Wednesday Picking Up Picton.

Family and Lynne out for a ride before the rain was to start this morning. Rode into town, over the coathanger and around to the start of the trails.  I stopped along the marina to check Trailforks and they call got ahead of me so when I finally caught them up they were well on their way around the bottom of the hill on the trail heading for Waikawa, whereas I would have preferred to have led up the climb to the left, which they'd missed...  So, anyway, we ended up where the road heads up onto the Snout Ridge and the zig zag climbing track started so off up that we headed.  Was a nice climb with one or two downwards bits and plenty of switchbacks.  Right at T's level said she.  Lynne was struggling with her knees, while Otis just jetted ahead.  

Eventually we made the reservoir tank and from here headed up Ridgeline track.  Lynne took the road and H bailed out to the road halfway along.  At the end of the road (where it heads down again) T, H and Lynne bailed out, while O and me took Western track along to Kanuka, then continued along this, which was pretty good this direction, til we got to the zig zag climb (Lion's) up to the top.  Reasonable climb, good views at the top.  Into the Lion's Centennial down back towards town, not bad, some switchback sections that don't flow as well as they could.  You can never really get massive speed up anywhere, but nice riding, and nice environs.  Back down onto Western and not as good in this direction, more climbing grunts.  Out across to Ridgeline again, good in this direction too, then eventually we hit down Leicester Track, which is somewhere I may once have ridden in the vicinity, or bits thereof, a lonnnng time ago - tho maybe The Doctor track is more in keeping with that?  Anyway, lots of interesting corners, but still not enough flow.  And back along the Waikawa Picton track back to the Coathanger and back up through town.

A worthy 17 kms, with 380 m climbed.

Sunday Morning Tops

Nice one on my own this morning... Headed up from home almost dead on 9am, climbing okay, pushing pretty good, and really forced my way up the steep pig from the skidder site.  cleaned it all but nearly puked by the top.  out the top and out Worm and onto the Summit Traverse.  Pulled over for anyone I met coming the other way, not too many thankfully, and made good time, and pulled up at the top of Four Pause just as two asian dudes with all the gear headed off down it, skidding and going very slow...  I let them go until they were nearly at the bottom before I launched in, and bombed, no skids, jumping all the jumps and generally enjoying the crap out of it.  9.30am at the landing strip when I pulled out and turned back uphill, grinding off up back to the top.  

Across the road and into Vernon, cruising around and then bombing, letting a couple of folk through at places, and rolling out across the bottom, jumping straight into Witch Hill, climbing, slowing down, slower then popping and weaving over the rocks, juuuust cleaning them all before onwardsly cruising around up, over and down.  Onto the road, bitter southerly hussing out of the harbour here, gale force across the saddle before the Tors.  Pushed the last stretch to the top of Castle where it was 10am.  Brief break out of the wind here, snack, then, spotting some (fast) riders entering the other end of the trail, I dropped into it, blasting and blazing, down around, and pulled up just after the first hairpin to let them through.  The first two were E-bikers, the 2nd 2, accoustic.  Got going again, kept a good pace on the climb, then out and down to the Bridle.

Back up the road, grind grind, then at the top, checked there were no walkers or runners around, and pushed up to the Tors track.  Then I spotted a million walkers on the road before the saddle...  time to get moving.  Nicely nicely across and down the steep tech.  Botched something past where I used to always botch, dabbing over a bit, then struggled to get my foot in til the last few metres, rolling through the crowd of parents and kids, and clambering up onto the wee-singletrack-above-the-road.  Once peaked, good roll and cruise through this back to Witch, into the teeth of the gale across the road and onto Witch, climbing, then continuing, non stop.  Down to Rapaki-top and steady pace around the road, riding with then pulling away from a bunch of older riders.  Was overtaken by a couple of bolshy E-bikers as I overtook a group of 3 riders (one of which on a Levo with Rohloff combo).  Watching later as those bolshy ones went down the gravel road of Huntsbury...  i mean! what's the point!?

Into the Traverse and bomb bomb bomb around, good pace  still on the climbs, but starting to feel a little jaded.  Into Vic and popped the top jump, then down past the see-saw, couple jumps of Brakefree, and back to the Rockgarden and Gums, favourite line, all the way down single to 19th, then down road, and into the new bonus, strugging past a car parked nose up fully into the entrance to it.  Final climb, then bomb down behind the houses, having to bail up to negotiate a clusterfuck of walkers at the end.  

20 kms in 2 hours, with 771 m climbed.  Pretty good.

Thursday Evening East End Rinsing

Just like old times... a good sized ride of an evening.

