Mountain bikes give access to fine country
Mountain bikes can take you where no ordinary 10-speed could go. With their sturdy frames, heavy-duty tyres and wide range of gears, they can even manage terrain that would have many a twowheel drive vehicle in trouble. Some of the best mountain bike touring terrain in the South Island starts 75km from Hawarden along the Lake Sumner Road.
Access to Lake Sumner State Forest Park is via a good road, suitable for two-wheel drive vehicles, which will take you as far as the Esk Head Station.
Swap your vehicle here for a mountain bike and choose from a variety of options: visit Lake Mason, Sumner, Katrine, Taylor and Sheppard; stay overnight at any of 10 huts in the area; or leave the bikes at one of several track heads for easy day
or overnight trips to subalpine huts. There is good fishing and swimming in many of the lakes and rivers. Permission must be obtained at least three days in advance to use private roads and huts. The Outdoor Recreation Centre in the Arts Centre can give further information about suggested routes, whose permission is needed to take them, and where to hire mountain bikes if you do not have your own. The Canterbury Mountain Bike Club was established last March by a
group of mountain bikers who felt they wanted companionship on rides, knowledge of rides, and support for access to private, state or city-owned land. The club now has about 40 members, male and female, young and old, racers and recreational
bikers. The club meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Red Cross Rooms on the corner of Cashel and Montreal Streets at 7.30 p.m. Meetings usually include a video, slide show, maintenance hints, or some other special aspect, and details of the following Sunday’s ride are announced. The club also sends out a newsletter. The contacts are Steve Clarke, 656-463 or Robyn Perkins, 553-400.
Outdoor Recreation Centre, Arts Centre, 28 'Worcester Street, Christchurch. Telephone 799-395.
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Press, 28 December 1989, Page 11
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338Mountain bikes give access to fine country Press, 28 December 1989, Page 11
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