It all started with rowing, not riding. Competing at a Blue Lake regatta in the 80s impressed me so much that when my future wife, Nicky, and I had to pick a summer camping spot a few years later, the Blue Lake it was, and remained so for many years.
Fast-forward 15 years and we had a good life in a posh part of Auckland, with two handsome young sons, a huge mortgage and mediocre mountain biking over an hour away at Woodhill.
Within the space of 30 minutes one evening we realised we could ditch the mortgage and set up in Rotorua, thanks in no small part to a transferable job and a boss whose first words when I told him of the shift were: "You're going to go mountain biking every day aren't you?" He wasn't wrong.
Cameron, our oldest boy, is a professional mountain bike trail builder and a demon downhill racer, and Hamish, the youngest, is one of the country's best young cross-country mountain bikers, recently selected for the MTB National Performance Hub.
Nicky rides every week with her 70-something father and takes advantage of Rotorua's location with tramping every other weekend.
The journey here has been a busy one.
I've organised biking events, been a committee member for Cycling Rotorua (the road-cycling club), written a local bike shop's website, marshalled at all sorts of races, maintained the old Genesis MTB track, worked with the advocacy group Rotorua Cycling Action, helped with a search and rescue mission that needed mountain-bikers, got to know a Tour de France stage winner, taken visiting Lions fans heli-biking, been in a Graeme Murray photo-shoot, written up business awards entries for two local cycling businesses, made some fantastic new friends and riding buddies, and of course experienced the obligatory broken bones.
My wife and sons have also been active contributors to the scene in their own ways.
That list may seem like a brag. But look again and these are mainly instances of helping and giving, not using or taking.
It's through volunteering time and skills in the local community that friends are made, connections forged, warm fuzzies earned and opportunities presented.
Combine the fantastic people you meet in the mountain-biking community with the easy-going people found throughout Rotorua and that's a powerful combination.
Rotorua may have less than a tenth of the people that Auckland has but the riding scene offers double the opportunities.
So when local tempers occasionally flare over issues like trail design, maintenance and other 'bike politics', remember just how good it is here – and if you volunteer and put a bit extra in, it just gets better.
www.rotoruabikefestival.com
