When we make the effort and take the time to go for a ride at a fun destination, like Christchurch Adventure Park with kids, we want it to be an enjoyable experience. To have a ‘great day’ on the bike with kids there are simple things to think about, plan and do.
In this story we are riding in the Christchurch Adventure Park in Christchurch on some of the beginner to intermediate tracks with Isaac 11yrs old – new to riding an adult size full suspension mountain bike and learning to jump.
Where is it?
Located on the Port Hills in Christchurch, South Island New Zealand at 225 Worsleys Road
What is there?
The Christchurch Mountain Bike Park is part of the Christchurch Adventure Park, There are activities other than Mountain Biking to enjoy if you choose to do so. There is a cost to ride in the Mountain Bike Park. There are a huge range of ticketing options depending on what you need. Anything from a single lift pass to an annual membership. Check out all the relevant info here on the christchurch mountain bike park website We purchased an all day family pass and enjoyed a variety of trails for the day.
There are a wide range of activities at the park including bike hire and workshop.
The ride – is it doable for you?
This park has something for everyone. It is a matter of working out what will work best for your family.
Biking Distance? The length of this ride is entirely at your discretion you have an extensive network of tracks spread out over a large area. The park has been well designed for progression in riding. There are trails from beginner mountain biking to pro line expert.
The trails are colour coded
- Green – beginner
- Blue – intermediate
- Black single diamond – advanced
- Black double diamond – expert
- Red triangle – pro line
Biking Surface/Biking Skills required/Level of biking fitness: The surface, the level of skills required as well as your fitness requirement will depend on the level of difficulty of that particular trail. Match the trail to your requirements. These types of riding days, where you get assistance to the top – by gondola or shuttle are all about the downhill. To enjoy your day you need to be confident up off your seat in a balanced yet relaxed riding position. You need to be used to braking and cornering. Jumping is not an essential skill but the majority of the tracks give you the ability to execute this technique. On some tracks jumping skills are a must as there will be gaps in the trail and no easy route or “out” option – please be aware of where you chose to ride!
Can you ride with Kids Attached? At the time or riding no kids bike seats or kids trailer were allowed in the park,,,so you will need to check this out
Some Trails that our Family Enjoyed.
To have a good day prepare by getting familiar with the map, park layout and where you want to ride, Whenever you ride in a new environment it is really important to warm up and get used to what you are doing with your first run. Take it slowly and be prepared for obstacles.
Track selection is totally up to you and the people you are riding with. You can chose to ride the same track over and over again to learn it and get the most fun out of it. Depending on the ability of the child you are riding with, this may be the best way to start.
WARM UP – BEGINNER TRACKS – As you exit the gondola, still facing up the hill, the beginner tracks are found to your left. Duncans Donuts is the name you are initially looking for. This leads into Active Rest and Non-Compliant with an option to include SnakeObs which is a more technical beginner track – fine for any child who has experience mountain biking down switchbacks.
The beginners tracks are all wide, open, dry loose gravel/rock tracks. They have an easy steady descending gradient and lots of switchbacks. This is a great way to start the day to get used to your bike and get your confidence up.
INTERMEDIATE RUN 1 – Heading this time to the right or as you exit the Gondola pass the map board and head down into Summit Connection. This track takes you along the hill top to the second half of Flying Nun which is a speedy flowing track. After Flying Nun you will connect up with Choir Boy – a wide cross hill track that leads you to all the interesting stuff. We paused for a rest then looked for the intermediate ‘flow’ tracks. Name This Trail, track #15 was the first one we tried. Around 2.5km of machine built single track through pine forest. This was Isaac’s favourite track – one he choose to return to and ride again later in the day because of the jumping. It was at a really manageable level for someone new and practising this skill.
INTERMEDIATE RUN 2 – Taking the same route to end up on Choir Boy we followed this track all the way to its end point. Here you take Loess Rider down 2.6km of great flowing fun. This is my track of the day.
The Adventure Park website holds a lot of information and videos of some of its tracks. A great page to check out is the Track Preview Page.
Match your helmet to the level of riding you are doing
Showing the network of trails
Maps with different riding trails matched to different riding levels
Full suspension mountain bikes are recommended for the park
Be safe and comfortable when riding the Christchurch Adventure Park – Mountain Biking
First things first….to be allowed on the Gondola at the Adventure Park you need to be over 1 metre tall and able to self load your bike
To be safe make sure someone in your group carries a basic biking first aid kit. The emergency number for assistance is 0508727572 ( please check this). When riding with kids it is always good to be prepared especially if it is a new environment.
BIKE: A full suspension mountain bike is recommended for use in the park. At a minimum a trail style full suspension bike will allow you to ride the beginner and some intermediate tracks in comfort. Anything above this level is best ridden on a downhill full suspension. Bikes are available for hire.
PROTECTION: A performance level helmet that matches the type of riding you are about to do. Many riders chose a full face helmet (helmet with chin bar covering the entire face). It is compulsory to have closed in shoes. Gloves, knee and elbow pads are recommended. Gear is available to hire.
An extra layer of clothing is recommended for the gondola ride, which can be cold especially if you are sweating from previous rides.
Enjoy the experience and have fun
The location of the Christchurch Adventure Park makes it very easy to get to. So you can be enjoying a mountain bike experience with the kids that doesn’t put you in a remote location. The network of tracks gives you lots of options. It does however take time to complete a run. The Gondola ride is around 10 mins and depending on how fast you can ride with your child and how fit they are or tired they are…a downhill can take over 20mins. Add into this rest breaks, food, toilet stops or any bike repairs needed and your day disappears pretty quickly. There are lost of options of the fun you can enjoy
- 25 downhill bike trails accessed via a Gondola that takes mountain bikes
- a climbing track
- coaching/lessons/holiday clinics
- pump track & trampoline
- zip lining
- sightseeing (gondala and walking trail)
- great cafe
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