The Port Hills, south of Christchurch, are riddled with mountain bike tracks. What makes them different from the Mt Wellington foothills in Hobart (where I started mountain biking) is that they are legal, and their construction and maintenance is funded by the council.

I picked up a copy of the Excellent Kennett Brothers ‘Classic New Zealand Mountain Bike Rides’ which suggests a west to east traverse of the Port Hills, involving 40 km of single track. Always one for long, scenic day trips, I had to fit it in to my week in Christchurch. I’ve really settled into the unemployed (well, let’s call it ‘in transition’) lifestyle, so I woke up around 9 am, had a relaxed breakfast, and set off about 10 am.

The first leg was a road ride from Christchurch city to Halswell Quarry, which was a nice 15 km warm up. Upon reaching the quarry, I got onto the ‘Crocodile track’, a wide, easy single track which took me through a small pine plantation, and then through a valley up to the Kennedy’s Bush fire trail. This was an uphill slog which eventually took me to Summit Road. After a short sealed section I found myself at the ‘Flying Nun’ mtb track.

Being my first real foray into New Zealand (and indeed, legal) single track, this was a real eye opener, and a lot of fun. The big rock burm was definitely out of bounds for me; perhaps next time. I made it to the Sign of the Kiwi tearoom around midday for a quick pie and mars bar, then continued along a number of single tracks which run parallel to Summit Road. About 4.5 hours in, I made it to Godleys Head, and stopped for a break.

I was feeling pretty fatigued at this point, as I hadn’t bothered packing any food, so all I had was water. Some of the tracks leading to Godleys Head involved navigating through some fairly technical rock gardens, which caused me to fall a few times, and sapped my motivation somewhat. Godleys Head to Taylors Mistake was more enjoyable, involving a descent down ‘The Anaconda’ which is a luge-like single track with big corners and smooth descents. I

made it back into the outskirts of Christchurch around 5:00, had a salad roll in Sumner, and then cruised along the flat roads back into the city. All in all, it was a difficult and occasionally frustrating ride, but I got some great views (including snow on the alps), and my first taste of mountain biking in NZ.