Wednesday Night Bony Captain Greenwood

Mint ride tonight with Nelson. We met at Slumnervale and headed back down Finnsarby Place (never knew it was called that) and across the redzone to hit the up on the old Captain Thomas exit.  Nelson cleaned his way to the steepest steps bit, whereas I lost it on below the first corner and struggled my way upwards.  Very muggy and sheltered down in here.  Once on the level tho it was good rolling, albeit extremely overgrown for a good portion of it, which we didn't really notice until on the return.  Mostly good climbing; Nelson cleaning more than me, I was just feeling wiped from the week.  The trail was really crunchy, sheep having wrecked it in the recent wetness.  Heading into a sugar crash, we had a break before the final climb.  I felt better once moving again and the hard bit before the last gate got the better of us both.  Final climb out to the road was okay.  

Long schlep up the road to Jollie's Bush where we avoided stinging nettle, walked and rode our way to the top of the bush, over the stile and then up the new walking route to the 4wd track which was much closer than we ever realised.  Up this and hung a right to blaze out the, also crunchy, old Greenwood entrance, out to the road, and up here to Broadleaf and up.  Cool dead stick insect on the road, probably 10 cm long and 7mm thick...  Hup up up to the top and a well earned rest.  Then we tootled to the highest point and took in the view before our descent.

Down through the annoying gate, and around to the stile, Nelson getting his sideways-action on on the rocks just beforehand.  Over the stile and the bombing began.  He led, I stayed on his tail until the tussocks where I kinda gained and lost and gained til losing more towards the end of this upper section.  Down the 4WD bit, and into the Greenwood proper.  Tight on his tail for a bit, even catching him a bit before the sidle, where he always loses me and then eventually he stopped after Gloomy and I caught up and we had another rest.  I led from here, keeping the pace up and fast and a good blast down, all the way, losing my speed in the first rocky up with the wrong gear.  On out to the bottom, overall a good blast.  

Through Evans and up a little for another bit of a rest before dropping into The Captain, him in the lead.  Big gap to start but I'm pretty sure I was slowly gaining to the gate, then we held pretty tight the rest of the way down.  It's SO bony, rocks poking up where they never were, trail embedded in itself by the sheep traffic.  Eventually, over the fence into the old-skool section, discovering just how overgrown the bastard was.  Quite low speed compared to the usual rush, never quite knowing where the holes were, or rocks, hidden under the grass.  We both survived our nemeses, my tree and his rock, and got out to the bottom and back to the cars in one piece each.

A surprising 631 m climbed, over a rather bony 15.4 kms 

Tuesday Night Tour De Pleasant.

Parked on Stoneyridge, cold beasterly blowing thru and got riding just as the sun set... Up through Britten, around the front, up Mt Pleasant, all without lights needed.  At the top, it was time for lights.  Awesome, tight on Nelson's tail, descent, following him and flowing down through to Greenwood, where we headed down the 'new' trail, with a detour down into Jollies Bush.  A zig and a zag down and up in here, then back up onto the 'new' trail, out to the Richmond Hill pines, and on up to the old Greenwood entrance.  Sheep Shit Everywhere, tires well coated.  Off down the entrance of Greenwood, around and up, then up the way we'd come, Mt Pleasant to the top again, and over and down back to Britten, around the top (below the road) and then bombed on down, excellent fast run, down to the car.

A twisty turny ramble around the tops, 13.5 kms, 410 m climbed.  Not bad for a 'warm up' for the next day.

Tuesday Night Short Loner

Steve had called a PFMTBC meeting at 7 and it being my last chance before the weekend's Ghostings, I grabbed the time to ride. Nelson was had already organised to DH, but also said he was crook, so from work I trafficked to Mt Pleasant and parked up on Stoneyridge at 5.30.  Messed about with MMR (which wasn't playing ball for a bit), and headed up into Britten Reserve under the pylons.  Steep bastard grunt, walked the steepest bit, then MMR got rolling as I headed across the easy stuff at a good pace.   Back and forth, then up to the top and around the front and around to the cutting.  Across the road and over the fence and up onto the Mt Pleasant track climbing well to the top, right up to the trig (where the MMR photo was took), for a bit of a snack.

