TRAIL ROUTE OPTIONS
Route 1 – Forsyth Barr –Gorge Flow
Grade: Blue
Start at Irvine’s
Trails include: – Devils Armour, Benched as, Bermed as, Florence and Quatro
One of the best introductions to the Gorge. A short flat start on Devils Armour into Smooth cruise, this trail is for all paces, gentle or flat out. Next up is Benched As Bro! This drops you into swoopy berms through pine forest with a few rumble rocks sections as is connects onto Bermed As, another top-rated trail for the flow junkies. Across the shuttle road the trails into Florence, wide, fast super bench with lots of jumps and no switchbacks, linking into Quatro the keystone of the trail network, this is a trail you cannot tire of – stomach churning views and playful hits leave you buzzing every time.
Route 2 – NBS – No Stress
Grade: Blue
Start at Gibbs
Trails include: No Pressure, TuBuck Munch, Bermed as, Free Range Quatro
It’s a long way down from here – and you’re going to love every inch of it! Starting with wide, flowy and smooth trail this is perfect party train territory, before feeding into the Gorge classic Bermed As. Free Range steps up the challenge a little bit, but nothing too extreme, before a flat out blast along Quattro to make sure you finish the run smiling and pumped for the next one.
Route 3 – Silky Saws –TechFlow not TechNo
Grade: Blue
Start at Creamed Rice skid.
Trails Include: Creamed Rice, MPD, Sewer Sidle, Kurtology and Kidnapper
Do you dig some TechFlow? We have we got the run for you. This run isn’t exposed or too steep but is a great challenge to get your BPMs pumping. Things start fast and flowy with Creamed Rice before the speed drops and the trail narrows up down MPD. Sewer Slider adds some tech trail spice before you drop into the classic Kurtology/Kidnapper combo, made famous as the Queen Stage of the Dodzy Memorial Enduro.
Route 4 – MTB Skills Clinic – Back to the Old Skool
Grade: Blue
Start at Gibbs.
Trails include: PG Rated, Give it a nudge, Road to know-where, Kurtology and Quatro.
This run will remind you of the classic early 90s mountain bike trails, where flow was a bit harder to find and was all the more rewarding when you did. The first half feels like you’re poaching some forgotten walking trail as you follow a lush native gully past waterfalls and stream crossings. It’s fast and fun with enough features to double up on if you’re carrying the speed. Once you drop into Kurtology the speed drops a bit and the techy side of things steps up a notch before you get to fizz your way down Quattro enjoying the wind in your hair and the inevitable grin this trail always provides.
Route 5 – Ground Effect – Hans Rey special
Grade: Blue/Black
Start at Creamed Rice skid
Trails: Goon Slapper, Mundy 500, Bermed As and Boulder Dash.
If Hans Rey, the 90s bike trials legend came to The Gorge, this route would froth him up good and proper. A fun techy option without much exposure which will test your skills in a good way. Goon Slapper starts things off with its narrow bench and root/rock menu before you get into the playful Mundy 500. After that appetiser it’s over to Boulder Dash which ups the tech a grade or two – a high speed technical rampage through the jungle of the lower hill. This is a trail that will ride you if you’re not focused.
Route 6 – Ground Effect – The Rootiest of Routes
Grade: Blue/Black
Start at Irvine’s or Creamed Rice Skid.
Can be shortened by starting from Irvine’s by going to Devils armour- Benched As onto Slippery Weka.
Trails: Cheesy Morts, Devils Armour link- Benched as, slippery Weka, Bermed as, Steven and Red Line.
From Creamed Rice pedal hard into Cheesy Morts and keep pumping those rollers, you’ll be grinning like a cheesy old Cheshire cat by the end. Down into Benched As with sweepy berms onto the high-‐speed root infested flow riding at its best, just add water and try and keep your feet on of the Slippery Weka! Get a taste of Benched before Stephen to get across to the reward of a riot of berms and roller coaster terrain through the tree ferns of Redline to finish.
Route 7. As Nature Intended – Village Cycles and Specialized
Grade: Black
Start at Creamed Rice skid/Gibbs.
Trails: Peaking out (up), Natural selection, Jumanji and Case the Orange – pick up at the Quarry.
