Tuesday, another beautiful day in paradise. Due to the roads accessing the other end of the Wakamarina being private logging roads and shut during the week, we were limited to only riding the Waka the same way as Nelson and me did it last year, ie, the hard way.
The motel-unit crew txtd that they were leaving at 9.30am. We weren't quite ready but got going at maybe 9.45-50, stopping at the 4Square for some supplies then hitting the road. Then Pete had a little issue with the Cozzie, but got going again, and so eventually we got up the Wakamarina Valley and parked up with the TFC and Steal&Pube trucks, contemplating blocking them in, but not.
Got riding up the 4wd section, soon warming up. Then into the nice forest and through the end of the 4wd bit and onto the narrower track proper. Past Doom Creek turn off this time, and down down down to the bridge. Nice flow. Up the rocky switchbacks and then on up the track. I was on my own for most of this, just rode steady and onwards, eventually getting to the Hut not long after the first crew. Chatted while first Nelson then the rest showed up, then the boys headed back down to have an adventure in Doom Creek where Robin nearly went off a cliff, while the mad ones, us, went UP (AGAIN! - I'd vowed I'd never do it again after the last time, but here I was, doing it again! Ugh. Will i never learn?). Needless to say. It was a long walk/push. I got to the rooty wall face at about the 1000m mark and said "that's it for me", sat down and the sun came out and warmed me up (it'd cooled right down up here). Then I threaded my way down, nursing my lack of travel, and being pretty cautious. Meanwhile the others climbed and pushed their ways to the very top, and in the meantime, Marie had been pushing up behind us, unbeknownst to us, and had a fright by some pigs, so turned back, but had pushed up for an hour and a half, so can't have been too shy of us. Anyway, worked my way down, stopping quite a few times to listen for the others. One point I stopped for nearly 10 minutes, nice warm sunny spot about half way down. Then got going again. Stopped again at Mark's jersey for maybe 5 minutes. Rode on down and down, the trail getting straighter, but more greasy, sloppy and rutted as I progressed. Not far from the bottom there was a puddle hole that Nelson had scuffed a drain for and just below this my front wheel lost it and down I went off to the left of the track. My wrist got tweaked enough to snap one of the pins holding my watch strap, but turned out okay. I extracted myself from the ferns and my bike and continued on down, thinking "Phew!, that was close". A little ways further down, just round the corner was the Devil's Hut sign, and I stopped here to wait for the others. Heard voices, then watched as first Alistair hurtled off his bike into the ferns, then Nelson followed him straight over. Spectacular crash! They were both okay but Nelson's helmet had a dent in it from Ali's bash ring.
Regrouped and off down. At one of the creek crossings Pete's derailleur finally exploded and we singlespeeded his bike (not very successfully, tho it kept him moving pretty good). None could be arsed doing Doom Creek, so down to the bridge, and climbed back out and up and then blasted down to the cars... Stopped at The Trout for a couple beers and then back to base for more Mussel dinners all around, final night.
Wednesday, I came home to get the bike fixed, rather than through to Nelson which I'd originally intended.
Bike report, Thurs morning, Josh has sorted me with a different set of forks, same sort, but coil... He's repairing my ones, but I've got the option of keeping these ones. Gonna try them out in Nelson this weekend and see how I like them...
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Annual Trip, Day 4. Charlotte the Queen.
Monday dawned very nice, and so, sans Alistair (rest day for him) at 9ish we met the others at the bottom of our street in cars and Nelson and me led the way around QC drive, through Linkwater, to Anakiwa. Parked up, saddled up and got riding, seeing a german dude with a good beard head off ahead of us. Marie had gotten a good start on us all, and Nelson and me put on the chase. Passed the bearded German (also saw him several more times over the day), then it was a long time before we caught Marie, her speed having increased over the course of the days of riding, but catch her we did, before Davies Bay. From here the real climb started. Nothing technical, but admittedly a lot more interesting than I'd expected. Eventually a high lookout point was reached where Nelson, Pete and me rested a bit, and Marie arrived very shortly thereafter and continued on through. Rested a little longer then hit the trail again, catching Marie at some stage not too far after, where a few little downs were interspersed with the odd up section. Here we were sidling across a face around 200m above Onalau Bay, crossing across the top of some farm(ish) land and in and out of regen manuka bush. Eventually a sweeping downhill was given us, including Waima Way, blasting us down to the Mistletoe Bay Road, which we followed up to the Te Mahia Saddle.
