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.

tuesday quickspinspinspinspin

Tuesday night quick spin, was a good ride, except i felt truly crappy going up rapaki, tho, i was pushing myself a bit, cos when i got to the gate at the top of the trees, i saw a guy on a red specialised disappearing round the corner up ahead (~200-300 m ahead) so i was pushing to catch him, but when i got to that corner he was just disappearing around another corner about as far or further ahead so i had to push a bit harder... by the next bend in the track i was a tad closer, but still some ways behind, as i entered the last climb i was probably 100 m behind him, slowly gaining, so that by the top i was only about 40 m behind... and he was paused at the top when i got there, but took off just as i got there. i rested a bit letting him get another 100 m or so ahead again and this other guy came up on a Titus (rare bike round here and $$$bling too, nice blue Chris King hubs etc, very flash). he'd obviously been chasing me, he was one of those guys who i'd say is a multisporter, really lean in the face, super fit looking, he had massive muscles on his legs and he hardly looked to be breaking a sweat, plus that Titus would have been worth maybe $6 to $8K... said hi to me, friendly like, and i let him go first. i stayed on his tail a bit, and a we both caught the guy i'd been chasing all the way up (i said to him, "i've had a helluva time catching you!" and he apologised!), over took him then the superfit guy got away on me, tho i was holding his tail for a bit... he was only a bit faster than me. anyway, all in all a good ride. up rapaki, right, along summit trail to vic park, down Thomsons Track to the Kiwi, then up to top of marley's hill, down single track back under the kiwi, down singletrack below dyers pass road, up into vic park, over and down into bowenvale... flowing very smoothly. my bike was really feeling in tune... til the gears started skipping, which was annoying, but will be tunable, (i couldnt get it tuned quickly as was running out of time), or at worst, i might need a new chain. i tweaked it at one stage along the summit trail, i was shifting onto the big ring and it over shifted, then kinda got tangled in the crank and pedal, but then i thought i'd gotten it and tried to pedal on, but it was a bit stuck, which may have bent a couple of links. i had to stop and unloop it, and from then on it seemed to just kinda clickity click every now and then. might need to get a new chain, but may just get by with a good lube and worst case (other than a new chain) would be to go through and swap out the bent links... i've got a few remainders of chains lying around, from the leftover links when replacing them. at least, gotta get something sorted, cos Saturday, i'll be riding in Hanmer! yeah. bunch of guys i know are getting together to ride and drink and eat bbq'd meat. should be good... update as soon as after i can.

service...

well, took the bike to Kris on saturday morning, and he taught me how to service my shocks. ended up only costing me the price of the special oil that they require ($40 - which will do 4 oil changes (required only a couple times a year))... cos he figured he kinda owed me a service. took it for a spin yesterday afternoon. i was feeling beat, cos we'd been to barbie at Steve's saturday evening and i'd eaten way too much meat (as usual) but only had 7 beers, but didnt sleep well after (digesting all that meat i'd say) (oh yeah, got home and had to move all dad's scaffolding from where wilson used to park his car to the back of the house (heavy! and in the dark)) and then sunday we went to Al and Zoe's for brunch, then we went to Centennial with Otis to play in the water and then i took off on my ride from there, and having eaten pancakes and banana and maple syrup and bacon at 11.30ish, then the swim, then riding about 3.45, i was hungry, and weak from being tired, and bloody well took myself up Farm track, which is exhausting at the best of times. felt fat and useless and had nooo energy... still managed to overtake people on the summit trail tho, and then headed down the oldschool bowenvale track, which is always a favourite of mine except i dont think the rangers think anybody rides it anymore, cos they never take the whippersnapper down it and so its a bit overgrown, and the heat and dryness of it had me worried again that my nearly redhot disks would set it alight... (didnt see any smoke from the bottom so should have been alright :-).
anyway, the forks were PLUSH. oh so comfy, oh so amazing... beautiful
oh yeah, watched thursday's Drop In on fridaynight. brilliant. that was the craigieburn track that first one with the offcamber scree then the rockin' twistie turnie through the bush. beautiful and Naseby, oh, naseby. i've SO gotta get down there again.
So, anyway, i wrote the local ranger Nick about the trail... I said "Hi Nick,
I realise you must have been busy with setting up the trails for the Crater Rim, but just wondering if anybody's going to get a weed-eater down the old bowenvale track or the upper fenceline track in Vic Park anytime soon? i was actually concerned about the fire risk last time i came down the Upper Fenceline, cos disks get pretty hot, and the long grass on the track was extremely dry. and the last couple times i've ridden rode down the oldschool bowenvale track its been pretty over grown too... (the last time the Thistles were very bad, but they've died down now (rode it yesterday))
i realise neither of these trails are particularly heavily used, in fact, in the last few years, i dont think ive seen another cycle on the bowenvale once. i still really enjoy it though. but i think a lot of the older riders have forgotten about it and the younger ones dont know about it. anyway, just thought i'd see, are they in the loop as far as mowing resources are concerned?
cheers."
To which he replied:
Hi swtchbckr (not really, but you know what i mean),
Thanks for getting in touch.I was hoping the sheep grazing in the area might have kept it under control. I agree with you that it has become a bit of a forgotten track but its still fun to ride. I've booked it in to be cut in the next fortnight. I'll get Upper fenceline cut as well.
RegardsSenior Ranger- CCC

