I've just registered....

Konatone

... anyone else from the land of the long white cloud???

ash68

not me, but welcome aboard Konatone. How's life in New Zealand?Plenty of good cycling available?What's the weather like over there, we've just had a pretty lousy summer and now it's getting colder ready for another winter.

nicklouse

there are one or two from the dusty burning thing above you.....

welcome.

Denny69

Welcome to the forums....pull up a pew, grab a beer, enjoy the conversation !Waiter!

Konatone

cheers all !

NZ biking is a little different to UK. (I'm originally from Yorkshire, but emigrated for good four years ago)

Heres what I think of biking in NZ so far:

Advantages
1. The enduro rides are a 'proper' test of XC endurance and fitness through some real outback terrain. Great scenery.
2. Bikes get dusty (soul !!) from the trails, not caked in the wet gloopy mud that used to eat my bike components. I don't have to wash my bike after every ride!
3. Not many stinging nettles around!
4. No Rights Of Way arguments
5. NZ is really cycle friendly in some places
6. Heaps of dedicated MTB tracks to play on - some even accessible for a lunchtime burn.
7. The weather is superb, perhaps too hot in December and January for biking, and mostly blue skies and crisp cold (and icy) in the winter months.

Disadvantages
1. Not much of a 'social' MTB scene here, i.e I used to post on BM and STW forums and meet up with people with others I'd never met before to try out their local trials etc. Its all about being the fastest/greatest; fitness; just using the bike as a tool.
2. The hills are massive and I'm always the last up (and last down more often than not!)
3. No bridleways - sometimes you have to get prior permission to cross land.
4. Compared to the UK, there isn't the range of goods readily available to buy here.
5 Bike components are quite expensive.
6. I miss biking in the UK during the cold winter months and ending up at a pub with an open fire and enjoying a laugh over a beer afterwards!

cheers