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)

Sunday Planton Bradley

Met for the 8.50am sailing to the Harbour of Diamonds.  I arrived to find the Bush team and Pete already on the wharf, then Nelson and Kirsty rolled up once we were on board.  

From DH we headed up and proceeded around the road.  At Whero St I said, "lets go up to the high road" (not knowing that Whero was a dead end, but then discovering at the top a nice singletrack that led all the way up.  Nelson and Kirsty disappeared.  She'd stopped to delaminate and when they got going again couldn't figure out where we'd gone...  ooops.  Never de-group guys.  Pete jetted down, couldn't see them, jetted back up and we proceeded around Bay View, steep down followed by bloody steep up that nearly killed me given my Troll gearing.  Up under Elaine's house and then it was mostly down from there, down into that nice Hunter Reserve valley, short climb then bombing down down down, Pete and me (J9 taking it easy and Steve sticking with her) to the main road and around to Andersons to regroup.  

Nelson and Kirsty turned up with the Bushes again and we all rode together up over Andersons', fast bomb down the last with Pete in the lead, onto the main road and into Orton Bradley.  The planting was just off the main route in after the tollbooth, off up to the left on a very muddy (to start with) track through oaky forest out to some farm country - a small gully being fenced around a creek.  Chucked a bunch of trees in the ground meeting some nice people, then back to the School Room and a cuppa then back on the road again.

Around the road and a steady pace, Pete and me out in the lead.  Above the yacht club we took the wee walk track drop down and up then steps and stopped for a regroup.  Then climb climb climb around and some nice downs back to DH, getting down to the cafe just before the 12 o'clock ferry was ready to leave, Bushes and Pete bombed and caught it while I waited for Nelson and Kirsty and we caught the half hour later one, 12.30.

Forgot to start the MMR til we were up top of the Whero singletrack, about 1km in and 120m alt, but the rest of it was 11.85 kms over 270m climbed (so, total 13 kms, 390 up). (mmr website playing up at this point)

Sunday Orton Fattley

Met Pete, Steve and Nelson in time for the 8.50 am ferry.  I 'adjusted my suspension' (pumped some air into the tires) and we headed up and had a coffee at the cafe.  Then we hit the road, cruising, up, down, up, down, around to the park. Up the driveway, to the end of the 'park' bit, and met Ian (manager) who told us where to go for the planting.  Lucky for us it was pretty much at the top end of the MTB track. So, off we cruised, mucky and puddly in places, with a bit of dynamic straightlining (squirrel factor on high).  Fun little climb up and around. Stopped and helped water off the track a couple of times and then down, and we parked and climbed the fence and planted super quick, given the easy digging soaking wet ground and good sized crowd of people.

Back on the bikes and down, enjoying the cruise, to another site where we put in a totara forest - 150 totara trees planted in no time, all up a nice corner of hillside.  Will be amazing in a few years. Then off down again, brief stop at the loo, and on down. Steve tootled off ahead while we raided the Krispies and Gingernuts before the rest of the punters got anywhere near them, decided time was too short for a cuppa, so set off in chase of Steve.  Nelson ditched Pete and me, powering ahead, catching up to Steve, then Pete and me caught them eventually just after the fire-station.  Down to the wharf, and 12.30 ferry back to the cars..

Mildly respectable 20kms, and surprising 443m climbed...

Sunday, Sh'Orton Fattley Planting

O and me drove into drizzle on the hills and over Dyers Pass and down out of the drizzle at about Teddington to get to Orton Bradley 15mins before the planting was to begin. Andy and Jenna had ridden from the ferry and were sifting around, so the 4 of us headed up to ride the loop. I had the Fatty.  It's is a fun wee loop, only 4 kms, with (supposedly) 85m of climb, so not much of a ride really. Definitely worthy of a few laps, but we only did the one then hit the planting, which took like 5 minutes - 500 trees with 70 people.

 (with the phone in my pocket, MMR has some pretty screwy results - top speed of nearly 300kph)). 

Sunday Orton Plantley.

Early pick up of Pete for Lyttelton by 7.45am and 7.50 early ferry. Wazza, Wayno, Andy, Tony, and Steve and us, Steve the last one to show up.  Headed up the hill from Diamond Harbour, right up through and onto Bayview, which took us around and up and down, quite scenic-ly to Charteris Bay, then another non-main-road, another up and down over Anderson's Rd, whizzing down to Orton Bradley.

In here, caught up with Ian (manager there) and then headed up and did a loop of the bike trails up the valley.  Nice easy climbing on the walking track then diverting onto purpose build bike trail and then rejoining the walking track.  Across a bridge and back down, quite fun, then a bit of a wait in the sun (haaarrrdd frost this morning), and then planting Trees (from 10am) for Canterbury. Reasonable turn out to the planting so plants in ground reasonably quickly and down for a coffee at the school house, a sausage, and then back round the main road to miss the 12.30 ferry, thereby allowing Steve and me to have a beer at the Dark Star.  1pm Ferry back across and home in good time after that.

MMR struggling today (and i didnt start it til half way up the hill, nor turn it off til on the water).
20 odd kms, just over 400 m gained.