Sunday Arvo Pleasant Green Loner

Dropped O and a friend at a cub thing at 12, and headed round to McCormacks Bay, parking at the bottom of Glenstrae about 12.20.  Jumped on the bike and headed up the trail, climbing away in the heat.  Up past the bridge and a little higher, I hung a right and traversed across the slope in the opposite direction to usual.  This track Nelson and me had explored once, but didn't actually realise where it came out, which was on Drayton Drive, up which I rode to Mt Pleasant Rd, and then up this and around past where I should have come out, and then on up to Longridge and Clearview up to Britten.  Brief rest in the shade of the pines on Upper Major Horn, then over the fence and up the singletrack.  Around at the top to the right and along for a nice piss stop in the trees at the top here, then onwards around the pingy singletrack to the end, back along the road to Broadleaf, up this and up the gravel, 55mins to get up here.

Stopped briefly for a look across at potential connector to the climbing singletrack, but didn't take it and as I got going again I spotted a dude chucking his bike over the gate...  now the pressure was on.  With him looming behind (but not really) I plodded on up to the top, over the stile and straight into it.  Pinged a few times in the first few rocks so on the first corner stopped to let some air out of the front tire.  Got rolling again towards the stile and was muuuch betterer.  Over the stile and into the roll.  Moments of off balance but then the flow got flowing and had a great run all the way down, past a running girl, to the bottom.  Down the 4wd, and right into Greenwood.  Awesome run down here, bike and me riding really well.  Brief rest after Gloomy Gulch, but rolled on picking up speed all the while.  In the top of Dave's section lost the chain (cos i'd been too far down the cassette), so stopped replaced that and got going again with more avengence.  Excellent run through and around then down the fast bit before the rocky ups and passed some walkers of bikes unsuitable for the terrain.  Bombed past them, showing how it's meant to be done, cleaned the first rocky up right in front of the guy, and then up the next one and swoopy swoopy rapid roll round to the end.  Over the fence and on the road at 1.35.  This is when I spotted the other rider heading through the rocky bits and past the two Americans, who were walking some really smooth bits again.

Bit of a chat with the other guy (on a Marin Quake?Quad?), and then he took off out Godley.  I stood there, deciding for ages, couldn't make up my mind, which way to go.  Back up Greenwood?  Too hot.  Straight back up the road?  Have I ridden long enough? Nope.  Okay then, out Godley a ways and back again, it is then... 

Cross the Pass and headed up Godley.  Screwed up the rocky bastard but cleaned out the rest, and slowly caught up with the guy on the Marin.  Over took him just before the landing strip and at the rocks by the fence (top of our climbing farm track) I stopped for a good long rest, and he continued on.  I turned back here and had a lovely run all the way back to Evans, with many sections of good speed.  Across the Pass again and on up the Summit Rd, slowly reeling in another mtnbiker, who, when I passed looked grey in the face (sunscreen?  or sick??)...  Left him behind and carried on up the road keeping a good push on the whole way.  Finally round past Greenwood entrance and up round the corner and up onto the Britten descent, getting sweet flow down back to the Upper Major, then flew down this, down through that wee park, not skidding down it's gravel, and then down the road at speed and into Craigieburn Lane.  Walked the top steps then switchbacked my way down and flowed on down the rest of the way I'd come up, with massive speed on the final straight to Glenstrae, approximately 2 hours after I'd left there.