branching legs... mongomery, singles, rapaki

well, i had a nice wee ride last night. up rapaki, overtook a few riders, then up onto Montgomery Spur, up and round its farmtrack. AWESOME views from up there, feels like you're on top of the world, probably cos its a view we're not used to. then up onto the very top of it, to the trig. quite a few hawks up there. and the wind was howling... and there were sheep with lambs, but at first i couldnt see any lambs, but as i got closer, i saw them sheltering amongst tussocks. With the sun getting low and orange, and the easterly haze, and the wind and the big view, it was pretty spectacular. two lambs saw me, maaaa-ed at me, and then started to chase me, so i took off, flew down off piste over rocks and onto the track again. thought about heading along the ridge, above rapaki, under the pilons, but realised that section IS private land. so headed down onto main track and up the normal way to top.

turned left onto singletrack, just the first section out to end and back to top of rapaki, then continued on along singletrack up to top of Farmtrack, then turned around and rode back down singletrack to top of rapaki again. Then, down rapaki flat tack, full tilt. (one stupid woman runner at the bottom of the straight (me doing probably 60 or 70k?) wouldnt move off the packed part of the track, forcing me to cut pretty close to her to avoid getting into the loose stuff, ugh). At middle gate i saw a guy heading down ahead, just disappearing over far corner, so i chased, caught him just after the lone Manuka, overtook him amongst a bunch of people coming up.

my line was smoooooth all the way down, had the groove on, the flow, i was FLYING... quite a bit of traffic too, bikers and runners and walkers, i must have looked a sight, flying down hill like that, spittin' gravel out under my tires as i drifted round the corners, pedalling on the straights...

sunday CaptThom/WorkerBee/Anaconda. Tuesday Mcleans

sunday Andrew picked me up early, and we met steve at sumner. steve with his Nomad... up Capt Thomas, steve a wee bit slow, due to heavy bike and still getting used to it. me on the geared switchback.

At the top due to meet Ranger Nick for maintenance session on the trails. he turned up and a couple other people too, so we rode the Godley singletrack out to where we were working. cleaned more than i expected to, but still didnt make it up the roughest section of rockiness... great spin out to worksite.

work site included a fall-line rut that was just being exacerbated by water flow and people rutting it, so we did a big S curve that ran across it. basically grubbed a line into the dirt, little bit of banking on a two bends. put in an hour and a bit of work and hit the trail again, on out to breeze col and down Anaconda. rocked that. riiiight up on the berms, flying the jumps. awesome. then good ride out of Taylors, down to coffee at DotCom, lift home.

Tuesday night, Steve picked me up, we drove out to McLeans Island to the new Mtnbike park. it officially opens on Sunday to the public. but the trails are all finished, so we figured we're just doing everybody a favour by marking out the lines... besides, plenty of people have been riding the new track. its pretty sweet. nicely made, very easy tho, not exactly challenging. i took the singlespeed. met Andrew, Hubby, and Mark out there. had a good spin, 12 kms loop. some ups and downs, on the stopbanks. most corners have a nice berm on them. nothing technical tho. good beginners track. i prefer bottle lake, except for the sand. have to take T and O round it, also mum and dad sometime...

gonna head out tonight too. cos only did one lap last night and it wasnt really enough...

post work pre daylight savings...singlist...

Dan and me left work at 4.30. Me on the singlespeed. spun across to Halswell Quarry Park, 10kms, and hit the Crocodile. i made it round the first couple of switchies, but walked the next couple. then beautiful section thru the trees and down into valley, then up the switchback section, walked most of them, rode a couple. rode most of the track up, there were one or two bits, especially the switchies, that got me tho. Dan did really well. then walked the first straight of Kennedy's up to tanks, rode next bit to top of singletrack, swooped down to gate, then rode 90% of that big long straight from the gate, levelled off so pedalled again, pretty much all the way up to next gate, then the hell bit began. Dan cleaned it all, which is great for a novice. said it helped that i'd given him the tip of butt forward on seat, and chin near your bars, gettin' down low for the steepest climbing... i walked the whole steep bit, no way is 38:18 gonna clean that...

then pedalled round Summit Rd, up Worsley's, walked up first gravelly section of Marley's, then creamed it down the flying nun, and on down to the kiwi, smooth, flowy. i love the lightness and quietness and springiness of the singley. its a dream, it just floats over rough stuff, no harsh bottoming out. got to Kiwi about 6.10, so, with 11 minutes to sunset, flew down Old Dyers track, and got to the road crossing about sunset, headed up into Vic, cleaned all that track again, then up to skidder, down Dazza's, the new section nearly pitch black, fun!, and then bypassed the section below the 40footer into the valley, round and down K2. and out. flashies home. spin spin spin. nice. excellent ride, was 2 hours 15 from work to bottom of bowenvale. sweet. dan enjoyed it, bailed a couple of times. i stayed on.