tuesday fast

Limited time tuesday, had to be home by 18hrs45, so left at 1710, Blitzed across town and up rapaki in 35 mins, then round summit and down through vic and out bottom of Bowenvale in only half hour ... i'm thinkin thats a record time. with the boys its normally about 33 mins from Steves to top of rapak. sweeeet... i burned up rapaki in a gear (middle ring and 3rd down) higher than usual, and rode the single track reeally sweet. came down through the rockgarden to the gums, zigged and zagged through them, down dazza's, then turned right at the 40fter, and down the next bit into what i'm gonna call "the darkness" from now on (where "my favourite" comes in), out that little valley, round the sidler to K2, and bombed down the main valley road, nice wee bit of air on the yumpy... stopped in and talked to Kris for a few minutes cos i was making good time, then hauled ass across town home in just over 10 mins. home by 18hrs40. sweet.

sunday morgans

Met at steve's, the usual suspects, Pete, Andrew, Steve, Tony and me. up rapaki, i was cruising nicely. had a few chats with people on the way up. one guy asked me what i'd had for breakfast, Fish i said... cos i had, had Red Cod for breakfast. yummy. then turned left around the singletrack, i thought i was getting a flat back tire, but it was fine... along summit, overtaken by a sporty dude training for CraterRim, on a Cannondale. down the single track from Castle rock, i ROCKed, flying down it, running really smooth at the mo. then we plummetted off down the Bridle Path, (where i'd walked up the other week), town side, wasnt as loose as usual, seemed to keep quite a good speed on and didnt feel out of control like usual. then peeled before the bottom onto the Morgans Valley Track, which, tho is officially a walking track, fails to mention this until you're already committed... and, when dry, its a perfect bike track, bar some steps near the end. anyway, its a nice wee track, without too much altitude, sidles around the valley above the new subdivisions in the Heathcote valley, and ends at the Heathcote Quarry. then there's a ton of steps to ride down, tho, i managed to only ride on about three steps total, riding to their sides... then back around the riverside of the Ferrymead industria, and i treadled home from Radcliff St. quick ride, i think i was home by 11.30. Bloody hot day too. 29 or 30.

walkin' huffin' skiddin' chuffin' blowin'...

