Tuesday Morning Vic Mental Health Park

Decided to take the morning off work cos everything's been a bit much lately and definitely havent been doing enough riding.  Drove with Jet across to the end of Bowenvale Ave, some time around 9am, lovely morning, sun shining and only a few touches of frost around.  Way more mild than it's been of late.  Headed up the main gravel valley track, getting warmer as we climbed.  Into the forest and up K2, walking some - I'm sure it's gotten hella steeperer.  Frost around where the 23 footer is, and then very smooth packed gravel the rest of the way up.  None of the ruts and rocks and (occasional) roots of the past, just smooth sailing.  Delayered under the pylon and continued up and around past the 40footer riding up past Rad^sick rather than straight up the guts of K2.  Around the bend, cleaning the rest up to the skidder site for a breather, before hitting the last blast up, pausing once for a breath, then onwards, clambering up past the jumps and having a good look across at Worsley's from the rabbit paddock.  Jet half emptied the water trough then had a good sniff around the paddock chasing scents.  Up more, around to the top of the park.

Downhill time; headed towards the Summit trail, then veered left and back across down to the seesaw which i bypassed.  Then straight down the rabbit paddock and into the rockgarden and into the gums.  Took the wee lefthander track (not looking very used - and for good reason as I was about to discover...).  Within about 10 metres there was a tree across it, not a very big one, then another bigger one.  Clambered over these, then down a bit more and just before that tight droppy lefthander was a bunch of about 5 trees across the track.  Climbed through these and rode again.  One more tree a little further down and the rest was clear.  Wouldn't take much, maybe half an hour with the pocket chainsaw, or 3 minutes with a real one.  Flowed on down into the lower reaches then continued on down below the access road to the skidder site.  Out the end and rode back up to the skidder on this.

Into Shadazza's and yumpity yump, then checked out a right hand line which I'll save for summer when the steep roots aren't quite so slick.  Walked back up to the main dragzzers and flowed back and forth across the slope then into Brent's and kept left holding the high line across and down into the valley.  Over the bridge, off the cattlestop, into the muck.  Very sticky sloppy wet around until onto the sunny slopes, Flowed down Flow and into Bridges across and back and down, final section really slick, wet smooth volcanic red rock, then zipped down the gravelled valley track to the Hidden Valley Link track.  Bollocksed the bit immediately after the creek crossing then proceeded to clean the rest.  Up Up Up and onto the Old Skool.  Surprisingly good nick.  Someone had run up it, i think, earlier in the day, for their footprints had picked up slabs of mud.  My tires weren't doing too much damage as I was riding to avoid that.  One or two spots you can't help it, but the rest was easy.  Good flow down here, focused mind and zen-like state achieved.  Final section hung a left and tried out the other drop, rather than the nasty hole one...  Rolled down the car jumping to shake off the mud, 10.30ish.