sunday just gone, evening

drove over to Nelson's, we hit the road, across to rapaki, good pace up, but i was feeling stuffed, then around first section of singletrack to top of farmtrack, but light was definately gonna run out on us, so hit the road round to where singletrack crosses. then we headed down Bowenvale (i seem to have been frequenting that a lot lately). i noticed as we were descending that the city's streetlights were on, but we could still see fine. i cleaned all the bits i sometimes dont, and had a swoopy great descent. then we rode back to N's with our flashy lights flashing...
Hoping to get a singlespeed ride in tomorrow (thurs) night...

Steve's gotten his Nomad. Havent had the pleasure of seeing it yet, but will do on Sunday... working bee planned, probably godley head.

explorations...

home off work cos of a sick Otis, in the afternoon my folks came by and so i took advantage of them and took off for a quick ride, because T is off to Wellers for a few nights, and it was the last chance i'd have for a ride before sunday afternoon, and the weather turned to rain after dark so its just as well i wasnt out night riding, which had been the plan... so. anyway, took the geared switchbacker across and up FarmTrack, and as i passed Roger's Track (to Dry Bush Track) i thought, 'why not'... so, tight tight singletrack, walking track really, up the valley between Vernon spur and Huntsbury, some rideable, some walking, til the last bit to a funny shelter they've built on the hillside, walking carrying bike up to it. trail continued, but i'd had enough and so carried the bike on my shoulders and wheeled, back up to the Farmtrack. still below the pylons and middle gate!!! continued up there, onto summittrack, right, along, over the road, along and then Down down down the Bowenvale. lovely riding.

funny to be on the geared bike, as i was leaving home, lifting it out the front door i couldnt believe how heavy it was. which, compared to the singlespeed it is. also, riding up in low low gears didnt feel right after all those standing in the pedals cranking rides...

anyway, down bowenvale, met a guy on a 29er Salsa softtail (nice) riding UP it! nice. i'd thought i might ride up it last night, but piked and took farmtrack instead... anyway, headwind home across from bottom of Bowenvale valley, round trip around 1 and half hours...

Sunday morning, Hill, single...

annnnnd, another ride on the singlespeed. i'm getting hooked methinks. mainly from the challenge of it. i know i can easily cruise up the hill on the geared Switchie, but can i make it on the single? well, now. yes. i did it. all but 20 or 30 m around the top corner on the Rapaki. and it wasnt nearly as much of a grunt as the last time.

so... here's how the ride rolled. spun over to steve's sunday morning, just Andrew, Steve and me, headed up rapaki, turned right onto summit trail, i walked the hairpins and the little steeper bit then rode to top of farmtrack, then walked up to top of next hairpins, and rode the rest of the way. we cruised the summit trail, the 38:18 is perfect up there, before heading below the road, met a dude on an Azonic Steelhead, also singlespeed, who said, "good to see another real bike"... his had massive tripleclamp Fox forks on it, was one sweet ride. he was gonna head down the Nat's track. chased him for a bit and i caught up to him but then backed off to wait for the others. smooth riding all the way round, we got to top of Vic park and decided to head for Kiwi, up summit a bit and do lower Marley's and old Dyer's... again, 38:18, excellent. major slip (that'd been graded) just near the end of that, dyers pass road down to one lane with a traffic light... mucky smelly track. then up through vic park- really thought i'd blow the hairpin on the way up there, but cleaned it, veeeerrrry slooowwwly, then up to the skidder site, over and down to "My Favourite" which, as mentioned last week has berms and yumps in it now. then out gulley sidle track to K2 and out bottom. nice bit of work done down there since last week, repairing up the damage done by the slips and floods of last month... across town home. loads of cop action, on the way to, and on the way home from, the ride.

sulphuryellowbottlelakespeedsingle.

spinny spinny out to the forest after work, bout 5pm. hit the carpark, headed in and turned right, cos i'd not explored how the new area on the old dumpsite had connected...

well, after crossing the sealed road you spin through the now quite tall (and dark within) forest towards the dump mound. and lo and behold, it connects directly across the cross road you used to head toward Bower Ave on. so, a bit of a pump up the hill and along the top and weeeeeeeee down into the edge of a good sized stand, then into the duney burned bit i'd explored to previously from the other end. then through, over the whoopee jump, and down the standard road towards the beach, then along the coast trail, then into the maintrails again past the dump fence. then when you have the option of turning right to go to Spencer Park or left to go back to the Waitikiri end, i took the right option cos it was closed last time i was out there, new trail, which eventually connects/becomes the old trail. where i caught up to KT (an ex) and her beau, had a wee chat, then took off again back round toward the main entrance, spin spin spin. excellent gear for the forest. just knuckle in and pedal pedal pedal.

