Saturday Moveable Feast, Tour de Bridges du Heathcote

T and me had a hoon. Her on the E and me on the Troll. Down Dyers and Hackthorne, Lady Poison, out to Bengal and then across the Ferniehurst Bridge, #1.  From here, we crossed every single bridge across the Heathcote River from Cracroft(ish) to Ferrymead.  All told, 31. (tho, technically 30, because the Heathcote Cut bridge isnt necessarily over the Heathcote River as such).  It was fun.  We alternated sides all the way to Hanson's Park where we were stymied by a closed trail along the frontages of those houses, so we went back over that bridge (Steiner school - #20) and popped over and back on the next footbridge (Aynsely Tce - #21).  Continued the alternate-sides thing from there on down.  Diverting, first off the river to Stuff Woolston and the Salatore Armani, on Ferry Rd, then over the next 'couple' of bridges, to La Voute on Marshall St.  Back to Cumnor to roll around and detour into the Tannery.  Had very moderate feed on Sushi, then down for a drink at Cassells, then a little more shopping and it was time to ride again.

Bridge number 28, Garlands Rd and immediately right onto King Edward Tce then around the back of all the factories on the inside of the loop (stopped for a small feed of blackberries and rearrangement of baggage at the start).  What a lovely trail along here.  Lots of well-grown native planting, quite real singletrack, some roots, nice fun.  Then, Long St, bridge, singletrack again along to the Tunnel Rd Bridge, under this, to then salmon back over it towards the roundabout and along the towpath trail the rest of the way to Ferrymead Bridge (#31, tho technically #30), crossed this, used the lights to cross Main Road and then back over bridge to ride along the estuary and into Charlesworth Reserve (man the plantings are coming up!), straight shot up Linwood Ave to the cemeteries and moseying through the dead's zone.  In hindsight we took a wrong turn here, heading across into Cypress Garden Reserve and up into Ruru Lawn, onto Ruru Rd, then McGregors up to hit Kerrs. (should have stayed in Bromley Cemetery then gone Keighleys and McGregors Rds to Linwood Cemetery (for future reference)).  

Straight shot up Kerrs Rd, to Kerrs Reach, finding new landscaping and fenced off areas, stopping us getting onto the new tarmac path in there.  Found a way in, then out, and followed this new, amazing, path from here over the first new bridge, through Dallington Loop, all our old redzone dog running grounds, beautifully planted up, cycle crossing across Gayhurst, more plantings augmenting the old garden plants, new bridge into our main old dog running loop, amazing, looping around this and over the new Medway Bridge then up the new closed off River Rd towards our old streets.  So great to see it all coming up so beautifully.  Along past Riverlution and then stayed on this side of the road following it to Fitzgerald into into Poms for some imbibement and fries.

Kilmore St and then around the river through Victoria Sq, then along the strip, locking the bikes and checking out Kanoshi for some kai, then we headed for Electric Ave, meandering around the outside edge of it (another bridge involved) and checking out the vibe.  Certainly getting later now.  Continued across Hagley and around past the hospital, all on bikepaths, and then took the Antigua, Strickland, Colombo straight shot home.  Hard yakka up the hill for me.  I kept telling T to go ahead and get home, but she loyally stayed with me all the way.

 

A rather fun 44.87 kms, with 314 m climbed (220 of which were hard chuffed).

Sunday Summit Troll

Still hadn't fixed the Stooge flat; still waiting for the suspension part from Cotic; so resigned to take the Troll (didn't even occur to me to take the fatty or the BFe...) out for a nice blast out and back. Rode some nuts single-track and a bunch of road. 

Up through all the usual, over 19th, Skidder, short walk up the grunter and then riding the rest to the top of Vic.  Popped up to my stone shelter to see if there were any blackberries (they were all scody), then back onto the road and stuck to it all the way to Huntsbury-top, hitting Vernon singletrack from here.  Nice flowy slowy bomb down, keeping it sketch, then through Rapaki and stayed on the road from here to top of Castle.  A youngish couple arrived and I said, "You heading down?" "Yep, but we'll be slow"  I said I wasn't sure what I was doing but then I decided on the spot to head down too.  Dropped in and proceeded to flow where it was flowy and slow where it was slowy.  Went pretty well, including only one dab due to traction loss on the climb.  Onto the road and climbed back up, seeing the couple riding slower than I had down the trail...  Up the road and down, fast coasting roll through towards Witch, decided to take the Witch Hill trail and proceeded to climb up it no problem at all, bar that one rocky section.  Breather at the high point then dropping around cleaning all the tech carefully to the end, and up the road below Vernon.  Annoying head wind up overlooking Dry Bush valley.  

