KEY POINTS:
World champion motorcyclist Stefan Merriman is relishing the chance to ride at this year's International Six Days Enduro (ISDE).
For the last eight years, New Zealand-born Merriman has travelled the globe competing in the arduous off-road race, known as the Ironman of motorcycling, and twice won the title
for Australia.
Now, New Zealand is hosting the ISDE for the first time, giving Merriman the chance to return to terrain he last rode as a teenager.
"New Zealand has great terrain for riding motorbikes," he says. "In Australia, there's not much rain so it's terribly dusty, and Europe has very, very rocky ground. Here, you have the best of both worlds."
More than 600 riders from 31 countries are competing in the ISDE, which begins on Tuesday on forest tracks north of Taupo.
The riders will appear in an Olympic-style parade in the town tomorrow.
Despite considering himself a New Zealander, Merriman, 33, still rides for Australia.
"I get a lot of flak from everybody," he said. "But it's how sports is these days with sponsorship."
Merriman moved across the Tasman 15 years ago to pursue a motorcycling career and gained Australian sponsorship for his first ISDE in Italy in 1998.
"I got a good result and that's how I started my career, so I stay loyal to them."
In addition to his two world championships, he also holds six consecutive Italian Enduro titles, describing the sport as "like a car rally but with motorcycles".
"It's a reliability test for the motorcycle as well as the rider," he said.
At the world event, competitors ride for six days, seven to eight hours a day, covering about 1500km before the race is over.
They have just 15 minutes at the end of each day for maintenance on their bikes - which they must do themselves before the bikes are locked away to ensure no one gets an unfair advantage.
Merriman can change both tyres in five minutes, but said the maintenance phase is always a challenge.
Fixing a bike on the track without the luxury of a pit crew and carrying only basic tools in a backpack is another of the hurdles of Enduro.
"Anything can happen," he said. "You can break a chain or get stuck in a bog and if you haven't got the tools to fix the problem, you're out of the event."
The courses are divided into routine and special stages, timed sections where penalties are incurred and which usually decide the winners.
Competitors are allowed to walk but not ride the tracks before the race, although Merriman spends several hours a day on his bike in the build-up.
"Running around the block or swimming doesn't toughen up your hands or your bum.
"You need to be doing a lot of riding prior to the event."
Enduro riders reach their peak at 25 to 35, the sport's hard physical slog making it tough to continue longer.
International Six Days Enduro
* Started in 1913 and known as the Ironman of motorcycling.
* Hosted by New Zealand for first time this year.
* 600 riders from 31 countries competing on forest tracks near Taupo.
* Riders cover 250km a day with only 15 minutes at end of day for maintenance on bikes.
