Sunday No-View Hill

Over at the bach for the weekend, with the Fat bike.  Everyone else seemed to have a good ride on Saturday, with Pete and Nelsie heading up the Blowhard, and Steve and the boys doing some mileage on the Port Hills.  Sunday morning I jumped on the fatty and headed out.  MMR wasn't playing ball so I just started it and hoped for the best, heading up the road (it finally kicked in up by Factory Rd).  Usual 15-20 mins to the start of the steep (Misty Hills gate), then around 45mins from there to the top, pain in the arse steep that it is, grovelling away in low gear the whole way (one km with a top speed of 6.8kph).  Up into the bottom of the clouds here, with a smattering of spittage falling too.  I contemplated Mt Pearce, but decided against it, and hung a left along the Summit Rd, finally enjoying the lack of steepness.  Up to the corner saddle (between L.Ak and Okains), and over the gate out across the ridge, riding cattle trails and clambering over the rocky ridgeline.  Up to a gate where I stopped for a quick rest and snack.  Then over the gate and on up and around the back side of View Hill, then up the farmtrack, zig and zag, and up to the top, highest point, having another rest here and finishing the last 1/4 of a OneSquare.  Totally in the cloud up here, about 100m visibility.

Then it was time for descending.  Down the top ridge, down the zig and zag, down onto the paper-road, fat bike friendly speed.  Over the gate into the doublefenced run, and down down down, getting faster and faster as the road got smoother.  Top speed of 65kph reached on the gravel, bombing, fat bike tires gripping so comfortably.  Down to Chorlton, around the corner and half deafened by the tire noise on tarmac as I tucked and flew down the road, past the beach, then back up the road and in our gate.

19kms, and 785m climbed.