well, following that last sunday ride, on the wednesday i ended up having to go to Lyttelton to pick up Otis, so i biked across to the Bridle Path and walked up it, 20 mins bottom to top, then, and this is on my town bike, not the switchback, let a bit of air out of the slicks at the top, and proceeded down into Lyttelton cautiously. quite hairy, but it is how we used to do it, what with the vee brakes and the rigid forks etc... anyway,
went to little ak for weekend, took swtchbck, rode it around the property but thats about it. i did take it up to Chorlton to try to get a celphone coverage, (which i didnt) but had the dogs with me so couldnt speed back down. anyway, one loop i had going fast in the orchard ended up sending me over the handlebars... that was fun.

on tuesday, nelson and me rode, met at bottom of rapaki, there was a HOWLING easterly blowing, a warm muggy one, we turned left at the top. i was huffin and a chuffin to keep up with him, he always pushes me harder than i would myself, whereas riding with the other guys i'm always taking it easier than i would by myself. anyway, bombed down richmond hill. oh, before that we trialed the new John Britten Reserve trail, just being built, not open yet, but i figure, riders riding it makes it. shows the builders where to build it... so, bombed down Greenwood (called it Richmond Hill at the time), then down Capt Thomas. i baulked on only the first of the doubletroubles... and there's a stupid new set of posts just before you're about to enter the pines near the bottom... and i lost my endcap on the eggbeaters, so a service kit is on order. so yeah, major tail wind home across the causeway, but linwood ave was tiring. took a good 20 minutes longer than that time i did it myself in 2 hours... must have been the head wind along the top, and i did stop and re tune the gears at the top of rapaki too...

riding tomorrow with the usual suspects.

sunday

across to steve's, up rapaki, Andrew, Chris, Hubby, Steve, Tony and me. turned right, round the summit, into all the on-coming plebs training for the big Crater Rim race, everybody friendly for a change, including a rude dude on a red Epic who we'd seen tuesday before. his blonde girlfriend had overheard us bitchin'n'moanin' about him then, so perhaps she'd put a word in his ear... anyway, then we rode Thomsons to kiwi, up road to the top section of Marley's, or the Flying Nun if ya wanna call it that, which they seem to insist on, then down Worsley's. I bombed it. fantastic run. leaped of heaps of leaps, and left all behind in my dust. did a beautiful big long squirly sliding skid at the bottom. it was awesome. then down the road, and we just clipped 80kph before the last bend... then back to tony's for a coffee (instant) and muffin's we'd picked up from that cafe at Craycroft shops.

not riding tonight, might bike to lyttelton tomorrow night, or have a ride on thursday, or both.

tuesdy's regs plus and minus some...

Following monday's ride, tuesday night rolled over to Steve's, to find Mark, Hubby, Tony, Andrew (who then bailed to the hospital to see his boss), Andrew's brother Chris, and Steve... so, the rest of us cruised up rapaki, round summit, checked out the top of the DH race track (which we'd watched last saturday), then did the gums, dazza's, back along the nats dhtrack from the 40footer and down through the gulley (where i'd ridden up to the night before), then out the valley. came incredibly close to a crash at the bottom of the washout drop, where the dh track hits k2... i was gonna crash, but i luckily kept one foot clipped in and kinda hung off the back of the bike til i got the speed undercontrol... niiice. boooked it down the valley track. and home into a hella easterly... muggy.

should be riding sunday. longrange forecast is gooood.

week or so...

last tuesday morning on the way to work i had a bit of an off. crossing Fitzgerald ave, on the median strip, i was scoping the traffic and there was a gas bottle truck coming but nothing else, and he was far enough away that i was gonna make it across no problem, so i was bookin', and suddenly wham i'm flying through the air and landing on the centre lane, came down hard on my right hand side, scrapin' crap out of my right wrist, elbow and knee... and bruising my thigh nicely with my keys... picked myself up, dragged myself and bike off the road, SOOO lucky nothin' coming to wipe me out... one asshole old guy commuter didnt even say a word, and a stupid bitch walking commuter went by without a word either... scumbags, not even a "are you okay?" what IS it with people these days... anyway, carried on to work going ouch ouch ouch. got some firstaid kit supplies applied once at work. then tuesday night, pete was a bit wiped out by the heat so we did a town ride. from petes, along river road all the way in cambridge tce, to vic sq, bit of tooling about there, was a dude on a banshee showing off jumping off big drops that we werent even considering. then onwards in to artscentre then round hagley, north, and back along deans ave edge, into rotunda area, hung by a bench by the "wrestlers" then rode all the way back along the river and i went home early...

