Saturday Sylvanian Mucking Fess

Left Chch at 5.45 am, and were in Nelson about 10.15am, unpacked at FlameDaisy and I drove around to Richmond and parked up the bottom of Sylvan Forest, a cloudy, misty day, not yet raining, but certainly headed that way.  Also, noted that it's 2 years since I'd last ridden up in Nelson!

Rode in and started on Alpha Tahi, climbing, proceeding up Tahi, Rua, Toru, Wha, good ziggy zaggy ascent in forest, mostly dry, some damp spots but still quite a few dry spots.  Once or twice heard people somewhere nearby but pretty much on my own.  Passed one woman walking with her small kid on his bike, down on Tahi or Rua...  Out of the forest into the cleared zone, now planted in manuka/kanuka by the looks of it, even with pines/firs poisoned, and finished off up all the way up top of Rima, completely entrenched in mist up here.  

At the top there was the option of Jericho (black, dh) or People's Choice, which I chose.  Upper section, some tech, some tech because it was wet, but nothing major.  A bit of exposure, you wouldn't wanna fall off the edge cos it's pretty steep up here, but the trail was fun, back and forth, crossed a couple of access road/tracks.  Considered detouring to Ezra Mamaku, but consulted the Trailforks website (app useless) and stayed on People's all the way down to Jacob's Ladder which took me across back to a corner on Alpha.  Crossed into the lower half of Ari Mahoe, nice fang down here, nearly losing it on one front-wheel-wash just keeping it together and buttoning back on my gnar after that, finishingdown at a 'hub' zone.  

Headed back up Alpha, through the trees, then out, climbing to the top of Ezra Mamaku where I dropped down fun blitzy and peeled briefly onto the upper bit of  Ari Mahoe, then back onto Ezra all the way down to Heaven Up Here, across a little then dropping into Kircam Alley out to the 'hub' of before, rain actually falling now, making the bottom pump section fo Kircam a fucking mess, gumming up the tires with clay.  Dropped over the edge into Hare Down, nice waft and faff down this, where I hung a bit of a right and across into Omega which had wet gouged slippery clay corners and speed was carefully positioned to survive the final strokes.  Rolled out to the car, messy as hell, bike pretty dirty, and rain fall increasing...  

Mucking fessy 10.5 kms, with 573 m climbed.