Belmont Area Mtb Association

The Belmont Area Mountain Biking Association (BAMBA) in Greater Wellington has recently completed a professional, machine re-build of the popular ‘Electric Avenue’ - orginally hand-built by volunteers back in 2017. Ground Effect’s Slush Fund stumped up $1750 to purchase a leaf blower to help the volunteers keep the new track neat, tidy and flowing fast.

Why upgrade Electric Avenue?

Over Summer 2017 BAMBA built the 800m long Grade 3 descending track, ‘Electric Avenue’. Several hundred hours of manual labour and digger operator time were donated free of charge. The Ground Effect Slush Fund stepped in with a $1200 donation to help out. The job came in under budget so the spare $200 was used to install recycled polypropylene panels on the riding surface of Bull Run. Prone to rutting the panels make the trail more sustainable and rider-friendly.

Since then, the hand-built clay-based trail has seen a lot of action and had become rutted and eroded. BAMBA were keen to restore it back to an intermediate level trail suitable for a wider range of riding abilities. The work involved track re-benching, installing drainage, re-building corners to improve flow, adding rollers and features to improve the character of the track.

Upgrading Electric Avenue has made the park more accessible and attractive to younger, newer riders and families as it connects into a lower track (Wētā) which was rebuilt and improved in 2022. It will also attract more outdoor recreation focused community events, such as ‘Women of Dirt’ (Revolve) and after school and youth holiday bike programmes (WORD). Other benefits include increasing the sustainability and resilience of the trail, by making it less resource-intensive to maintain as well as better able to withstand adverse weather events. It will also extend the riding season over the wetter winter months. 

This project is supported by local Wellington clubs: REVOLVE, Wellington Mountain Bike Club, WORD and PNP Cycling.

Who are BAMBA?

Belmont Area Mountain Biking Association (established 2009) are a small passionate group of local volunteers who support and advocate for mountain bikers and other recreational users, including walkers, of the Belmont Regional Park (BRP). Their core purpose is to maintain, enhance and develop mountain biking trails and facilities for Lower Hutt locals and regional users. They build and maintain tracks, run social and race events, and host community days.

The park covers 3500 hectares of hills and valleys between Porirua and Hutt Valley. The Ground Effect Slush Fund first supported track development in the park in 2007 with $1000 cash for the purchase of tools. In 2013 the Council agreed to rebuild the popular 'Danzig climb', and clear the debris from the 'Choppers' and 'Big Wētā' descents. In the meantime BAMBA finished a couple of trails outside the logging zone. And in 2013 Ground Effect met the $400 shortfall in funds to purchase some new tools for the job. And the Bull Run was finished off too.

Find BAMBA at www.bamba.org.nz and follow along on Facebook.