As cycling hums in the Wakatipu area, Shane Gilchrist ponders the work of some of the passionate souls who make riding possible in the first place.
A ute pulls to the side of the Coronet Peak access road, the vehicle's path from tar to unsealed parking area generating a swirl of dust that would make many an avid mountain biker proud. Out steps Tom Hey, who kicks off his boots to reveal socks studded with grass clippings, a side-effect of his job as a landscaper in Queenstown.
Yet Hey's working day is far from over. President of the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club, Hey (31) is the first of several members to arrive for the club's weekly Wednesday night working bee which, for the next three months, involves reshaping a narrow, rutted livestock track into something more rider-friendly.
Some thrill-seekers within the mountain-biking community have a reputation for ''going hard'', yet the sweat being generated here in this tussock-studded high country has more to do with providing the foundations for fun for others. The premise: make a suitably stimulating, challenging and durable trail and word will soon spread.
Proof of the philosophy can be found just a few hundred metres away where a dozen or so women are enjoying the results of the club members' most recently completed project, the 3km Rude Rock course, named after a rock outcrop that resembles part of the male anatomy.
Having flown down the trail, the riders pause to catch their breath before jumping in a van operated by Queenstown Bike Taxis. Driver Alex Bartrum, also a keen cyclist, ''one of those guys who likes scary tracks'', ferries them up to the Coronet Peak ski field base area, where they do it all again ... and again.
At 1200m or so above sea level, Hey and his hard-working mates are privy to a spectacular early-autumn panorama of the Wakatipu basin. It's fitting because, though they are clearly focused on the contours of dirt below their feet, they also take a wider view.
''The main reason we build the trails is for fun,'' Hey says, adding: ''Still, they are assets for the town.''
And, like most assets, they have a value. As an example, last year's Queenstown Bike Festival added $2 million to the Queenstown economy, according to a survey commissioned by the event's organisers, Southern Traverse Ltd. This year's event, which runs from March 22 to April 1, is expected to attract 1500 entrants (up 20% on 2012), many of whom will need accommodation, food, entertainment and the like.
''We are not trying to do any commercial or tourist ventures; those things are just by-products of what we do,'' the softly spoken Englishman emphasises.
''But businesses have been popping up as a result of the trail building we've been doing over the past 10 years.
''We have lots of plans and don't intend to stop. Obviously, we all ride so we want good places to do that.
''We try to get volunteers involved a lot. Usually, we average about 12 people on our Wednesday working bees. It depends. In the middle of winter we might get three or four, whereas other times we might get up to 20. We usually just use picks, rakes and spades,'' Hey says, adding that the Queenstown club sometimes uses machinery to get the job done.
''We managed to build Rude Rock in 13 days. Two of us did it with a digger over the Christmas holidays; we went hard and managed to build it for under $8000, which is really cheap. It has been open about a month and we've probably had 10,000 runs in that time; people are up there all day, every day.''
Formed in 2003 with the intention of facilitating the development of trails and areas within the Queenstown area, the club this year celebrates its 10th birthday with a membership base closing in on 600.
In 2006, it won a TrustPower Community Award (sport and leisure) for its efforts in developing the Wynyard Freestyle Terrain Park, though other notable projects in which the club has been involved include the Gorge Rd Jump Park, the Moke Lake and Lake Dispute trails, the popular Seven Mile area on the road to Glenorchy and the Queenstown Bike Park.
Catering for various levels of experience, the latter features more than 30km of tracks, most of which have been designed and built by Queenstown Mountain Bike Club (QTMBC) members. Popular with locals, the area's popularity rose markedly in 2010 when Skyline staged a four-month trial in which it enabled gondola access to the network of tracks. (During the trial, 5000 people completed more than 58,000 downhill runs; the initiative opened for its third season last September, having attracted more than 10,000 riders between September 2011 and April 2012.)
More recently, the historically significant Gold Digger track, a collaboration between QTMBC, the Department of Conservation and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, opened to the public in November. The two-way trail follows Seven Mile Creek and takes in derelict huts and gold-mining tailings.
''We are just trying to link all the tracks, basically,'' says Hey who, since moving from Whistler, Canada, to Queenstown in 2007, has focused mostly on designing and constructing cross-country trails in the area.
''When I arrived, Queenstown had really good jump parks and a bit of downhill riding but the cross-country trails [there were a few] were scattered around.''
DESTINATION Queenstown, the regional tourism organisation responsible for marketing the town, is well aware of cycling's potential to draw more visitors to the Wakatipu area.
Chairman Mark Quickfall says his organisation has pushed the pedal on promoting cycling - in all its forms - in the past two years.
''Destination Queenstown is definitely excited about cycling. As a lot of people are saying, biking is the new golf. A lot of the imagery we are putting out worldwide is certainly focusing on cycling.
''I think we should also remember that it is not all about mountain biking. Queenstown lends itself to all the cycling disciplines,'' says Mr Quickfall, ''a very keen biker'' who owns a cross-country mountain bike, a downhill machine and a road bike.
''Queenstown is on the map because of its adventure activities, but there are other aspects of the area that are developing. Cycling is certainly one area, as are golf and wine.''
Destination Queenstown has yet to undertake research into cyclist numbers and financial benefits. Thus any spin-offs are difficult to quantify but Mr Quickfall says there is plenty of anecdotal evidence.
''This summer, in particular, it was quite noticeable the number of people - of all ages - arriving in cars with bikes strapped to the back. Biking's profile has lifted.
''I think everyone is enjoying it, whether they are running a cafe, accommodation, a bike shop or a tour group ... it is right across the board.''
Pascale Lorre who, with Southern Traverse Ltd partner Geoff Hunt, is organising the third annual Queenstown Bike Festival, says QTMBC deserves a lot of praise for the work it has done.
''In saying that, there are others in town who have contributed, too. There are some who work in the various sports shops who are biking fanatics and these businesses, and others, have supported the building of trails.''
She points to the Queenstown Trails Trust (formerly Wakatipu Trails Trust), which last year celebrated the culmination of more than a decade of work with the opening of the 110km Queenstown Trail, an easy- to intermediate-grade series of tracks that takes in the Wakatipu basin, Gibbston, Arrowtown, Lake Hayes, Frankton and Queenstown Bay.
The $5.4 million trail, which opened in October, is part of the Government's $50 million nationwide cycle trail initiative. In collaboration with the Queenstown Lakes District Council and Department of Conservation, the Queenstown Trails Trust and associated stakeholders raised $3 million to match the Government's $2 million donation.
Ms Lorre describes the key drivers behind the rise of cycling's popularity as a ''perfect storm''.
''We had all these elements that gelled: Skyline's idea to hold a four-month trial for gondola access to the Bike Park [in 2010] wouldn't have worked if they didn't have tracks created by the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club - as well as the council allowing the club to do that in the first place.
''And we - the Queenstown Bike Festival - couldn't have held an event in that area without the work of the mountain-bike club and Skyline. So everybody has brought something to the table.
''Also, you can't ignore the effects the Otago Central Rail Trail has had in terms of cycling's popularity in the wider area.
''Now you have tourism operators who are in the mix, from guiding companies and transport operators to accommodation providers. That's what I mean about the perfect storm.''
Up in the mountains, the members of the QTMBC working bee are more concerned with storms of the meteorological kind.
Water is a constant concern. It can ''eat through trails'', says Hey, who says he likes to keep maintenance to a minimum.
The reasoning is obvious: the less time spent fixing up existing tracks equates to more time creating new ones. The volunteers' ethic is the opposite of erosion. Even when they're not on their bikes, they're generating momentum.
