Good night out for a ride this evening. Drove to Nelson's and then in his car we drove up to Upper Major Hornbrook to find a bit of an easterly blowing, but once riding it wasn't too cool.
Rode up through Britten, me leading and, as usual, pushing harder because not wanting to hold him up. Took a new sidle onto the 'round the front' track from just before the top, all the way around and out the "Cutting" exit. Across the road and over the fence and up the overgrown grass (I rode the other day) to the main track, this time turning right and dropping, ball-bearingly, down to the stile and then down through Cavendish Saddle, climbing up the Crater Rim for a start, then hanging a right through the wee gate onto the old zig zag climb up to the Gondola building. Checked out the view then down around behind the building and up to the left-hander for the dropping down steps and steps and rocks and good flows. Tricknical down, taking the main trail (due to the old line down to the fence being overgrown now) and nearly losing my front end on one bit. Through the top of Bridle Path and we stayed on the crater rim trail climbing up around above Whakaraupo track and then up to the top above the Castle and then dropped down below the Tors for yet more techy goodness - very hard to see the trail in the gloom of sun ahead, shade below the long grass and tussocks - "where are the rocks!?". Nelson had a close call down near the bottom, tipping somehow off, but saving himself well.
Back up the road to Castle, into the single-track at inordinate speed, flowing smooth, railing and bombing, slowly reeling Nelson in, but also wanting to stay back a bit to avoid the dust he was raising. Around the hairpins and into the climb, started well but I started to really lose steam on the last of the climb, while he just blazed on ahead, disappearing from my sight and waiting for me on the road.
Onto the road, around under the Gondola and into the wind, that seemed to get stronger the closer we got to the gate. Then it was howling through the Cutting, and we dropped into Britten, I was feeling my way on the singletrack cos tussocks were overgrowing. Nelson picked the high line and we went up over (below Broadleaf) rather than around the front, then onto Vee Twin as usual for the bomb down, peeling off the usual corner and across the front. Once across we explored sheeplines, some interesting connections here, and ended up above the last dropdown to pylon and exited the park at Longridge, climbing back up to the car via Clearview and Ridgeview.
Unquestionable 11.79 kms and peculiarly only 487 m shimmied
Coincidentally, Andy, Wahayno and Wazzah had parked near us and were riding Greenwood at approximately the same time.
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