Into the Traverse and hoofed it around here pretty nicely.  Love the standing-in-the-pedals-cranking mode on the rigid machines.  It's a very lithe bike.  All the way around the Traverse I was slowly winding in a rider ahead.  Caught her and a few others right at the end.  Into the trees, dropped down through, onto Brake Free then peeled left into the Pines, and dropped down through the Gums, exiting at the Skidder (figuring the trail below to still be blocked).  Up towards 19th and passed a guy on an interesting looking rig. "Is that an Evil Sovereign?" "Nah, it's a Marino" which I misheard as Merida and was surprised, until I realised what he'd said.  It was one of the Sick bikes of the recent past.  Slack and low, sweet steel.  I realise now I've seen it out there before.  Anyway, we chatted for ages.  Then I headed off down and through, into the DogParkCarPark, overgrown to start, and a little damp.  Peeled onto my new line, and appalled to find the water in the woods emerging even higher up.  Bloody Council slack-arses.

Lithely provocateured, 20 odd km, and up 710 m

Thursday Spinal Shakedown Stooge, flatted at 19th.

Back had been a bastard all week (after Saturday's wrecking) so I was just gonna stretch it and test it.  Plan was to meet Nelsie up top somewhere and ride back to mine (or Arlo, for beersies), so he'd left his place at 5.41 and I got home from work about 6, got changed and out the door on the Stooge by 6.20pm.  He'd just peaked Castle Rock not long after that.  I headed up the road (loads of water oozing out of every bank), straight into the Skidder and up the gutser, up through the Worm (quite wet) and onto the Traverse, cruising around here at a reasonable pace.  Met lots of riders the other way, and perused the evidence of the earlier-in-the-week's 150mm of rain (as measured at our house).   The hills were still pouring water out of them lower down.  I'd just climbed over past the Lavaflow and the HuntsburyDH/Fourpause when he hove into view.  

We turned back along the summit and I led the way, keeping a reasonable pace but never shaking him.  Into the trees and I baulked at my lack of entry speed for the jump and waited there for him to pile through, then down the Rabbit paddock into the rocks and gums, weaving around through here and all the way down.  A tree was over the 'CAP link' track, so we lifted over and broke off as much branchage as we could, then continued on down to the gate.  Back up towards skidder from here and up over 19th, somewhere within which I flatted and we parked at the memorial and tried in vain to inflate my rear tire.  Decided it would take longer to fix than to just run/walk down, so Nelson took off down to take in the DogParkCarPark track and I walked (and jogged a couple times) down home.  No trip to Arlo, decided to just have a couple beers at home.

Better than nothing, and back feeling better, even with the walk down, 9.35 kms, 313 m escalated.

Saturday Summit Packing Horses and Breaking Brad(ley)

How to wipe myself out?? Get on Stooge, ride up from home and follow the Summit to Mt Herbert saddle... Fuuuckkkk... 

Started out lovely, up through Vic, Thomsons both, through the Kiwi and on along the Summit Rd.  Great bomb down the Bastard to Gebbies then onto the Packhorse Track, which I hadn't been on for a few nearly 7 years(!).  

Trail riding pretty good again, with all the logged bits now re-growing and trail reinstated. Met a couple of families walking out.  Then met some nice folk (with ebikes) at the hut and chatted for a while.  They headed off and I headed up the back of Bradley.  Crikey.  Looking into this photo you can see the zigs.  They finally end up at the bluffy bit near the top!...

Some riding, nice patch of regen bush before the climbing really started, met a walker on that first zig past the bush, photo back to Packhorse here,

then rode that first zig, pushed the next, rode a little more then more pushing, and more pushing, and lifting and pushing, and lifting up the tightening zigs and zags until at well over 700 m it finally hits a sidle.  

