It makes sense that anyone starting a business in 2020 would have met some challenges. 

Bike Glendhu is one such business, but after a year in operation, managing director Charlie Cochrane said he feels very positive about where the bike park is now, and where it will be at the end of 2021.  

"The park's in great shape," Charlie said. "People are really enjoying it."

Bike Glendhu features a series of biking trails which twist and turn through 1,000 hectares of terrain on Glendhu Station, a 13-minute drive from downtown Wanaka along Mt Aspiring Road.

Bike Glendhu founders John Wilson (right) and John McRae. PHOTO: Supplied

The park is a shared venture by keen local rider John Wilson and station owners John and Emily McRae. 

The first year has been a trial of perseverance: The floods in December of 2019 meant the opportunity to be open for the Christmas period was lost, and a couple of months later the COVID-19 lockdown came into effect.  

The re-launch had been "a really nice wee run," Charlie said, adding that locals were keen to get out of their houses and riding again. 

But after closing for winter, heavy rain prevented the planned reopening in September, with 30 per cent more rain falling at Glendhu this spring than in any other on record. 

"We were shut for three-quarters of the month because of the wet weather," Charlie said.

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Still, he’s quick to see the silver linings.

All that rain meant the crew were able to watch where, how and when the water ran, and they lay culverts or reshaped trails as necessary.

The park has trails for all abilities. PHOTO: Jay French

"It gave us some good visibility about where water will pop up,” Charlie said.

"We’re ahead of the curve now because everything dries out a lot quicker when it does rain. Everyone's looking for 'hero dirt', which is like the 'powder' of skiing. The moisture in the dirt gives you grip which can improve a rider's confidence.”

The crew are working toward maintaining optimum biking conditions. "We want moisture in the ground, but we don't want it to be boggy."  

The downtime was also spent “investing heavily in trail development,” Charlie said.

But the biggest benefit from Bike Glendhu’s first year came from how much the team learned, he said. 

"We've been able to collect a lot of data to understand the business the best we can and move it forward in the future."  

He believes Bike Glendhu is on target to become a world class biking area.  

Locals and Kiwis from further afield supported the bike park during the tough past year.

"The support from the community has been overwhelming, and we’ve been really well supported by the domestic market.

We have a lot of people following us on social platforms and on our websites. They are having a great experience and telling all their friends.”

The licensed cafe had been popular, too, and had become “quite a cool social hangout”, Charlie said.

With the new year comes more opportunities to grow the business.

"From a broad perspective we really want to focus on growing the bike community in Wanaka and the Queenstown Lakes District.  

Between us and Cardrona, Wanaka now has two really good bike parks. They have different offerings, so they complement one another."

Learn more about Bike Glendhu here.