Hi everyone, sorry it has been so long between posts – life has been pretty busy and it’s been too wet to get overly excited about riding.

Anyway we are getting motivated to get things up and running as a club again!

We have several away rides planned between now and October and it would be great to see some of you there!

First ride is Saturday 27 July at Totara Park in Manukau. This ride is suitable for people of all skill levels and ages. We encourage you to come along and meet up! The track is not technical – it is more to get people out riding. Meet at Redoubt Road carpark entrance of Totara Park at 10am. Please let Clinton know if you are able to come along (021 751 871)

Sunday 25 August we have a ride planned at Karanghake Gorge. This track is part of the NZ Cycleway so it is about a grade 2 ride (nice and easy/enjoyable for everyone). Time and meeting point will be decide closer to the time but please mark it down on your calendar.

On Sunday 29 September there is a ride planned for Pukete Farm Park in Hamilton.  This is also catering for all abilities/fitness levels of riders. Again time and details will be posted closer to the time, please check back and come along!

Clinton and Rob Plimmer were on their way to Rotorua yesterday when Clinton got a text to say that it was pouring with rain down there, so instead of carrying on they decided to go and check out the Mountain Bike track at Pukete in Hamilton.

They were greeted by a 10 km circuit of trails. This used to be one of Hamiltons old rubbish tips and the council have given the MTB club use of the land. The trails are all singletrack and compared to Puni they are a bit easier and more spread out – a good option for taking the family out for the day. The only downfall is that it is near the sewerage ponds so the odour isn’t the most pleasant but it’s not the end of the world.

They have public toilets available for users – seems like the Waikato Council is pretty supportive of their Mountain Bike riders!

Click here for a link to the Hamilton Mountain Bike Club website, which has directions etc

Just letting you know that Clinton Williams (Club President) has joined MTB Skills Clinics as a coach as of 1 April 2013.

If you or anyone you know are interested in participating in any lessons please contact MTB Skills Clinics or flick us an email and we will point you in the right direction.

Clinton has been riding for many years and is excited by the prospect of being able to pass on his knowledge and skills, check out his bio here.

Remember we have Tuesday night pump track so come along and join in and you’ll more than likely meet Clinton there.

Just to let you know that the tracks at Puni Memorial Park are in awesome condition at the moment. The tracks were tidied up prior to last weekends open day and are riding really nicely at the moment.

The pine needles have been cleared off the Cross country track and the grass cut so get out there and enjoy it while it is nice and dry!

Happy Easter!

Last Sunday saw the Club Open day, which was a meet and greet and a chance for people to ride the track, and a good excuse for a club BBQ.

Thanks to those of you who made the effort to come out and introduce yourselves and welcome to the new members!

The track was in awesome condition, it was recently cleared and the pine needles have been blown off the track  so it is great fun to ride at the moment

Here are a couple of photos of the day

Franklin Mountain Bike Club Inc is to hold an open day this coming Sunday – 24 March at the Puni Memorial Reserve. Please come along and see what we have been working on and meet up with other club members – or join up if you’ve been meaning to but haven’t got around to it yet!

Schedule for the day is still to be confirmed but we were thinking of having a couple of hours dedicated to skills lessons for club members interested – come along and pick up some advice from Clinton Williams on how to ride the tracks

Start time likely to be 10am with sausages on the bbq at 1pm

Just a reminder that all riders need to take their rubbish home with them please.

Of late we have had a lot of rubbish left up near the pump track and this just makes the place look untidy – that is not the image that we are trying to portray as a club.

I realise this post probably won’t get to the culprits, but just in case it does…

Thanks, enjoy your riding out at Puni!

Just to let you know that the water tap and fountain out at Puni Memorial Reserve is not working at the moment – so if you are heading out there for a ride make sure you take some fluids with you.

Clinton is intending to let the council know today so it will hopefully be fixed some time soon!

We are currently thinking about signage at Puni and wondering if anyone who rides out there may work in the industry and be able to help out with this.

For those of you that ride out there you will know that the signage is pretty minimal and we are wanting to fix this to make it easier to navigate around the bush – mostly on the cross country track

We are needing things like a general information board, arrows and signs like “Track start” etc.

If we don’t hear from anyone we hope to still get this moving and hopefully you should see some new weatherproof signs out there in the next month or so.

To all interested Clinton and Anne Williams (President and Treasurer) have started a small Mountain Bike Tour Business in the Upper North Island of NZ.  Check out www.bikezest.co.nz and have a sift through the site.  If anyone is interested or know of people that may be then please spread the word, it would be much appreciated!