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JustMTB Supporting Nz's Growing Mtb Trail Network

Thursday 30 July 2015, 4:46PM

By Beckie Wright

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Over the last few years, trail bikers have been truly spoilt riding their bikes in the magnificent Whakarewarewa forest in Rotorua.  New trails have been built, and the old ones maintained to a very high standard by volunteers in the local club, and SouthStar. 

Recently, returning to Rotorua for the first time since February, Mike Kelliher, one of the founders of Just MTB says, “There was a noticeably used feel to the trails. In the wake of crowd pulling festivals such as Crankworx New Zealand and the Enduro World Series, it would seem racers and social riders alike have taken a real keenness to the Rotorua mountain bike trails and accordingly the traffic on these trails has soared.  Sections that used to yield a smooth bit of single-track now an axle deep rut, changing the flow of the trail and increasing the skill level required to complete it safely. And it will continue to decline if work is not done to amend the damage – water flows down the rut in a new found course, further eroding and deepening ruts.  As with saving ancient buildings, time and proper management is key.”

As JustMTB doesn’t have the manpower to provide a full trail crew to those areas they ride in, they instead help in a way that they can, with financial donations. It takes hundreds of volunteers across the country to maintain the trail systems, funded solely by donations, local sponsors and goodwill.  In a world where human time is so precious, the JustMTB team like to help them make every minute count.  Basic things like having the proper tools for the job, working with sustainable soil and organic material help local volunteers make the most of their precious time given up every week.  JustMTB specifically donates to local clubs and organisations, Old Ghost Road, DOC and many other smaller clubs around the country that are fed via Trail Fund NZ so the acquisition of these assets can be achieved. 

It is such an important aspect of mountain biking to create sustainable mountain bike trail networks, and something the guys at JustMTB feel very strongly about, and they would love to be able to provide a fully-fledged trail crew to maintain the trails people use, but until that time comes, they will sponsor, donate and support in every way possible.

For more information please visit the website at http://www.justmtb.co.nz .