Bikepacking the Old Ghost Road, N.Z.

[@barnholbol1262]

Excellent video mate - love your laid back take on things. OGR definitely on my to-do list. Thanks for the tips too.

[@jameshudson7053]

Beautiful country. Would love to come biking there some day. Nowhere else in the world compares to NZ

[@ianmacnz]

Great video, thanks, hugely helpful for out planning for our next cycle adventure. Cheers.

[@davecotton6552]

Great video & information thank you Dave

[@kimarmstrong8510]

gorgeous video, so well done! Got me excited to do the trail

[@robarmstrong3408]

Excellent adventure and a laid back presentation of it all. Well done guys.

[@GrantJ]

Cheers

[@knordberg]

Sweet adventure. You had me on the edge of my chair when you were going around the switchbacks with such exposure on the side.

[@juangoneriding]

great content here Grant, would love to visit NZ sometime. Cheers

[@rick_1968]

if I ever end up in NZ, I certainly do THAT track!! WOW what an amazing scenery.

[@colleenkelly373]

Nice job on documenting the adventure! Did it earlier this year.

[@GrantJ]

Cheers

[@paperjourni8964]

wow that looks awesomely fun and terrifying somehow at the same time! great video!

[@TheJoePavlik]

Great video! You have really awesome bike handling skills too!

[@teej008]

What a great trail! Beautiful place NZ. If I ever go, I'd love to do this.

[@dbpooper7512]

Looks like a wonderful trail! Three days is about perfect for this sort of thing. Long enough to be a proper adventure, but brief enough to not feel monotonous.

[@davideldred.campingwilder6481]

I enjoyed this right until the last endorsement of Nesxxx. Sorry to draw attention to detail as such. But on my last five months of cycling the Iberian peninsula and over to Morocco and back on to Sardegna, Corsica and then Italy finally Croatia. I always avoided the cheaper options of the condensed and dried nestxx products. That said. Really enjoyed this video. Looked pretty hairy in some points and it's great to get off the bike's and put your foot on the track. Plus. Keeping on the helmets. Priority. Liked the kits in general although 24kg on them little back pannier streamline seemed a lot. But yes, the suspension soakes up the weight. Wort thinking about because I never had suspension. All in all. Good video. Glad you put it up. May have been much wetter as you said. Would have been exhausting. Nice to finish on a down hill. Well done. Nice Sunday afternoon viewing. Brought back memories of my "Cycling Pilgrimage" The Camino Santiago is a great cycle over a fortnight...

[@GrantJ]

Cheers

[@forestyforest]

Cool video and awesome looking trail!

[@umesht849]

That's a really scary ...you are riding on edge all the time......must have been real adrenaline rush!!! I wish i would be lucky enough to do this one day!!!! Life is beautiful!!!!

[@FutureMark809]

Your trip was almost identical to mine! Same schedule and huts, similar off at almost the same place, a few bike issues and great weather! Def a ride to take on if you love adventures 👌🏼

[@nippyadventures1800]

Great adventure, great trail and great video. I enjoyed watching. Bike on :)

[@benanigans74]

awesome video- great to see such a good cross section of the ride.

[@tosarellioutdoors]

Amazing place, amazing video. I hope someday i can ride this trail too. Greetings from Brazil.

[@alistersibley2155]

Brilliant!! Fab film of a great adventure! You've got a new subby here!

[@GrantJ]

Cheers

[@ferdigoldschagg5410]

Great upload thanks.

[@TheCossak]

Awesome adventure and amazing editing. Thank you for sharing :)

[@ronnieo9571]

That looked awesome. Thanks

[@jasontaingahue289]

That was awesome man.. Ill be heading over there from chch very soon

[@GrantJ]

Cheers it’s a fantastic track

[@aaronmelvin352]

Really good coverage of the trip . Great camera work that kept it interesting and seemed to really do the landscape and trails justice . I would genuinely love to take this trip !!

[@decentdiversions]

Great video! You're lucky to have access to huts like that. Cheers from Canada!

[@elmonggalavlogs148]

amazing ride cool

[@theadventurebiker]

Wow man looks like an epic ride. Fantastic scenery, footage, and great edit & narration! Cheers from Florida

[@GrantJ]

+The Adventure Biker it's a fantastic ride. Cheers

[@SaiaFT]

Great video. Such great footage.

[@GrantJ]

Cheers, it was a fantastic trip.

