Dave Mitchell

Dave Mitchell and Ditte van der Meulen are dwarfed by the Richardson Mountains as they hike and bike their way up and down the Rees Valley, Glenorchy.

Dave Mitchell and Ditte van der Meulen contrive connections to the Sex Pistols as they plunder Alexandra's finest singletrack - Linger & Die, Matangi Station, Badlands and Flat Top Reserve.

Dave Mitchell and Ditte van der Meulen reacquaint themselves with some classic Queenstown singletrack on the slopes of Coronet Peak.

Dave Mitchell and Ditte van der Meulen set up camp for a week in the Clarence Reserve near Kaikoura - exploring the river valleys, rocky ridges and historic huts by bike and on foot.

Dave and Ditte launch at autumn assault on Queenstown to check out the new Coronet Loop Trail - 50 km of historic goodness.

Dave Mitchell saddles up and heads south to sample the historic Roaring Lion gold mining tracks near Garston, score laps at Te Anau's Perenuku mountain bike park and uncover the myriad of trails behind Alexandra on Matangi Station.

Dave and Ditte double their money, riding the then freshly minted Paparoa Track both ways over two days for 112km of alpine adventure. Cherie from Ground Effect mucked in at halftime in Blackball for orange segments and the return match.

Kaikoura had always been a legendary mountain biking destination for us, but the riding was restricted to the very narrow S & M band width. Now it's been reimagined with the Kaiterau Loop on Mt Fyffe and the frothing Middle Hill M.T.B.

Dave Mitchell continues his ride down memory lane with 35mm transparency photos of dinkum backcountry adventures at the birth of mountain biking in NZ.

Dave and Ditte roll their camper van down the West Coast from Karamea to Ross - notching up some magic mid winter campsites and crisp 'n' clear mid winter rides along the way.

A big round of Dutch cheese was moving up the South Island as the C19 elevator dropped down to level two. Ditte and I popped back into travel mode with a mighty sigh of relief and exuberance for freedom. First stop the Heaphy.

Dave Mitchell was amongst the small clan of kiwis who embraced the then embryonic pursuit of mountain biking back in the eighties. The fashion was appalling - a mash of tramping kit, sagging lycra and sometimes even gaiters over leather walking boots. Shocks, clipless pedals, disk brakes and dropper posts were yet to be imagined.