Time for the descent.  Hopped over the fence and got rolling, seat down, flying down the rocks and around to the stile.  Nice flowy run down through the tech then swoopy swoopy down through the tussocklands, down to the 4wd, then into what was the new extension below this (above the ruins) around and back across towards the start of Greenwood.  Hardly ridden recently, so lots of sheep poo as they scattered in front of me.  I stopped here and it was only 6.10, so figured I had time to hit Greenwood.  Bombed down this, flowing through the flowy bits, and not stalling up too much on any of the techy boney rocks.  Very brief rest after Gloomy, then into the gnar again, plummeting well.  Totally bollocksed the rocky ups but flew down to the end after for 6.19. 

Then, onto the road, climbing fast up to Jollies Bush, where I headed in and tried out the tracks we didn't go last time, out and back further to the right, and more rideable, back up and climbed over the stile, pushing the few metres up to the singletrack above. Onto this and swooped down towards the Richmond Hill pines, then around and up the singletrack to the original Greenwood Entrance.  Last bit of road, and into Britten for a bombing, having to sidestep several times into the grass and over tussocks (at speed) to avoid some rookie climbers.  Arrived at the car dead on 6.50 - perfect timing.

13.6kms with at least 430 m climbed (more like 460 m on account of MMR starting late)

Thursday Night Fog and Heat and Sun and Cool

After work pick up from mine, we headed for top of Mt Pleasant (the suburb), parking on Parkridge Pl. Headed up the steep under-the-pylon into Britten.  I cleaned more of the rocky section this time, but still had to walk the steep bit to the corner.  Across the face, and around into cloud building up on the eastern flanks, making for a muggy climb to the top.  Brief breather here then around top front, and back across to the cattlestop at the climbing rocks - grass all nice and short again , making the trail easier to find than the last couple of times (in October!), and in full sun on this side of the hill.

Over the road, over the fence, and into long grass climbing up, back and forth to the top of Mt Pleasant well above the sea of cloud rolling in over the city.  A well earned breather in the shade of the building, then around the back of it to take in the view of the harbour.  Finally, descent time, a nice breeze blowing down the rocky entry, muppetting before the stile, then I led the way down the ridge, big fat wooly lambs all over the place getting in the way (and littering the track with their tasty treats).  Down to Greenwood, and we debated which way to go, choosing to head back round to the old start of Greenwood, and down the skinny singletrack to the trees on Richmond, entering the fog down here.  Low visibility, nice cool moistness all around, we cruised across and then back up to the Greenwood (above the ruins).

Into the descent again, bombing into Greenwood, lambs in the way for ages, around into the rockier bits. There was some weird chunky clattering I wondered about at the time, but bike kept riding okay, so continued on.  Nelson had good speed, I was okay until we were on the sidling section before Gloomy Gulch, where I slowed down a fair bit, but then got my mojo back on the rocky descent into the swoopy bit before that drop jump, where Nelson was waiting.  On down, holding on to him until the entry to the creek gully, where he managed to carry more speed and hoof away.  I bollocksed the rocky up, and got going again, arriving puffed as at the bottom.  It was here I noticed that I'd lost the blue 'switch' for my Climb-Trail-Descend feature on my rear shock.

Up road at a cracking pace mostly in the fog.  My knee started to hurt a bit.  When we got to Jollies Bush we figured - never been in there before, lets explore.  Huh!  We kept left, carrying up steps, riding a bit, avoiding ever-overhanging onga-onga, zigged and zagged upwards, eventually finding our way up to a stile on the top edge, and up onto the track just above that.  Still in the fog, kinda, rode up this, meeting a couple of women riding down (one was new to riding), and at the top decided to just drop down the top section of Greenwood to see if we might find that CTD switch where I'd heard the weird clatterings.  Off we went, Nelson in the lead, slowing down where I thought, and Nelson was juuust about to call off the search when "here it is!".  Turned around, and rode back up the techy rocks, past the ruins, thru the old entrance, then up road, and a fun fast bomb down Britten back to the car.

18.3 kms and (only) 610 m climbed