Awesome ride tonight.
Met Nelson at Slumnervale and we headed into the Closed Captain Thomas. Not too greasy, a few wet spots, ie, too wet to ride down, but fine going up without destroying the trail. Gasping for air as usual, we stopped at the top of the hairpins and I really struggled to breathe. Didn't help that I could SEE the motes of pollen in the air either... Up through the rocky sections, I walked once or twice - grease and rocks getting the better of me or my lungs not up to capacity. Upper section was good and we made the road.
Headed up into the Godley, but once up the nasty rocksection we got our clamber-walk on and pushed up the ridge fenceline walking track, wind starting to pick up a bit as we climbed this exposed section. Some riding, some pushing and eventually made the top. Short break and around the top over the edge towards the darkness that was the harbour. Nelson found it entirely unfamililar thinking he'd never ridden it before but I knew he had, last year even, and before that in 2017. Neat drop down, not as techy as I recalled, but around the back heading across towards Livingston it was pretty greasy, water running on the track a bit. Bomb down the ridge to Livingston Col and familiarity returned. Out Godley from here, good riding, with only the final paddock to the cattlestop at the end the usual quagmire which we attempted to skirt widely after pfmtbc rock. Stopped at Breeze Col in the 'breeze' (read, gale), and watched as several spaced out riders came down the road and past us.
We dived into the OG Godley, below the road, and headed outwards. It's been tidied and benched better and rode pretty well, very few wetspots. At the road end we headed up the 4wd track towards our bunker, wind pushing at us hard making the climb harderer than it would normally be. Then across and over the stile onto Breeze Bay track. I ducked behind some tussocks here cos the wind was doing my head in. Nice break and snack here then off around the track, out of the wind, spectacular riding, easy going cruisey as. Into the teeth of the gale at the stile here, nearly blown off, and pushing hard into the wind to get to the road. Then it was back along the Godley Head Road, pushing hard into the gale, but once, eventually, around above the new Escape trail we got the tail wind pushing us uphill to Livingston, nearly plucking us from the bikes across there, then a bit of work up the rest to the Para-launch place, into the wind around then pushed all the way back down to Evans.
Down into Rapanui bush, definitely ridden it wetter in the past, and techy goodness around to Scarbluffs track. This was tricky with the wind, and felt dangereux with the exposure, but mostly a pretty good run out across towards Scumner then dropping down the tricky hairpins, water running down the track towards the road. Across and over for the last blast down below the road, fun times had.
An interesting and quite spectacular 16.44 kms, with 701 m climbed.
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