Friday Hanmer Fat ride.

Sweet and slow, both of us exhausted from a week of sickness, we toodled around a few trails in Hanmer.  Cruised up Bristol St and dropped over to the pond and up to Swamp for a cruisy climb.  Really fatigued we both were, utterly spent.  And climbing's not T's forte anyway, so was good for her to get into this.  Down Swoop for a fun descent, fatty handling the whole thing beautifully.  Then it was off around Western Link track and over down through past the DOC base and through the tech practice zone to the road bridge.  I bombed back up to the car and grabbed us some eggy pie which I rode back up a different street, down to Dog Stream and back up to T on a picnic table.  From here we headed off down Easy Rider, fun down stream through onto Perserverence through to it's end.  T had had about enough now so we headed back along Easy Rider, then climbed back up to the streets and back to the car.  Hot pools soak and steam infusion followed and we were toasted.

An easy 14.15 kms and nearly 200m climbed.

Hanmering the Anvil

Started out with the fam (T, Joyful, Anth (on O's bike) and Lynn (on H's Instigator)) and happy Jet the dog, down the path from just along the street, to the Dog Stream walk track, heading up river on our side, then across the road and over the bridge, up something that kinda becomes Easy Rider below the road, up through the main park entrance and ranger station etc, noticing a cool wee skills ("this is what the different grades of mtb trail mean").  Turned into Western Link and cruised through here.  A first time doing any real hill work for most of these folks.

I led them into Swamp, all the way amazed at how happy Tra'y was with the riding.  Lynne is an ex-regular, so she had skills and a bit of pep, and Anth was a total natural, even if not all that fit.  Joy struggled on the hill work and anything techical.  I dont think it helps that her tires are, like, 1.9s and her forks are sunken.

At the top, a bit of a relax and then I dived into Swoop.  I bombed off, then thought to stop and see how they were coming.  Tra'y arrived first, saying "That's waaay too hard for mum!" but the others progressed through and Joy was fine, had walked a couple of little things (and had a crash I think).  I followed Anth for a sec, then we caught up to Lynned and I rocketted through chasing T, thinking I'd see her soon, but no.  Miles down I caught Jet, who veered aside for me and then down at that big treestump jump I landed and slammed on the brakes behind her.  Followed her down the hairpins but the second was sticky as and she doesn't 'get' them yet, so that was the only bit she bailed on.  They all rolled in after in their appropriate order, covered in splecks of mud.

Across Western again (I spotted an exit from Meeny I've never seen before, so will explore that in future).  At the Dog Stream, I bailed from them and headed up stream on my lonesome.  Climbed steadily but 3/4ths of the way up I was thinking, hmmm, a bit hungry...  Overtaken by a skinny friendly guy on a nice big brown Surly Ogre, made me jealous of his speed, then crossed the bridge and headed across the road and up the Fir Trail, having forgotten how fucking steep it is in places...  ugh.  Feeling a bit tired at this stage, and still insisting to myself to do Bigfoot.

Into the Bigfoot climb and reeaally not feeling up to it.  Struggled a way, grunting and chuffing, climbing climbing, eventually I just had to get off and walk...  Several corners, walking, riding a bit, walking...  to the top.  Obligatory photo taken,

hit the down.  Wetness, frost, frost thaw, sticky, splecky, muckfest.  Fun control on the greasy roots, popping, diving, loving every second of the zen state concentration, completely feeling the trail and the grip and contact patch of both tires, and the balance.  Joyous!  Into the trees, weaving past their trunks, around across, then out, and fuuucckkk it was greasy, and that sticky clay schit that sticks to the tires and flies off in globs...  Ugh.  Popped out the bottom and rolled past some other riders (also just finished ahead of me - hadn't seen them)) and down the road.

Contemplated Detox, but really couldn't face that climb so over into Mach 1, nearly colliding with an e-biker, but after that, no one.  Not bad roll down this, tho it's climbs were nastier than I've felt before, and the grease was appalling - passenger styles - lower down.

Finished off across Camp (again, couldn't be arsed with Basecamp, just wanted to get home), and then hit up the skills/grade 'demo' trails.  They're a really good representation of what the various tracks are like.  Over the road, and down Easy, then across the bridge, climbed up the walk-track hill with an audience of walkers, and was super relieved to be back.

A reasonably respectable 14 kms with a very steep (but always surprisingly little) 293 m climbed.

Thursday Mucky Spleckie "I can actually ride!!"

