Countdown pick up with a bit of weather around so thought we'd give the east a look. Drove through Sumner and parked up at Evans Pass. Headed into the Godley to find mostly good conditions aside from a bit of slickness and grease applied to the rocks. Made for some interesting times. I was puffed as all hell after the first couple of efforts, as always struggling from a cold and intense start. Eventually got into a kind of groove and we struggled onwards. First ride for Nelson since our Packhorse meander, him having had some tropical Samoa times in between. After it's leveled off a bit there's a couple of very rocky sections and these were trickling with water and muck, making them diabolical. Beyond that tho was pretty good. Around past the 'landing strip' and into the downhill, trail in good condition and no wetspots from here on down, but I was still Cautious Colin on the lower sections before Livingston Col - never quite trusting the slip - and finding the dim light quite tricky.
Climbing over to Breeze was a breeze, but again on the descent I took it pretty easy, and even rolled around PFMTBC rock. Again, the low light was really making me struggle with speed. Down the hill and into the col. 6.15 here. Debated Anaconda down and up, but figured it'd be mucky, so decided to head around the recently gravelled Breeze Bay Track, finding it quite the nice all-weather surface. This'll be a good one to combine with the Taylors to Boulder Bay (and beyond) track in the middle of winter when everything's closed. No technical skills needed at all. Still managing all this without lights, when we got to the end and parked up on one of the look-out roofs, it was pretty much dark enough. Lights on and into the wee narrow track back towards Breeze Col above the road. This was fun, but tricky with balance under lights still taking a bit to get used to. Back to Breeze, 6.35, and we hit the road for the next stretch, re-entering the singletrack at Livingston Col for the climb. First part is a grind,but the further up you get the better it is. 6.50odd at the landing strip so got cruising and proceeded to slip and slide the rest of the way back to Evans. Man, how tech is greasy wet rock? Quite.
All up another shorty, just under 12 kms, and 429m climbed. Back in time to grab dinner and head to the TFC trust meeting dead on time.
Climbing over to Breeze was a breeze, but again on the descent I took it pretty easy, and even rolled around PFMTBC rock. Again, the low light was really making me struggle with speed. Down the hill and into the col. 6.15 here. Debated Anaconda down and up, but figured it'd be mucky, so decided to head around the recently gravelled Breeze Bay Track, finding it quite the nice all-weather surface. This'll be a good one to combine with the Taylors to Boulder Bay (and beyond) track in the middle of winter when everything's closed. No technical skills needed at all. Still managing all this without lights, when we got to the end and parked up on one of the look-out roofs, it was pretty much dark enough. Lights on and into the wee narrow track back towards Breeze Col above the road. This was fun, but tricky with balance under lights still taking a bit to get used to. Back to Breeze, 6.35, and we hit the road for the next stretch, re-entering the singletrack at Livingston Col for the climb. First part is a grind,but the further up you get the better it is. 6.50odd at the landing strip so got cruising and proceeded to slip and slide the rest of the way back to Evans. Man, how tech is greasy wet rock? Quite.
All up another shorty, just under 12 kms, and 429m climbed. Back in time to grab dinner and head to the TFC trust meeting dead on time.
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