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Dirt Rag Articles
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 Ride or share a few beers with locals in Rotorua, New Zealand, and you'll see why it's billed as "100% Pure Mountain Biking Heaven." This cycling-crazy town of 68,000 in the central north island's lake district is surrounded by inviting, lush, green farmland and forests. It's populated with fit, enthusiastic, and friendly mountain bikers. Stay a few days and you'll be saying "track" instead of "trail" and looking out for possums and wallabies instead of squirrels and deer.
August 23-27, 2006, the eyes of the world will focus on the slopes of Mount Ngongotaha, where the best pro mountain bikers will vie for rainbow jerseys. The World Mountain Bike Championships are returning to the Southern hemisphere for the first time in ten years. The Worlds rarely go down under for logistical reasons. Travel is expensive for teams and officials based primarily in Europe and North America, and opposite seasons limit locations with suitable venues and climates for racing in the traditional August or September championship slot.
Fortunately, Rotorua enjoys a relatively mild climate. In the summer, mean daily temperatures are 17.5 degrees C. Average winter temperatures max out at 10-12 degrees C. Snow is rare and rainfall is spread evenly throughout the year so there is no wet winter season. However, the proximity to so much ocean surrounding New Zealand's small landmass and the country's dramatic topography cause frequent weather changes and storms at any time of year. The weather is so unpredictable that locals don't bother with forecasts beyond the next few hours.
Leaders in New Zealand's cycling community campaigned for five years, spent over $400,000, and submitted three unsuccessful formal bids before winning on the fourth and final try. They traveled to several other World Championships before convincing key UCI decision-makers of Rotorua's suitability as a host city.
Rotorua is famous for volcanic features and geothermal activity. Its now dormant Mount Tarawera volcano last erupted in 1886, killing 150 people. But you can still check out geysers of steaming water, pools of boiling mud, or take a dip in streams flowing with hot water.
 Cross Country
The six kilometer loop is much shorter than last year's course in Livigno, but has a little of everything: steep climbs and descents, drop-offs, open hillside with sheep pastures, forested tracks, 60% singletrack, and yes, even cobblestone pathways.
A tourist gondola crossing high above the course several times will shuttle spectators up the mountain to access more remote sections. Like many World Cups, this course features one primary climb after an opening prologue loop. It starts steeply as a double track with plenty of passing and transitions later into narrower, more gradual, benched sidehill track. Another, smaller climb later in the course brings the total elevation change to about 350 meters per lap.
Course designer Rick Todd's downhill race background shone through when he commented on some unusual course features, "We've built in some drop-offs on the main descent through the eucalyptus forest. Any world-caliber cross country racer should be able to negotiate them and could even make up time by jumping them to pass competitors in the air, but we made sure to build in chicken lines in case some racers prefer to go around."
 Four Cross
Completing the four cross course takes about 45 seconds. Racers launch from a BMX style gate perched high on the slopes of Mount Ngongotaha. Although competitors will be too focused to pay much attention to their surroundings, spectators will enjoy panoramic views overlooking Lake Rotorua and in between heats. The day I previewed the course, a spectacularly large rainbow stretched over the lake and town just ahead of an impending summer thunderstorm.
Jeff Carter, creator of the popular nearby Castle Rock four cross course, carefully laid out this course on his computer using Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. Along the way, he sought input from racers Brian Lopes and Eric Carter and from World Cup course designer Phil Saxoner. About a year and half ago, crews spent fifteen days constructing Carter's design. Since then, locals have been testing and tweaking the course. One big challenge has been keeping ahead of erosion—the volcanic soil contains plenty of pumice, but little clay to hold it together. To make it more suitable for worlds, Carter found ways to make the track longer, offer more passing opportunities, and to increase difficulty by converting jumps that were initially tables per the original design into doubles. Expected race day crowds of 15,000 will watch 64 men and 32 women advance from qualifying rounds to the finals.
 Downhill
Alden Ardern designed the steep 2.2 km singletrack, technical course that descends 330 meters through farmland before encountering a section of several drops, off camber sections and a rock jump over a natural outcropping before a single-track section hugging a rock cliff wall. Riders will traverse bridges across the cross-country course and a luge track several times before hitting the North-Shore style boardwalk.
New Zealanders are not afraid to construct structures to help their tramping or cycling tracks traverse wet or sensitive areas or simply to add interesting features. My jaw dropped in awe when I saw the 80 meter boardwalk section built especially for the lower portion of the downhill course. The boardwalk twisted and turned like a ribbon unrolled down the mountain. Its high banked turns reminded me of a velodrome.
Where to Ride
The World Championship courses are held on land owned privately and by the Ngati Whakaue, the local Maoris, so courses are closed to public use except during scheduled events.
However, the best riding is really in the nearby Whakarewarewa State Forest Park, a commercial tree farm that doubles as a recreational playground. A network of purpose-built mountain bike tracks will make you feel fast and furious as you pedal flowy trails that weave through the giant redwoods, Douglas firs, radiata pines, and New Zealand's famous fern trees. Continuous harvesting and replanting of the forest means the trails are often changing. Or you can climb fireroads to enjoy expansive views of hills, mountains, and lakes. In the week prior to the Worlds, mountain bikers can race a 70-80 km marathon event in Whakarewarewa but regular rides, races, and enduros are held there throughout the year, and the area is always open to public riding.
 To get to the Forest, leave Rotorua city center on Te Ngae Road (SH 30) heading toward the airport. Turn right on Tarawera Road and right again on Long Mile Road. Look for signs to the visitor center, which has up-to-date maps, on your left.
Where to Eat
Before or after your ride, hit Zippy Central Café downtown on 1151 Pukuatua Street. Get your caffeine or beer fix or enjoy delicious meals or pastries. Odds are good you'll run into other cyclists doing the same. If you tire of Zippy's, there are a dozen other delicious small cafes within a short, few-block walk. Vegetarians will have no trouble finding fare at Zippy's or other venues. And we found New Zealand portions to be well matched to our cycling appetites!
Other Attractions and More Information
Whenever you go to Rotorua, the local information center downtown can hook you up for all logistics. They helped us with bus transportation to Rotorua from Auckland, car rentals, currency exchange, and lodging options at campgrounds, hostels, or hotels locally and throughout New Zealand. They even arranged our ferry transportation between the North and South Island. They can answer just about any question. Look for the "i-site" signs in Rotorua and or similar offices in other towns.
See www.2006rotoruamtb.com for more info on Rotorua, Worlds, and local riding.
2006 World Championship Event Schedule
August 23: Team Relay and Junior Women XC
August 24: Downhill Qualifying
August 25: Junior Men and U23 Men XC and Four Cross
August 26: Downhill Finals
August 27: Elite Men and Elite Women XC
Photography by Graeme Murray.
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