Out on my own with just Jet for company.  Rode up the road to Jollies Pass Rd, crossed over before bridge and explored a trail to the left and upwards.  Walked cos was steep, and ended up (eventually) at the top end of Torquay Terrace (where we stayed last year).  Dropped over to the big field (that was the event village when i did the 12 hour) and cruised over to and up Swamp, time to test these leg things.  Hmm, not bad.  Made the top in reasonable time, feeling pretty good.

A Wiemerana (dog) turned up and made friends with Jet (tho, they tend to be a bit arrogant), and I let it and it's rider head off ahead, giving them plenty of space.  Into Swoop for a greasy mucky fun filled spleckfest.  Nice bomb down, catching the Weimerana in the lower reaches, Jet bolted ahead and ran with her to the finish. 

Across for the Timberlands climb.  Yes, managed that.  Still feeling pretty okay.  Then into Red Rocks, cleaned all the climbs but was definitely feeling it at the highest point.  Into the down and funtimes.  Really good handling, zen state of bike handling, tire engagement, feeling everything, at one again, niiice, yay!  I love it!!!  and then into Eeny (as opposed to Meeny), wafting and squirrelling through this.  Then out onto Western, hung a right, and around the big field the way I'd come in, trying out the Torquay to Jollies trail downwards...  short, but FUN.  Then down Easy, across river and up to the house.

Not a bad, nearly 8 kms, but only 201 m climbed.

A very dirty dog...

Monday Swamp Yankee Swoop Red with O and dog

Nice short wee warm up with O and the dog. Headed down from the house across the field and up into the Swamp trail.  Good pace, then up into Yankee Zephyr, climbing climbing, puffing O out for a bit.  Climbed to the top and hit the down.  Swoopy swoopy back and forth down.  Both enjoyed and Jetty running along happy as larry.  Back onto the top end of Swamp and we climbed up to Swoop, for another down, back and forth, swoopy swoopy down and out to the field again.  Then climbing up Timberland, puff puff, and into Red Rocks, climb, over, and through, then out Eeny and Meeny, and back to the house.

9.43 kms with 250 m climbed

Saturday morning Hanmerlicious

Hanmer for the weekend.  Got out and did a short loop with my boys, about half an hour, then dropped them back at the house and took off for my own ride.  Together we did Swamp and Swoop, H doing well on the climb, and pretty cool on the descent, and O just flying the lot of it, both really enjoying the downhill.

Dropped them back at the house, and headed up Chalet Cres, finding my way firstly down a long drive to a house, turning around and then cutting through onto a walking track down to the end of Swoop.  From here I went up Timberlands, huffing and chuffing like crazy, then up Jolliffe Saddle Track, gasping and grovelling the top few tens of metres.  Had a rest at the top here, and then headed off down Upper Dogstream to the first bridge.  Awesome descent, with some really tight trees for the wide bars.

Across the bridge and up to Bigfoot, climbing away zigging and zagging like crazy up through the forest, then ducking out into the open on every second corner whilst gaining more and more height.  Descending, this trail with it's aspect and views reminded me a lot of K2 in Rotorua, except there were none of the log-droppy challenges that K2 had.  Heaps of fun, and had me wondering when it was gonna stop it went on for so long.

Out to the road and down a little to the entrance of Detox.  As usual, seemingly long climb up and around then I had a nice rest and ate the only food I had in the shade of a tree.  Off again, and a nice blast down, nearly having a mishap or two, but not quite, and blitzing it down, and across the road straight into Mach 1.  Nice ups and downs along here, kept my speed up and pedaled hard on the climbs.

Across the road onto Camp Track, and finding a brand new trail off here.  Headed into it, freshly gravelled, and under-bermed corners meant keeping speed was hard, but it was quite fun, albeit very easy.  It seemed to go for ages, looping out then back, with a couple of nice descents, very short, and short climbs back up to the level.  Eventually it spat me back out onto Camp Track, and so headed along here and then up the Dog Stream Track to half way or so, and up the road to Jolliffe Saddle again.

From here, headed into Red Rocks, climb climb, false descent, final climb, then bombing...  rocks and fun.  Grabbed Eeny Meeny, then chose Meeny this time (had taken Eeny the last two times (and just now realised these last two options should be called Miney and Mo)).