Small regroup, then blazed down the road, around into Te Mahia bay, through the roadworks and down to the resort. Early enough to grab a coffee (Pete, Nelson, Marie and me). While we were enjoying these, the others arrived, and then the boats hove into view and so we all raced down to the wharf. The boats saw us and came in and the usual went on the big boat and the rest of us went on the fun boat. Lovely day on the water, and in no time we were in Portage examining the ridiculous prices for some fries or wedges... Muggingsly we paid it and ate, said goodbyes and thankses to Trev and Steve and wound our way up the few hundred metres of road to the Torea Saddle.
Hot sun, steep track, we ground our way up it, riding a bunch then walking when riding was no longer feasible for lungs or legs or both depending on which was pushed hardest. Zig and zag, up and up, met the bearded German near the top about to enjoy the downhill. Eventually what seemed to be the top, wasnt, brief respites and eventually what was the top was reached, 407m. From here it switchbacked steeply down then rocket propelled us across the 180 ridge, then grassy climb began again. Lots of speed and fun on the way down, not so much on the way up. Back up to, eventually, nearly 400 again, and the final descent to Te Mahia Saddle, more steep ass switchbacks, which we were sure Alistair would have overcooked off of several. The bearded German arrived from the road from Portage, and got ahead of us. We swapped leads with him a few more times over the next couple of kms.
Back up Waima Way, and moseyed our way back along the sidling face enjoying the downs, and not so much the ups. Finally, the big descent arrived and I sat right on Nelson's tail and we shredded it. Careful round each corner for walkers, but ripping the straights, we met none. Some features of this track were awesome. Eventually, Davies Bay Umangata arrived and there were a few more climbs and descents before the last kilometre descent. Into the water, legs soaked in nice cold sea, then a quick swim back. Only Nelson, Marie and me went in the water.
Home to base, and eventually to mussel dinner at the Havelock Pub.
Small regroup, then blazed down the road, around into Te Mahia bay, through the roadworks and down to the resort. Early enough to grab a coffee (Pete, Nelson, Marie and me). While we were enjoying these, the others arrived, and then the boats hove into view and so we all raced down to the wharf. The boats saw us and came in and the usual went on the big boat and the rest of us went on the fun boat. Lovely day on the water, and in no time we were in Portage examining the ridiculous prices for some fries or wedges... Muggingsly we paid it and ate, said goodbyes and thankses to Trev and Steve and wound our way up the few hundred metres of road to the Torea Saddle.
Hot sun, steep track, we ground our way up it, riding a bunch then walking when riding was no longer feasible for lungs or legs or both depending on which was pushed hardest. Zig and zag, up and up, met the bearded German near the top about to enjoy the downhill. Eventually what seemed to be the top, wasnt, brief respites and eventually what was the top was reached, 407m. From here it switchbacked steeply down then rocket propelled us across the 180 ridge, then grassy climb began again. Lots of speed and fun on the way down, not so much on the way up. Back up to, eventually, nearly 400 again, and the final descent to Te Mahia Saddle, more steep ass switchbacks, which we were sure Alistair would have overcooked off of several. The bearded German arrived from the road from Portage, and got ahead of us. We swapped leads with him a few more times over the next couple of kms.
