Today we have bad news, and some good news. First, the bad news.  We have been told that harvesting operations in Sharlands will continue through to 16 December and that the full closure for Sharlands will remain in place.

The good news is that we have been working on isolating the Maitai Face trails from the harvesting operations, and hope to have access to them in the next week. In addition, we are in the planning /consent stage for a new climbing trail to the Maitai Face Trails, which will make it even easier to access them when the rest of the forest is closed.

It should be noted that we have two downhill races planned in Sharlands over the coming months and we are working on ensuring that these still go ahead.

Further good news (and better late than never!), is the re-opening of trails in the Maitai – that is E Tu, Mutleys and Bob Taylor Road (629 Climb).  This is expected to happen by mid-August – so technically that is next weekend, so we’ll keep you posted.

And even further good news, while Sharlands is closed, we will be holding three Club Days at the Wairoa Gorge Bike Park.  Club members will be able to rock up on these days and ride at the Gorge for as little or as long as they like for a koha.  The dates are 2 October, 12 November and 10-12 December (camping available this weekend too!)

In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine and bask in the Commonwealth Games Cross Country medals won by Sam Gaze and Ben Oliver, plus all the other incredible results achieved by the New Zealand athletes!