MTB takes back seat on big weekend of sport

Mid winter and time to start looking forward to summer and Crankworx (Slopestyle/Fraser Britton).

Time to celebrate the shortest day of the year, this coming week.

Why? Well, that marks the start of the gentle glide path to spring and summer.

It's also time for some mid-year awards. First up, Crankworx, delivering another massive week of breathtaking action despite some rather winter-style rain. The team weathered the storm and danced on their feet, shuffling events and it was another winner.

Impact of the year? That's easy - the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club, Mountain Bike Rotorua and Peak Safety Emergency 1st Response Unit, raising safety in the Whakarewarewa Forest to new levels.

I was at the Rotorua Lakes Council and Trustpower Community Awards last week and it was terrific to see the MTB Club get recognised again. They were represented by two of the main drivers of the Response Unit - Erin Eggleston and Barbara Jenks.

I wrote most of the submission for International Mountain Bicycling Association status a few years ago, with Jeff Carter from Southstar Trails and Shuttles bringing his experience and engineer's mind to covering off the technical trail section of the report.

We only dropped a few points and won gold. One area that we were short in was a mountain patrol. The Response Unit is a solution to that deficiency and with a big jump in numbers in the forest every weekend is a very, very welcome addition.
Wonderful work by everyone involved. If you'd like to make a contribution you can on the Club website: www.mtbclub.org.nz

My personal highlight so far in 2017 is helping get the word out about the Rotorua Trails Trust. The Trust isn't just about MTB, of course, it is for all forest users.
Trail adoptions and numbers attending working bees have increased in the last six months.

The next working bee will be on Pig and Piglet between Nursery Rd and The Wash on Sunday from 9am. Meet at the Nursery Hill Gate at the end of Long Mile Rd.
There will be cake by Mark West, snacks and drinks by the Holiday Inn Rotorua and everyone who signs on goes in the draw for a 30-day pass to QE Health Wellness and Spa's thermal pools. There's transport into the trails and tools are supplied or bring your favourite.

The team will also be breaking out two new electric wheelbarrows, thanks to Chapman's Restaurant at the Holiday Inn and www.riderotorua.com - the ultimate guide to our trails. The barrows will make life a lot easier for the work crews shifting dirt, gravel and pumice.
If you can't make it along to a bee, join the trust and make a donation: rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz/join

It's a bit hard to focus exclusively on MTB this weekend with the British and Irish Lions in town to play the Maori All Blacks at the International Stadium tonight.

Back in 2005, the Lions opened the tour in Rotorua against the Bay of Plenty Steamers. It was a magnificent evening with a stirring powhiri and a thrilling match. We were standing on the bank and will be back this evening cheering for the Maori.

And, yes, the America's Cup usually comes with lawsuits and mind games and billionaire egos, but how exciting is the current class, up on the foils and hitting more than 40 knots?
Could the innovative cyclor technology Team New Zealand employs to drive the boat be the difference over Oracle this week?