By Gary Caffell
The programme for Huri Huri, Wairarapa’s Bike Festival, just gets better.
Hot on the heels of the announcement that a group of the country’s BMX riders will be performing in Martinborough and Kahutara comes the news that three of New Zealand’s top mountain bikers will hold special skills workshops at the new Rivenrock Mountainbike Park on the outskirts of Carterton and Masterton on January 26 and 27.
Leading these workshops will be Wyn Masters, a former under-17 and under-19 junior New Zealand downhill champion who now rides for GT Factory Racing on the international downhill series circuit.
He will be joined by Cam Cole, a former junior world, New Zealand and Oceania downhill champion, and Tyler Perrin, an experienced mountain bike instructor.
The workshops will be two fold, for beginner riders who want to try mountain biking and develop new skills and for the more advanced who are keen to fine tune their existing skills and learn some new tricks.
Being involved in Huri Huri, a festival which celebrates the Wairarapa’s bike-friendly roads, tracks and trails, excites Masters and so does the opportunity to check Rivenrock, a purpose built and professionally designed mountain bike park based on a private 500-acre farm near Mount Holdsworth.
“We’ve heard great things about Rivenrock and are thrilled to be one of the first groups on it.
“It’s a really exciting initiative for the Wairarapa and can only help grow the region’s already great reputation for cycling,” Masters said.
Stage one of Rivenrock includes 12kms of purpose built trails that weave through pine forest, farm land and also utilises existing forestry trails.
Over the coming years, Rivenrock owners, the Hind family, are planning to add many more kilometres of tracks over their 500-plus acres of farmland.
Huri Huri is being held in conjunction with the New Zealand Cycle Classic, a five-stage international event being raced entirely in the Wairarapa, and another of its highlights will be the rare opportunity to explore iconic Castlepoint sheep and beef station by biking one of three coastal tracks.
This will all happen on January 22 with riders able to choose from a 7km short loop, a 14km long loop via the beach or a 20km course option which covers the limed road to Otahome and back.
