Features

Words by Lester Perry
Images by Cameron MacKenzie & Jim Topliss

From “riders ready, watch the gate” and chasing milliseconds on the velodrome, to dual slalom and front flips and cash-rolls, Jayden Fleming’s career on the bike has followed many paths. Having ridden for 18 years, he’s found his lane and it seems he’s only just beginning.

Life is about taking chances and seeing where a chosen path may lead. At age six, these decisions aren’t given much thought, and interest can bounce between ideas and activities multiple times a day — or even within a single hour. At just six years old, Jayden chanced upon an invite to a BMX ‘have a go’ session while talking to someone from his school.

‘‘I remember pretty clearly, I was walking home from school and someone next to me, who I didn’t know, had a flyer that their class had been given. He handed it to me and said; ‘‘Hey, do you want this?’’ I looked at it then took it home and showed mum. The flyer promised ‘three nights free’ or something, and my mum agreed we’d go down. So I went along — and found love straight away. My sister was doing gymnastics at the time and mum said, ‘‘hey, you can do this too, but you’ve got to quit gymnastics’’ — thinking there’s no way she would do that. But, she did. And that’s how it became a pretty cool little family affair,’’ explains Jayden.

“BMX is such a family sport, and you see it with so many families. The whole family’s involved; very rarely is it just one child. We ended up spending all of our weekends together, going away, travelling and going to races. It was super cool to be involved in such a family sport. I can’t think of too many others where the whole family is at an event together. Normally, you might get one kid off to rugby while the other is going to netball. So, that’s something pretty special—not just with BMX, but bikes in general.”

By 2009 (aged nine), BMX led Jayden to trans-Tasman racing, firstly at the ‘Track Attack’ in Melbourne. Six races, over nine days, on six different race tracks. “That was a really cool way to touch the edges of what international racing was. I’m still friends with some of those guys I met then who kept on riding and, obviously, with social media and stuff now, I’ve kept those friends along the way.” Later that year, he competed in his first World Champs in Adelaide.

These early international races gave Jayden a taste for travel, and he knew he wanted more. He went on to race at the World Cup level, his BMX career taking him to more than a dozen countries. While preparing to race at the Grand Nationals, the USA’s biggest race meet, he crashed and smashed his wrist to pieces. Nine hours under the surgeon’s knife and 17 pieces of metal later, he began his build back to racing.

Once school was behind him, Jayden moved from Auckland to Cambridge in the quest to chase the highest accolades in BMX.

The NZ North Island BMX Championships in 2018 triggered another transition for Jayden. He took his first Elite win at the event, riding high, happy with his performance and enjoying his time on the bike… until his luck ended. “I had a silly crash on a pump track in Cambridge where I just looped out and put my leg out. I’d never done it before, but my knee kind of stretched and popped, and I was like, ‘I guess that’s what a ruptured ACL feels like’. And lo and behold, it was. I did my ACL, MCL, and meniscus,” says Jayden.

Eleven years of hard graft chasing the BMX dream came to a halt and, once his knee was put back together, his focus shifted to getting back to the pointy end of the sport.

With surgery complete, and unable to ride BMX during recovery, Jayden’s eyes were opened to some of the other cycling on offer in the Cambridge area, and he began riding on the Velodrome to help regain strength and fitness. “I got pretty hooked into that and eventually got invited into the track development space there. I got into it because, at the time, I wasn’t training with many people. I was still training with people now and again, but a lot of it was by myself on the BMX. I loved the whole community aspect that track gave me at the time, where everyone was training together all the time in one space. It was really social and, at the time, it felt like there was more opportunity and support to pursue track cycling from the governing body than BMX had.”

The NZ BMX High-Performance program disbanded in 2016, leaving riders scraping together their coaching, support, and funding. With no firm development pathway to the top tier in BMX from the governing body, track cycling provided Jayden with an avenue to chase his dreams of being the best in the world. “I could never realistically see myself winning Olympic medals or being the best of the best. But, to me, becoming a pro cyclist was something that I saw as potentially achievable – and a goal that I wanted to pursue.”

Jayden spent time at the ‘Regional Track Hub’, a short-lived program created to identify and develop young talent and prepare them for the High-Performance squad and, ultimately, Olympic medals.

“A lot of the people from that program have gone on to the Olympics, and a lot of people have medals. We are all really grateful for what it was, but I think we’re missing it now – that space is gone, obviously, with funding issues.”

