Why stop at one cycle trail?

FREE WHEELER: Terry Jones sees lots of potential in the renaissance of the bicycle.

It goes without saying that Terry Jones is a fan of the Far North's Twin Coast Cycle Trail, but he sees much greater potential than that, for Kaitaia at least, in the renaissance of the bicycle.

Mr Jones, general manager of Kaitaia's Community Business and Environment Centre (CBEC), has a number of ideas on the boil, including a cycle trail from one end of Kaitaia to to the other - "Wouldn't it be great if we could jump on a bike to do our supermarket shopping instead of taking the car?" - and, slightly longer-term, establishing a cycle trail down the east coast, from Kaitaia to Kerikeri.

With support from the likes of Summit Forests, the Far North District Council, the NZTA, DOC and the Northland DHB, he also envisages the Kaitaia trail running north to Waipapakauri, around Lake Gem/Lake Ngatu, through Aupouri Forest, maybe even on to 90 Mile Beach and down to Ahipara.

More immediately he's keen to set up a community bike workshop at CBEC, where a plentiful resource - old pushbikes - could be stripped and re-assembled by volunteers.

"If you don't have a bike we could help you build one from scratch," he said.

"Maybe there could be a commercial element to help meet the costs, but the benefits would go far beyond encouraging people to get some exercise in the fresh air rather than taking the car wherever wherever they want to go. A scheme like this could even serve as a precursor to apprenticeships.

"It would encourage employment opportunities, enhance people's health and well-being, offer training and access to pushbikes, utilise local resources and provide recreation with limited impact on the environment.

"The workshop, and forming and maintaining the trail, could provide meaningful work for high-risk youth, giving them the chance to show commitment and reliability, to gain industry skills, find career paths that excite them and build up a resume of skills and references that will aid their future job-seeking."

From a tourism perspective the project could add value to the Twin Cycle Trail from Horeke to Opua, offering a bigger package for riders looking to head further north.

"One of the questions faced by the i-Site in Kaitaia and other tourism operators is what is there to do in Kaitaia? A bike trail would be a great addition to their list, with hire bikes for all levels at an affordable price," Mr Jones said. "If we achieved a small percentage of the visitor upsurge that Rotorua is experiencing we would have a great outcome."

The immediate challenge was to engage the wider community, but Summit Forests had already provided the resources to get the trail started and to bring in the expertise needed to build the trail and maintain it.