Back up Waima Way, and moseyed our way back along the sidling face enjoying the downs, and not so much the ups. Finally, the big descent arrived and I sat right on Nelson's tail and we shredded it. Careful round each corner for walkers, but ripping the straights, we met none. Some features of this track were awesome. Eventually, Davies Bay Umangata arrived and there were a few more climbs and descents before the last kilometre descent. Into the water, legs soaked in nice cold sea, then a quick swim back. Only Nelson, Marie and me went in the water.
Home to base, and eventually to mussel dinner at the Havelock Pub.
Annual Trip, Day 3, Sunday, Nydia Part 2.
Day dawned very nice indeed, and we boated on lovely water to where we'd been picked up the day before. This time, around flat smooth trail past On The Track Lodge around the headland to a rapid descent to a ford of a reasonable size, wet feet, then across the mouth of the valley and then up it, crossing smaller versions of the same creek twice more before climbing up a paddock to the manuka scrubline. Here the track started it's benched and grinding climb, just pestering away at the altitude and sapping the already tired musculature of the riders. We climbed and climbed eventually striking a nice gulch of a creek, that Alistair just about cleaned. Onwards and eventually hitting Kaiuma Saddle, with seemingly less pomp and ceremony than yesterday's peak, but in fact more altitude.
Wicked descent down here, with Alistair, Nelson, Mark and Pete motoring off ahead of me, but Pete quickly stopping with a flat. Rest of us rode on, descending quickly and only regrouping when walking was possibly required, or when Alistair had crashed maybe. Round a hairpin and into fir forest, then down and around over a bridge where we regrouped for a while. Pete at this stage, having a mare with his flat tires and spokes, and Marie coming to the rescue eventually with spare tube. A wee bit more descending after that first bridge through plantation forest, then the climb once again began. Steep, but cleaned by most with minimal walking. Eventually out of the plantation and into regen across a nice long slope to a small ridge for another regroup before the final descent. No sign of Pete... but some stayed to wait, while the rest took off down this last descent, total blast, even with no travel. What a trail, so much fun, smooth and roly. Alistair, Nelson, me, then Mark all blasting downwards, finally rolling down through grass to Kaiuma Bay Rd for the 4 km slog round to Shag Point Landing. This road was a lot more up than down, seemingly, even tho it was 'just' above the road. pah. Once everyone but Pete was assembled, Nelson 'volunteered' to head back to find him... Steve Abba turned up and took a few bikes and 4 drivers. Thankfully Nelson and Pete both showed and then Steve came back and loaded the next lot on, more bikes than people this time, still somehow leaving more bikes than people behind for the final load. Anyway. Loaded all our gear out of Trev's boat and into cars and off to the accommodation. Two carloads at the Motels down town, the rest of us sequestered away in a nice cottage and sleepout affair up on the hill down the road a bit, in the 'burbs. Worked out alright, tho did split the group, which was a bit of a shame.
Did our own things this night for dinner, but the downtowners came up for a bit of a party visit. The usual hilarity ensued.
Wicked descent down here, with Alistair, Nelson, Mark and Pete motoring off ahead of me, but Pete quickly stopping with a flat. Rest of us rode on, descending quickly and only regrouping when walking was possibly required, or when Alistair had crashed maybe. Round a hairpin and into fir forest, then down and around over a bridge where we regrouped for a while. Pete at this stage, having a mare with his flat tires and spokes, and Marie coming to the rescue eventually with spare tube. A wee bit more descending after that first bridge through plantation forest, then the climb once again began. Steep, but cleaned by most with minimal walking. Eventually out of the plantation and into regen across a nice long slope to a small ridge for another regroup before the final descent. No sign of Pete... but some stayed to wait, while the rest took off down this last descent, total blast, even with no travel. What a trail, so much fun, smooth and roly. Alistair, Nelson, me, then Mark all blasting downwards, finally rolling down through grass to Kaiuma Bay Rd for the 4 km slog round to Shag Point Landing. This road was a lot more up than down, seemingly, even tho it was 'just' above the road. pah. Once everyone but Pete was assembled, Nelson 'volunteered' to head back to find him... Steve Abba turned up and took a few bikes and 4 drivers. Thankfully Nelson and Pete both showed and then Steve came back and loaded the next lot on, more bikes than people this time, still somehow leaving more bikes than people behind for the final load. Anyway. Loaded all our gear out of Trev's boat and into cars and off to the accommodation. Two carloads at the Motels down town, the rest of us sequestered away in a nice cottage and sleepout affair up on the hill down the road a bit, in the 'burbs. Worked out alright, tho did split the group, which was a bit of a shame.
