Attempting to change my internally routed gear cable proved more difficult than previously imagined. This is no longer a simple trail-side fix. Ended up being a right pain, but I got there in the end. I ended up strapping a torch to the downtube, shining through one of the bottle rack mount holes, then used a spoke to guide the end of the cable to the hole exit hole (below the bottom bracket). A remedy to this problem would be to insert a full length outer, which I may well do eventually.
Due to my troubles, Nelson had detoured to mine to potentially assist, but I'd got it sorted before he arrived, so we schlepped out, convoyed across to Halswell Quarry and rode up through the dog park into the trail network.
Straight into Dowload, then up C2. I was getting wheezy, so stopped for a puff on one of the hairpin corners, then while we were looking over the edge of the clay cliffs I managed to drop my puffer. This required a scramble down the bank. Back on the bikes climbing up.
Decided to drop down Murph's, which was fun, a bit rougher than it's been in the past. Out the bottom and we headed up Upper Crust, which zigs and zags, I think nicer than C2, crossing Murphs near the top.
Back onto the Crocodile climb, taking the high road up, up, up, and finding a new line built earlier this year, that takes you off the original trail after the Deviation turn off, and zigs and zags a bit more, keeping the up for up and the down for down. Nice! Up into Low Road and climbing climbing, new bits here too, new fence crossing at about the water-tank, and then up the last to the top. Siberia: dropped over this down, trees cleared from next to this, biiig piles of swag ready for fires (we reckoned they should burn one at a time and have dance parties. Or an even, bike race while they burn...).
Into Ange's Climb, zig and zag. Pretty sure I swore I'd never do that again, but it wasn't so bad this time. Over and back to the top again, ready for the descent. Dropped into Low Road descent, usual droppy fun, gaining speed towards the new fence. Then into the new sweepy lines back and forth across the slope towards the gate and lots of off camber corners. Still settling in, and not really properly formed yet.
Into the top of the Crocodile, dropping rapidly down this, crossing over and dropping down into Deviation - the start of which was dodgy as hell. Frost damp splecky slick dirt, traction was potentially terrible, but we both spotted it and entered carefully. Proceeded up Deviation, feeling the splecks on the back in the shady southfacing would-have-been-frosted-hard section before dropping zigs and zags towards the top of the old Croc and into the trees, where we coasted down Elegator.
Straight back into the climb of the Croc, back up to the top of Spurious, and down this, Down and Out, through the still-frosty bottomlands, Upload, back up the Croc, again, and this time at the top Nelson did Coopers Creek while I decided not to (didn't like the look of the entry drop, not that it's that bad), so I followed off down Spurious again, through the bottom and back up Upload, deciding to finish here, and head down back down to the cars to finish.
A bit uppy downy 10 kms with only 272 m climbed.
Straight into Dowload, then up C2. I was getting wheezy, so stopped for a puff on one of the hairpin corners, then while we were looking over the edge of the clay cliffs I managed to drop my puffer. This required a scramble down the bank. Back on the bikes climbing up.
Decided to drop down Murph's, which was fun, a bit rougher than it's been in the past. Out the bottom and we headed up Upper Crust, which zigs and zags, I think nicer than C2, crossing Murphs near the top.
Back onto the Crocodile climb, taking the high road up, up, up, and finding a new line built earlier this year, that takes you off the original trail after the Deviation turn off, and zigs and zags a bit more, keeping the up for up and the down for down. Nice! Up into Low Road and climbing climbing, new bits here too, new fence crossing at about the water-tank, and then up the last to the top. Siberia: dropped over this down, trees cleared from next to this, biiig piles of swag ready for fires (we reckoned they should burn one at a time and have dance parties. Or an even, bike race while they burn...).
Into Ange's Climb, zig and zag. Pretty sure I swore I'd never do that again, but it wasn't so bad this time. Over and back to the top again, ready for the descent. Dropped into Low Road descent, usual droppy fun, gaining speed towards the new fence. Then into the new sweepy lines back and forth across the slope towards the gate and lots of off camber corners. Still settling in, and not really properly formed yet.
Into the top of the Crocodile, dropping rapidly down this, crossing over and dropping down into Deviation - the start of which was dodgy as hell. Frost damp splecky slick dirt, traction was potentially terrible, but we both spotted it and entered carefully. Proceeded up Deviation, feeling the splecks on the back in the shady southfacing would-have-been-frosted-hard section before dropping zigs and zags towards the top of the old Croc and into the trees, where we coasted down Elegator.
Straight back into the climb of the Croc, back up to the top of Spurious, and down this, Down and Out, through the still-frosty bottomlands, Upload, back up the Croc, again, and this time at the top Nelson did Coopers Creek while I decided not to (didn't like the look of the entry drop, not that it's that bad), so I followed off down Spurious again, through the bottom and back up Upload, deciding to finish here, and head down back down to the cars to finish.
A bit uppy downy 10 kms with only 272 m climbed.
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