no rides over weekend, but last night, headed out about 6. rode across to and up Farm Track, round summit to vic park, down the upper fenceline track. at the top, after only a small quantity of descent, i stepped off the back on a steep section and singed a nice wee crescent of disk tat on my right calf... yowch! carried the bike back up that section and rode it again, cleanly, and on down the track.., a bit further down i was seriously concerned my hot disks were gonna torch the long dry grass... pedalled back up one of the fire roads a ways, towards the nationals track, then down the little valley single tracks, and then out and round and across to k2 and down and out bowenvale... into the easterly home.

off out tonight too, up rapaki from steves.

Sunday Flatsville

drove from Pete's to Sumner, rode up Capt Thomas, hot hot morning, still and hot, cooking up the trail. cleaned a couple sections i dont think i usually clean, still a few bits ya just gotta get off on. rested in the shade of a rockface at top of Evans. then attacked the Godley singletrack. got a lot of that first section, cept my rear cogs were slipping a bit (tuned that out later). Parts are vastly improved. then on the first major descent, i thought my balance was all up the wop, the bike seemed to be squirrelling all over the place in the ruts and i felt quite off. got to the bottom, and actually found my front tire at probably 10 or 15 psi... swapped out the tube, was a leaky old patch. pump pump pump and carried on riding, flying down the next descent and oh shit, its happening again, bike very hard to control, only the flat happened quicker this time and i ended crashing quite spectacularly not being able to scrub enough speed off in time. walked ran down the rest of the hill to bottom and got a tube off Tony. this time was a pinch hole from a spoke hole i think the rim tape had slightly shifted on the last tube change and so had punctured. no worries for me from then on, we rode up and over the last hill to the godley carpark where the boys wanted to top up water. got down there, the others had gone ahead, and steve is there with bike upside down. his derailleur all munched up, chain twisted as, hanger snapped. his back wheel had locked up on the way down the hill. MUNTY. so, they tried as they might to singlespeed it, but the chain was just too twisted in too many spots. so, steve rode the anaconda with no chain. did mighty well too. you dont need a drivetrain to get down a hill. then we all pedalled ahead over from taylors to slumner and tony went back for him in his ute while pete nick andrew and me had coffee. other riders, hubby, and nathan, and of course steve..

Gun Emplacements

the usual suspects, S P T A and me drove to Taylor's carpark, rode round the boulder bay track, first time i've done it in daylight, so interesting to see the sheer drops to the left in places down to the surf and rocks... up the head to the top where we rode out to the newly accessible WWII gun emplacements that are up on the top of Godley Head. Interesting area, with lots of info about the site, and you can get down into the magazine store, which is way under ground, and lights automatically. sat up there and had a beer, then rode back round single track to top of the Anaconda. met up with a slightly older dude on an older specialized from Nelson, BC, we told him the way down. Pete crashed pretty big time on one of the last yumps on the 'conda, and totally taco'd his front wheel. had to take it out and bounce on it to get it to spin.

so, not the longest ride, and not the best, but good nonetheless...

Bottle Lake will be closed right now due to fires at both ends.

Sounds like...