Did our own things this night for dinner, but the downtowners came up for a bit of a party visit. The usual hilarity ensued.
Annual Trip, Day 2, Nydia Part 1.
Day 2 dawned a tad damp, quite a bit of rain overnight, but we all gamely jumped in the boats and headed out round Tawero Point and along the length of Tawhitinui Reach, right up Tennyson Inlet to Duncan Bay. Steve's Stabicraft having only two speeds, stopped or flat-out, another fun trip. Rub-downs and oilings ensued on all the bikes and we headed around towards the climb out up Tennyson Inlet Rd to the Opouri Saddle. Mark and Marie headed up the track instead of up the road. We all spaced out into dribs and drabs on the climb up the road, with Nelson disappearing from my view and me disappearing from the other's view in short time. About a km from the top Pete caught me up, and we rode together(ish) for the rest of the way to the waiting Nelson. In no time at all the rest of the dribs and drabbers showed up, all except Alistair, and doubt was had whether he'd ridden with Mark & Marie or not. Pete was gonna stay behind with Wayne to wait, but possibly just before the others all left Alistair strove into view.
Meanwhile, Nelson and me had headed off down this track, with, I thought at the time, Andrew or Warren on our tails. Wowser. Nice. But crikey it was greasy and techy up top. Lots of steepness off the side too with no room for error. Challenging as fuck on no-travel-forks and fucked-up-geometry, but still a good ride down. A few bits needing to be got off, logs, or rocks. Somewhere probably just above the 400m contour we met Mark and Marie having made damned good progress uphill considering, and they carried on up for a while while we carried on down. Riding got better and better as we got lower, then through some gorse and onto a weird intersection. Waited here and Pete was the first to show up, followed by the rest for the regroup. Onwards down, steep clay single through manuka scrub then into an extension (Booth's?) 'link' track that had some climbs in it, but was nice, ending up at the road. When Alistair arrived he tailwhip-gapped the road and landed with a spectacular lowside slide.
Regrouped we rode back round the road to Duncan bay and into the Nydia proper. First section was bits of slippery clay and roots. Next section was beech leaf litter and roots. Later, there was rocks and roots. All mixed with varying degrees of slipperiness and we were all in for some steeeeep climbing too... Everybody was challenged to pretty much their limits of ability and stamina, and that was just in the first 5 minutes! Awesome ride. Took ages, was spectacular forest to be in, and was hard work. But well worth it. Eventually we made the top, I don't know how. We could see it for ages, and every time you rounded a corner it seemed to be about the same distance and height away as the last one, even tho you'd just carried, schlepped, pedalled, pushed yourself and bike up more and more altitude. Good regroup at the saddle and a feed and then off we went. I picked my way cautiously with my limited machinery, while Nelson, Pete, Mark and Alistair all just bombed. Alistair was spectacular to follow. Regularly catching him up as he hauled himself and bike out of the bushes on the side of the track. Pete had a pretty epic spill. I came round a corner to find a several foot drop with angled slickly green rocks as a lip and him picking himself up from beyond it. He'd smacked his shin pretty good, and (we think) damaged his derailleur a bit... Later he was plagued with derailleur and spoke and puncture issues...
