Wednesday Night Hunts Traverse Stooge (with bonus Whiplash Concussion (maybe?))

An excellent ride until the very end where 2 things almost ruined it... Dived in and was enjoying the crap out of the Dogparkcarpark trail when WHAM!!! a fucking tree branch stopped my head, wrecked my helmet and kinda gave me whiplash, and maybe a concussion?  I'm just not sure. Helmet is fucked, with imprint of branch poked into one of the vents, and the MIPS ripped from the shell.  The MIPS did it's job tho. 2nd thing is the water saturating, and wrecking, the oak forest. It's worse still than last week. 

Something cool. Rounding under Sugarloaf at the usual testing spot 2 guys were stopped and one of them said, "Wicked bike!"  I said, "thanks." And the other follows with, "that's awesome!"

Anywho, up the usuals, 19th etc, both Thomsons, back up the road, dropped into Vic, down around the jumpies, up Worm onto the Traverse for the spin across here (where I encountered the love for the Stooge), dropped into Four Pause, on down across the landing strip trail (Alley Express), down to the 4wd, then back up to top of Huntsbury, back on the Traverse for a nice spin across there, dropping through the jumpies, down the rabbit paddock, rocks, gums all the way through, below road from 19th, then into Dogparkcarpark (235) where the head injury happened.  The jump in the Oaks is undoable given the landing is a quagmire.  I pushed up through the crappy sticky bushes above it (where the ground is dry), and finished off with a nice blast all the way down to H'Ell, clamber to road, and home.  Ouch.

12.7kms 442m wrought 

Satur-heated Greenwood Godley Taylor's Godley Captain

Scorcher today. Parked in McCormack's as Nelson pulled up, and we took his car to top of Mt Pleasant Road.  Into the OG Greenwood entrance, diverting into Sheepshit Alley for a weird descent, then climbed around up to the ruins.  Into the bony-arse Greenwood. Heesh it was bony.   Pinging descent, ruts catching me weirdly.  My whole game was off, because I's in my new(ish) Ride Concepts shoes, and I've installed the cleats too far back, so my whole centre of gravity was off.  Kept catching my toes too.  Then into the rocky Godley start from Evans, not something we've done for ages, and quite hard work for the first few hundred metres, but gradually better as you go. Ruts were particularly problematic today.  Good blast once in the descent for Livingston - weaving okay, but never quite letting it all go.  Over to Breeze was a breeze. 

Then up the road a little to hit Anaconda in full, tentative and sketchy in the upper reaches, finally letting it go a bit lower down.  I seemed to keep ending up on Nelson's tail for a while, but he got away on the Snake's Tail.  Down into the Taylor's Carpark, loaded up some water, considered queuing for an ice cream, but I got water instead.  Incredibly busy down here.  Next, we toodled around the carpark seeing if there was a new entrance for the new trail up, but it was just the old exit for the entrance, so hit up the new MT1 and MT2, which were very good.  At the top we headed up the old walking track we used to ride regularly (last time was 5 years ago) to the paraglider launch site - it's getting some development so hopefully they'll chuck in a few more zigs and zags, cos fuck is it steep at the top.  

Along the road a little, and back up into Godley.  My brain was starting to fry and weakness was setting in hard.  Muppetted back to Evans, not terrible flow, but exhausting, then dropped into The Captain for the win. So exhausting but good riding. Finally around the flat back to the car. Chucked my bike in the back, Nelson's on the back and up the hill we went to drop him back to his car at the top.
 

Unmitigated 25 kms, 770 climbed -with bonus total 1170 descended

Thursday's Stooge; Drainage and a Beverage

Found the 'good' Ames Shovel in the garage, finally, and cruised up for a dig wee session in the shade of the oaks (28 degrees).  Stood and cranked most of the way up to the DogParkCarPark, dropped in and wove my way down, stopping at the jump to attempt to tidy a bit more drainage after walking up with the dog a couple days ago.  Sooo much water and mud - hopefully the Council will find the leak this time. Really don't know whether I've achieved much, as the ground is so saturated. Did what I could then cruised down through the oaks and climbed up to the road again, onwards upwards to the usual 19th/Skidder combo, diverting for a twist to ride up through the gums - instigating a fair bit of pushing... Out top of pines and across Rabbit to the sunset seat whereupon a NOV was consumed in the Norwest wind, and a Hercules from Scott Base tracked. 

Finished the tasty beverage and I was off up to the Thomson's both (the 2nd after a moment of indecision), then back up the road, into the blasty jumps, Rabbit, Rocks, Gums all the way to the gate, back up to Skidder, 19th, new tack (on old line) over dropping to Latter's, staying on this out to dog park and dropped into the 235 again. Walked the jump muck, and used a stick to try more drainage, then enjoyed the final weaving blast home. 

7 something kms, 215 m clambered. Love that bike.

Sunday Post-Poteriteri Field-Power Athwart the Tops and back

Mint ride today. On the Jeht, toodled up through Vic and across the Traverse as far as the Bridle Path - taking in all the singletrack to Castle Rock and back again. Seemed to just keep requesting power and receiving it, even on the way back... A week in the field (this was day five) really does wonders - walking through rough forest 8 hours a day for a week.  Jeht rode very nicely and I completely cleaned the Tors with no dabs.  A runner girl had gotten out of my way just where it's rockiest and steepest towards the end, and I said to her, "this is where I usually dab" and lo, I didnt!  Magic.

