, and decided to head up the hill to find our next challenge.
Fittingly, the track we chose next was called 'challenge' and after my thighs stopped burning from the ride up hill (remember, always have the bike in a low gear for uphill climbs), my heart took over and began racing as we approached the level three track. While dad took off in front - he seemed far less put off by the speed of the hill and the jarring of the bumps - I took the track at a leisurely pace.
Though I was a little apprehensive about it at first, I realised mountain biking wasn't so hard after all and was actually a lot of fun! To finish the day we found a level 3-5 track.
Weaving its way through the forest it definitely challenged us, but we were able to feel accomplished at the end of the day and I'm now ready for my next adventure with more excitement and a few less nerves!
This sport is a great way to keep fit, get out with the family, and is very affordable once you're set up.