The track certainly improved the lower we got, with the upper half riddled with sections that had to be walked by most, and some bits that were just plain unpleasant (but rideable) for those with no shock travel. Whereas lower down there was still the odd clusterfuck of roots or rocks, but less and less the lower we got. Then, where the campsite turn off is, the whole nature of the track changed to that of the Abel Tasman. Benched, easy, smooth, clay under manuka or the odd pine. And quite flat too. Rolled this smoothly round to Nydia Bay wharf and awaited our taxis. Back to Wilsons Bay on some beautiful water and dinner at Te Rawa 'resort'...
Meanwhile, Nelson and me had headed off down this track, with, I thought at the time, Andrew or Warren on our tails. Wowser. Nice. But crikey it was greasy and techy up top. Lots of steepness off the side too with no room for error. Challenging as fuck on no-travel-forks and fucked-up-geometry, but still a good ride down. A few bits needing to be got off, logs, or rocks. Somewhere probably just above the 400m contour we met Mark and Marie having made damned good progress uphill considering, and they carried on up for a while while we carried on down. Riding got better and better as we got lower, then through some gorse and onto a weird intersection. Waited here and Pete was the first to show up, followed by the rest for the regroup. Onwards down, steep clay single through manuka scrub then into an extension (Booth's?) 'link' track that had some climbs in it, but was nice, ending up at the road. When Alistair arrived he tailwhip-gapped the road and landed with a spectacular lowside slide.
Regrouped we rode back round the road to Duncan bay and into the Nydia proper. First section was bits of slippery clay and roots. Next section was beech leaf litter and roots. Later, there was rocks and roots. All mixed with varying degrees of slipperiness and we were all in for some steeeeep climbing too... Everybody was challenged to pretty much their limits of ability and stamina, and that was just in the first 5 minutes! Awesome ride. Took ages, was spectacular forest to be in, and was hard work. But well worth it. Eventually we made the top, I don't know how. We could see it for ages, and every time you rounded a corner it seemed to be about the same distance and height away as the last one, even tho you'd just carried, schlepped, pedalled, pushed yourself and bike up more and more altitude. Good regroup at the saddle and a feed and then off we went. I picked my way cautiously with my limited machinery, while Nelson, Pete, Mark and Alistair all just bombed. Alistair was spectacular to follow. Regularly catching him up as he hauled himself and bike out of the bushes on the side of the track. Pete had a pretty epic spill. I came round a corner to find a several foot drop with angled slickly green rocks as a lip and him picking himself up from beyond it. He'd smacked his shin pretty good, and (we think) damaged his derailleur a bit... Later he was plagued with derailleur and spoke and puncture issues...
The track certainly improved the lower we got, with the upper half riddled with sections that had to be walked by most, and some bits that were just plain unpleasant (but rideable) for those with no shock travel. Whereas lower down there was still the odd clusterfuck of roots or rocks, but less and less the lower we got. Then, where the campsite turn off is, the whole nature of the track changed to that of the Abel Tasman. Benched, easy, smooth, clay under manuka or the odd pine. And quite flat too. Rolled this smoothly round to Nydia Bay wharf and awaited our taxis. Back to Wilsons Bay on some beautiful water and dinner at Te Rawa 'resort'...
Annual Trip, Day 1, (Fri 17th Oct) the Road and...
The tradition that stems from the distant past, pre- this blog, that I've been an attending member to since the 2nd ever, was continued in good measure this year, with the crew assembling at Woodend, outside Owen Stalker's Park. Pete and Alistair picked me up and shoe-horned me into the Cosworth for the journey to the meeting spot, with my bike having been dropped at Warren's the night before cos Pete's rack only fits 2 bikes... At Stalker Park were: Steve, Robin, Tony, Andrew, Wazza, Wayno, Nelson and Mark and Marie. I transferred my shit into Nelson's car, bike inclusive, and we all convoyed north.