Met out at Scumnervale, and got riding about 5.40, up Capt Thomas.  Wasn't feeling the hottest, given the heat, and food, and sleep and whatevs.  But, tootled on none-the-less.  Up, grovelling up the first steeps, minor recovery across the sidle then grovelling up the second lot of switchbacks.  Was nearly holding my own with Nelson, until the that last bit.  Caught him up, breathed, and got going again, around the easier bits, into the rocks, clambering then riding and cleaning it all to the gate.  Stopped here and waited for a descender and my legs had lost all their steam for the last couple of climbs...  

Out the Godley Head Rd, to the climbing 4wd track up to the trail, then we engaged in the good descent down to Livingston.  Nice to get the flow on again, tho I was cautious on the ball-bearing gravel.  Swoopy swoopy down to the bottom and into the climb, rocks become more rocky than ever, rather tech.  Over the top and down to Breeze Col.  Here a couple rode through and up the singletrack, so we decided to follow and go back that way rather than the road.  Nelson chased and caught then waited for me, while I struggled up the climb, not going as fast as I would like to.  This was the moody view:

As we descended the couple were riding along the road towards us, which seemed strange.  But from Livingston we headed up the road and then realised why they were going that way.  They were heading the the entrance/exit to a new track (called Taylor's Escape) which we stopped and watched as they descended.  Definitely on the cards for next time we're in the 'hood.

Up the 4wd again to Godley Track and back towards Evans through a moody sky, easterly cloud wafting around the valley heads, quite spectacular.  I had to stop and eat something halfway back, but that, and the rest, gave me the energy to make it the rest of the way out.  Finally, into the Captain, a swoopy and hair-raising fun trip back down.  Good blast, felt great.  Back not sore at all, just have to maintain it, ride in such a way as to not exacerbate it. 

A smidge over 15 kms, and 631 m climbed!  I felt every one of those metres.

Tuesday Evening Vic Old Skool

Quick hot local blat.  Up from home, through to the Skidder site, and dropped into Shazza's.  Nice flow in here, popping the first few jumpies nicely, and swooping round all the corners, wary of the loose dry dust and leaves and bark shards.  Across the 40footer space, and into Sneaky Ridge, flap flop down the rocks, boogity woogity through and around, oak leaves strewn asunder, and whoosh over the fence into Flow or Bridges or whatever, and around into Nu Bridges, ziggy zaggy down into the valley, tech rock flowstyles.

Feeling pretty good, flowed around into bonus Hidden Valley climbing, cleaning all the switchies, huffing and chuffing up to the open lands, spotting another rider departing the stile as it hove into view.  Straight over the stile and caught the guy as he switched back up towards the pylon for the oldskool bastard climb, while I bombed on down the Old Skool descent, enjoying the fuck out of it.  Some awesome pumpstyles across the upvalley slope, tail hot nor'waster behind me.  Then bombing on down and out the bottom, straight back into the climb.

Ugh, up, up and more up, then K2, ugh, walked to the sidle turn off, climbed back on and rode up to the 23footer zone and on upwards, quite a few stops for breathers, as was getting tired by now.  Eventually, got to the start of Rad and a couple riders passed by, climbing from Cool Runnings area, talking to one, then following him up to Skidder, wherein I dropped over to the wee climber track back up to 19th, down the road, dropped into my upper dogcarpark newby, bombed down that, climbed out to lower dogcarpark and bombed down the last, getting some nice air on the ramp behind the houses...

A worthy local 9.5kms, with 378m climbed.

Quick Vic with Otie

Ffffff is how I struggled up the hill.  Out with O.  He blasted off ahead, young and fast, I gasped up behind.  Stopped before the dog park to help a bro out with some air (his front tire was losing air), and then we rode on, up past 19th, up through Skidder site and up the steep.  Cleaned it, phew.  Then up top of Vic. 

Bombed the first of the Thompsons, and back up the road.  Then into the down, bailed on the jump, walked back up and we both did it nicely.  Check.  Down past the seesaw and first few jumps of Brake Free, then across to the gummies.  I lost O in the top, but then he found me, and then down my fav line through the gums, and he pointed out where Sophie crashed last time they went up.  Swoop swoop around and back to the Skidder site where we bumped into a few guys i know. (Nick Sutt., and ex Cacti Daryl).  O and me headed from here up the trail to the top of the 19th Memorial, and over down to the ranger station, around the road and down to the newby from the dogpark carpark, fun swoops through there, then up and over the last down behind the houses and home.

Quick, 5.7 kms loop with a couple hundy metres climbed.   

Super short Local on Fatty with Shorty and Dog

Very short local loop - nearly our shortest 'block'.  We'd walked the day before and H wanted to do on bikes...  

I was on the fatty.  We rode up Amherst and through, past the fencing, across the empty section, up the back-of-the-houses track, then over the fence into the Microwave Tower park, across to the trees and down the fun wee trail to Harry Ell Drive.  Jet was with us, enjoying his 2nd or 3rd walk of the day, then down H'Ell Drive and back around Longhurst home.  I left on MMR and went and dug up some of my garlic, as well as wandering around inside a bit...