I am looking to make the best guided mountain bike trip here in New Zealand. I want it to feel like you are a pro going out for a video shoot but even more fun. This is what I have got so far what would you add?
5-10 days long trip starting and ending in Christchurch so you get picked up at the airport and start riding same day.
Riding the best trails around New Zealand (I will have varying degrees of difficulty but aiming for that more experienced rider)
Focussed on riding the more hard-to-get-to trails by aid of helicopter or boat as well as bus shuttles
More descent than elevation gain and more variety of trails than competitors.
Chef cooked meals or nice restaurants the whole time
Cooked breakfast and nice lunches
Top end rental bikes (thinking Santa Cruz, Yeti, Commencal, Specialized)
Sponsored snacks/ gels from (Skratch Labs, Nuun, Tailwind Nutrition)
Pre trip training plan from a personal trainer (more a general guide not specific to each rider.but helpful if you haven't ridden in a while)
Trip photography during the rides
Nice accomodation in either motels or scenic guest houses. Also have some alpine huts as well.
All the guides will have full first aid certificates and possibly bike instructor qualifications
Group size 4-10 with a guide riding with you the whole time
guide ratio of 1-4
I am open to all ideas so feel free to add or change any of these ideas.
Thanks!
Someone else to pay for it 😂
It sounds like you already have a great program planned. If anything, I'd want to see some non-MTB sights as well. It would be cool to learn about the indigenous people, any kind of "local" foodstuffs, maybe a brief history of the country. Are any of the "Lord of the Rings" filming locations near Christchurch?
Viewing all that stuff through the lens of a mountain bike trip would be cool.
Having done a few high-end guided mtb trips in the past, there are a two key reasons why I said never again. If you address these, you'd be on to something:
-Misalignment on the capacity of participants. Despite the trips all being expert/advance, the participant skill range was far greater than that. The result is the trips had to be adjusted to the lowest performer. This meant very early starts, adjusting routes to avoid more challenging trails, and very long waits.
-Guides that make for good company. A high end trip, due to the inherent cost, selects for customers that both enjoy riding at a high level and can afford the price of entry. This is a small group and one that enjoys engaging with guides that are professional, comport themselves well, and can engage in mature conversation. Of the mtb trips I participated in, only one guide embodied these attributes. On this front, perhaps a primer for guides on regional history, culture, and ecology (and of course geology in NZ!) could be of value.
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