The 2nd Rotorua Bike Festival, February 2014 - events for everyone...

From Road to BMX to Mountain and most things in between.
The 2nd Rotorua Bike Festival in February will have a full range of events to appeal to cyclists of all shapes, sizes and ages and all at the height of summer in New Zealand.

The National Mountain Bike Championships will headline the opening weekend with 2014 titles on the line. Cross-country is on Saturday, February 15 and the Downhill on Sunday.
BMX Rotorua will host a twilight meeting on the Saturday and road riders will get a chance to circumnavigate Lake Rotorua in the summer edition of Bike the Lake on Sunday.
The Festival launches on Friday, February 14 with Go by Bike in the morning and the Redwoods Coast in the evening. The Coast was a very popular event at the first Festival with a gold coin donation to enter. No pedaling is allowed. Riders start at the top of a steep section of tar seal just inside the Whakarewarewa Forest and coast as far as they can. This year the fastest speed recorded was a shade under 70 kilometres per hour. The costumes were colourful and riders and spectators enjoyed an entertaining evening bathed in summer sunshine, surrounded by magnificent, giant sequoia.

The second weekend of the Festival features three events that were also very successful in 2013.
The Skyline Sprint Warrior is a downhill mountain bike race on Mount Ngongotaha on Friday, February 21, with practise day on Thursday. This is the only gondola accessible trail in the North Island and riders in the first Warrior - including two times World Downhill Champion, Emmeline Ragot from France - loved the format and the course.
On Saturday the Giant 2W Gravity Enduro returns to the world-renowned mountain bike trails of the Whakarewarewa Forest. Enduro is a new and rapidly growing format round the world. With timed multi-stage racing, it is like car rallying on bikes. Entries to the 2W are already open and are selling fast.
Wrapping up the festival on Sunday February 23, the Inner City Criterium brings bike racing right into the heart of the central city, with action just an arm’s length from cafes and restaurants.
“It’s great having all the high-profile events as part of the festival,” says programme coordinator, Kim McVicker. “However, we’ve also got a whole bunch of other events during the week so everyone can get out and enjoy riding their bikes.”
It’s a long list.
“Yes, deep breath,” Kim continues, with a laugh. “XRace Rotorua, Family Fun Ride, Bike Polo, Frocks on Bike (and Boats), Bike Speedway, Tykes on Trikes (for the littlies), Ladies Mountain bike Shuttle night, OGO downhill, The Shweeb World Championships and MTB Adventure Quest - which is like orienteering on bikes and great for families.”
There’s also a fun event that has an unusual name and supports a very serious cause.
Yeah Boi Sick Race will be on Tuesday February 18. The race name is a favourite saying of one of New Zealand’s best-ever downhill mountain bikers, James Dodds, who died in 2012. All proceeds from the event go to a Memorial Fund set up in his name.
“The first Yeah Boi Sick, just before Christmas last year, was fantastic,” says event organiser, Jo Price. “We celebrated Dodzy in a way he would have approved - with a race and a lot of laughs.”
With the New Zealand downhill racing community and some of the top international riders in town for the National Championships, there’ll be a big turn out for Yeah Boi Sick Race 2.

The full Festival programme is on the website and there are daily updates on www.facebook.com/RotoruaBikeFestival