...fun. long drive up coast, stopping lots for little man, picturesque beaches, etc... Waikawa. a night of rain, and then summer holiday. rode every one of the three days we were there, each morning while O slept. on the first day i met up with a guy on another Switchback! fantastic. he had a good set up, double front ring, instead of triple, and large disks. we rode together up this trail that started out interesting and got steeper and steeper, and him being young and fit made me feel old and fat and slow... i chuffed and chuffed eventually getting off and walking the last 20 or 30 metres up... to the top of Victoria Domain. he'd just come back from doing the Snout, so i went and did it. that was fun. tho you had to watch for walkers round every bend, tho i didnt see a soul on the final leg out to the snout and back... the snout, for those geographically interested is the point between Waikawa Bay and Picton harbour. Anth and me tried to fish off it last time we were up there. anyway, riding back up it was long, tho really only half an hour or so. maximum altitude is less than 180 m. but the ups are steep, full granny granny, big cog in back, smallest ring in front, granny granny... an exercise in keeping the nose down.

so, ended up just exploring that the first day, rode all the way through to picton the second on the Waikawa Picton walk/bike track, and back down the steep gnarley trail i'd ridden with the other switchbacker and then back up it to try to clean it, rode more, but still walked a couple switchbacks, then found more of the twisty singletracks in the scrubby bush behind the highschool and the new slobdivision. heaps of little twisty trails, so fun, not much altitude but what there is is steeeeeep. played in there, rode back. then friday rode the first bit of the snout again, and played in the twisties again...

Yesterday, Pete, Steve, Tony, Nathan and andrew and me rode up Worsleys, over marleys to Kiwi, up thomsons, down the doubleblack that kuts just before the gums, down dazzas then down a trail we havent ridden for ages into the gulley and out bowenvale... was fun, fast tho with lots of breaks. hot hot hot norwest day, hella headwind home for me. talked to Krs about new front tire, will put the Conti on the back... wanna get a Nevegal.

Exmass Excess...

ugh, sitting here, latish, mid holiday, with not enough riding behind me... soooo... dredging back into far history, before xmas, tuesday night, i believe Andrew Tony and me did rapak summit vicpark, i remember being on fire like the last capt thomas run...

saturday, xmas eve, steve et al a large group rode with Clint from Aus, rapak summit vic i believe. Al and me did rapak left to capt thom i recall, very good ride, caught a guy who'd caught us on the descent, thrashed him on the last stretch but when got out the bottom saw he wasnt running a front caliper!!! without that braking its no wonder i thrashed him out...

eat eat eat drink drink drink,
then wed's 28 a.m. rode with steve and Nathan, welcome back nathan, LONG time no ride... and we did rapak and left... down capt thom. coffee at .com good tail wind home, streamed a truck for a bit, but the others hadnt gotten on so i pulled out and waited for ages for them.

garden garden garden,
little ak, gnu yeah's eve, swim in bay, ride about on the old Phillips Roadmaster out to wharf and all over Little Brook.
and tomorrow, off to sounds, taking Swtchbck with.

Couple rides... couple weeks...

Sad, but only had three rides in the last two weeks. tonight will make four i guess. anyway, where am i. last i spoke with thee was that monday night i spun round rapaki and capt thom. well, didnt ride again for a week and a half, to Thursday last to be precise. Otis had his preschool Eczemass party at 5.30, so i got T to take my bike and gear in the car and i bussed thru straight from work. and then about 5 past 7 i left the preschool and headed up the Bridle path, Lyttelton side, rode the whole thing, road inclusive, and then onto the single track heading for Rapaki. that was all sweet, was a very muggy warm evening, overcast but not cold. took the craterrim walkway section from the Tors to the singletrack that blips round Witch Hill. then i rode up the Vernon singletrack above the road to the highest point, turned around and back down it, then down Rapaki and home. it was fun.

then sunday a bunch of 5 of us met at steves, we did the same loop as i did in my last post. up rapak, round summit over richmond down capt thom. once again, i was ON FIRE. sweeeeeet ass riding. stopped for coffee at Dot Com and then i departed a little a head of the boys as i had my olds coming for lunch. 20 mins, countem, 20 mins door to door, sumner to home. i thought that was pretty good timing.

tonight we're in for a quick ride ithink. not sure what. but sounds like steve's out.

