Revolutionaries

The Dodzy Memorial Enduro (DME) over Waitangi Weekend is a must-do institution on the kiwi mountain bike calendar. The Wairoa Gorge terrain is steep and spectacular. The trails extensive and eye-wateringly good fun. Each shuttle run serves up a massive 800m vertical of snaking descent. The park is privately owned and developed. Up until recently it has only possible to ride Wairoa during the DME. But late last year the Nelson Mountain Bike Club negotiated access. Discover all you need to know on the Nelson Club website.

Ground Effect and Jamie Nicoll have been mates through the highs and lows. We ramped up our support last season as he changed focus - adventuring with his bike to exotic and remote destinations, and competing in just a handful of his favourite enduros.

What better place to explore as recovery from Euro Bike stress than Norway. Breathtaking scenery and jaw dropping single track. Check it all out here.

This man deserves a beer! Ground Effect rider Jamie Nicoll rolled off the back of the Trans Provence to win the inaugural Trans BC Enduro in Canada at the weekend.

Daily updates from Jamie Nicoll at the Trans-Provence - the original multi-day mtb stage race. Six days, 24 stages and 27,000m of blind racing.

Recently 'retired' from the Enduro World Series, his Polygon Factory Team and a life living out of a suitcase -  Jamie Nicoll has returned to his roots and house truck in Nelson.

For a small (ish) country New Zealand has had more than its fair share of battlers that have, against the odds and on limited resources, prevailed on the world stage. Jamie Nicoll joins the fray with a story that is worthy of a Danny Boyle biopic.

When searching for a holiday destination, the constraints were tough but few. It needed to be warm to offset the cold winter we’d been suffering, cheap to fly to, and we wanted quiet roads and friendly people. We ended up landing in France’s Pacific territory of New Caledonia.

Riding a bike off road is a challenging affair, so why do people choose to ride in costume? This quandary struck me whilst riding the Three Ring Circus event at Wingello Forest Park amidst a gaggle of clowns.

Damian Stones wings his way to the Northern Territories with his trusty Santa Cruz in the hold and favourite mattock in the overhead locker. He regales us with stories of hot-weather trail building, urban cycle ways and bugs that bite.

Jamie Nicoll's progress through the 2015 World Enduro Series. Racing has taken Jamie from our own backyard, through Europe to Northern America, on a huge range of awesome courses.

With the tingly fingers and blackened toenails from April’s Cloudride finally subsiding, the itch had returned and I was well overdue for another bikepacking adventure, if only to break the daily monotony of a blustery Sydney existence.