But, that's still not rideable.  It's composed of either wine-box sized, or larger, angular boulders, or bog holes for the first half, with step-downs and climb-ups interspersed.  Occasionally, you'll find a sweet little bit of trail to ride, but 10 metres later there's another rocky step-down.  Some great views, unbelievably high up (peaks at about 780m), I wish I'd taken more pics along the back here.  I could see View Hill... Near the start of this hellscape, I met a walker.  He warned me about "a wooded bit, that is quite rocky."  Well!  It certainly was, but it was vertical down, rocks, slippery roots and rocks, down.  One point I had to lower the bike by it's back wheel to below an outcrop, all-the-while leaning on a tree, make sure it was perched well (and not going to go tumbling off down into the vertical bush), then climb down around the rocks to get to it.  I stopped for a rest not long after, had something to eat in this nice bush.  And really hoped it wasn't going to be another vertical face upwards to get out of the forest like I'd come down to get into here.  Thankfully it wasn't, it was a sequence of rocky, rooty step-ups and not nearly as high.  Once out of the woods it got a little better, mostly down, some riding, some scooting to navigate rocks.  And then finally a nice roll down to a stile and onto the saddle.  Basically, two hours of hell and that was nearly up.  

Finally, down to the saddle between Bradley and Herbert, harbour, looking down on the Port Hills from above,

and into Orton Bradley on meh mown farmtracks, quite a few walkers up here, heading down.  Then Konini (where I called Otis to see if he'd pick me up, he couldn't, but Gryph would, so arranged that).  Harakeke track, steep fun(ish) descent, quite different to Konini, steep, descending, and then finally, in the valley bottom, sweet sweet forested lovely single-track, cruising down familiar (but fresh again) trails in nice shade with nice forest. I was toast and glad to be down.  Rolled down through Orton Bradley park, past all the campers and a wedding (bride and groom having photos taken on the road as I cruised by "congratulations!"  Out to the road and waited under some shade.  

Super glad I had a lift out and didn't have to ride to Diamond Harbour, wait for the ferry, then negotiate getting home either by bus or pushing up Hornbrook or the horrible Bridle Path and riding the summit... 

First half: sweet;  middle half: brutal;  descent: meh, until the valley bottom and a lovely finish - 30.9 kms, 1269 m climbed (+ extra 220 m ( = 1489 m) descended)

Waitangi Saturday View Hill Stooge

Hot ride up the valley, passed by scores of amazing old barnfind-looking Indian motorcycle club bikes from above Misty Hills for the rest of the way up.  Spectacular, but stinky-smokey, many of them, making me struggle to breath clear air often - stopped many times, in shade or not, for rests.  

Then round the Summit Rd to the paper road, over the gate and across the ridge, mostly pushing, a little granny gear riding, chatting with the steers giving me the eye.  Hard work, all of it, with the lush grass and rocks. Stopped in the shade of a small Totara up at the top gate to flip the struts on the 8pack (I'd installed them the wrong way around).  Then continued across the sidle - so much of this section could be tidied to a fully rideable state. I really should do that - just needs a few rocks moved, maybe a tiny bit of digging.

Picked my way around then into the climbing, through a corridor gap in the totara/horopito matrix, riding up the farm track to the hairpin and then walking a bunch up the next section before the final ride up the ridge top to the peak. 

Took in the View then it was downtime. 

Bombing down the ridgetop, detoured across to the View Hill Moab rock then into the main track.  Stayed on the main zag from the hairpin and ended up on a dead end (which I'm sure I've done before, years ago) then picked my way down the hill, steep but grippy, sometimes following sidle tracks sometimes not, yellow flowers everywhere.

Dropped down onto the main track and Speedbomb from here, getting faster and faster the further down I got until insane speeds on the lower reaches of the gravel and a glorious coast down from Chorlton, ripping through the valley bottom past the beach and final wee chuff pedal back to Little Brook. 

Fullsome 17.26 kms and 784 m undertaken

Wednesday Stooge Local Descents and Climbs

Out the gate and immediately turned left, up behind the houses to get me lungs going.  It did.  Then, it felt easier the rest of the way, the usual to 19th and Skidder and up. Top of Vic, right into Thompson's #1 for a nice wee blast, then back up the road to drop-in, down around the first jump then hard right into Worm, climbing back up to Traverse and wondering where to go...