excellence

well, i went for a wicked ride last night. from home, across to rapaki, up, turned left along singletrack, then road to castle rock, then singletrack to bridlepath, then road to mt pleasant then singletrack to evans pass, and capt thomas track to sumner, then home, all in 2 hours... haulin'! anyway, it was an awesome night, and there was this huge thunder cell out off little akaloa heads, just out to sea, was PISSING down out there, but nice and fine where i was. was surprised tho, when i got to sumner, the roads were wet and there had obviously been quite a downpour at some stage a bit earlier in the day. my riding was like a work of art. i was really on form. and felt good until i was almost home, then i started to flag a little... had one nearly off, down this wickedly tricky rock section on Capt Thomas, one of the bits that i've only ever ridden a couple of times, and i was millimetres away from going over the handlebars and over a cliff. well, a large bank with a steep hill below, woulda tumbled a ways, but was pretty low speed, so wouldnt have been a worry. but man, there's that point that you think there's no returning from, up on the nose of the bike, weight shifted to the wrong place, but i somehow managed to keep in under control and carry on riding... dodgey. its moments like those you live for, the adrenalin that kicks in afterwards only makes you faster and wickeder. very nice. just BOMBED it the whole way, fantastic, fantastic, fantastic...

thursday night quickspin

alone, again. rode across to rapaki, up, round summit down bowenvale, home. hour twenty or so. on way up rapak caught up to dude on Chapparel, doin' alright considering the weight of those things. chatted a bit. then i got going. cleaned singletrack nicely. and bombed the bowenvale. overGROWN, needs a clear, the grass hides the trail surface, and so you get caught out heaps. lower down well grazed but covered in milkthistle, spikey nasty on the legs and hands (tis tall). and then a bit of gorse, but thats par for the course.

T's gone to sydney, so 's just O and me til sunday. so, no rides.

sunday...

nigel no mates sunday, everyone else either away or off pissing up watching petrol and rubber burn at ruapuna. so, drove myself across to bowenvale ave, rode round to worsleys, up up up, nearly puked at top, but dabless all the way. then over marleys, down dyers, up into vic, down dazzas, back up the nationals track down to my 'favourite' down and out to bottom of valley. down to car. nice. didnt feel too bad. but at top of worsleys some xcgeek pulled up while i was still getting my breathback. on some light ass xtc with SID forks, and slightly older, but of the mega multisporter variety, the guy, not the bike. anywhoo, he rode off and i sat on his tail up the marleys track, tho he was fresher than me, for some reason, and i let him go. was gaining on him on the descent but never quite caught him and he went up at the kiwi, whereas i went down... dyers trail is sickypants bumpy. makes ya want fullsuss. once back at car, went and got veges, then we cleaned up the garage, new space now wilson's gone.

sunday and tuesday...

quick ride sunday afternoon, due to other commitments. drove across town. parked on a little known side street near the hills, and the Heathcote river, and headed up Farm Track. steepest puppy in the middle of the hills. relentlessly steep, i love it. caught up with some grommits, one of whom was on a nice full susser, a spec i think, but the fools had their seats too low, thereby making their ride up hell. they had another mate, further ahead, caught and took him too. rode the whole lot, they were walking bits. then on the summit two guys just flew past as i was just crossing summit road, so i hooked onto their tails and kept with them. one guy on a Heckler the other on a Jeckyll i think. good pace, i was pushin it. said as much to them too. we chatted at the road crossing, and then i stayed with them all the way round to Vic where i shot straight down, hung the left on the doubleblackdiamond just before the gums and dug it. then down dazzas and then out the nationals (pylon, rutsville) track. caught some niiiice air at the bottom on the jump, near the end of the valley track.

then tuesday night, assembled at Steves, to be told no pete, no steve, so just andrew andme and tony headed up rapak. tony's doing a bit better. had a mellow ride up, middle ring, and biggest in back, slow easy cruise... then round the summit to vic, lots of speed, and down i did the doubleblack diamond again, met the othertwo at the skidder site and we headed down dazzas and on down into the gulley. then out to k2 and down the rest. niiiice strong tailwind back across town to home, southerly, quite chilly, was wearing double merino and windproof vest most of ride. so. good couple of wee rides. i'm dying to get up Worsley's... sunday hopefully.

