Cycling award goes to Rotorua

Tauranga has missed out in the Bike Wise NZ Favourite Place to Cycle poll, with awards going to Rotorua, Taupo and the Otago Trail.

Bike Wise asked Kiwis to nominate and vote for their favourite places to cycle around New Zealand this summer, and the winner is the Redwoods in Rotorua.


The Redwoods in Rotorua have won the award two years running.

Whakarewarewa Forest also won NZ's favourite ‘off-road/adventure ride' category this year.

Areas around NZ compete against each other in four categories, with the winners decided by popular vote. The 2015 category winners are:

  • Nga Haerenga - NZ Cycle Trail: Otago Rail Trail
  • Off-Road or Adventure Ride and overall winner: The Redwoods (Whakarewarewa Forest), Rotorua
  • Urban Trail or Commute: Taupo lake front trails
  • On-Road Ride: Taupo and surrounds

National Cycling Manager for the NZ Transport Agency, Dougal List, says the competition is about Kiwi's identifying, sharing and celebrating their favourite places to cycle.

'The many thousands of votes and nominations received demonstrate just how many Kiwis love to cycle and the myriad of well-loved places where we can ride our bikes,” says Dougal.

'The Redwoods in Rotorua has taken out NZ's Favourite Places to Cycle two years running, so it shows what a popular destination this is for people who cycle.”

People who placed nominations and votes were automatically entered into a draw to win an Avanti Montari mountain bike and helmet sponsored by Avantiplus.

NZ's Favourite Places to Cycle competition was first launched in February 2014 to celebrate Bike Wise Month, which takes place in February each year and involves a festival of fun cycling events.

For more background information about NZ's Favourite Places to Cycle, click here.

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2 comments

Go BOP!

Posted on 03-03-2015 14:16 | By Berry White

Great news, go Rotorua. But we will have to watch out for Te Awa cycleway next year, its pretty good. :)


Tauranga has missed out

Posted on 03-03-2015 16:25 | By savemejeebus

Because there is nowhere to ride that is clearly marked or mapped official cycle trail. Oropi and SummerHill are great little local assets for mountain bikers but unfortunately they are just that, little. There is a great group of volunteers that keep these two places going but more needs to be done by TCC in terms of cycle trails in general and support for these volunteers. There are the beginnings of a cycle trail, Papamoa drainage reserve, Daisy Hardwick, 17th Ave to the lakes and Mt Maunganui to Tauranga via Matapihi to name a few but there is no link to any of these rides. Trying to find information on cycle trails in Tauranga is near on impossible, council offer a map that has some indicative lines on it but absolutely no information on where trails start or how to link these trails together.


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