In October of 2021, on the freshly laid asphalt of Cambridge’s Velosolutions pump track, Jayden raced in the Red Bull Pump Track World Champs qualifier event. He turned heads immediately, partly for racing in a road cycling helmet, but more for his raw power and speed. Although he’d not been on the BMX much before the event, his natural talent shone, and he mixed it with the purist BMX racers to finish third in a tightly fought battle.

“I’d still get my BMX bike out every now and then. I’d go to a gates night, but only once a month or so, and then come back just for national champs. That would have been early 2021.”

As impressive as he was on the Velodrome, Jayden’s time on the boards ended abruptly. The national track coach at that time took Jayden to a pub and sat him down: “You’re the wrong body type, you’re fully developed, you’re not going to go any faster, you’re not going to go to the Olympics; you should quit.” He explained that he’d be better suited to downhill MTB racing than track cycling.

“At the time, it was pretty brutal and not what I wanted to hear. I thought my hopes and dreams were all over, but now, looking back on it, he was trying to help me.”

After just two years of rapid progression, Jayden’s time on the track looked to be coming to an end and with no firm goals or plans ahead, Jayden felt he was a bit of a lost cause, struggling to figure out what direction to take his cycling.  “I had this old crappy BMX bike that I’d had for years, and I kind of just started riding that and having fun. It was real interesting trying to learn new things.”

While still deciding if he was entirely done with track cycling, Jayden sat down with current Olympian, Sam Dakin, to try and get some clarity and answer the question; “where to from here?”

“He sat me down and said; ‘Why do we do the sport?’ And he went through this really cool explanation. ‘We do it for that six-second euphoric feeling when you win a race. How often have you felt that way with track?’ And I was like; ‘well, once or twice in the past year and a half.’ In my mind, it all clicked. I had just felt that same feeling three times in the past week learning these new tricks.”

Crankworx was six months down the road; so, toward the end of 2021, Jayden set his sights on climbing the freestyle MTB competition ladder, hoping for an entry to speed-and-style. “At the time, I could do a flip and that was about it. If I could get an entry to speed and style at Rotorua, that would keep me busy for six months.” Next up was to find a bike worthy of the task. In stepped Tim White (OG BMX and MTB industry player), who plugged Jayden into the ILABB team and connected him with Marin Bikes, who took a punt on him; an as-yet unproven quantity with big MTB dreams.

The weather played havoc with course conditions at the 2021 Crankworx Rotorua, or “Wetworx” as many dubbed it. Slalom was a tough pill to swallow as Jayden and many others battled what had become a slippery slide of a course. The result was one he’d forget, and a steep learning curve – but consistent results at the remaining Crankworx Rotorua events and Crankworx NZ Summer Series – led him to a complete the 2022 World Tour, circumnavigating the globe for the first time, gaining valuable experience in the big leagues. Although satisfying his wanderlust, the season left him wanting more.

Crankworx Whistler, in 2022, remains a highlight of Jayden’s cycling career as he slayed the pump-track competition to take third place. On a track not unlike a BMX track, four athletes raced each other side-by-side on a four-lane, 110m straight-line course. The top two progressed to the next round, and the bottom two were sent packing.

“The medal I got in Whistler was super special because there was a year’s journey to get there – and I didn’t expect to get there – but everything kind of clicked on the day. I’d qualified first, got the fastest lap of the day… and got a medal! But I knew why I had moved to mountain biking, and the reason I was there was for speed and style. That’s what interests me. That’s what I wanted to learn. That’s what I wanted to do. So that medal wasn’t completely fulfilling. It was awesome but, internally, I just wanted to do well at speed and style.”

However, unfortunately Whistler’s Speed and Style didn’t go to plan, and Jayden was out early due to a mistake in his run.

Come 2023, not long after he was the first person to throw a massive double backflip on Queenstown’s recently revamped and upsized ‘Dream Track’ jumps, Jayden put his experience and passion for all things cycling into a new job. He joined Velobike (track cycling parts specialists) as the operations and sales lead at their Cambridge base, becoming a ‘Jack of all trades’ for the small business.

His 2024 season results confirmed that Speed and Style were indeed his strengths. Focused preparation and practice meant his bag of tricks was all but overflowing and, when combined with the speed and race craft from his years as a BMXer, he became a threat at any Speed and Style competition he put his mind to.

