Wednesday Burnin' the Craigies

Nelson met at mine and we drove to meet Pete and Alistair at the Yaldy for to convoy to Broken River carpark. Grey day in Chch, drizzly on the plains side of the pass then gorgeous day in the valley. 

Parked up, a few but not so many campers, but lots of bikers in place, we headed off up Sidle73, taking it a little easier on the first climb as I remembered it usually catches me out with the lungstuff...  Cruised around this to CV road and up for a whiles.  Very warm to boot.  Stopped at the bottom of our Ante-Luge entrance and chilled for a bit, some other rider dudes riding through heading for the Edge.  We set off, Nelson first, didnt see him again (tho he tells me he could hear me for quite a while), in for a gutbusting climb.  I stopped several times to breathe and get the heartrate down but cleaned all but one rock.  Thought I was suffering angina or something at times.  Bastard of a climb.  Re grouped at the intersection, a couple walked through with their bikes, riding further up, and then Nelson cleaned off and the rest of us rode and pushed (a bunch of) the next section before riding out into the open and good to the saddle. 

Luge was fun fun fun but initially felt slow for some reason. I got a pinchflat on the front tyre from a misplaced root. Tubed it, pumped it and onwards. Trail got funner - real fun.  Ended sooner than memory would serve too.

Next, climb to Dickson's, all the way up to top of Bridge where we over-the-stiled and blitzed it.  Nelson lost the track briefly, Alistair and me got past, bombed for a bit, then regrouped and he took the lead again, then Alistair lost it and I got past and it wsa all on from there.  Railing the lower open stuff, super funtimes. Superb riding. Finished along the road back to the cars where we ate some grub.  

12.5 kms with surprisingly only 505m upped.

Into the cars and drove around to Cheeseman Rd. Gravel to Texas Flat (where there was bikes and people and cars and camp and stuff) and a little bit further, parking below the bottom of Cockayne Alley. 

Climbing climbing climbing, such a long steep crawl. Riding for a time with a youngish dude from QT who peeled off at Cuckoo Creek.  Also met the dudes we'd seen on the CV road.  They wondered how we'd gotten so far ahead of them, they'd done Edge, Luge, Dracophlat, and were up for Cuckoo too.  We continued to climb.  And climb.  Eventually we broke, admired the view, and dived in for the fun to begin and we blazed it.  Across the face, then swoopy swoopy, jumps, down through the tussock, then the whole thing changes and into the steep rooty awesomeness.  Hands and forearms cooking, quads getting sore.  Stopped a couple of times for a bit of a regroup and allowance of blood back into arms. Again, super superb!

This time the riding was only 7.63kms and again surprisingly only 465m clambered. Both sure felt way longer and higher - musta been the thin air at altitude, right?

Xmas Eve Troll-ofa Sugarloafer

Short hot hoon on the Troll up to top of Sugar Loaf and back.  Usual grind, 19th, skidder, walk, grind.  Thompsons, then around the road and up to the carpark, then up through the no access road to the top corner and a little bit off to a knob on top, overlooking Kiwi and Govs.  Very nicely.  Then, bomb down to gate, off road down rocky single to stile, around to that wee stone shelter for some stoney time and then down through Vic, bombing through skidder at a million miles an hour, down the road and into the DogParkCarPark '235' trail down down down, clambered back up to road and hooned down here to warp speed before peeling right into the driveway.

Sugar sugar, 7.5kms distanced, 270m altituded

Thursday Loco Local - Nun (much improved) to Short Vics

Hot day, thankfully cooling a bit by the time I got out.  Cooked dinner and headed out the door about 7.20pm. Up usual, road from home, 19th, Skidder, stopped to change into singlet on gutser, up top and into Thompson's #1, road, Thomson's #2, across below Kiwi and up the road for a slog to top of Nun.  

Dived in and, "whoooah! Huh!?"  Stopped, pushed back up and dived in again, this time taking the new left rock armoured section.  Into the rest of the old, it's all betidied very nicely with more-flowing jumps and better armour.  Somebody's been busy.  Once lower down, just above the CAP exit it reverted pretty much to the old boney I remembered.  Bombed all the way down back to Kiwi, onto the road again and climbing up to top of Vic.  

Down around the two jumps, hard right into Worm climbing back up to Traverse to dive down into Upper Fenceline, swoopdeswoop, around and across to climb back up the short amount to then hang a right into Razza's, dropping down, plompteplomp, nicely nicely, then dived into and over the Rad^Sick jump, peeling out to climb back up to try out the new extension to Shazza's.  Smooth as, not tech, and the berms aren't quite high enough to rail big speed through them...  Peeled right again to climb past 40fter and back up the steeps to skidder, over 19th again, dropping down road and into 235 for a nice hoon, riding good, climbing out, up road, dogpark dropping behind houses, fast, home.

Worthwhile 11.5 kms, with a smidge under 400m climbed.

Saturday Trolling Ada

Quick spin up and back on an empty stomach.  Fueled by coffee (and a banana just before I left), I chugged the Troll up through Vic, walked a bit above skidder, then up onto Thompson's #1 and a bomb down Summit to Kiwi.  Across and onwards up the road, catching a guy below Worsley's on a well packed 'packing rig heading out for a hundred kms or so.  We chatted as we cruised around and at Kennedy's I peeled left up the quad track to the top of Mt Ada.  Been planning this ride for ages so was good to finally grab it.  Made me think maybe I'll aim to peak all the tops along here on the Troll...  Mt Cass next!  Apparently Ada was Cass's wife.  Anyway, brief carry up the rocks, two asian women were up top, and left not long after I arrived, leaving it for me on my own.  Took a couple of good pics 

and brief chat to Doug.  Then hit the down.  Tight single long grass track to start with, then fast bombing quad to road...  then, road road road aero, pedalling keeping speed then aero speed down to kiwi, across Dyers and up up to Vic, straight in, down the 4wd, speeeeed through skidder and road home.

Nice and warm, 14.25 kms, 472 m climbed.

Sunday Mounting Greyness

Picked up Nelsie, headed north to meet up with Pete and Alistair at Stalker Park, Woodend, to convoy to "Lake" Janet.  

Hot day, 28 or so.  Nelson's brilliant idea was to ride the walking track.  Scorched earth policy had been through, no trees lower down now, we clambered in up the steepest shitface of the trail and zigged our way up. Hot and hot, tho the breeze was coolish once we were higher up.  Met various walkers and runners and dogs various spots on the way up.  Stopped for a breather in the shade of the look out tower, then hit the singletrack from here.  Much better riding, less steep, but techy and balance-requiring, spectacularly clear views all out everywhere every direction.  Took it all in from the top and then it was time to head down. 

Glorious descending, glorious single-track. Rutty near the top, and man the pigs have rooted the shit out of the open land before we headed into the forest.  Techy switchback city in the trees, nice and cool.  What a blast.  So much fun.  Mucky section not so bad, much drier than last time.  Heaps of tree carnage lower down too, tho the biiig one of a couple times back is fully cleared.  

 Followed by the grunty wee gravel thrash back up to the cars, noticed one area where the trees have been hammered by the big winds of a few weeks back. 

All up 676 m clambered and 11.74 kms. Steep!