Thursday Night, Last Ride as a 50 year old

Birthday-eve, out on my own.  

Usual slog up through Vic Park, sun creeping behind the horizon as I rode.  Up the grunter, and there's tape all around Brake Free, with a dude working on it, sculpting new berms and jumps and routes...  Up Worm and into the Traverse, a nice cruise, but after the dipper, the Dumby-fuck-ation has crept in, Teddington Shit compacted into a smooth as tarseal track surface.  Yay, not.  It only extends as far as the saddle, but it's made everything nice and easy for the fumbducks.  Good blast from here on round to the next dumbed down bit.  

Lights on, dropped into nee Four Pause Huntstbury DH, wopping and peaving down, gapping the gaps and into the tussocks, quick light re-adjustment, onwards down towards Old Skool squiggles.  Down all the tech, tho stalling on the newly steeperer bit due to wariness under lights.  Worked out the line, then crept into and rolled out the rest.  Bomb bomb the rest of it, very nice indeed.  Then, into Old Skool proper, blasting down the groove, eating my own dust as I rounded each hairpin.  

Out to the bottom, and straight back up the valley, but before turning up into the gully, I peeled left up the steppy walk track.  Half way up this and there's a hundred lights, runners?, below me, some of who were heading up the valley behind me!  Argh.  Rode the bits I could, walked the steps, and managed to beat them to the top.  Hung a right onto Hidden Valley Link track, bombing down this, but it's not as fun as I hoped.  Pine needles slippery!  As I descended the lights were all heading up the valley - musta been 50 or 100 people...  

I got to the valley bottom just as the last ones passed, so grannied up behind them to Hospital Corner where I grunted up to the right, climbing the evil K2 killer.  Cleaned up into the trees across, then worked my way up to the right of the 23 footer and then on up K2 from there, up up up, past Sneaky Ridge, 40 footer, and stopped for a couple of lights coming down Razza's, they popped down out of the forest and it was two young guys on ebikes, who then proceeded to whirr away effortlessly ahead of me, while I sweated and grunted on behind.  They peeled left where I turned right on up to Skidder.  

Down through Vic, poaching a couple of walky bits then down 235, funtimes, across the leafy oak forest, righthand climb, up the road, under the Dog Park into the forest, across to the Barbed-wire-Roots, bombing this, over the stile, below the houses, all the way down to the bottom, then, ugh, steep grunt up Longhurst and steeper Amherst home. Ugh!

A redoubtable 13.1 km, with 593 m grunted up.

Monday-ised ANZAC Day

Quick loop up over some of the locals today. Hit the driveway, then up thru an incredibly busy Vic Park, sidling up my new usual 19th pathway, over to Skidder.  Delayered and got riding just as a couple entered the grunter, meaning I had to stay at their pace so's not to lose face, all the while telling myself, if i'm slower, it doesn't matter...  I wasn't slower, but it did seem to matter.  Huffing I was, and glad that I'd had a quick squirt of inhaler before I'd left.  

Up around to the Thomson and Thompson, medium cruise down this, still catching a couple guys just as I wound through the hairpins, and then chased and caught them at the end of the second one.  Down the road, the past them and up the road, on my own, to the Nun.  Nice big rest up here before heading in.  

Not on form, but rolling pretty good.  Blasty blasty all the way down to the midway, then up and out over to Governor's, taking this very easy, as it bit me last time and also it was greasy as hell, given recent rain.  Very easy...  even dabbed through where I'd crashed last time and took it easy round the back and into the climb.  Cleaned most of the climb for once, tho stopped a few times for air.  Didn't clean the very top, but did clean the step-up just before.  Back up the road to midpoint of Nun and then chased some Park-muppets, catching, releasing, catching, them finally they realised but I hooked up to road at Kiwi and down and across Dyers back up road to top of Vic,  

In the usual way, around over the jumps and see-saw, first few Brake Free and then rockgarden and gums, usual route, switching and swatching, bombing and drombing, through to 19th, then down road and into 235, bombing this with style and then hup hup, over and down the final run.  And home.

A smooth 11.8 kms done with 440 m climbed.

Snaffled some lunch then did a big walk up around the Sugarloaf...  Heesh.

Thursday Night Night Ride, Right?

Had been talking about doing Living Springs, til I remembered Dyers Pass Rd is shut at nights, which would have stymied our return...  So Nelson came up to my place anyway, and we headed up through Vic for 'the Usual'.  Climby climb, through my 19th Memorial route, into Skidder and up the shitfuckcrapgasp climb, refill water at Brakefree and on up round Worm onto the Traverse.  Good roll across here tho I was struggling entirely too much.  Annoying we both gave way to a descending E-biker, to whom I muttered under my breath but audibly, "Hmmm, e-bike, should give way to others."  Around we went and discovered the dumb-ification of the trail from the top of Lavaflow, basically Teddington Shit compacted to concrete-like surface, for the Ebikers I guess!?  

Also a re-route and new entry to what was Four Pause(forever now to be called HuntsburyDH).  Stopped for a look before heading down.  I then proceeded to eat dust.  And visibility was awkward due to said dust too.  Oh well, blast blast pop pop...  Good ride then across the lower to the cattle grate and I led into the Rocky Ridge trail, 'Rock Up', and we negotiated this with some skill and some unbalance (from me).  Bomb down, jumpity jump, avoiding the usual, and all the way to the bottom.  Then, back up the main drag of HUnts, tho, going through the gate and across onto sheep trails and back up the DH.  Stopped on the landing strip to watch for the Space Station (thought it was meant to appear at 7.27 (had that wrong - was 7.42!)).  It didn't so we climbed the road, hit the Traverse and headed around.  At the Sugarloaf place we often stop, I looked up and spotted it (7.44pm), just as it was fading...  On around, feeling a bit better, but still struggling with the dust (my eyes are red and sore today).  

