Pakihi Track. Grade 1 trail with Grade 6 consequences!!! 

Such an awesome ride! I rode this bikepacking on a gravel bike, staying at the hut overnight. I certainly had to remind myself that I wasn't on my trail bike! It would be good to ride it again at pace.

Awesome video Lance really enjoyed it mate . Wow that track was amazing with very pretty views etc . And a big congratulations to Jacqueline you was riding very well and some awesome skills. So looking forward to seeing you both on Saturday next episode 😊

Fantastic ride thoroughly recommended

Did that loop from Opotiki about 10 years ago. Great ride up the Motu Rd and cool ride down the track, but tedious head-wind slog back into town from the trail exit.

Great vid mate! Would love to see a review of the Merida 😎

My 2 cents, ignore the signs. Signed, clipped in guy😂

Was a most excellent day 🙌.

Great video. Pleased to see you haven’t grown up yet. (Purposely bumping tyres on the bridge) 😂

That looked like a brilliant ride, don’t understand why you guys ride clipped in on e-bikes?

Is it me or does it look like your wife's handlebars could be cut down a bit. Her hands are at least 10mm in on each side and it looks like her brake levers could be set up a bit better for one finger braking 🙂 This from a guy with a 5'0" lady on a XS Liv Intrigue X E+1 customized with 150mm cranks and a 27.5"/26" mullet set up. Congrats on her new bike! 🍻

Sooo you paid for a shuttle and STILL had to ride nearly a third of the distance to the trail head? Secondly almost all of the silly falls I have seen are from people not able to unclip when they need to and now that I don't race XC anymore I ride flat pedals... great to see Mrs Best Day Ever on this ride and she was riding like she has done it before! Would love to see you guys doing more couples ride like this - how about Bridge to Nowhere ot T42?

I rode the Pakihi track from the bottom up to the top then went back down. [late evening] I was advised to have had a PLB, ..... Apparently most accidents are on the flat beside the river. There is local accommodation, you can stay in Barrys Crumps old A Frame house. Looking forward to you finding more like this. BTW check out Gizzie's MTB park off Fox road

I agree with you Lance, I find it better to ride than walk, and a bit of speed helps, keeps you more stable and less likely to wobble off,😊

Hey lance, stoked for another upload can’t wait for more content around this trip

Nice track, so green, too. My local area is (Parangarahu Lakes) is closed for the foreseeable future due to fire risk. That's quite a contrast and something I don't think has happened before.

Did the Karaka track out the back of Thames this summer. The exposure in some of spots and drops into the stream had a couple of the guys in clips second guessing why they had them, for this reason im a flat pedal person. I get why you have them for jump trails however, just not the exposure trails. Love the vids, thanks for being so regular with your uploads Lance. Been trying out a lot of your posted trails in around Auckland recently and youre right about that gopro camera effect. Everything is twice as big / steap than as is in the videos.

Excellent vid Lance . Question: Where do you get/purchase your Leatt jerseys from? And do they do online sales?

Done that twice, I rode it all from waiotahi beach, if you are confident dont worry about signs, the trail can be ridden by fit beginners so skill level needed is very low, intermediate to advanced will find it easy but the scenery awesome. Enjoy!

Pakihi track was first ridden as a mtb experience in 1993. I was working for DoC and had access to cad maps showing the track was a paper road. Was originally a stock route. The hut back then was category 4 (unmaintained). Full credit to all who have developed it, and to then-Opotiki Field Centre Manager Kevin Cannell, who 'opened the gate' to developing the track. Also Tim de Jong, who ran shuttles from Opotiki back in the day.

Thanks for this vid Lance. Have added this trail for my next North Island road trip. Looks like a great wee adventure. Just gotta wait for the Cook Strait ferries to be reliable enough to risk the journey.

Mrs BDE had no issues riding that trail

nice one! looks like its suitable for my skill level too!

I’m Scottish and have no clue what she’s on about with that stone ha, ha. 😂