Tuesday nights standard

No sunday ride for me, on account of being at the Bach... Ah, Little Akaloa. took an old dunger bike over and left it there, its a Phillips Roadmaster, probably from somewhere in the 60's or 70's, but possibly older. anyway, its got 1 3/8ths tires, which i got two new ones of, and its well lubed and runs pretty good. i used to use it to commute, but its a slug. and its a singlespeed, quite a big gear, so nigh on impossible even to ride up the drive at the bach. took it for a spin up the road, into a howling southerly, and then coasted / sailed back down...

Tuesday night, the usual suspects(steve, tony, andrew and me), minus Pete, assembled at Steves at 6. we headed up Rapaki, i explored a little side track i'd been wanting to check out for a while, between the Manuka and the chute, there's a cattle track that leads up onto the bank, and near the manuka a drop down onto the track which has always looked rideable. with just the tiniest bit of work it could prove an interesting interlude to the rocketship ride rapaki usually is. then further up on the midlevel flats i rode every little rocky sidetrack. then, i raced up the last section, got to the top ahead of the boys, especially tony who was lagging waaaaay behind, and so i took off round the summit trail to the left to the first highest point, turned back. nice. so, well and truly warmed up. Andrew and me hit the single track while steve and tony dawdled up the road. the next section was fun. met a guy at the sign on the saddle next to sugarloaf who was on his new Reign. nice looking bike, and light. a LOT of bike for $3100... very nice. i'd caught him, he wasnt too quick. then we blitzed it round the next section, bombed down through the gums, down dazzas and on down the next bit into the gulley, with Tony riding nearly all of it, which is really really good for him. the final sidle track round to the trees and down to k2 was fast and messy. i took the drop of the nationals track where the sidler meets k2. then we bombed the rest of the way out. i was very tired riding home. got home and just crashed! hot bath. food. brrrr... couldnt shake the chill of the easterly from riding home. the bath fixed it tho... now i'm dying for another ride, and i think im wanting more and more an evil sovereign.
http://www.evil-bikes.com/structures_sovereign.htm
to me this would be an ideal "structure" upon which to transport myself at breakneck speed up and down the hills... at US$800-something, we're talking $12-1300 NZ at the mo. droool. then again, for $3000NZ i could score a pretty nice full susser?

Sunday Tuesday...

Sunday, bit of a southerly through, dampening things a little, from Steve's we rode singletrack along Heathcote to Mt Pleasant and up that road. not bad tarmac climb, steady as she goes. then onto the Richmond Hill Singletrack, oh, blissful joy. tight and well used, and not muddy like earlier in the year. i bombed it, leaving all in my dust. Pete filmed, caught some good footage of me leaving him behind. then down Capt Thomas, i cleaned for the first time EVER, Every single trickyspot. 100% of the track ridden. normally there is one or two spots i just dont ride, but i hammered it all. then out to Dot Com for a coffee, a Bundaberg Sarsaparilla and a date scroll. yum, then a lonnnng slog back home across causeway, humphries and linwood, with pete and Al.

then last night i rode across town to Rapaki, i over took most people, but this one guy overtook me, be in is late 40's, obviously a multisporter, competitive type, spinning fast and easy. i was choking, been a bit sick so not 100% at all. then round the summit, had a good spin round there, to Vic Park, then down and just as i entered the gums hung a hard left down the double black diamond that me and pete have only ridden once before, takes you out to the skidder site, its steeeeep as, ass hittin' the back wheel almost, then from skidder down Dazza's, then up the Nationals track and down to "my favourite" which i just bypassed and hit the mega downhill chute, out to the sidling valley track and down bowenvale. caught a guy in the private land spot, took him a bit further down. then home across town.

rode hard, got home pretty stuffed.