Saturday morning Worsley dog run

First ride back after a week in the bush for work.  Went and picked up my wheels off Josh and drove with Jet to the top of Worsley for to park and assemble tubes and tires onto said wheels (weighing in, without rubber (but with cassette and disks) at 2.9 kg).

Headed straight into the track next to the carpark, sun pounding down, and started climbing up through the long grass and then into the trees, steepness got steeperer and I got puffing.  Good climb, Jet having a nice time trotting along ahead sniffing everything there was to sniff and leaving pee-mails everywhere.  Climbed on and on up round through Braille and then out the top to the main Worsley, crossing up into the B-Line entrance.  Breather and rest then onwards upwards to the very top.  Moar breather here, then seat down and into Goat (or what we used to call Hang-Loose...).  Nice float down here, it's a great line with awesome droppy corners.  Baulked on the first log jump, and continued on down.  Rode round the log jump before Yoda turn off and then onwards down.  Where it meets Tommy2's I stayed on the high line and it headed off in a direction I wasn't sure of, and got pretty steep, so I dropped down to the Tommy2's final throes and blazed out the bottom of this.

Up the exit track, then up the Guts track climbing climbing and climbing, grinding away through the pylon gap and onwards up around to the clifftop.  Couple girls here who took off ahead and then I caught higher up in the Original B-Line as we climbed.  Out to the top again and took these pics.

(see, they match my handlebars!)

On up the Tommy2's/Goat access track and grovelled up this, past the Debbie's turn off and up to my new favourite's turn off.  Hung a left here and down the cool canyon bit, which is riding smoother and less loose-cobbly, then down through the dark Douglas Fir forest, through the whoops, and following the creek, then through the clearing and into the off camber.  Excellent run down, whooping through to Tommy2's and blazing out the rest of it down, better than before.  Second time down the bottom, 2nd time up the exit climb, then up the Guts for one last clamber, up through only to Fight Club this time, left down it and blazed in the heat down here.  One whoopsie near miss on one of the lower off camber corners, my front wheel tucked in and very nearly threw me, but managed to stay aboard and got round the next couple and out the bottom safe as houses.

Last time up the exit climb, sun beating down, cooking my poor black dog - stopped regularly throughout the ride to give him drinks, which helps him.  Took the usual exit descending trail, sorta following or riding parallel to these two young groms with full neck braces and big travel bikes, and I was way faster than them...  Practice and experience makes for faster smoother riders... finally down through the dusty main drag and through the cars down the newby down to my car.  Jet lagging now in the heat.

All mapped up, a smidgen under 600 m climbing, in just under 11 kms...

Monday night the long way home from work

Left work, on the Troll, and headed Selwyn St towards the hills, hung a right at the end, Aylmer and then down Young to the river, right again, and crossed the bridge off the end of Studholme and straight across through Ernie whatsit's Reserve, then Whitstead to the Shell Z station on Colombo.  Then down Malcolm Ave to the river, taking the walking track along to whatever the fuck that street's called, over the bridge onto Waimea Tce, then crossed the bridge at the end of Bowenvale, and around to FuckerWhaka Tce.  Up this, for the first time ever, not really knowing where I was going, but up it I went.  Steep it was too, hard work even in the lowest gear on the 8 spd.  Up to the end, then up a driveway a bit and onto the FuckerWhaka Tce Walkway, which takes you up to a driveway off Vista Pl.  Up this, steep grunt, and then up Huntsbury Ave all the way to the top, surprisingly cleaning even the last section in 1st.  Then it was grovelling up the gravel, bike handing it fine, no slippage even with the super slick worn rear tire, and on up the whole way.  Not a bad wee climb on this bike.

