Let it Roll: St James Cycle trail - Pure epic in Hanmer Springs

Welcome to my blog about biking in New Zealand! Note that it's written in Swedish AND English, with the Swedish version first, followed by the English version in italic font. Enjoy your reading!

Antligen har vi gjort den! Jag har velat cykla St James trail lange, men inte ensam da det ar 60 km i avlagsna Alpinomraden utan mobiltackning. Dessutom ar det sa mycket roligare att gora det med vanner! Jag har turen att ha traffat vanner har i Chirstchurch, som dessutom ar valtranade och vill ta sig ut pa aventyr. Kate, Aleisha och jag lamnade Christchurch och korde mot Hanmer Springs tidigt pa lordag morgon. Vi planerade att sitta pa vara cyklar senast kl 9, for att vara sakra pa att hinna tillbaka innan det blev morkt. Ingen av oss hade cyklat St James tidigare, sa vi visste inte riktigt vad som vantade oss.

Som bekant sa gar saker inte alltid som man tankt sig. Vi kom till Jack's pass utanfor Hanmer (dar vi planerat att parkera en av bilarna vantande pa oss da vi cyklat klart) runt kl 9, lite senare an planerat, och det lilla misstaget vi gjorde, att dra ivag i helt fel riktning (mot vad vi trodde var starten av St James trail, dar vi skulle parkera den andra bilen, men egentligen var vagen till Blenheim) tog oss ett par timmar extra. Det var ett maratonlopp dar uppe, och nar vi kom tillbaka till Jack's pass sa kunde jag inte saga sanningen till de som jobbade med loppet (de visste att vi skulle gora St James trail och undrade vad tusan vi holl pa med), utan sa att vi bara varit ivag och fiskat uppat vagen. Vi maste ju ha lunch. Jag vet inte om de trodde oss. Vi satt pa cyklarna kl 12.30, tre och en halv timmar senare an beraknat...

St James trail ar ganska kravande, med en del upp och ner och en dros med floder som ska korsas. Den forsta delen ar en liten uppforsbacke till Malings pass, med hogsta punkt pa 1300 m. Darefter ar det en brant nedforsbacke till supervackra Waiau valley. Val nere gar stigen langs floden till Saddle Spur bridge, en ganska cool hangbro. Efter att ha passerat bron foljer nagra branta delar av stigen, med branta stup pa sidorna. Det gar en hel del upp och ner och ar ratt sa stenigt och bokigt pa sina stallen, bra att ta det forsiktigt med andra ord.

Nar man tror att man har gjort det varsta av trailern sa kommer uppforsbacken till Peters Pass som en glad overraskning (bara for att paminna dig om att inte bli for bekvam). Vi jagades av ett regnovader, och kom upp till Peters Pass precis i tid for att kunna gomma oss i Peters Valley and njuta av den superroliga, flodande sista nedforsbacken mot St James homestead och slutet av trailern. Mountainbikers - vader 1 - 0. Ha!

Kate ramlade av cykeln da hon forsokte ata och cykla samtidigt (inga skador, tack och lov) och aven nasan-fore i en av floderna som skulle korsas, sa hon holl for underhallningen (och visar att hon kor hart)! Annars flot allt pa bra, fantastiskt bra jobbat tjejer!

St James trail ar en fantastisk, rolig, vacker trail med massor av blandad cykling. Jag kan rekommendera den for de med bra kondition och ork (atminstone om du vill gora den pa en dag). Jag kommer att gora det igen. Jag bara njot av varje minut. Hojta till om du som laser ar sugen. Jag kanske hanger pa!

Las mer om St James cycle trail har.

So finally we did it! I wanted to bike st James trail, but not alone since it's 60 km in remote back country area with no cellphone coverage. And it's more fun to do it in good company! I'm lucky enough to have met some awesome biking friends here in Christchurch, friends that are keen, and fit!

Kate, Aleisha and I left Christchurch for Hanmer Springs early Saturday morning. The plan was to be on the trail at latest 9 am, to make sure we made it back before dark. None of us had done it before so we didn't really know what to expect.

Well, things don't always work out the way we expect. We arrived up in Jack's pass outside Hanmer (where we planned to have one of our cars parked and waiting for us after we finished) around 9 am, a bit later than we planned. The little mistake of heading off in the wrong direction (towards where we thought would be the start of st James trail, where we would park the other car, but was actually the way to Blenheim) costed us an extra at least two and a half hours. There was a marathon race going on, and when we got back to Jack's pass we had to tell the marshals (who knew we aimed to do the st James trail and wondering what the heck we were doing) that we just had to go fishing to get our lunch. I'm not sure they believed us. We were on the trail 12.30, three and a half hours later than expected.

St James trail is actually pretty challenging, with a few ups and downs and some river crossings. The first stage is a little climb up to Malings Pass, a high point of 1300 m. Then the trail descends to the beatiful Waiau Valley and follows the river to Saddle Spur bridge which is a pretty cool swing bridge. After crossing the bridge the trail is pretty narrow and steep in places with steep drop-offs on the sides.

When you think you've done the worst part of the trail, the climb up to Peters Pass shows up, just to remind you not to be too comfortable. We were chased by a rain storm but made it up to Peters Pass just to have time to hide in beautiful Peters Valley and enjoy the last part of the trail, a fast flowing easy downhill to St James homestead. Bikers - Weather 1 - 0. Ha! Kate fell on the gravel, trying to eat and bike at the same time (no injuries, thanks for that), and also face down in one of the river crossings, so she contributed with some extra excitement (and shows that she's charging)! Otherwise everything went smooth, superwell done chicas!

St James trail is an awesome, fun, stunning trail with mixed riding that I could recommend to those with a good level of fitness (at least if you want to do it in a day). I will do it again, I just loved every minute of it. Give me a shout if you too are keen, I might join you!

Read more about St James cycle trail here.