“I spent the last year (2024) putting my absolute heart and soul into it (Speed and Style). I was struggling in it, but I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I spent all year just focusing on front flips and double flips because I knew those were the two tricks I wanted to do. Staying in Cambridge, not getting distracted and just focusing on trying to be fast and smooth. And I went from qualifying 25th, 23rd, around the mid-20s, to qualifying fourth, third and second at last year’s rounds, which was cool for me. It goes back to what the sport’s about; following the journey and getting there.”

His season began with ninth place in Rotorua, and then he backed up by fifth placings in Cairns and Innsbruck. Unfortunately, his world tour was cut short due to a wrist injury, meaning he would miss the pinnacle event and one he’d done well at before: Crankworx Whistler. “I was in Europe at the time, so I stayed and watched the Olympics. I didn’t feel comfortable going all the way to Canada when I had a half-ass wrist. I didn’t feel like I would be riding my best.”

Once his wrist was ready, October 2024 saw yet another diversion for Jayden as he conquered the Whaka 100 XC Marathon. “The Whaka was awesome. I went and watched a mate do it last year, and I guess I just got bored and thought, you know what – 100k on a mountain bike; it’s a big effort, but it’d be really cool. A fun thing to say you’ve done. I think it’s a little bit like the Coast-To-Coast – it’s a very Kiwi thing. It would be so awesome to say that you’ve done the Coast-To-Coast, but I feel as far as a mountain biking event in New Zealand, the Whaka’s the equivalent. Yeah, I don’t say prestigious, but quite a well-known cool thing to do. It was awesome to get out there and do it.” Followers of the Marin Bikes Instagram account tracked Jayden’s Whaka experience as he live updated throughout his nine-plus hours out on the course.

Late in 2024, Crankworx World Tour promoters emailed athletes announcing they would discontinue Speed and Style competitions and replace them with a ‘mystery event’ at the 2025 Cairns Crankworx event. Jayden felt lost and unsure about what his season might look like now that his favourite event had been shelved, and he had minimal information on what would replace it.

With big plans for the upcoming year, Jayden filed his resignation with Velobike, packed his life into his car and drove to Queenstown to immerse himself in the thick of the MTB scene and take on an operations role with Ilabb.

The 2025 Christchurch Crankworx Summer Series was announced for February, and Jayden marked it in his calendar. Initially focussed on the pump track, after chatting to a few mates, the Slope Style competition got on his radar and he managed to secure an entry to what would be his first FMBA gold-level slopestyle event.

“I got the confirmation of a wild card at the end of December. So I had about six weeks to get ready. I had put a lot of work into cash rolls, which I really wanted to land, and I had landed a handful on airbags, but didn’t have them dialled enough! The biggest hurdle was learning a new mindset for a slope comp and being able to chill out kinda and take it jump by jump. All I had known beforehand was races and to bash my way to the bottom as fast as I could.”

The lessons learned from his time in the track program were again put to use, this time in his competition plan for the Christchurch Summer Series. Each practice and competition day was pre-planned in his phone’s Notes app, leaving his mind free to focus purely on the task at hand rather than when and where he should eat lunch. Unfortunately, even with meticulous planning, hiccups can occur. Practise morning came, and a minor infection in his finger had spread up his arm. The onsite medic suggested he go to the hospital for IV antibiotics, meaning he would miss the first practice. Not the ideal lead into a Slope Style event, but if there’s one thing Jayden can deal with, it’s adversity.

“Going into my run, I still hadn’t done the double flip on the middle jump, or my cash roll down the bottom, but I kind of just backed myself. Obviously the double flip worked, but the cash roll didn’t. But, I’d rather go all in and give everything I have and crash, than do a safe run and be like, oh shit, I wish I’d done more, you know? So, really cool. All the dudes are super friendly. I’m kind of hooked now. Like, it got more exciting the more prepared I felt. On the morning of the comp, I was shitting myself, I was so scared.

“I’ve never considered myself a proper trick or slope-style guy. But hey, an opportunity came up to put my name forward for a wild card, and I happened to get it. So I’ll go give that everything I’ve got. Before I even got into the sport, Nikolai (Rogatkin) and Eric (Fedko) and Lucas and all those guys were my idols. So, to be riding practice and competing against them is pretty cool for me, and doing it in New Zealand was pretty special; anytime we get to compete in New Zealand is sick.”