Onto the Summit Rd, and rolling down around Mt Vernon, a bunch of blue tents set up at the top of Farm Track. Cruising nicely, slowly gaining more and more speed til ripping through the top of Rapaki.  Stayed on the road, all the way round and up and ever upwards.  Top of Castlerock, again with the rolling, rolling, ever increasing speed til really blazing through the top of Bridle Path and then moseying around under the Gondola and into the wind and up the hill around through the cutting to the highest point.  Stopped a bit before Broadleaf, out of the wind, and changed into a long sleeve merino.  Wasn't really sure where I was gonna go down the hill, so I got rolling, wondering whether Mt Pleasant, Moncks and Glenstrae; or continue on down to Richmond; or what?  Passed Mt Pleasant Rd and rolled on down the Summit Rd, easterly cold, almost giving me an ice-cream headache.  Pulled off the road at the big pine trees - over the stile, and down the old mtnbike track towards Clifton Hill.  Fun on the singletrack, over the next stile beside the pine tree (magpies lurking but not bombing), then down a bit more singletrack, bald tires gripping fine, and around to the right on the Frog Pond Track, couple of quite hot runners here, then left and onwards down the singletrack to the top of Clifton Hill.  over the fence, and down around Panorama Drive and then left into Clifton itself.  Onto the Sumner Rd and along the containers, through Redcliffs, and onto the causeway, what a blast.  Top gear, totally relaxedly just cruising cruising cruising.  Around under St Andrews and then over the Ferrymead Bridge, and hung a left into the new/old track.  Flew down the wee hill and YIKES!!!  big crack holes on the right, no, on the left, no, on the right, aarrrggh.  Managed to scrub off speed while surprisingly avoiding the first few, then ended up managing to stop without crashing in the 3rd or 4th hole.  Phew!  Round the back on the tow path, then ducked out at an opportunity and across the road into the Mega carpark, around the back of Mega and into Charlesworth Reserve.  Rode through here and up onto the rise in the middle, where I stopped to check out the 360 pathway website to see if it went around the front of the oxidation ponds...  alas not.  Also discovered here that fucking MapMyRide, which I'd started at work, hadn't been talking to my GPS and had recorded NIX of my ride...  bugger it.

So, thought I might as well head for home, albeit slightly exploratively.  Linwood Ave, then hung a right on Kidbrooke, around Bayswater Crescent, right on St Johns, left on Maces, and into the Old Bromley School Reserve, across Cyprus Garden Reserve.  Right on Keighleys Rd,  and along, then up into Linwood Cemetery.  I'd never been in here before.  The view from the top is awesome.  Nice rolling downhill through the cemetery and then across Bromley Park (avoiding the glass) and across Buckley's Rd into Sewell St then homeward bound down Woodham Rd.  But, first, hung a right into Woodham Park and through to Lionel St, then tailwind down Retreat Rd, Swanns Rd Bridge, across the redzone to Vogel St, nearly home, but thought I'd get Chinese.  Bugger, they were closed, so, around the streets and home.  8pm ish.  nearly 3 hours riding...  Quite a ride.  Worked out on a mapping programme that it was about 35-40kms...

Sunday Packhorse with the Boy

Left home with Otis 10.20 am to meet Tom and Tane at Gebbies.  We got riding about 11, heading up the gravel road and into the singletrack.  Tane was a Gunn down the first descent in the forest.  He fanged it.  Otis was slightly less gungho and slightly more cautious, but still did wickedly well down the steep roots.  Neither of them liked the climb that followed much.  And indeed, later climbs proved a nightmare for them.  Took aaages to get up the final km or so to the forest edge and a couple of times I had to walk back and help O with his bike up steep bits.  Tane tho, lives in Lyttelton, and goes tramping a bunch with his dad, so is quite used to hills, heaps fitter and also slightly more mature than O, managed it all a bit better, but still whinged the way kids do when forced to do stuff that's hard.

Over the fence, and Tane decides to wander off up the hill above (in a bit of a huff), so O and me headed on round the exposed singletrack. O really struggled with the technicality of the trail and the (scary) big drops off the side.  He walked the bike a bunch then dumped it just before the Remarkable Dykes.  I think he was almost broken, tired from a late night, and only running on breakfast and a few nibbles of OneSquares.  Bit of rain started spitting down at this stage too.  From leaving the bike, he perked up a bit and jogged and walked while I rode low-speed along behind.  Tom and Tane appeared behind us and we all got to the hut about the same time.  A few walkers about the place.  Rain got heavier.  Tom and me sat in the hut listening to the rain on the roof while the two boys wandered off up the hill towards Bradley.  They got quite high up and disappeared over the ridge.  Rain eased, so we decided to get moving and started heading up to get them and they appeared.  Back down to hut, Otis headed off jogging ahead and we got ourselves rolling behind him.  Nice ride down, rocks a bit slippery.  Caught him up before the Dykes, and he got back on his bike and riding.  I zooped on through to the fenceline and waited and watched.  He was pretty cautious but did really well.