[@positiivi_teme]

Wow, that was actually really beautiful contrast from your helmet and the green vegetation around 6min mark. 👌🏻

[@ronibikers]

Impresionante, precioso y de vertigo

[@bikeundbier4160]

Super cool. Are the huts open to anyone? The video is nicely done.

[@GrantJohnstonVideos]

Yes but you have to book ahead.

[@91F2Z]

Amazing huts- although we have something similar in the U.S., I believe they are called a 'loo' in your area: Warm, though cramped, and only have a toilet-top sized dining table. :> Great vid!

[@GrantJ]

Cheers from N.Z.

[@AmadoWildlifeVideos]

Amazed by the quality of the wee Sony in this, I wonder what the equivalent Panasonic would be.

[@GrantJ]

Yes the wee Rx100 is a great compact camera, the equivalent Panasonic is probably the Lx100

[@steviewonder3430]

Have you guys heard of the kiwi brand Stealth. They make a heap of bike packing stuff. Kiwi run and made kit. Cool looking stuff.

[@avantlyle89]

wew! that is just amazing!

[@havefunandbikestuffOver40]

RAD GHOST! I LIKE IT! NEW SUB. BIKE ON, BIKE ON!

[@ramdhanziedan]

Nice trip

[@mikedeal7457]

Muy Bueno, thanks for the share

[@ukadventurecycling2740]

Really nicely put together video!

[@GrantJ]

Cheers

[@amara6656]

Thank you, I loved the kiwi bird!

[@luizfernandoferreirafonsec7508]

Amazing

[@bush-radler7326]

amazing

[@dupontrider]

Great video and very nice editing. Can you elaborate on the type of camera you used for the bike footage (@2 min 45 sec, for instance) and whether image stabilization was done in the camera or post process? (I did the OGR from Lyell end as well just after the trail opened staying in Ghost Lake Hut and then stayed at the Rough and Tumble Lodge at the end.)

[@mbabcock111]

Upgrades, some widening and reinforcements would improve the treacherous parts. Great trail!

[@BadaiRimba]

Nice video,,,,, I Cyclist from Indonesia

[@devoidbmx1]

What was that trail built for? To me it looks machine built instead of hand built.

[@dutzik]

"do wheelie" hahaha nice video man!

[@tubestick00]

Just checked online. Huts look luxurious. Would you say it was a struggle to get from lyall saddle but to specimen point but in one day? If you do it again would you space out the huts the same or stay at another one ?

[@GrantJ]

Yes huts have gas cookers, check their website for full hut facilities. We would have gone through to the Ghost Ridge Hut on the first day but it was already booked.

[@tubestick00]

Looks awesome. So do the huts have cooking facilities? Or do you bring a little cooker?

[@TravelCollected]

nicely done

[@pamelapullar9487]

Some of this must be new as a lot of it would have been changed over the years by earthquakes. How old?

[@QQQs-]

nice vid mate more biking vids 👍

[@kaurisphotography8923]

Nice little adventure I want to do this track one day so what camera gear do you use when you're trying to travel light I have the problem that I always take too much stuff and it weighs me down

[@GrantJ]

Hi - I just took a gopro and a compact Sony RX100iv

[@kaurisphotography8923]

@@GrantJ ok that's really good I need to get in the habit of not taking too much gear and making it hard to move it around

[@jonbrown842]

My ride in the morning is going to seem really boring, thanks guys!!

[@JFRides]

Great Video : )

[@williamcook6523]

Grant, this was extremely helpful (and entertaining)! Just curious. How many ltrs are the backpacks you and your mates are wearing? I haven't done much bikepacking and assumed you'd want to strap as much to the bike as possible? Looking at buying a new backpack for this trail specifically. Cheers!

[@GrantJ]

Mine was a 20ltr EVOC backpack that I actually borrowed off a friend. I believe general school of thought is to put weight on bike but as this track is only 3 days-ish I have had other friends that did it just with a backpack only.

[@joshmcdowall2236]

Hi what type of carrier do you have mounted on the seat post? Also wicked vidyo

[@GrantJ]

I borrowed it from a friend and from memory I think it was a Blackburn clip on carrier.

[@lucazironi8584]

Awesome! Have you got some kind of track, gpx file, Strava ecc?

[@GrantJ]

No but if you go to the tracks official website you can get a lot of that sort of info.

