Sunday morning Crapaki to Sketchy Worsles

Left my place 8.30 for an 8.45 start from Steve's, finding him and Tones awaiting myself, Pete and Wayne who both turned up shortly.  Everybody wanted a shortish one, so we toodled off up cRapaki, making reasonable time up here.  Bit of a regroup at the end-of-trees-gate, where Steve continued on ahead, just disappearing around the first bend as we followed, and it took me a bit of effort to chase him down, catching him up just before the manuka tree.  On up to the top, feeling pretty good, then while we waited, Steve cruised on ahead.  As we got to the first hairpin, he'd just disappeared around the hill, and then I didn't see him again til I'd got around past the Farm Track and up a bit, saw him disappearing over the ridge.  He was waiting for us at the Traverse.  Lots of Pioneer Race signs all over the place...  Good pace around here, startling a couple of jogger-women but otherwise uneventful.  All the way around under Sugarloaf and just after that wee jumpy bit there were some people lying around and on the phone and looking worried.  Didn't stop to see, but they seemed to have it under control, whatever had happened... 

Regroup before the trees, and it was only 10am, so I convinced them not to bail down Vic/Bowenvale, and to check out my most recent favourite in McVicars, so we headed through and down the Thompsons and across Dyer's Pass.  Here we saw what must have been the tailenders of the first Pioneer race of the day (blue numberplates), a whole bunch of them heading from the Nun and down into the Old Dyers.  As we climbed the road, the riders on the Nun were pretty hopeless looking.  Many of them were walking the rocky bits and going REALLY slow...  On up and around and up to top of Worsley's.  TVNZ camera guy (who's name i've forgotten) was up here chatting to another guy I remember from the shop rides of old...  We bombed down the Body Bag and up into the forest.  It was wet.  Wasn't as greasy a climb as Tuesday night, but it'd soaked up a shitload of water, and was pretty bad.  Made it up to the entry to my trail and I led them all in.  All did pretty good for a first time down something.  And it didn't help that it was a bit greasy either...  So, was good anyway.  They could see the potential.  Nice lines down and through then across the off-camber was hard work keeping traction...  and when we got to T2 I was a bit surprised.  It'd been pretty churned by riders and the roots were all super sketchy.  Pete and me cleaned it all the way down except for my one old nemesis corner.  The boys had varying degrees of success and walked a few bits, but that's not surprising.  I probably would have too if I hadn't been down there so often recently.  At the bottom, we cruised on up to the exit trails, down, across and onto Epitaph.

Down the road and into the Farside trails.  Tony bailed off down the road.  Wayno took 1 Shot Lucy, Pete and me took the original Farside Track, and Steve shot down Fluffy Sheep.  Regrouped at the bottom, then down the rest of the trail to the corner, and down the road to Cracroft Reserve.  Through this, up the steps and there's the 2nd race of the day, a bunch of Pioneers with orange numberplates heading around towards Kennedy's.  We meandered along following the river all the way past the Library, then eventually went our separate ways at the St Martins shops, Wayno peeling off from us at the roundabout and Pete and me heading Wilson's etc through towards his place...

Just over 34kms round trip, with just under 700m of altitude...