For 2025, Jayden continues to rack up air miles, again taking on the Crankworx World Tour, this time as part of Martha Gills’ ‘Lucid MTB’ team, created to support selected riders in chasing their MTB dreams. Jayden continues with previous sponsors Marin, Leatt and Ilabb, with other team sponsors adding to the roster, including Hope, Deity, Marzzocchi, Microshift, Ride Concepts and WTB.

The tour kicks off in March with Crankworx Rotorua, where he’ll be hitting the Pump Track, Whip Off, and rolling the dice at the Best Trick competition. Once Rotorua is in the bag, he’ll be back on the road again, returning to the USA, just as he did as a youngster chasing the BMX dream. Only this time, however, he’ll have a mountain bike in tow for the Sea Otter Festival, competing across Dual Slalom, Enduro and Downhill instead of listening to; “riders ready, watch the gate” on the BMX start hill.

Words by Nathan Petrie
Images by Cameron MacKenzie

Despite being spoilt for choice when it comes to riding trip destinations in New Zealand, it can be hard to resist the pull of the Big Three: Queenstown, Nelson and Rotorua.

But, giving in to temptation can sometimes lead you to miss out on the great riding and memorable moments that come with seeing what else is out there. Oftentimes, it’s the trips to somewhere a bit different that deliver some of the best riding trip memories.

So, the question for us was; could we sneak in one last riding trip before summer was out? And, if we could, should we venture outside the norm and explore something different? With the sun rapidly setting on another summer of riding, it was time to tap into the unconventional and head south in search of something unique.

The destination of choice would be the South Island’s second largest city, Dunedin. It’s a place we’d all visited beforehand, to partake in something Dunedin has a rich history of: racing. However, just like going to the same old riding destination, racing only lets you catch a glimpse of what can be found when it comes to local trails. So, this time, we’d be off the clock and free to explore what Dunedin has to offer – both on and off the bike.

As a starting point for exploration of the riding on offer in Dunedin, it’s hard to go past the OG location of Signal Hill. Steeped in as much history as the streets you’ll traverse to get there from the city centre, Signal Hill’s a place that can’t really be missed.

Despite the history, the days of rolling past the back of the high school to a waiting shuttle vehicle for another lap down the famed downhill track are long gone. Now the extensive network of trails that have been carved into the hill are easily accessible via the purpose- built uphill trail; the Emerson’s Big Easy.

The climb lets riders access trails from the midpoint at The Plateau, the iconic Signal Hill summit, and a range of places in between. This easy climbing access, combined with the number of trails packed into the area, gives riders plenty of options when it comes to linking a run together.

A bit like the different access points on the way up, there’s a good range of trails on offer on the way down. While the original rocky Dunedin tech is never too far away, there’s also plenty of root laden goodness snaking through the natives, as well as some fast and flowy jumps.

With so much on offer, it’s easy to see why Signal Hill has been such a mainstay of Dunedin mountain biking and played a key role in national level races. The Otago Mountain Bike Club, with the help of supporters and sponsors such as Emerson’s, have put a lot into making Signal Hill a riding destination in itself—right on the doorstep of the central city.

This ongoing support for the local mountain bike community makes it an easy choice to head down to the Emerson’s brewery for a post ride refuel. Conveniently located between Signal Hill and the city centre, the brewery provides great beer and mountains of delicious food in an atmospheric setting. With plenty of seating both inside and out, as well as some brewery exclusives on tap, it’s an ideal place to unwind post-ride. Swapping stories from a day out on the trails and enjoying the relaxed and inviting atmosphere is a great way to round out the day.

While it’s always good to get some laps in at an expanded classic like Signal Hill, there’s plenty more on offer when it comes to Dunedin’s riding spots. A great example of this is the ever-expanding network at Whare Flat, located on the northwestern side of town. While it currently features less trails than Signal Hill, spread out over a larger area, they’re well connected by the series of gravel logging roads throughout the forest.

Once again, there’s a mix of trails to check out, from lower gradient rocky trails to steeper, root-filled trails with some fun corners and chutes. There are also a number of trails that make great use of some of the more unique features and terrain on offer in Whare Flat. From the gully, traversing turns and grade reversals on Instant Classic, to the stomach-drop-inducing rock roll on Karearea, you’re guaranteed to come away with some memories from a ride out here.

While stopping by local bike store, Off the Chain Cycles, for some supplies and a chat, we heard how this ever-growing network of trails came to be. Despite trails of some form always being present at Whare Flat, the level of development has been on the rise in recent years. A share of this comes from the location’s more recent inclusion in the Otepoti Enduro (formerly the 3 Peaks Enduro), and Signal Hill nearing capacity with trails. With some great terrain and features on offer, and a good network of roads to link things together, it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for Whare Flat.