[@unSTEVOED]

Whats the deal with the huts? Just rock up and hope for the best? (In terms of enough space for every one to sleep) or are they pre booked / managed?

[@GrantJ]

You have to book well ahead

[@johnmartincallander5109]

Aye would love to do a bike tour from Fort William. How’s up for doing it with me

[@TrevorGay]

Nice filming and edit- looks like a fun trip! What camera setup did you use for this?

[@GrantJ]

GoPro Hero 5 and a Sony RX100 iv

[@BrentLeslie]

Hey Grant, I am thinking of doing this soon. However I would like to do it as part of a longer ride (full South Island), taking a bob ibex trailer (with suspension), through with me. I am pretty fit and pretty experienced mountain biker having travelled thousands of km with the trailer already, which tracks really well on rough ground as the suspension really works well. However it sits reasonably low, so big sticky out rocks will catch it. Also tight switchbacks can often mean you have to dismount. All of which I can do fairly quickly and well, but if I have to do it every 20m it will annoy me! I don't mind having to walk some sections with the trailer, nor mind having to take it off the bike and carry it for some sections (also easy to do), as long as there aren't too many of them. What do you think? Just looking at your video, long sections of the track would be absolutely fine, with the occasional gnarly bit which might require dismounting and/or a trailer carry. Which is fine for me. However if there is kilometer long sections requiring extended trailer carries, I might drop the trailer off somewhere and then go ultralight. But obviously I would prefer taking the trailer through. What do you think? Here is a video showing its capabilities: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWO7aodvhKaUhtk

[@GrantJ]

Your best bet would be to ask the guys that manage the track as you have to book anyway. Cheers

[@mushypeacycling]

Hey Grant, bloody love this! Can I ask which camera you used? (Not the pov GoPro type footage). Cheers, Dave

[@GrantJ]

Hi - it was just the wee Sony RX100iv which I carried on the small bag on my top tube. Cheers

[@mushypeacycling]

Wow that camera performs brilliantly (super well handled of course). Thanks so much Grant, looking forward to the next video!!

[@BrentonCollas]

Wow. That track is going on the bucket list. Magnificent scenery and videography. The more I see of NZ the more I like. Were the small ground birds kiwis? To be really pedantic, I'm sure lots of people are interested in a little more detail sometimes. E.g. the rest of the stuff is in the backpack. What kind of stuff was in the backpack? When you talk about the distance you have done, or ave to go, could you say roughly another 15km, 1000m vert etc, so we can get an indication of scale. Also, I know we could google it, but something like what permits were required, how many other people were about could add a bit more to it. Like I said being really pedantic. I really really enjoyed this video, have subscribed and will go off and check out more of your vids. Cheers from Adelaide.

[@robpatrick6107]

Hi Brendan. The birds are Weka

[@nathanc6611]

Agree with you Brendan. Video is great as is - adding that extra detail would take it to next level!

[@doublett4193]

Is there an electricity in the hut?

[@GrantJohnstonVideos]

No electricity in the huts, they are too remote.

[@doublett4193]

Grant Johnston thanks.

[@spektrumB]

The ride looks interesting and fun.

[@Longtack55]

"Scary" when I did it before the track was finished. These guys have excellent skills around those switchbacks and it's a loooong way to fall before you stop tumbling.

[@priyavivisvlogs2905]

Really ghost road

[@deanlinnell2471]

What did u shoot with Grant?

[@GrantJ]

Hey Dean - space was at a premium so I shot the whole thing with my Sony Rx100 and a GoPro Hero 5. I had the RX100 on that little bag on my top tube which worked great.

[@deanlinnell2471]

Grant J Would have been nice to have a DJI Spark on that trip. I brought my Mavic on a long all day 9 hour epic with a bunch of friends this summer and it was worth it to get footage in the alpine but for a multi day bike packing trip you gotta stay light.

[@GrantJ]

I almost bought a Mavic just for the trip but couldn't justify the expense. It would have been awesome to have along.

[@anilgeete822]

very nice work . but plz heros avoid plastic plz

[@charliedevine6869]

What? No fat bikes?

[@alexanderberr2520]

What a f#$&ing sound track.

[@panayiotischristoforou5588]

ΚΑΠΗ

[@kevinjager8007]

excellent video, good humour and nice shots however bloody AWFUL music choices. I watched it mostly with sound turned down

[@gop108]

We want to see the road Not your face 😉😉😉