Surprise exit this evening. Glorious it were too.
Took a while to get going and was really tempted to just not ride, but got round to Sumnervale and riding by about 7. Headed up, good pace, and managed to stay on top of the wheeze. Good going pretty much all the way up, feeling strong. Cleaned out the top, the whole time pondering where was I gonna go...?? The tops were in cloud so I thought it'd be interesting to get up in it, so, turned right and headed up the road. Good grind up here too, steady as she went. Plod plod plod, watching the clock, 7.43 was at the Richmond Pines, 7.59 at the top of Mt Pleasant aerials in the cloud ready to drop in.
Excellent run down through the fog, no visibility except the metres of track ahead. 
It's been buffed, looked like an Enduro had been through it, everything a bit worn, but was riding really good. I was well down the tussocks pretty much at the ruins by the time any view came in. Then lower, in Gloomy Gulch the light was fricking spectacular. Total glow. Good bomb down from here down the swoopy rocks, cleared the drop and on round, speed off to build back up back and forth, weaving up the banks down into the next valley then blast down (juuuust about cleaned the first rocky up, single dab) the last stretch to the back and forth at the end. Nice.
Next down, Capt Thomas. Usual fluff, nice bomb. Cleaned everything nicely the way I always do, even the wee climb has been chipped away at and would just about be cleanable now. Then across the face to the first hairpin, I'd heard the old route was opened up again (woman I was on a course with had done it on Tuesday) and I was interested to see how low down it went. More than 10 years since I'd been in there. Wasn't expecting what I found, that's for sure. Awesome riding around the old techy rocks lines that used to be a bit of a challenge, and around the gulch and below the cliffs, through.
(Looking back up there:
Some work's been done to make it more rideable, and boy it's good. Further across, above the pony club, there's some big rock movements that are worked with, it's all done really well. Swoopy flowy bombing, total joy. Nice and narrow track, and with enough wee ups to keep you on your toes. Further down it was IN forest, which I dont remember at all, and the walking track heads down but the bike track just keeps going around all the way to where it drops down at the end, where it always was! Then you're down behind the gabion walls separating you from the road, only metres away, but you could be in this bucolic wilderness as you file back up valley to get out via the gap at the end of the fence against the cliff. Then out to the road and up to the car.
Some work's been done to make it more rideable, and boy it's good. Further across, above the pony club, there's some big rock movements that are worked with, it's all done really well. Swoopy flowy bombing, total joy. Nice and narrow track, and with enough wee ups to keep you on your toes. Further down it was IN forest, which I dont remember at all, and the walking track heads down but the bike track just keeps going around all the way to where it drops down at the end, where it always was! Then you're down behind the gabion walls separating you from the road, only metres away, but you could be in this bucolic wilderness as you file back up valley to get out via the gap at the end of the fence against the cliff. Then out to the road and up to the car.
Awesomesauce. Just about 15 kms, with just over 600 m climbed.
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