Going back to the Otepoti Enduro, another location that offers something a bit different is Nicols Creek. Located up in the Leith Valley and surrounded by lush native bush, Nicols Creek gives you the feeling of being immersed in nature while still being only a stone’s throw away from the city. The trails here have featured heavily in the Otepoti/3 Peaks enduros over the years and it’s easy to see why. A well graded climbing trail leads you up through the bush to an open viewpoint at the top of the descent. From here, you can either head back down or carry on up the remaining two-way track to the tussock and flax-covered tops – and an even more outstanding view of the city below.

After taking in the view and rolling back down the two-way track to the lower viewpoint, things start to get interesting as you drop into the main Nicols Enduro descent. Aside from a couple of brief stretches in the open, and a pocket of pine forest, you’re treated to an eventful descent through the dense native bush. The trail provides a long run down to the valley below and, being nestled underneath the dense canopy with plenty of leaf cover means it holds a decent amount of moisture. When you add in the serpentine roots snaking their way across the trail, you can be in for a bit of a challenge as you make your way down. Despite this, runs like these can be the highlight of a riding trip – provided everyone makes it down in passable shape!

Despite having a bit of distance between them, the lower number of trails at Whare Flat and Nicols Creek means it is possible to ride both in the same day. This ability to ride varied trails in completely different settings is something that’s not easily found in a lot of riding destinations.

After a day of sampling that much of the riding, it only makes sense to make your way back into town to sample some more of the eateries on offer in Dunedin. This time it was Moons, located on the south side of Dunedin’s famed Octagon, in the city centre. Moons taps into a bit of a common theme in Dunedin: amazingly restored historic buildings with stone and orange brick interior. Like many eateries in Dunedin, Moons does a great job sourcing a lot of their ingredients and products from smaller local suppliers. On top of this, they also brew their own beer in-house under the Dog Star label and use house-made dough in their ‘pizzettas’. Drawing on that quest for something different, you’ll be able to try out some of the more unique offerings on the menu – like the crumbed gherkins and charred tandoori octopus. With its diverse menu and great service, Moons is well worth a visit after a day’s riding.

The kind of quality, diversity and local influence isn’t just confined to Moons when it comes to eateries in Dunedin. That’s one thing you’ll notice if you do venture south for a riding trip; the hospitality options are a bit like the trails—diverse and easy to access. Whether it’s a pre-ride breakfast at The Perc, a between-ride fuel up at Beam Me Up Bagels or a post-ride unwind at Moons or Emerson’s, Dunedin’s got you pretty well covered.

After fitting in three of Dunedin’s main riding spots in our short trip, the biggest thing that stood out to us about this great southern location was probably the diversity and convenient access. With Nicols Creek, Whare Flat and Signal Hill all within a 5-15 minute drive from Dunedin’s iconic Octagon, you’re never really faced with a huge commute to access a diverse range of riding. Signal Hill is especially convenient and would be considered within riding distance from most accommodation spots in the CBD. While Whare Flat—and to a lesser degree, Nicols Creek—are easier to access by car, they’re still pretty convenient and you can easily ride both in the same day, as we did.

All three spots offer riders something different, both within and between all three of them. While there is still a bit of a common thread with more technical trails having a big presence in each location, there are also options for a good range of riders. Each spot has pretty good climbing access too, so whether you’re cutting around like us on our Specialized Levo’s (more on that later), or spinning the legs on a regular bike, it won’t be a one-and-done affair.

When it comes to thinking about your next riding trip, consider whether it might be time to switch things up a bit from the usual locations of choice. Try venturing somewhere a bit outside the norm and seeing what else is on offer out there. With its mix of trail styles, locations, features and foliage, Dunedin’s got a good range of options to pick from. Couple that with all of the trail locations lying pretty close to the city centre and you can access a lot of variety at multiple spots in a days’ riding. Add in the great food, culture, and some stunningly renovated accommodation options, and you’ve got the makings of an ideal riding destination.

Stay The Thomas Gregg Apartments
Eat Bakery on Bond, Big Lizard, Beam Me Up Bagels, Emmersons, Maggie’s, Moons
Ride Nicols Creek, Signal Hill, Whare Flat
Shop Off the Chain Cycles (local intel)