Back out to the road and decided randomly to head back up Swamp, then stupidly all the way up Pawson's Rd, which was a nightmare due to the logging that's gone on - think: extremely churned up mud by big machinery and logs, turned hard by drying out...  nasty.  From here it was Tank Track down, swooping and weaving and launching, lots of fun, and then straight onto Flax Gully Trail down.  Don't remember ever riding it this way, (but may have back with Al years ago), short climbs, but mostly nice, and back out to Jacks Pass Rd, and bombed down (nearly 60kph on the gravel) back to town, straight to the bakery to fill my starving belly.

24.5 kms and 600 m gained.  Felt like more, I guess cos the climbs are mostly pretty steep, even tho never that long or high in themselves.  Highlights are Bigfoot, Tank, and Red Rocks...  all three by far my favourites up there.  I considered doing two laps of Bigfoot, but alas...  Was feeling really good the whole way, even tho I was a bit seedy to start, but climbing Pawsons really killed me, made me starving and tired.

back in Hanmer...

well, i had twisted my chain, predominantly in one link, so i pulled the bad link, and am now running a link short... seems the last third or quarter of all my chain's lives are run with a link short ...and am trying a new chain lube. at the suggestion of Dougal, who's a regular on the mountainbike.co.nz website, i scored me a big bottle of Chainsaw bar lube. $5.85 at the Warewhare (compared to a tiny little bottle of Rock'n'Roll for $20 (1/10th the size of the Chainbarlube)). seems sticky like motorbike chainlube but not quite as sticky. doused the chain and wiped it all off again (which, John, is what you're supposed to do) and is running nicely so far. will be interesting to see how much dust and muck it picks up.

a beautiful day greeted me in hanmer, there was a slight smell of smoke when i first arrived, due to a wildfire up the waiau river towards the Lewis Pass, but i didnt notice it later on. was waiting for some riding buddies but they ended up being longer than anticipated, having a hard time of it paddling on the Waiau (very low flows make for less water over obsacles making for trickier paddling)...

so, took off on my own, rode up the Chatterton river valley, hit the mtb link track, which is a steeeep wee huff up to a pylon then a bit more climbing on a singletrack, which leads to a sweet little descent and sidle round to the Jack's Pass Rd, spitting you out opposite the watertank. just behind the watertank is a singletrack that leads down into the forest, below Pawson's Rd. John's Drop, No Bull seems to be what its called. its a great twisty wee trail with quite a nice steep descent or three in it, and a grunty wee climb in the last third. it chucks you back out on Pawson's, not far from Conical Hill Rd, which you roll on past to the first left, which is a road for a minute and becomes a single track climb, huffy for a bit, up up up, granny all the way, til you pass between two silverbirches on a steep wee step up, turn right climb a tad more, and bam, you're descending like buggery, swooping down another fantastic bermed singletrack tree trunks whooshing by millimetres from your shoulders. and it goes on and on and on, i had a couple of near misses, with the front wheel getting sketchy in the loose stuff, but mostly it was just divine. you cross Pawson's and carry on down to a stream, following that for a bit. This is all exactly the same ride as i did with Al last year, (may 24th 2005 blog) and here i'm upto where i broke my chain. funny, i remembered a lot of it being a bit more difficult, and some of the steeps steeper, but my riding's improved that much that i just flow it all now. anyway, this trail winds its way back round to pawsons, without getting too steep. then you have to follow pawson's to your right - up a bit, then down quite fast for a bit til you get to the Joliffe's Saddle turn offs. not really any signpostings so you pretty much gotta find your own way. i took the singletrack up to joliffes, then at the top, if you're standing looking across at Jolie's pass, Mt Isobel on your left, there's a new trail on your right, marked by a roadmarker . same as Al and me did last year, but they've changed where it descends, added some extra in the open stuff on the top and then added heeeaaaps of sweeeet trail in the forest later on. so this track, climbs heftily up over some rocky crags, then out onto this really open bit, with a bit of the pink stone breaking through, (hence the trail's name, Red Rocks) descending you down this fast and open tight singletrack, and eventually chucking you into the forest, there's some lovely rooty drops down, a couple of wee climbs, and more descending... then into a very new bit (possibly parts still under construction), eventually taking you out to upper dog stream trail. you could easily ride up it and get back up to Joliffes to do that again, or like me, just head out and down to lower dogstream singletrack back to the house. got back and Matt and Sean were stiiiill on the river. they called not long after tho and were on their way back then. i just cruised out. all up, only riding for 1 hour 20 or so. sweeet. woulda done it all again if i'd not been tired. really have got to get up there again soon.