Into Vic and across, just catching the gap jump (kinda almost from below), and when I landed "CRACK", feck!, my back end was locked out!  D'Oh.  Reached down and unlocked it and then from the rabbit paddock I led into the rockgarden and the gums cos Nelson was getting tired.  Bomb bomb, nice run, swooping around and through, all the way down, then onto trail below 19th, skimming through (meeting two climbing riders) then up onto walk track, and down the Tawhairanui Track, fair game at night, and across Dog Carpark into the fun twisty pylon descender, through, up, back up road briefly and down behind the houses at full noise to home.

A cracking 13.75 kms, with 491 m gained.

Thursday Night Lights Foggy Delights

Caught up to Nelson as we were both driving up Mt Pleasant Rd. Parked on Parkridge. Fog was building on the top of Mt Pleasant, half way down Britten (whereas the rest of the hills were clear, d'oh)  

Got riding up the tarmac and in through the Upper Major Hornbrook entrance into Britten, good climb up here, into the fog, amazing light as the sun was setting as we rode, glowing through the fog behind the Macrocarpas as we cruised around the front.  Dusty.  Across the road and up over the fence above the cutting, dropping down to Cavendish Saddle, getting confused by trails here, but taking the non-zigzag Crater Rim trail (that i rode last time i was up here) behind the Gondola.  Down the steps, blop blop blop blop, then rocky tech fun down and along fencelines etc to the top of the Bridle Path top.  

Up the Crater Rim walk track, climbing til we couldn't anymore, then walking a bit, then riding like being drunk through lack of light induced loss of balance.  Light finally failing when we stopped for a break at the peak.  Fog had followed us to here, making it super moody.  

Lights on, low (to save battery I didn't know how much of I'd have), and down the poppity steppy rocks, baulking on one, but rolling the rest nicely...  Into the climb, I think I made about the same progress as Tuesday, heigh-wise, meanwhile Nelson clambered right up to the corner...  Rolling again, trying to use minimal light, and thereby failing a bunch, finally lighting up good and rolling down around and up to the entrance from Castle.  Into the Tors descent, fun times, dabbing a couple extra times to Tuesday, Nelson blasting out ahead.  Definitely bonier than the past.  

Up the road and into Castle Rock.  Excellent blast down this, not quite as raily as Tuesday but not far off.  Climb was slower but smoother.  Out onto the road, no lights for a while, just basking in the glow of the city, but under the Gondola we started seeing things and so lit the scene for the rest of the way to avoid riding off the cliff.  Through into Cavendish Saddle, and up the trail towards Mt Pleasant, dropping down to the road where we'd come up earlier.  

Around original line of Britten staying below the road, then into the descending blast.  Dust and fog, left at the hairpin across the face and dropping funtimes down down rocky tech at the bottom and out to the cars...  

Good spin, 12kms, worthy 455m climbed

Let it be noted here that I had not a single night ride in 2020 (due to my back).  This was the first since September 2019

Tuesday Afternoon Jaunt, There and Back

At the bach for Easter, no bikes present, just walks and swims.  Home earlier than expected on Tuesday (teacher's only day for kids), so had time to get a daylight ride.

Up from home, keeping it puffing on the way up, then grovelling up the grovel from the skidder.  Up through for a water refill at Brake Free then up the Worm and onto the Traverse.  Not a bad ride around here, keeping the heart-rate up and pushin' on.  Paused at Four Pause for a pause, but decided to just stay up high today (couldn't face more climbing than necessary).  Across to Vernon, clambered up this and then blasted down, flying across the Rapaki-top and straight into the Witch, shifting down as I climbed then cleaning (only just) all of the tech and motoring around to the high point, stopping for a well earned break.  

Rolling again, up the road cruising nicely to the top of Castle, pausing only briefly before dropping in.  Slightly pingy blast down here, but cleaning it, no close calls and bombing down.  Brief pause for air at the hairpin then on down and a bouncy climb out, easing through the final swoops to Bridle Path top.  Grabbing some air looking at the view of Lyttelton, then back up the road.

Only til I got to where you can clamber up onto the walking track to climb up around above the road onto the Tors track, straight on blasting down this, tackling the tech with and audience of a couple of young riders down on the road.  Cleaned the usual stallpoint, but then stalled after it.  Bomb down across road onto fun singletrack above the road, nice run through this back to Witch.

Nice cleaning of Witch again, bomb down then climbing the road, ugh, around back to the Traverse, straight in, keeping on pushin' on, blaze blaze blaze, over the jumps in the top of Vic trees, over the See Saw, first couple Brake Free jumps then into the Rock Garden and across the top of the Gums past my cleared log from a few weeks back.  Rolling nice again.  Around, down through my favourites, all the way, then nice relaxing coast down the road and into the last blast from the carpark, swoop swoop, scattering a mum and two kids walking, final climb, up to Microwave tower and fast blast down behind the houses, home.

Good blast, a worthwhile 20kms with 762 metres ascended