Benje Patterson recently released a report that estimated biking’s contribution to the Queenstown Lakes economy in 2025. An estimated 344,500 people biked in Queenstown Lakes in the June 2025 year, up almost 90% over the past four years.
This report estimates the economic impacts on the Blue Mountains economy from spending by trail runners who attended Ultra-Trail Australia (UTA) by UTMB in May 2024.
I was thrilled to nab a podium in an ultra-trail race in Germany, with a 2nd place finish in the 50km (with 2,100m of climbing) Heidelberg Long Distance Trail Marathon.
This report estimates the economic impacts on the Queenstown Lakes economy from spending by trail runners who attended the WILD’s inaugural 2023 pioneers’ edition.
Benje Patterson estimated the potential use and economic impacts of a proposed Taieri Gorge extension to the Otago Central Rail Trail. An extension would give opportunities for bikers or walkers to travel between Middlemarch and Taieri, allowing for easy access from Dunedin with its large population and range of supporting visitor amenities.
Arapuke Forest Park is a key drawcard for mountain bikers to Palmerston North and Manawatū District. In 2022, there was $5.0 million of spending in the region that was attributable to visitors for whom biking in Arapuke Forest was a key motivation for the visit.
I have just returned from a third-place finish at the Brisbane Trail Ultra 100-mile race on the Spartan Trail World Championships tour.
There was $16.7 million of spending in Dunedin during 2022 that was attributable to visitors for whom biking in the city's production forests was a key motivation for the visit.
I recently appeared on Radio New Zealand's The Panel to discuss the $291 million spent by bike tourists to New Zealand's production forests in 2022.
At least $291 million was spent by bike tourists who cycled through New Zealand’s production plantation forests in 2022. The top regions for production forest bike tourism are Rotorua, Auckland, Queenstown, Dunedin, and Christchurch, followed by Wanaka, Nelson Tasman, Taranaki, Taupō, and Coromandel.
My journey into the world of elite ultrarunning continued recently, with a 5th place finish at the Ultra-Trail Australia (UTA) 100km race (including 4,400m of vertical gain) on the UTMB world series. For me, this result felt a bit like a breakout performance.
Benje Patterson has recently investigated the economic impacts of biking in plantation forests in New Zealand. As part of this research, an international case study from Deschutes National Forest in Oregon, United States was presented.