One by one and two by two the guys arrived in Picton. The call had gone out from Camp Dad months earlier to assemble for the mission on the Queen Charlotte Track.

With the recent Port Hills fire closing most of Christchurch's mountain bike trails, now is a good time to get out and explore places we don't often ride.

I set my alarm for 5:30 am this morning. After a quick coffee, I was off to meet August and Aaron at the bottom of the Rapaki Track by 6 am. The plan was to take the Turbo Levos out and smash out a good lap of the Port Hills before work.

The Wharfedale is always a great day out and such a relaxing and rewarding ride. Set in the Canterbury foothills 45 minutes from Christchurch, it is the most accessible Beech forest singletrack in Canterbury.

The Old Ghost Road is 80-odd km of fantastic riding and constantly evolving, movie-set level scenery. It's like Peter Jackson waved a magic wand over the whole area.