Out for a loner last night, testing the new front wheel! Gone Mullet, 29r with a 2.6 Nobby Nic on front and 27.5+ 2.8 Nobby on the back. Good combo.
Ride thoughts: Slightly different feel in front end, seems to grip/steer better. Seat post slightly back now, and need to ameliorate that by moving seat (even) further forward, maybe tilted too, for climbing. Otherwise, better.
So, left home at 6, headed up through Vic. Seemed to have solid power and a couple of roadies (1 gravel) were just below as I entered Vic Park Rd, didn't catch me for ages, which was a surprise. Then they didn't drop me at all. Usual 19th behind over, skidder, up gutz, climbing similar to pre-seat tilt (of a couple months back). Up to top. Quick jump through the two jumps, then peeled round onto Worm for to get to Traverse. Lots of riders coming my way. Stopped for lots of them. Decided not to stop for one or two. Fuck some people are selfish morons. Fuck them.
Into Vernon, climb and cruise. New tire, bigger wheel, gripppppy. Across top of Rapaki, loads of radiocontrol gliders. Straight into Witch, cleaning all but one dab. Around, front wheel rolls over rocks smoother, for sure. Onto the road for the climb around up to top of Castle. 6.55 here.
Excellent blast down the Castle. Speed and grip, but pretty mucky in a couple of spots, and got quite splecked. The climb seemed easy, over to Bridle. Straight back into the road climb, hoofing it back up to the top, and it was only 7.10 when I stopped to stretch on the Tors Track.
Wheel difference accentuated by angling of camera.
Into the descent, one or two mucky spots, but cleaned all but the usual droppy fun descend. Across road onto walking track, dab and walk through first climb, quite overgrown, but rest of it was a good blast. I *think* less pedal strike.
Back into the Witch, climbing again, over, able to see loads more riders coming up Rapaki (this late!?). Good fang down to the saddle and stayed on singletrack climbing, more muppets coming towards me, then up and around back to Traverse. Good blast along here, meeting a rider who said "we meet again" (one of the many I'd passed earlier) not far from where we'd met earlier. I wonder what his ride had consisted of, considering how far I'd been there and back... Can only assume Flying Nun, maybe? On round the rest of the Traverse into the sun, then into the pines of Vic and across into the jumps, landing hard on first jump, okay on second, see-saw, and first couple pumps of Brakefree, then checked rear suspension and it was locked out!
Into the rocks and Gums, blasty blitz down and through, mucky usual lowest spot and through to 19th, where I took the road down, into 235, good most of the way til the Oaks where it was mucky and slick and wet as hell. All the way down to the H. Ell extension and out to road, for the bomb home.
Mulletted 20kms, with 727 m climbed.
No comments:
Post a Comment