Etched in my mind.

I've had the pleasure of participating on many epic global adventures on mountain bikes and skis with great people over the years. What a blast. One trip that truly sticks out is mountain biking in Peru. Culture. Crazy fun mountain biking. Real adventure. I'm afraid to go back because my first trip was so freaking amazing.

Price reduced for South Africa & Botswana

Price reduced? Yes! This trip is a trip of a lifetime. Have you dreamed of an African safari? What about on a mountain bike? Groups of four to six per departure, leaving every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month out of Johannesburg. Click here for the details.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

"If this is a once-and-a-lifetime trip, I need more lifetimes."

Looking for an entertaining and refreshing story on a truly adventurous ride? Pick up a copy of the latest Bike Magazine and sit back after a ride with a cold beer of your choice and read away. "Trip of a Lifetime....cheating death in the Chilcotins" by Kristin Butcher, a hilarious and ripping rider who was a blast to hang out with on this trip that we hosted last summer. Enjoy.

New Morocco dates

"We begin this adventure in Marrakech, the stunning 1000 year-old ochre-colored city with a vibrant street life, a funky old Medina and chaos of cultures with a European flavour. Then it’s off to the highest mountain range in North Africa, the Atlas and their rugged, prehistoric, flat-topped peaks laced with dirt roads and trails still used by the nomadic Berbers. For eight days we’ll ride on singletrack, over passes that link small villages, at night we’ll sip mint tea and stare up at the blanket of stars in the desert sky." New 2001 dates: September 23 to October 2. Click here for all the details on this fantastic XC holiday.

A remote Berber town only accessable by trail.

Tunnel vision

That unique feeling when you walk through the door of your house after being away on a great mountain bike holiday. Not just any holiday, but one where you were challenged at times, screamed out loud with elation at times, met interesting people that you'd never otherwise meet and stared out at awe-inspiring vistas. You open that door...and you realize that your perspective has changed; taking an afternoon to cook a great meal for friends is a priority, driving in traffic is really not that big a deal, your love and appreciation for your family is at another level and sitting at a coffee shop and reading the paper on a Sunday afternoon is something that you make time for. I love that about travel.

Rotorua: a little me-time in the forest

Just a few hours ago I was rolling my bike through the lushes greenest most beauty forest in Rotorua New Zealand on trails called Bunny Jugs, The Tickler and Te Ara Puna...chasing friends down these pump-track-esque singletrack descents sprinkled with root hits and berms and jumps. Truly seriously fun. And then i stopped, which one rarely does when riding these types of a-grade trails chasing friends...and I saw this fern lit up like only a fern can be. Hey there little fern. Click. Then i stomped on my pedals and howled to the forest and rode away...

NZ, people along the way...

I find with all trips that when you get home, unpack your bike, clean your clothes, rest up and the dust settles and you have time to reflect...that your best memories always come back to the people whom you met and the people that you got to know. This trip is no exception. Actually, it is exceptional - the people of New Zealand are downright top notch on all fronts. Thank you for the unreal hospitality...we look forward to coming back.

Glen from Napier. Guide extraordinaire. Dude.

Some of our crew, post ride lounging in hot springs on a summer afternoon.

Gary, our host at his farm in rural NZ. He was pumped and made a tasty pavlova.

North Island blisssssssssss....

Seriously fun. In a nutshell, this is New Zealand's North Island. We've all tossed around the words buffed, railing, bermed, rediculous, ripping...when describing trails. I'd have to say that this place is the true home to all of these over-used collections of letters. I'd like to write more but time is of the essence here as we ride day after day on our way north to Auckland and a one-way flight back to wintertime and reality. So, i'm going to keep this short, and as sweet as possible. Today is day nine in a row of pedalling, we're in Rotovegas now, one of the hot spots for NZ mountain biking. Tomorrow....we ride more...I'll be back soon with more news from the trails of this riding mecca.

One of the dreamiest shuttles. Ever. The ride rocked too.

Breakfast on the pier, great way to start the day.

Post ride dip in a refreshing lake.

Minties all around: greeting from windy Welly

Sorry that it’s been a few days since my last post. My plan was to upload a photo or two and some stories daily from the front lines on our Silver Fern trip but we’ve been on the move lately and internet has not been available. What a trip we’re having. Man. You those days where you feel like you’ve packed in two day’s worth of fun and memories? Well, we’ve been packing in what feels like a week’s worth each day here in New Zealand. Seriously. The riding in New Zealand is UNREAL. We’re now in Wellington, the capital, which is located on the southern tip of the North Island. Gone are the big grassy wide-open mountains mountains of the Southern Alps and now we’re riding in dense tropical forest with sweet sounds of songbirds and palm trees and ferns as big as cars. We just wrapped up day two here in Welly and I’d have to say that this place has to be one of the best out-of-the-door riding cities that I’ve ever ridden in. Hat’s off to Wellington, thank you so very much for letting us ride your sweet trails…we’ll be back.

OK, how much fun does this look like?

Hmmmmm Minties....

Scott, about to drop in on Welly...

Photographer Dan Milner in Morocco

"If you look a little further than the quick-fix buzz of our purpose-built trails you’ll find a world littered with new riding experiences. With a little know-how and a taste for riding something other than berms and pump-bumps, you can combine bike and adventure for an experience you’ll remember for the rest of your days. Now more accessible than ever, riding in wild places is easier than you might think. Armed with a bulging Camelbak, Dan Milner sets off to Morocco to see how easily such plans come together."
READ THE FULL STORY ON PINKBIKE.COM.

Alexandra, Clyde and Ohau.

Our great adventure continues in the land of the long cloud...as we move north the landscape morphs. As i write this im gazing out over teal green Lake Ohau and the surrounding peaks. We're near where Lord of the Rings was filmed, you can imagine how unreal this place looks. More to come....

Super fun riding in Alexandra. We didn't want to leave...

Robbie with Lake Ohau in the distance.

Riding Sticky Trees & helicopters in Wanaka

Have you heard of Wanaka before? It's in the south island of New Zealand; an absolutely beautiful town on the shores of a big blue lake surrounded by jagged peaks and grassy rolling hills. The locals are kind and layed way way back and the atmosphere is so cool that you just want to bottle it up and take it home to share with all your friends. Today we rode a killer playground just out of town called Sticky Trees, a web of berms and little jumps a la pump track meets mini-dh zone. Then it was time to get high and we boarded a helicopter to a blustery peak for a very fun 5000-foot descent, NZ's highest heli drop. The ride ended very conveniently at a quaint pub with very tasty beers. What a day.

I found this mushroom in the Sticky Trees.

Mountain biker's nirvana.

Heli + Bikes= Fun.

Queenstown, NZ - a center of the universe

As the plane descended through the clouds and the mountains yesterday to idylic Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand, I was glued to the window taking in the spectacular views. I'd forgotten just how beautiful it is here -everywhere you look it's like a postcard. Queenstown is nearly perfect, set on the shore of a huge lake surrounded by impressive peaks. We built out bikes and went for a short spin just out of town and found a killer little stretch of singletrack and then the group converged on the beach in the evening sunshine for some wine and cheese and beer and a welcome to NZ cheers! Today we're off to Wanaka for a pedal on the Sticky Forest trails and then an afternoon heli drop and 5000-ft descent. It's going to be a great day...!

Bike-build stands at Auckland Airport...how civilized!

Dreamy.

Big!