Just over an hour's drive west from Christchurch, up in the mountains is Craigieburn Forest Park. For a challenging half day ride, you can bike up the Craigieburn Ski Field access road to the ski field, then back down the valley to Lyndon Saddle for a great down hill ride back to the Craigieburn picnic/car park area.
CRAIGIEBURN SKI FIELD ACCESS ROAD ~1 hour
Starting from the picnic area head back onto the main Highway for half a km where you turn off onto the Craigieburn Ski Field access road. This is a shingle road that winds gently up the valley through the Beach forest to the ski field.
CRAIGIEBURN SKI FIELD TO LYNDON SADDLE ~1 hour
At the ski field car park, carry on up the road to the right past the ticket office, then past the chair lift, onto a single track that runs back down the valley through Beech forest and across shingle scree slopes with very steep drop-offs. The track can get very narrow, but follows a reasonably gentle down hill gradient. Follow the marked turn-off, for a good 10 minute climb with fantastic views up to Lyndon Saddle.
LYNDON SADDLE TO THE CAR PARK ~30 minutes
From Lyndon Saddle, head down the track on the right (the left hand track is for walkers only) for a quite technical downhill section through the Beech Forest, with plenty of roots, tight corners and steep gradients to negotiate. The track comes out on the road where you head left for an easy cruise down to the car park.
