Unassuming from the gates, there’s little to hint at the excitement hidden in those trees!
October 11th saw the opening weekend of Fourforty Mountain Bike Park’s summer season. With blue skies and the temperatures nudging the 20’s there was a good crowd on hand to make the most of the good weather and the closest gravity park to New Zealand’s biggest city. Situated between Kawakawa Bay and Orere Point and devoid of cell reception it’s somewhat off the beaten track, but at only 50 minutes from downtown Auckland it’s hard to find an excuse not to take a diversion and check this little gem out.
Top shuttle turn around
With a heap of development over the winter and 2 buses on a constant loop there was smiles for miles as riders sample the fresh, flowing tracks. Lucky enough to be given a tour by local ripper Tane and co-owner Aaron, it wasn’t long before the confidence was building and getting a feel for the trails meant you could push a little harder through the bends. With a great selection of tracks ranging from the cruisy ‘Low Pressure’ to slideways, whoop inducing ‘G Banger’, and a raw offering in the form of the ‘Ruapehu DH’, there’s something here for every taste.
An inside tip, while the shuttle turn around might lead in to the bulk of the trails, for those willing to endure a quick 5-10 minute pinch further up the road, gold awaits. ‘Dooza’s’ and ‘Budgie Smugglers’ start off raw and off camber before leading in to a couple of steeps and jumps before a quick pedal back to join up with the main trail network halfway down ‘Subdup’.
Get ready to get rowdy!
With the events starting to line up including the 440 Gravity Enduro (15/16th Nov & 24/25th Jan) and the Auckland DH Championships (30th Nov) it’s great to see North Island riders have some more selection when it comes to getting their race fix.
Style for miles as co-owner Byron Scott shows us how it’s done. Photo: Cameron MacKenzie
The base building (well more of a container) has undergone a refurb and will now stocking of the essentials from brands such as SRAM, Fox and Maxxis should you find yourself in need.
Open on weekends and public holidays from 9.30 to 4.30, the crew at Fourforty have tweaked their ticketing system for the coming summer to make it easier to get your fix. There is now no booking required to ride and you can purchase either a 1 run ($10), 6 run ($40) or 10 run $60) pass at the park on the day you ride.
For more info or to book tickets visit their website or check out the latest on Facebook.
Photo: Cameron MacKenzie
Pics not enough or still need convincing? Check out this sweet little edit from the boys at Bikeland…
Fresh Dirt EP1 – Low Pressure at 440 MTB Park from Bikeland.co.nz on Vimeo.
