THE LURE OF LYNDON NO DIG NO RIDE
STATE HIGHWAY 73 FROM THE WEST COAST VIA ARTHUR’S PASS TO THE CANTERBURY PLAINS RATES AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST PICTURESQUE DRIVES. TOWERING, SCREE-SCARRED MOUNTAINS CLOAKED IN RICH BLANKETS OF BEECH FOREST HOLD WORLD-CLASS MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS, WHILE WIND-WHIPPED TUSSOCKLANDS, OTHERWORLDLY ROCK FORMATIONS, AND A PLETHORA OF COMMERCIAL AND CLUB SKI FIELDS COMPETE FOR TOURISTS’ ATTENTION ALONG THE SWEEPING HIGHWAY.
Yet barely 200 metres off the bustling highway at Lake Lyndon, tucked against a steep hillside covered in tussock and matagouri, lies a nondescript little shale gully. It’s a narrow, steep-sided gut with a sudden left-hand hook at the end as it collapses into a small shingle fan, characteristic of many in the Canterbury high country. Over the past seven years, this rocky little nook, hidden in plain sight, has been the backdrop for some of the most iconic photo and video projects in New Zealand’s short mountain bike history, and featured some of the sport’s biggest names. Even now, as a handful of Christchurch riders breathe new life into the picturesque spot,