Decided to drop down Upper Fence line, biff baff boff, out the bottom, around to Bridges. Bombing through here I heard a shout, "is that a Stooge?!"  "Yes, it is!"  I stopped and chatted, then got rolling on down into the valley, Nu Bridges, so smooth and flowed, then down valleybottom and straight into Hidden climb towards Old Skool.  Stopped and scoffed some blackberries, then followed a dude who'd just passed through.  At the start of Old Skool I added a a twist, heading up from below the pylon, grinding up the zigzag 4wd track.  Cleaned it, which I don't think I've ever done before, but then had a go up AliExpress as a climb. This was not so good. 

Out the top, and up the Huntsbury gravel, an emtbike passing me at the castle stop.  He headed into the Traverse while I was still below, and then I headed onto the Traverse and I'd lost sight of him.  A nice tail wind around here.  I spotted him on the climb above hidden valley as I came over from Lava-crossing, and by the time I made the pond he wasn't far ahead.  Reeled him in the rest of the way and caught up to him at the top of Vic. 

Down rabbit paddock, rocks, gums all the way, below road from 19th then road coast into DogparkCarpark for a nice blast.  SO MUCH WATER in there now, took my line zigzag up and down above the wet, then all the way out to the end, clamber to road, home

Assuaging 11.56 kms but surprisingly only 510m climbed

Sunday Portering Lyndon from the Back

Tough ride today. Absolutely wrecked me. The altitude, the sun, the scree, all conspired to remove every vestige of energy from my body. At the time, it was hellish. But I'm glad I did it. 

Nelson picked me up from mine and we drove out to park at the lake. Just before 10 when we got going, cruising the main highway along the 3 kms to the Porter's access road. Once on the gravel we only met 2 vehicles and got to the trailhead meeting and chatting with a family that looked like they were about to embark on it (we never saw them again).  Down to cross the creek, dodging spaniards, and no good rocks to step on so feet wet from this start.  Singletrack meandered up the valley, mostly rideable.  Met a couple of walkers coming down.  Across the creek again, narrower this time, and I topped up water cos looked like we were leaving it and may not meet any more.  A few zigs and zags and we were at the Colleridge Saddle, what a view!

My derailleur had almost eaten a dracophyllum earlier, I thought I'd caught it, but had found granny tricky so had been avoiding it.  As we started at the saddle, I found granny was attempting to put it into my spokes, so a re-adjustment was made (and I discovered I'd left my toolkit at home).  From here we climbed up to the left.  I was starting to get a bit tired, and walked a bunch, but Nelson was off a bit too.  Then it meandered into a basin and short descent across a scree slope led to a long zig and zag section eventually topping out on the ridge.  Long and hard, and I was getting pretty stuffed and uncomfortable.   Here's Nelson miles ahead...

Once on the ridge there was about 3 or 4 peaks we had to traverse, with drops between.  Kinda lost the trail a few times, meandering around on the tops looking over the sides to see where connections were made.  It all worked out, and we seemed to find the main line each time.  My exhaustion expanded on each climb - symptoms probably akin to heat-stroke.  Muscles just so weak, and cramps sometimes when I'd pedal wrong, not that I pedalled much.  Lots of walking and every time I got on or off I was more tired.  Twice Nelson parked up and walked back to take my bike for me.  That was kind.  Even without the bike I was trudging like a zombie.  Finally, he got to the cairn marking the descent and we waited while two women walking approached.  (they were looking for an ice-axe lost during winter).

Into the descent and the joy returned.  We stayed on the bermy weavy flowy mainline pretty much all the way this time, and didn't take any straight-down-the-hill fall-lines.  The view while riding this was spectacular, with the lake seemingly directly below us (600m or so) and all the vehicles and boats/jetskis looking like toys.    Fantastic.  At the bottom we followed a couple of orange triangles and zigged and zagged out and back to the bottom.  

Final drudge around the lake was hard, but with the end in sight somehow I made it...  We then entered the lake and let the cold water do its thing.  So refreshing.

In the car on the way home I ate the 'lunch' I should have carried with me, and consumed my entire spare litre of water.

Monumental 24 kms and 1150 m climbed.