Saturday Cadging Some Codgy Goodgeness

Great Ride out on my own.  We were in Nelson for Phoe's 18th and I brought my bike.  

From the new pad, down the link pathway, steps and sidelines, then another wee walking drop down to a Place, then made my way down past the Rutherford and Flamedaisy then up onto Nile St, cruising along here to then find my way up onto Cleveland Tce, then up Atmore Place to get onto Jack's Track, which was certainly an interesting way into Codgers, but not necessarily the nicest way...

Crossed across Firball, and then onto middle road climbing up to the top of Turners etc.  Hung there for a bit and judged my options and what I thought I might like to do.  Decided on Hulk n Hogan, which was okay, sidled around and dropped and jumped and cruised around to eventually lower down on Jacks Track, which I proceeded to climb again, then up the middle road again back to Turners Top.  

This time into Turners, some groms all hanging at the top, I headed on past and proceeded to ride it like a 51 year old.  No big air, but good pace round the berms etc.  Some quite sloppy bits but mostly it was pretty dry.  Out the bottom of the gums and across to Take Me To Your Leader for the climb.  In here I could hear 'something' then two guys on ebikes powered past me.  Huh.  I continued on up, cleaning everything and quite enjoying it even tho it was steep.  Out the top onto Skidder Saddle.  From here along the Fireball Rd to the the Turners Top again.

This time into the climb to the Firball Trig.  Good climb up here and an ebiker topped out same time as me.  We chatted a bit then I headed off a brand new (to me) trail that headed towards Smasher.  Te Tirohanga Marama o Koata (Koata Marama).  New, fresh, one or two off camber corners, some jumps, quite a distance, nothing techy tho, other than some looseness.  Then it spat me out about where that big jump clearing was on Smasher.  I headed on into Smasher and proceeded to ride heaps but then got baulked and scared on the worst 4 corners which I edged down, then the rest of it was mint.  Not sure I'll use Koata Marama again, prefer the top section of Smasher.

From the bottom of Smasher, out along the Maitai river, following it down back to Nile St and heading home with a bad climb up the access track next to their new place.

All up, a very grand 18.5 kms and slightly surprising 693 m climbed

Queen's Birthday Old Codger

Took Jet into Codgers for a spin. Forgot to turn on the MMR til just up the road. Headed up the main trail towards Tantragee, overtaking a dad and his kid.  Hung a left into Pipeline, around and then up Jack's, which had a fair bit of grease under tread. Spotted a couple of riders ahead, catching them up in the bushy part of Jacks, and then finding a couple more waiting for them at the Middle Rd.  Hung a right here and headed up to Fireball Rd where I found some dude waiting - I asked him what Turners might be like after the rain overnight.  He didn't know cos he was from Chch too.  We exchanged stories a bit then he headed for Smasher, while I headed off up the access link to Turners.  Cool 'Reign' seat/sculpture thing here.  Dropped in to the trail and it was good.  Greasy in places so's not to be too careless, and carefulness was needed in one or two bits.  Bombed down swooping and popping, to the bottom and then headed up Take Me To Your Leader, nice steep wee zig zaggy climb. Big skidder site here with Fireball to the left, and heading up round to the right I rode up to top of Lollipop (also the top of Hot Buns and Top Dog) for a look. Walked down a ways to check it out but decided not to ride it - was looking scary greasy.  So, from the parkbench I headed down the top of Top Dog, fun, not tooo steep, interesting trail through fir and pines and gum, rolling out to the road again.  The trail continued downwards, but I didn't wanna climb all the way back up, so figured I'd go check out Smasher.  Headed back down to the skidder site and the up the start of Fireball and into the Smasher Climb.  Steep little bastard through trees (last time, with Ian and Leigh, this wasnt here), that got me walking near the top.  Into the start of Smasher and I remembered how cool this top section was.  Once through the open bit and back into the forest the trail sidles nicely for a while before starting into a few corners back and forth that just get steeper and steeperer and steepererer until I had to walk.  One, then another.  Then, 'oh bugger', another one, then 'uh oh, shiiiiit' another one, then uh huh...  but once into the gums near the bottom all good and rolled down through the rest of it back to the Sunday Hole swimming spot.  Jet was pretty grubby from mucky bits on the trails so I chucked a stick in for him and he washed off.  From here we cruised back down the Maitai, him meeting lots of new friends.  Passed by Nile St and headed further down to stop in at the Suter Gallery where the family were and found them just leaving, so I headed back to Flamedaisy and cleaned up before they got home.

1 hour 20 ridden, 15kms, with 500m climbed.  Not bad for a post-hungover morning spin.

Sunday Morning, Nelsonia tough stuff

Delivering the niece and nephew to their home in Nelson, drove up Saturday and home on today.  Took the Spot and Jet the dog and made contact with Ian for a ride.  Met him and Leigh (and her dog Middy) at the entrance to Codger's at 10am, and off we trundled.  Up the main trail, left on Pipeline, then up Jack's Track and around to the top of Turners.  Here Leigh and me and the dogs headed down Turners, and Ian headed up to grub a new line at the start of Lollipop.  Turners is big and wide and swoopy.  If you knew it well you'd catch massive air on it.  Was pretty good, I lost my chain half way down and had to keep the pace to roll up a few bits and I recognised the bottom half of it in some gums.  We rode it back in '05 (referred to there as a "new track" off Fireball...).  At the bottom, there's a nice wee climbing track (called Take Me To Your Leader) that'd been started by Ian and friends, granny pretty much the whole way, lots of switchbacks, in the native (with one or two old man pines too).  The top of this is a skidder site from whence we headed to the right and up an access road to a corner, then up a steep wee grunt (i walked, but Leigh cleaned it.  At the top there's a picnic table, and the dogs had a really good play up here while they waited for us.  Looking down the trail I was greeted by a taste of things to come.  STEEP and a bit greasy too.  Ian led off ahead and cleaned everything, stopping every now and then to let us catch up.  I walked heaps, and Leigh cleaned most stuff, but walked a few spots too..  It was SO steep and some of the corners just so dodgy.  So many bits that I'd barely ever be able to ride...

At the bottom we headed back up the climbing trail again and from the skidder site in the opposite direction (back towards Turners) to the next small saddle and up a steeeep ass and greasy thawed-frost access track that we all walked.  At the top of this started what began as a wickedly good track, apparently called Smasher.  Off camber, through dark forest, douglas fir mostly, and big swoopy corners.  First section was great, then it crossed a fire-road and was rideable for a while, but the lower it got the steeper it got and was a bit mental, in a completely different way to the mental that was Lollipop.  Walked a bunch of this track, too, but rode out the bottom and we were down at the Maitai River Sunday Swimming Hole.  From here we cruised down the Maitai track and back to town.  I got back to Flamedaisy about 12.30.