Thursday Night Ride of Two Bikes. *post number 1200

Having rebuilt the Cotic BFe last weekend, into a singlespeed based on the wheels and drivetrain of the Switchback that had been at the bach, I decided to give it a whirl. A specacular bruiser cruiser of a bike, with the Surly Sunrise bars and sweet sweet Reynolds 853.

I ground my way up the hill, using all three gears (sitting, standing and walking) to the top of Vic.  The road from home wasn't too bad, once I got my rhythm gasping for air timed with the the standing and cranking of the bars and pedals, and even got my breath back and got to sit down once up on the flatter sections.  Good rolling over into the skidder site, and I tried, I really tried to get going up the grunter but it is just too damned steep.  Got off and walked for a bit, rode once up then walked up the steep next to BrakeFree, and rode a bit and walked a bit to the top of  Thompson's number 1.  First chance at descending, let a bit of air out of the tires, then hit the down.  Nice mellow cruise, then grunt round the corner and walked the 2nd hairpin.  Up the road, dropped over into the top and down around towards the jump, but sidled past and down past the seesaw down the rabbit paddock and into the rockgarden.  This was sweet, picked a nice smooth line between the rocks and across past my hatchet job, dropping around and into my gummie's favourite, then all the way down and out to the 19th.  Down the road from here and into the 2-35.  Sconed my head battery on the leaning dead-tree in here, then had a sweet run, lots of traction, down til the oaks, where it was soggy as.  Across, pushed up to road, down home where I swapped bikes and checked in with Nelson who was Hour of Paining with Craig.  They'd just finished and he was rinsed, therefore bailing.

Second round, on the Fatty.  Up the track, up the road, repeat of the previous except for a detour up around top of 19th and over, then actually riding the grunter up from skidder.  Thompsons again, back up road, same way around down to Rockgarden entrance to Gums, out the bottom of this to the Skidder, and down the road, dropping below onto the trail below 19th, taking this down around to Tawhairanui walk track then into 235, meeting a Graveller who confirmed it was a no good climb in the wet.  Walked under the tree, then got rolling, taking a better line through the oaks, and dropping down to H.Ell track and tucking into the one that links back up to the road.  Down the dirt again, and down to Takahe to meet T, and roll back up home with her and Jet. 

All up, and down, 11.5 kms, with 400m climbed.