Rain was ominous the closer to our destination, but after a longer than desired stop in Blenheim we moseyed to Rarangi, saddled up in a brief showerless period and headed up the road. Within 50 metres I knew something was wrong with my newly fitted fork. Fuck, I thought. It'd sat down in it's travel and was not returning, and ended up, if I was lucky, giving me 2 inches of what should have been 6. This altered the geometry somewhat and made it rather uncomfortable to ride, and gave it shitty handling, and this I was stuck with riding for the duration of the trip. My mistake, and obviously I've learned from it, dont make major changes to bikes just before trips. Anyway. we rode up the road, stringing out like a strung out thing, down into Whites, then up the gravel which was longer than rememberd, as usual. Eventually got to the start of the Loop track, fireroad up the hill, and regrouped in a big downpour. At this stage, Marie and Mark were no where to be seen, and due to the rain, the time limit we were under (4 o'clock at Havelock), and time it was going to take all these riders to attempt the >600m climb from this point, we made the call to bail. Most returned via the road, but Pete, Alistair and me made the excellent choice of riding the walking track back. What fun. Sweet benched singletrack, with horrendously slippery clay/rock in places, and lots of switchbacks. Nice we descent, thankfully not meeting any walkers, and then through Whites Bay, finding Marie here, and so the 4 of us now climbed out. Lovely dry (under the pines at least) climb, switchbacking up to the road, then along the road a bit, me alone now out front, where I met Robin, and I took the next walking track down, while Robin headed down the road. Great spin down the walking track, totally different to what I remembered from when Nelson and me rode it years ago, but fun and switchbacky to the bottom. Reassembled, waited for Mark who'd 'apparently' gone up where we should have come down, had we done the full loop... Then headed and met Steve Abba at Havelock.
Loaded (SO MUCH!) gear into Trev's boat and Nelson, Pete, Mark and me in Steve's boat, and had a great ride out, 45mins or so, way out Pelorus Sound to Wilson's Bay where we were staying for 3 nights.
Rain was ominous the closer to our destination, but after a longer than desired stop in Blenheim we moseyed to Rarangi, saddled up in a brief showerless period and headed up the road. Within 50 metres I knew something was wrong with my newly fitted fork. Fuck, I thought. It'd sat down in it's travel and was not returning, and ended up, if I was lucky, giving me 2 inches of what should have been 6. This altered the geometry somewhat and made it rather uncomfortable to ride, and gave it shitty handling, and this I was stuck with riding for the duration of the trip. My mistake, and obviously I've learned from it, dont make major changes to bikes just before trips. Anyway. we rode up the road, stringing out like a strung out thing, down into Whites, then up the gravel which was longer than rememberd, as usual. Eventually got to the start of the Loop track, fireroad up the hill, and regrouped in a big downpour. At this stage, Marie and Mark were no where to be seen, and due to the rain, the time limit we were under (4 o'clock at Havelock), and time it was going to take all these riders to attempt the >600m climb from this point, we made the call to bail. Most returned via the road, but Pete, Alistair and me made the excellent choice of riding the walking track back. What fun. Sweet benched singletrack, with horrendously slippery clay/rock in places, and lots of switchbacks. Nice we descent, thankfully not meeting any walkers, and then through Whites Bay, finding Marie here, and so the 4 of us now climbed out. Lovely dry (under the pines at least) climb, switchbacking up to the road, then along the road a bit, me alone now out front, where I met Robin, and I took the next walking track down, while Robin headed down the road. Great spin down the walking track, totally different to what I remembered from when Nelson and me rode it years ago, but fun and switchbacky to the bottom. Reassembled, waited for Mark who'd 'apparently' gone up where we should have come down, had we done the full loop... Then headed and met Steve Abba at Havelock.
Loaded (SO MUCH!) gear into Trev's boat and Nelson, Pete, Mark and me in Steve's boat, and had a great ride out, 45mins or so, way out Pelorus Sound to Wilson's Bay where we were staying for 3 nights.
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