Dinner at Joy's so we got going from home early and the fam dropped me up on Parkridge... Rode around and up, chuffing along quite well, to the bath (which is gone!), over the fence, and across and up onto the trail now known as V-Twin (meh). Climbed this, horrendous easterly wind blasting across the slopes, tho, around to the first hairpin it was sheltered and quite nice, then tail wind to the next hairpin then nasty headwind climbing up and blasting across as I climbed. Around the front, with the tail wind pushing me nicely around onto the other side of the trees, to find all the sheep sheltering there. Lovely clean run through the rocks up to the cattle grate and onto the road.
Straight up over the fence, climbing up and around and up, cleaning all of it surprisingly nicely, and feeling pretty good. I think that so much time off the bike has left my muscles packed with glycogen, whereas previously, riding every day to and from work plus the mtnbiking, my legs have always been a tad depleted. So, after all this rest, seem to have some power. And stamina - to a point. Plus, my back wasn't bad at all and again I'm asking myself if I really need surgery (until I do something else, or bend over too often or forget to take my pills... - so, there is that).
Rode around the building and up to the top, where surprisingly the summit was super calm. All the sheep were hanging out up here because of it. I negotiated with them my route over the rocks towards the trig, then I hit the down. First the gate, then shortcut down and across, flowing beautifully across the rocks, and up to the stile. Wind howling through here, and yeehaa, down I blasted, swoop swoop, battling the wind, float, squirrel, blast. Down on the last long grassy straights, I noticed, too late, a jump off to the left. So I stopped, turned back up the hill a ways, then back down into the line, jump, around a big berm, around another, jump, maybe 2, with nice landing faces if you had the speed, then g-out and into the first jump of the Greenwood. Swooped over that landing it nicely, and down through the first few corners.
Cut off under the trees and rode back up to get into - what Trailforks calls - The Green Line/Greensticks/Swoopy. Got into this but after the 2nd left-hander, my right pedal smacked a rock so hard it pinged me a metre and a half to the left, nearly toppling me off the bike. Ouch! Kept riding and immediately could feel my pedal axle was bent, foot wobbling as it rotated. Got some crazy speed on, pumping through the (usually) swampy section and kept on cruising after that.
At the pines, headed up Sheepshit Alley, climbing away, overtaken by a couple of fucking fast electric bikers (wankers) who I'd seen coming, and thought how much fun the climbing must be on them, but also jealously thought they were dicks for having all the fun while I was suffering old-skool stylez.
Onto the road, and climbed around under the cafe-house and up into Britten for the final blast. And what a blast. So flowy, so much fun blazing down the hill, tail wind across the main face, veering off on the first hairpin and continuing across the hillside, all the way, blasting down and then finally under the pylons.
Then, last bits, down the track next to the houses, ooh, a jump off to the right, next time, and speeeed down Major Hornbrook and right into Madeleys, left and blitzing down to Joy's. I was tempted to drop into the zig zags and pop down that, then up to Drayton, but I was done with climbing.
Hoo, long post for a short ride... 9.2 kms, with 300 m climbed and 90 extra metres descended (albeit, on the road).
Straight up over the fence, climbing up and around and up, cleaning all of it surprisingly nicely, and feeling pretty good. I think that so much time off the bike has left my muscles packed with glycogen, whereas previously, riding every day to and from work plus the mtnbiking, my legs have always been a tad depleted. So, after all this rest, seem to have some power. And stamina - to a point. Plus, my back wasn't bad at all and again I'm asking myself if I really need surgery (until I do something else, or bend over too often or forget to take my pills... - so, there is that).
Rode around the building and up to the top, where surprisingly the summit was super calm. All the sheep were hanging out up here because of it. I negotiated with them my route over the rocks towards the trig, then I hit the down. First the gate, then shortcut down and across, flowing beautifully across the rocks, and up to the stile. Wind howling through here, and yeehaa, down I blasted, swoop swoop, battling the wind, float, squirrel, blast. Down on the last long grassy straights, I noticed, too late, a jump off to the left. So I stopped, turned back up the hill a ways, then back down into the line, jump, around a big berm, around another, jump, maybe 2, with nice landing faces if you had the speed, then g-out and into the first jump of the Greenwood. Swooped over that landing it nicely, and down through the first few corners.
Cut off under the trees and rode back up to get into - what Trailforks calls - The Green Line/Greensticks/Swoopy. Got into this but after the 2nd left-hander, my right pedal smacked a rock so hard it pinged me a metre and a half to the left, nearly toppling me off the bike. Ouch! Kept riding and immediately could feel my pedal axle was bent, foot wobbling as it rotated. Got some crazy speed on, pumping through the (usually) swampy section and kept on cruising after that.
At the pines, headed up Sheepshit Alley, climbing away, overtaken by a couple of fucking fast electric bikers (wankers) who I'd seen coming, and thought how much fun the climbing must be on them, but also jealously thought they were dicks for having all the fun while I was suffering old-skool stylez.
Onto the road, and climbed around under the cafe-house and up into Britten for the final blast. And what a blast. So flowy, so much fun blazing down the hill, tail wind across the main face, veering off on the first hairpin and continuing across the hillside, all the way, blasting down and then finally under the pylons.
Then, last bits, down the track next to the houses, ooh, a jump off to the right, next time, and speeeed down Major Hornbrook and right into Madeleys, left and blitzing down to Joy's. I was tempted to drop into the zig zags and pop down that, then up to Drayton, but I was done with climbing.
Hoo, long post for a short ride... 9.2 kms, with 300 m climbed and 90 extra metres descended (albeit, on the road).
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