Rides Three: 27th, 30th and 2nd of the Nu Yeah

So, yeah, Picton for Xmas. After my ride (previous post) with fam and O, I did 3 more: 

first one a solo.  I headed down through town and explored up the trail I'd wanted to the first ride, Marina to Reservoir track, climbed up this to the reservoir, turned around back down, down the zig-zag track we'd previously climbed, quite good in places, so surprising amount of climbs too, turned around back up that, then down the way I'd climbed, and back to base.  Short and sweet - 8kms, 160m climbed.

Second one, a big family all started on out to do the Link Pathway.  Joy and Jerence headed out ages before us, as usual the 'other' teenagers took forever to organise themselves.  So, G, Ph, H, T, O and Soph and me all headed out, straight down across to the start and climbing.  Ph and Gryph never have been much of cyclists, so Ph was really struggling and before we even made the look out she'd bailed out.  The trail starts just after the look out properly, and is quite nice.  Descends and climbs around and drops into Shakespeare Bay then into some nice patches of bush all along.  Gryph bailed along here, threw a hissy and pissed off.  Then H was struggling and whinging, and we heard from Joy and they were only a km or so ahead so they waited for us where this section hits the road.  T and H decided to head back from here.  J and J decided to take the road to Ngakuta and get Anth to come get them, and O and S continued with me.  A good climb ensued and eventually we were up the top and sidling, descending, climbing, sidling through very nice trail and very nice country.  Hot too.  Fun descent down to Ngakuta where we found J and J.  Anth turned up shortly thereafter and the kids joined the oldies in getting a lift back, while I turned around and headed back the way we'd come, finally riding solo.  Great ride back, going a good pace and arriving back within minutes of the camper full of the others.  They actually couldnt believe I'd got back so quick.  A grand total of 24 kms (mmr was started late) and about 860 climbed (started mmr at 50m).

Then, on the 2nd of the year, O had hurt his back somehow, so Sophie and me headed out for a ride.  Rode down to Marina, up the Reservoir track along the Ridgeline, Western, then up Lion Centennial, quite a slog this direction, but not bad, nice views from the top, then down the switchbacks to Kanuka which was awesome in this direction, and back along Kanuka was also good in this direction, then along the ridge back towards the road, but dropping into Sues track thinking it would be mostly down, but finding a 3rd of the way into it it climbs back up across the hill, ugh, steep too.  Eventually down again and we're out on the Waikawa-Picton track, which then climbed again! quite a bit around and finally down across and down again to the Marina...  A fun 15.1 kms with 376 m climbed.