Biketober

Saturday 16 September, 6.30am to 6pm Wānaka to TC Summit and Back!

The Annual Green Steam is a group ride, raising awareness of the climate crisis and its impact on our winters. Let’s lower the number of cars that are going up the hill every day! Say "Yah Nah" to your car, strap your skis/board/snowshoes to your bike and get from Wanaka to the Treble Cone Summit and back in a day using only Green Steam!

To be a part of this ride please join POW, Protect Our Winters NZ ($20).

Saturday 30 September, 12pm - 7pm
Wānaka Ardmore Car Park

Come on down to Ardmore car park to the Biketober opening and Bike Market. Featuring music and stalls with all things bike related, find out more about Biketober and the exciting events coming up over the month.

Entry is free, no bookings required. Find out more on the Facebook event page below. Ardmore car park (by Big Fig) will be closed to cars for the day.

Saturday 30 September, 3pm - 6pm Wānaka Dinosaur Park

Let's ChargeAbout on the Tour de Fridge!

Travel from fridge to fridge and sample some of Wanaka's local flavours and delights. ChargeAbout will be providing a 'Mobile Biketober Big Beat Sound System" to accompany the tour along with ​some T​-Shirt giveaway prizes​.

Meet us on your bike at the Dino Park at 3pm for a very relaxed and free but ‘pay your own way’ event, and get a chance to ride our Cargo bikes too!

For the whole month of October... and beyond.
Wakatipu basin

Do you love riding the trails of Queenstown? How about using your two-wheels to get around town for the duration of October?

Entry is free, no bookings required. Find out more on the Lightfoot Website below.

Throughout October in the Southern Lakes and beyond

Challenge your family, friends, and workmates to ride as often as you can throughout the month, be it for commuting, leisurely rides, quick spins or long tours.

Find out more at our Facebook Event Page, or download the pdf below:

Monday 2 to Friday 6 October
Wānaka

Your little shredder and your rad teen are about to be part of the coolest thing in town - WORD! For those of you who are new to WORD, it’s all about encouraging young people to enjoy mountain biking! You are just going to love it… This holiday program is for kids and youth from 7-17 years old.

Tickets from $55. Bookings required. Head to the link below to view the sessions.

Elections are 2-14 October throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Have you found out which candidates support climate action initiatives?

Hop on your bike and get it done the SMART way.

Enrol or update your details below.

Monday October 2
Wānaka, from 6.30pm - Rhyme & Reason Brewery

A night of fun, craziness and adventure... all in the name of Bikepacking.

Stories that will make your wheels spin.

Find out more on the Bikepacking Wānaka Facebook Page below.

Saturday 7 October, 11am - 2pm
Wānaka

The event is designed to get everyone out and enjoying the bike, we will run 3 fun events suitable for riders of all ages and abilities. The event will be held off public roads at the Wheels at Wānaka venue.

We will have a series of fun events with different length tracks for our little ones and a 10-15km fun mountain bike ride. For the more adventurous we will host a Cyclocross race using the motocross track and surrounding tracks (options for both MTB's and Cyclocross bikes).

Entry $5. Warm up from midday. Find out more on more on the Mitre 10 Mega Wānaka FB page below.

Tue 10 October, 7pm - 9 pm

Cinema Paradiso, Wanaka

Featuring The Engine Inside and other incredible shorts.

The Bike Film Nights tell the stories of everyday people from all over the globe, who reveal the unique power of the bicycle to change lives and build a better world.

Through their stories, we uncover the overlooked potential of this 200-year-old machine, learning that in the face of our seemingly insurmountable global challenges, hope lies in the simple act of riding our bikes.

Be inspired and join the GetSMART revolution.

Ticket $15. Booking required.

Wednesday 11 October, 6pm - 8pm
Scroggin, Wānaka

Wānaka future bike capital of the world? A conversation about sustainable transport with Georgia Merton (journalist and bikepacker), Simon Telfer (Bike Wānaka and Wānaka Community Board Member) and Jennifer Smart (Lightfoot Initiative Queenstown).

Find out about the 10-minutes city, what Utrecht feels like, hear about a bikepacking epic in India and how we are transitionning our local towns to bike-centric communities.

Tickets $5. Booking recommended

Saturday 14 October, 9-11am & 12-2pm
Wānaka Community Workshop

The Southern Junior cycling team is running 2 sessions in collaboration with the Wānaka Community Workshop and Wao Aotearoa. The workshop is about learning basic bike maintenance and offering support to ask any questions or problems you have with your bike. Book your spot and bring your bike!

Facebook event page here.

We are running 2 sessions (20 people per session) & booking is required. Please sign up on the link below.

Entry $10 - booking is required.