Over the fence and we whooped and holla'd as we swooped and flew down the singletrack.  One or two techy bits that caught the kids out but Tom and me had a good roll down.  Through the open bit near the wee hut / bach thingy and into the forest again.  Lovely swooping flow down here, and into the steep switchbacks.  Bunch of walkers here, past them.  The boys did good through the steeps, drifting the corners.  Then the descent through the dark douglas fir and onto and up the road, around, rather than the way we'd come down, then into the paddock for a wee bit more climb to the top.  Off down swooping and jumping along the fenceline over the roots and ruts down to the next stile.  Then down under the trees and over the roots, and the barbed-wire edged climb into the steeper rooty one which we all walked up (me pushing two bikes) to the last open climbing over the top and down finally to the road.  Gravel rolling around and Tom and me took the walky track just below the road, bombing down to the cars.

Not even 12 kms, and only 442m gained...

Wednesday night there and back again

Pick up from work and through the fucktard traffics and up Huntsbury (grabbing some water from a workmate of Nelson's at the bottom of the hill).  Over the stile and off up the jumpy track to the right of the main drag, my wheeze factor kicking in and leaving me well behind Nelson.  Shit city up here, with craploads of sheep and lambs crapping craploads of crap everywhere.  Tires were well filthy by the time we made the first gate.  Up the next section through the tussocks and then over the fence and up the landing strip, up the gravel grovel then Nelson decides to head up the steep singletrack.  I follow and cleanly mostly cleaned it.  Cleaned the bit he dabbed anyway, but blew a bit he didn't.  Got round the steep corner, then up to the Traverse and back towards Vernon.  Chunderbird 2 was parked up here, full of boozing student blokes (wearing boat shoes !yech!).  Off up round Vernon, taking the old switchback line then onwards and down.  Sketchy gravel on a few corners, then across Rapaki-top and straight into Witch Hill.  Good clamber up round here and then onto the road and up the hill.

Bit of a breather at top of Castlerock.  Dropped in and found it very fast and wider.  Plus really noticed the smoothing out by my Vibracore bars.  Been a bit of work down here, widening, but not smoothing too much.  I slowly wound in Nelson a bit before the first hairpin then he got the jump on me on the climb.  Out to Bridle top and decided to head back up the track.  Climby climby climb, Nelson quite quickly losing me, but I cleaned it all the way up except for a teetering topple of balance in the last gutsy rocks.  Back on the road, we decided to explore a little up around the tors.  Headed up the ridge above the road, and hung a left along the walk track.  Somewhat rideable around here with some dodgy steps under a wee bluff and noisy loose rocks.  Down the hill a bit and found the old trail to the right that heads around the back of the whole bluffy top - a trail that I'd ridden years ago (turns out was within blogdom).  Rather overgrown now, with broom plants and tussocks, and rocks all conspiring to stall progress.  Up the first bit and lo there was a whole basin I'd forgotten existed.  Off around this, a few bits of walking.  Actually, mostly walking.  Out to the next bluff and a bit of a walk about, including climbing up onto the top for some awesomeness of viewage. Back on the bikes and back around this trail, riding some more, and walking some more too.  Back up to the ridge above Castlerock and onwards down above the road on the new walking track towards the Tors.  MINT AS.  Pretty much 98% rideable, with only two dodgy rocky bits near the end that needed caution due to the consequences of not making them (biiiig drop to rocks then road below).  Sweet roll down onto the road, then onto the walking track above the road heading back to Witch Hill.  Nice techy wee pedally track this one.  Fun back to Witch, and then the climb, gasp!, then down round and blazed through Rapaki-top again and got knuckled into the climbing again - right calf muscle feeling like it had a braid in it again.  Nelson left me way behind.  He wound in and overtook a rider ahead .  Met him again at the end of the trail, after I'd waited for a whole bunch of riders climbing up, chatting to a dude (on a nice steel hardtail (cheap! Fire-eye from CRC)).  He hadn't ridden the trail to Huntsbury before, so he joined us and followed us.  Around the Traverse for a bit, then dropped down to the gravel and bombed down the landing strip. Over the fence and around the singletrack, then over the gate and into Shitsville.  Jumpy jumpy down here and back over the stile to the car.  Good spin.  17kms and 670m climbed.  Stinky bikes.