Everything is yellow out there, from the pollen. amazing. saw clouds of it blowing off the trees as we flew in from Vegas last week.

back out and on the road home. flashies needed, bout half six. then home, quick wipe down and change, and onto townie to get to dinner at C's at bottom end of Wilson's Rd. 10 minutes later, bottle of beer in my hand, and then wine and a delicious chinese poached wild pork on steamed veges and noodles. YUM.

singlespeeeed

spun across to bottom of rapaki this morning on the Switchback (18inch) singlespeed. met andrew, and off up we headed. fuark thats hard work. i cleaned all the way to end of trees, then up past first corner, then just blew and walked for a bit, then rode a bit, then walked a bit, then on the flattened out bit i rode then made it half way up the straight of the last slope, walked to just round the bend then rode the rest of the way. haaaaarrrd. very very hard. anyway, got on the singletrack, walked the first switchback section and then hopped on again, round to top of Farmtrack, walked up, off piste, next section to just after the upper switchbacks, then rode rest of way. from there on, it was a blast on the singletrack. slightly faster than the usual pace round the singletrack, and you hold speed more and it is just fantastically quiet. no chainrattle or clunk chunk of the gears... exquisite. blew a spoke at top of lavaflow, didnt realise it til a bit further round... wobbly back wheel. then down through gums, down to 'my favourite' which has all changed, new berms and jumps and new lines all the way through, then out valley to k2 and out. messy down bottom of valley, there'd been slippages and trees down in that last month of storms. then said my good bye to Andrew and headed down Colombo for a couple of spokes. fixed them up this afternoon... work tomorrow. will clean more of rapaki next time. an excellent work out, upper and lower body. gonna buff me up real good.

ROTORUA, 2006 UCI... and riding...

Where to start????

Vegas. The Worlds. Boxed up the Switchback and flew up Thursday last week. Watched some trials, downhill practice, and then the big event of the day, 4X on Friday. Saturday was the DH day, in the am when we got there we skylined up to top and walked rest of way to the start gate, then perched at various positions all the way down the course, watching the first drop from the start for a while, then the Kia Kaha jump, then down into the Larches, which was an INSANE section, then further and further down as the day progressed, to end up next to the Wall ride for the last few riders, seeing them hurtling past, inches away at probably 70 kph was amazing. then sunday was the XC, women in the morning, where we were positioned for their last little bit before the finish, and then afternoon the mens, We started up near the top of the course, in the wide open section then made our way down the trails again. all very good...

then, monday, round to Waipa Mill entrance to the Mtnbike park in Whakarewarewa. Tracks we hit first session: the Repco, the Creek, the vetta, Challenger, Diamondback, sidewinder, the Grinder, and i'm bummed i missed the Rosebank... took time out for lunch, then after chatting with Jeff Anderson(Jeffson), of kiwibikes he suggested we ride up the tarawera road and up hill road and down Hot X buns etc... so, took his advice, and did it. hot x buns, hot, then B rude not 2, and pig track, which strangely spat us out on Nursery road so we just followed that up and out the Exit.

tuesday, drove beautiful roads out to Murupara, then on to Minginui, and Whirinaki, brand new track, purpose built, very very very fun downhill sections, but mostly it needs work, packing down firming up... awesome country tho. north island Kahikatea and Tawa forest.

wednesday, back into Whakarewarewa, up to top of Gunna Gotta, down A trail, up Tickler, along Link(?) road to Hill road, up up up Moerangi road, top to Billy T, down Chesnut links to rollercoaster, then chopsuey, springroll and the other one. then down B rude not 2 and nelson and me went up Lions Trail, looped about in the sidewinder again then out the Exit/Rat/NDo trails... sweeeeeet. all up, only did B rude not 2 twice, all the rest once, and probably had 9 hours total of riding in there. thats pretty impressive. you'd have to cover the porthills and bottle lake to get something similar here. and still there was stuff in whakarewarewa we could have done. and i'd so love to do some of those trails again and again and again...

will fill in these details at a later date, by updating...