Sunday 14 October, 9am - 7pm
Glenorchy

Gear up for the ultimate gravel bike adventure in the heart of New Zealand's Southern Alps. Riders of all levels can choose their path to challenge:

The Century Gravel Grind, a 160-kilometre epic adventure taking you along Lake Whakatipu, the Dart and Rees Rivers.

The family-friendly Paradise Gravel Dash, a 37-kilometre scenic ride along Paradise Road.

Full courses information, entries and more, see the link below:

Saturday 14 October, 10am

Wānaka

Bike to Te Kākano's community native plant nursery and learn about habitat restoration and native plants.

The Te Kākano team will share their knowledge on local native plants (how to propagate them and look after them, fun facts about native plants, plant identification)!

Meet up at the lakefront rowing car park area on Mt Aspiring Rd, by the bridge which will take you onto the Millennium track to the nursery at 10:00am.

Please bring your own bike and other equipment to meet your personal needs. You are responsible for your own safety and bike maintenance on this ride.

Find out more about Te Kākano below.

THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED TO SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2-4pm

Wānaka, Lismore Park

Join the Bike Wānaka team to celebrate the official opening of the new Lismore Bike Park.

More information on the Bike Wānaka website below.

Tue 17 October, 7pm - 9pm
Cinema Paradiso, Wanaka

Featuring two NZ-made films Inshallah and One Day Ahead, as well as a Q&A with filmmakers Georgia Merton and Isobel Ewing.

The Bike Film Nights tell the stories of everyday people from all over the globe, who reveal the unique power of the bicycle to change lives and build a better world.

Through their stories, we uncover the overlooked potential of this 200-year-old machine, learning that in the face of our seemingly insurmountable global challenges, hope lies in the simple act of riding our bikes.

Be inspired and join the GetSMART revolution.

Ticket $15. Booking required.

Thursday 19 October, 6.45am (sunrise), lakeside Wānaka

Join us for the Biketober dawn coffee ride – an early wake-up combining two of the best things in life: coffee and bicycles.

Who? Anyone and everyone! Just bring your coffee-making apparatus, yourself and your bike.

What? Pedal to the location at dawn – ride solo or gather your crew. Enjoy the early rays, spark up the moka pot, sip, chat, contemplate, wake up and welcome another day of possible bicycle adventures.

Where? See Good Rotations’ Facebook event page below for the location.

Saturday 21 - Sunday 22 October
Arrowtown

Cyclorama, New Zealand’s first and only ebike festival in Arrowtown invites e-bike riders to participate in bespoke cycle trails, curated to complement our natural surroundings and regional heritage.

This year features new additions such as an astronomy ride and a sculpture and art trail.

For more info and to book a ride, head to the Cyclorama website below.

Saturday 21 October, 9am - 4pm Near Alexandra Airport

Central Otago Resilience Trust has put together a 6-hour mountain bike fundraiser event. Staged on the purpose-built trails in Alexandra. The courses are Alexandra airport classic loop and the easier MOA (Mountain bikers of Alexandra) loop.

A variety of categories from individuals to teams of 4 and mixed teams.

Find out more about the Central Otago Resilience Trust: https://cortrust.co.nz/

Booking required. Get your tickets below.

Saturday October 21, 9am - 2pm

Queenstown

Calling all e-bikers, young and old, urban, mountain and cargo-bikers. Come join us on Saturday 21st October at Remarkables Market to show off your bike, best e-bike outfit and enjoy some kai with the Lightfoot crew.

Free event, no bookings required. Find out more on the Lightfoot Facebook page below.

Wednesday 26 October, 5.30pm
Sticky Forest Carpark

Let's dust the bike off and get these wheels rolling again ladies! Bike Wānaka has set up this women's ride to go out together, support each other, get some little tips and to simply have a catch up and fun.

Free event, find out more at the event page below.

This event is CANCELLED

Unfortunately the weather events in the last couple of weeks have interrupted the completion of the trail between Milton and Waihola. There are two large bridges that need to be put into place to stop bikers from having to go onto the main road.

Once completed, this extension will allow riders to ride from Roxburgh through to Lawrence and on to Waihola.

To find out more about the Clutha Gold Trail see below.

Find out more on the Clutha Gold website below.

Saturday 29 October, 10am - 4pm, Wānaka

Get a first-hand look at what a sustainable community really looks like with this guided tour around Wānaka, featuring clean water champions, waste minimisation, food growing, pest eradication, bees pollination and native planting. This event is also part of the Wao Summit 2023 program.

Booking required. Get your tickets below.

What would a bike-centric town look like?

Let’s strengthen our community’s love of bikes and active transport culture with a month of bike-centric events held every October in the Southern Lakes and Central Otago.

Are you an organisation, a business or just a passionate individual with a love of bikes? Do you have an idea for an event? Or want to create your own?

Next year (at the latest in July) get in touch with kiaora@wao.co.nz!