Must say tho.  Trail Etiquette...  for fuck's sake people.  Learn some fucking sharing skills and think before you drop in, morons.  And remember, typically, uphill has right of way.  Look the fuck ahead before you hit the downhill sections of the Traverse in case someone is just there about to finish the fucking climb.  If it's near the bottom I'm happy to pull up and let 2 or more riders through, but if it's near the top, fuck you, pull up and fucking wait, you cunts.

besides ill-mannered dickheads, a nicely trundled 20 km with 730 m of altitudinal gainage.

Munting Friday Stooge.

Killer of a ride today. Absolutely sucked every ounce of energy from me.  

Headed up to Skidder, drank some water, refilled, then dropped down into CAP, spotting Toka, which I'd never done before, and heading in, given it leads to Askins and lower Gungho, both of which I knew.  Well...  it's not very long, in no time flat you're on Askins, jumpity jump, then eventually I peeled off into lower Gung-Ho, which was more my style.  The combo should be called Tokaskungho... 

At the bottom I had a rest then headed down through the carpark and out into the wetland tracks, following my nose out to Worsley's Rd.  Headed up this, grind grind grind up then dropped off into Farside, somewhere I'd not ridden for over 5 years - long time since.  All the way into the bottom of the valley and meandered down and out to Penruddock, then over Happy Home, cruising from here into the wetlands area, finding my way across towards the Quarry park.  

In here, drinking heaps and refilling again, and up to Download, then climbing C2, Crocodile, Low-Road, Siberia and finally the long and painful grind up Kennedy's. Heesh, what a bastard. Across the Summit Rd, and climbing up the Mt Ada track, surprisingly long way to where the crater rim track crosses, peeling left here for a fun blast down to the saddle, then onto the road to cruise around and enter Lower Nun for a hefty rockstrewn descent.  Surprisingly the Park was shut by this stage, but I guess it was 6.30ish.  

Up the Summit into the top of Vic Park for the usual fun, down around the jumpies, down the rabbit, into the rocks, gums, pop and weave all the way down to 19th, then road from here to dogparkcarpark and entered the overgrown ways around and through lots of lovely bermy fun, good jumps, and nice flow out to the very bottom.  Clamber, road, home.

Substantial 25 kms with 806 m climbed - no wonder I'm so stuffed.

Off to Poteriteri early tomorrow.  

Wednesday Evening Pleasant Until Inclement Castle Return

Groovy ride with Nelson tonight.  Drizzle had started to push on the blustery wind on my way home from work, and I nearly called it, but he said it was fine at his place so we figured we'd manage...  

Got to his and it was fine, so bikes on his car we shunted up to Upper Major Hornbrook where it was humid and very windy, easterly/nor-easterly.  Hit up Britten, not really knowing where to until we got to the top of there...  Decided on Castle Rock, so off we went around top of Britten, staying high, then up Broadleaf to get to a nice blast down towards Cavendish.  Nelson OTB'd not long into the overgrown, twisty, rocky singletrack.  No harm done, so onwards, and I didnt get any flow on until we were on the long traverse towards the west, nice tail-wind behind.  Nearly lost it on the fateful corner of time's-past, but kept it reigned in and we were over the stile and down to the saddle in good time.  

Up the ziggy zaggy to the top of Cavendish, around behind the building and into the steppy steppy rockville down to Bridle-top.  All good.  All fun.  Although I dabbed a fair chunk of some sections.  As we climbed to Castle the cloud lowered, the wind pushing hard, and we dropped into slicky rocks and drizzle driving into the eyes making for some seriously blurry descent.  Sketch was the way.  Greasing gingerly around the hairpins and between, then Nelson powered off on the climb while I was committed to muppetry, slip-pinging all over the rocks as I ascended, rolling out to the road to where he was waiting.  

We ventured around under the gondola.  Nice and calm out of the wind around here, then full facial blast around the corner, but only briefly - finding that a little further up the road it was sweet calm again.  Weird wind direction.  The drizzle certainly wasnt relenting tho.  Low visibility up around the road through the cutting, a couple of cars encountered, then dropped off into Britten, for a keep-it-to-the-lowest-common-denominator roll around in the slick rocks.  Full blast wind around the outside edge, then down the new(ish) sprayed in trail to the VeeTwin descent, which we just took back to the car, wetter and wetter as we descended.  No mudguard on Nelson's bike meant his face was splecked up good.

Surprisingly miserly 10 kms, but with 457 m climbed, not a bad climb:distance ratio

Saturday Morning Unintentional Reverse Enduro

Limited time due to chores, so headed up on the Jeht.  Before 19th there were a bunch of riders and organisers heading in.  "What's happening today?"  "Enduro, you can join in if you want?"  "Thanks, but I'm limited in time"  and I continued on my way over 19th, an through Skidder which was getting set up with sun-shelters and lots of people.  Good climb up the grunt and up through to the top of Vic, taking Thompsons #1 down, then back up the road, pushing a good pace.  Off down and around over the jumpies, and out across the rabbit paddock into the Rockgarden.  One THWUNK in the rear end and I thought, oh, that didn't sound good, pedal through top of gums and around and, uh oh, back end's getting washy...  Damn it.  Total flattage.  No gear, just water bottle.  So...  Started walk-running down.  Tape in gums directing the racers down my usual way, so I ducked under it and took the short version down to the left.  Down to the jumpy trail from the left, following it down, keeping away from main tracks all the way out to 19th then below road, Taiwharaunui, dogparkcarpark, lovely, shady walk through here, then out 'To Harry Ell' and down home.  

Ride up, walk down.  Sucky.  (193 m climbed tho)