Started out with the fam (T, Joyful, Anth (on O's bike) and Lynn (on H's Instigator)) and happy Jet the dog, down the path from just along the street, to the Dog Stream walk track, heading up river on our side, then across the road and over the bridge, up something that kinda becomes Easy Rider below the road, up through the main park entrance and ranger station etc, noticing a cool wee skills ("this is what the different grades of mtb trail mean"). Turned into Western Link and cruised through here. A first time doing any real hill work for most of these folks.
I led them into Swamp, all the way amazed at how happy Tra'y was with the riding. Lynne is an ex-regular, so she had skills and a bit of pep, and Anth was a total natural, even if not all that fit. Joy struggled on the hill work and anything techical. I dont think it helps that her tires are, like, 1.9s and her forks are sunken.
At the top, a bit of a relax and then I dived into Swoop. I bombed off, then thought to stop and see how they were coming. Tra'y arrived first, saying "That's waaay too hard for mum!" but the others progressed through and Joy was fine, had walked a couple of little things (and had a crash I think). I followed Anth for a sec, then we caught up to Lynned and I rocketted through chasing T, thinking I'd see her soon, but no. Miles down I caught Jet, who veered aside for me and then down at that big treestump jump I landed and slammed on the brakes behind her. Followed her down the hairpins but the second was sticky as and she doesn't 'get' them yet, so that was the only bit she bailed on. They all rolled in after in their appropriate order, covered in splecks of mud.
Across Western again (I spotted an exit from Meeny I've never seen before, so will explore that in future). At the Dog Stream, I bailed from them and headed up stream on my lonesome. Climbed steadily but 3/4ths of the way up I was thinking, hmmm, a bit hungry... Overtaken by a skinny friendly guy on a nice big brown Surly Ogre, made me jealous of his speed, then crossed the bridge and headed across the road and up the Fir Trail, having forgotten how fucking steep it is in places... ugh. Feeling a bit tired at this stage, and still insisting to myself to do Bigfoot.
Into the Bigfoot climb and reeaally not feeling up to it. Struggled a way, grunting and chuffing, climbing climbing, eventually I just had to get off and walk... Several corners, walking, riding a bit, walking... to the top. Obligatory photo taken,
hit the down. Wetness, frost, frost thaw, sticky, splecky, muckfest. Fun control on the greasy roots, popping, diving, loving every second of the zen state concentration, completely feeling the trail and the grip and contact patch of both tires, and the balance. Joyous! Into the trees, weaving past their trunks, around across, then out, and fuuucckkk it was greasy, and that sticky clay schit that sticks to the tires and flies off in globs... Ugh. Popped out the bottom and rolled past some other riders (also just finished ahead of me - hadn't seen them)) and down the road.
Contemplated Detox, but really couldn't face that climb so over into Mach 1, nearly colliding with an e-biker, but after that, no one. Not bad roll down this, tho it's climbs were nastier than I've felt before, and the grease was appalling - passenger styles - lower down.
Finished off across Camp (again, couldn't be arsed with Basecamp, just wanted to get home), and then hit up the skills/grade 'demo' trails. They're a really good representation of what the various tracks are like. Over the road, and down Easy, then across the bridge, climbed up the walk-track hill with an audience of walkers, and was super relieved to be back.
A reasonably respectable 14 kms with a very steep (but always surprisingly little) 293 m climbed.
I led them into Swamp, all the way amazed at how happy Tra'y was with the riding. Lynne is an ex-regular, so she had skills and a bit of pep, and Anth was a total natural, even if not all that fit. Joy struggled on the hill work and anything techical. I dont think it helps that her tires are, like, 1.9s and her forks are sunken.
At the top, a bit of a relax and then I dived into Swoop. I bombed off, then thought to stop and see how they were coming. Tra'y arrived first, saying "That's waaay too hard for mum!" but the others progressed through and Joy was fine, had walked a couple of little things (and had a crash I think). I followed Anth for a sec, then we caught up to Lynned and I rocketted through chasing T, thinking I'd see her soon, but no. Miles down I caught Jet, who veered aside for me and then down at that big treestump jump I landed and slammed on the brakes behind her. Followed her down the hairpins but the second was sticky as and she doesn't 'get' them yet, so that was the only bit she bailed on. They all rolled in after in their appropriate order, covered in splecks of mud.
Across Western again (I spotted an exit from Meeny I've never seen before, so will explore that in future). At the Dog Stream, I bailed from them and headed up stream on my lonesome. Climbed steadily but 3/4ths of the way up I was thinking, hmmm, a bit hungry... Overtaken by a skinny friendly guy on a nice big brown Surly Ogre, made me jealous of his speed, then crossed the bridge and headed across the road and up the Fir Trail, having forgotten how fucking steep it is in places... ugh. Feeling a bit tired at this stage, and still insisting to myself to do Bigfoot.
Into the Bigfoot climb and reeaally not feeling up to it. Struggled a way, grunting and chuffing, climbing climbing, eventually I just had to get off and walk... Several corners, walking, riding a bit, walking... to the top. Obligatory photo taken,
Contemplated Detox, but really couldn't face that climb so over into Mach 1, nearly colliding with an e-biker, but after that, no one. Not bad roll down this, tho it's climbs were nastier than I've felt before, and the grease was appalling - passenger styles - lower down.
Finished off across Camp (again, couldn't be arsed with Basecamp, just wanted to get home), and then hit up the skills/grade 'demo' trails. They're a really good representation of what the various tracks are like. Over the road, and down Easy, then across the bridge, climbed up the walk-track hill with an audience of walkers, and was super relieved to be back.
A reasonably respectable 14 kms with a very steep (but always surprisingly little) 293 m climbed.
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