Bike It Now!, a Central Otago cycle tour and bike hire company, offers international and domestic visitors access to the stunning beauty of Central Otago and Southern Lakes through some of the world’s best cycling trails. These tours attract people of all ages and significantly boost the Central Otago economy.
Operating year-round, Bike It Now! provides bike hire and fully supported or self-guided tours across premier trails: Otago Central Rail Trail, Roxburgh Gorge Trail, Clutha Gold Trail and The Lake Dunstan Trail. Headquartered in the historic town of Clyde with branches in Cromwell and Wanaka, Bike It Now! has been a key player in regional tourism for nearly 12 years.
For the last 11 years, it has been under the ownership and management of Duncan Randall, Kathryn Fletcher and Lisa Joyce. The company began as a small rental tour business started by the late Ross McCrobie and his wife Petrea and has grown to include three shops offering retail bike sales, bike hire, workshop services and both single and multi-day self-guided or supported cycle tours.
The tours remain the biggest drawcard for tens of thousands of visitors to the region each year, increasingly popular since the opening of the Otago Central Rail Trail in 2000. This 150-kilometre walking and cycling trail runs between Clyde and Middlemarch, following the route of the former Otago Central railway. In 2012, the rail trail joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail network. Joining the network and expanding the region’s cycle trail options has been a great economic boom to the region adding beneficial spin-offs for other sectors.
“It’s very beneficial to the smaller communities along the Central Otago trail and across the Maniototo,” says Duncan. “Once those train tracks were pulled up, if the trail hadn’t been bought in, a lot of those country pubs and cafes would be closed.”
A 2023 report commissioned by the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust states the annual visitor spend related to the rail trail is $25.9 million, and an estimated 132 filled jobs in the year to June 2023 were supported by rail trail visitors spending on non-trail related activities whilst on the trail – including vineyards, accommodation providers and local museums. Rail trail visitors spent an average of 5.7 nights in the region and spent an average of $414 per day.
“We’re flexible and can customise or combine tours across multiple trails.”
Bike It Now! is a passionate knowledgeable local team providing high-quality bike hire, bike sales, bike servicing and bike tours including airport transfers, accommodation bookings for riders, van transfers along the trail routes if required and discounted workshop services in winter. E-bikes, making up about 60% of the fleet, are particularly popular, whilst traditional pedal bikes account for the remaining 40%.
“We are all about you, the trail rider,” says Duncan. “We’re flexible and can customise or combine tours across multiple trails.” He advises booking well in advance of the busy season starting in early September. Enjoy the outdoors of Central Otago and the Southern Lakes with the dedicated team from Bike It Now! in Clyde, Cromwell and Wanaka.
© Waterford Press Ltd 2024 – Independent Print Media New Zealand
