Hi everyone. Many of you will have seen or heard about the launch of Trails Wellington a couple of weeks back, and might have questions about what it means for the Club and the things we do.

If you’re late for a ride and don’t have time to read everything, the TL;DR is the Wellington MTB Club is partnering with Trails Wellington. Our memberships will be run through Trails Wellington, who will also provide trail funding for projects across the city. Together, we’ll all make epic trails for Wellington. Now get going – the rain will only hold off for so long, and you can read the rest when you get back.

The Wellington MTB Club is stoked to have Trails Wellington as a partner, and have been really pleased with the work funded by Trails Wellington so far, including the rebuild of Jailbrake in Miramar and Serendipity in Waimapihi/Polhill and the work underway now on North Face in Mākara Peak and Hippy’s/Super D on Mount Victoria. We’re also working with Trails Wellington on a bunch of other stuff, including the much-needed growth in tech trails around the city.

Trails Wellington has a vision of creating epic Wellington trails. Trails Wellington is a registered trust, and will fund trail development in Wellington City (with plans to expand across the Wellington region). It aims to bring together a strong voice for mountain bikers across Wellington with Council and land owners, reflecting the huge number of people who live in the Wellington region and love riding its trail network.

Land owners such as councils listen to collective voices, and the larger our collective, the more we’ll be listened to. Trails Wellington is about giving mountain bikers a clear voice, advocating for trails and trail access. It’s through this voice that we’ll gain approval for great new trails, and continue improvements to the existing trail network.

During the past 20 years, the Wellington MTB Club has built trails all around the city, managed hundreds of predator traps, and planted over 50,000 trees, timed thousands of runs at our events, raised and donated more than $100,000 to trail areas, and grown to represent you and 599 other members. Imagine what we could do if there were 3000 of us? We think that the Club partnering with Trails Wellington will be great for the trails, and that it’ll be great for you too.

So how will the club and Trails Wellington work together? 

We’ve delegated responsibility for a membership front-door and trails funding to Trails Wellington. On the former, you might have seen the recently launched app . The app is where you manage your membership. By joining Trails Wellington for just $30 per annum, you’ll automatically be joined to the Wellington MTB Club, and be added as a Mākara Peak Supporter. This will mean you get all the benefits of Club membership (discounted entry to events, CyclingNZ affiliation if you want to race nationally, and plenty of karma for supporting trails). 

In addition, the Trails Wellington app has a great bunch of deals for members that will give you discounts at supporting retailers across Wellington, including stuff for your bike, care for your body, and beer for your belly. And you’ll know the money from membership will go toward building great new trails across Wellington.

Will the Wellington Mountain Bike Club continue?

Definitely. Our core mission is to grow the sport of mountain biking, to advocate for and build great trails to ride, and to provide you all with great experiences. We’ll continue doing all of these.

We’re still involved with trail development via the Miramar Track Project, Mt Vic Trails Mystic Portal and Brooklyn Trail Builders. We’re still going to run our enduro series, DH races, first aid and other events for you all. We’ll still be donating the proceeds of our races to the trails we use for these events. There’s a lot of work to be done, and it’s great to have Trails Wellington joining the team.

How will the club be represented at Trails Wellington?

Trails Wellington will have a minimum of two trustees appointed from the Wellington MTB Club. We’re elbows-deep in collaborating with Trails Wellington on trail upgrades in the areas we look after and plans for new trails around the city. Trails Wellington will also have a representative who attends Club committee meetings.

So how will it all work?

• If you’re not a current member of the Wellington MTB Club - download the Trails Wellington app from the Apple App or Google Play Stores, create an account, pay for your membership (you can include a donation at the same time if you wish), and you’ll be underway. You’ll receive a follow-up email from the Wellington MTB Club with details on setting a password in our system.
• If you’re a current member of the Wellington MTB Club - download the Trails Wellington app from the Apple App or Google Play Stores and create an account. If you want to support trail development further, pay the membership fee. If you want your current WMTBC membership to be transferred, please let us know at president@wmtbc.org.nz, and we’ll sort out getting your Trails Wellington account activated.
• Get out there and enjoy riding with your banked karma – the Wellington MTB Club and Trails Wellington have an aligned vision – epic trails in Wellington city, and a strong voice for mountain bikers. Your support will help; welcome to the team.

What if I’ve still got some questions?

We want to hear from you. You'll be able to contribute to the discussion on our Facebook page, or feel free to drop us an email at president@wmtbc.org.nz.

See you on the trails,

Jono Baddiley
Wellington MTB Club President