Off-camber, roots, loam and flow, these trails are as rewarding to ride cleanly as any in the park, especially on a damp day. You won’t find much bench or berm action here but for riders that love a natural challenge this will be your cup of tea. Start at Gibbs
Route 8 – Shockcraft – Jump and Jacks
Grade: Blue/Black
Start at Creamed Rice skid or Irvine’s
Trails: (Cheesy Morts) Steel pancake, Mundy 500, Kurtology, Quatro and Kidnapper
Add Cheesy Morts from Creamed Rice skid or drop in from Irvine’s. From Creamed Rice pedal hard to Cheesy Morts and keep pumping those rollers, you’ll be grinning like a cheesy old Cheshire cat by the end. Flick across the road to Steel pancake where you will find digger built hero jumps and mega berms. The clay below Irvine’s hut has seen many versions of the jump track over the years but this is A-line Gorge-style. Back to the shuttle road to link Mundy 500 drops, rock garden, skinny, berms, bridge, seesaw, rollover, chute, roots, off-‐camber – this trail reads like a catalogue of available track features. Then the fun and relaxation of Kurtology. the keystone of the trail network, this is a trail you cannot tire of – stomach churning views and playful hits leave you buzzing every time.
Route 9 – Peaking Out – MTF Finance
Grade: Blue/Black
Start at Gibbs
Trails: Peaking out (up), Natural selection, Cheesy Morts to Irvine’s. A great E-Bike lap.
If you haven’t been to the very top of The Gorge at 1200m you’re missing out. Yeah, it involves 20-25 mins of pedaling but it’s probably the best climbing track you’ve ever ridden, and your reward is some of the best natural beech forest descending in the park. A 45min loop from Gibbs hut this really should be on your list of routes to tick off.
Route 10 – Aotea Security – Peaking out +1
Grade: Blue/Black
Start at Gibbs
Trails:(Up) Peaking out, Natural selection, Cheesy Morts, Happy Ending to Irvine’s. A great E-Bike lap.
Steep cornflakey beech forest tech at its very best can only ever be accessed with a bit of sweat and hard work – and that’s true for this route too. But for those in the know this is a must ride loop. Head up the world’s best climbing trail to the very top of The Gorge before reaping your reward. Not many head up here – and to be honest we like it that way!
Route 11 – Continental – Junior Dark Side
Grade: Black
Start at Irvine’s
Trails: – Broken Nun, Nigh Nighs, Kurtology, and Gotten Rotten.
Broken Nun is the first track built on the hill, “The Nun” cuts steeply down a rocky, rooty ridgeline. Like that first coffee of the day, it’s short, quick and black. Then Nigh Nighs into steep corners with some committing sections, this is the easiest of the blacks and has some great terrain features to tackle. Relax a moment on Kurtology with a start that’s loose and chunky in lush native before finding smooth jumpy lines in the big radiata. Next enjoy expansive views if you dare to look on Gotten Rotten. A veritable ‘goatorway’ for animal movements up and down the hill, you don’t need hooves and horns to ride this trail but it helps. Cross the swing bridge for a short ride back to the shuttle.
Route 12 – Advanced Dental – Touch the Dark Side
Grade: Double Black
Trails: Touching Base, Huho, Bloody Priest, Devolution and Boulder dash.
Here’s one for the experienced riders – it starts off pretty chilled (for the Dark Side anyway) before unleashing some proper hard stuff. Touching Base into Huhu is a warm up for what’s to come once you get to Bloody Priest. From here it gets proper tech and proper hard but always fun. Once you tick the Priest off the list it’s into the amazingly engineered and damn steep Devolution, one of the toughest trails at The Gorge. Boulder Dash will feel like a walk in the park once you get there – but keep your focus up and line-choice on point to make sure you emerge with a massive grin and endorphins flowing.
Route 13 – The Bike Station – The True Dark Side
Grade: Double Black
Trails: Dirty Deeds, DMT Devolution and Red Line
A short flat start on Devils Armour that leads you into the ‘Dark Side’ on Dirty Deeds the original ‘Dark Side’ trail ‘Deeds’ drops straight into steep, rubbly, forested gullies before traversing across open boulder faces with incredible views over the valley leading into the MUST do Dodzy Memorial Trail (DMT) a true masterpiece, which words cannot justify. But wait there is more Devolution -arguably some of the most visually impressive trail on the hill, this trail is steep, exposed and surprisingly flowy. It is steep, exposed and demands full focus – but the reward makes it a must do for any experienced rider
