Tuesday Evening Wandering

Too much other life getting in the way and I hadn't even realised it was a whole week undone.  

Short jaunt up in the local trails with Nelson tonight. Up road, over 19th, Skidder aind into Upper-Rooted, not a lot of progress made in the bit I've ducked out on, with stumps still in the ground, but push a little further up and the trail is all but finished, bar maybe 2 corners.  The final exit is practically done, and they're even extending it to join the wee zig zag feeder return for BrakeFree.  Topped out Vic, turned around in the carpark and dived off down jumpies, back up Worm, and dived down into Fenceline, pelunking down here, Romey, and into the bottom.  

Back into Uprooted, all the way up to Skidder again and this time down Shazza's, across into Pono's, which felt like aaages since (which was a surprisingly similar route - nothing new under the sunset).  Out at the 23/Texaco, and this time into the walking track (Eastern Valley?), nicely nicely bar the longish step section (which really wasn't that bad, and out to a hairpin where, "hang, on, what's this?"  A new section of track heading across and slightly down into the Sneaky oaks, even with a brand-new bridge installed.  Quick wander, and speculation where they must be taking, then rode up from fence jump, around to climb back Uprooted to Skidder. Light was going, and I was taxed by the climbs, so we headed out the road from Skidder, and ducked into Heavenly Sleeps... down my super familiar homeward trails.

Only 7.5 kms and 350 m clamberated, but was nice to get out.

Quick Sunday Local Pruning Spin

Sweet wee ride with the pruning saw to tidy a few stray branches about the place.  Headed up the road, over 19th, then dropped over Dazza's for a biff baff boff.  Then climbed across and dropped into that wee section of Pedalfine that had the branch across it.  Someone had kinda taken care of it, but not done that good a job, so I got to it with the saw and cut it off near the bottom, then cleared it right out of the way.  Continued my way down here into the bottom of the gulley, nearly losing it in slick muddy dirt.  Into Uprooted, with it's nice new carved sign,

climbing all the way up and out to Skidder, then into the new section, which was about where I'd left it last time, a couple weeks back.  I knew they'd been working on it so I didnt understand until I was further up the grunter and I could see they've been working on the middle-upper section isolated.  Not a bad idea that - stop people riding it before it's ready, by not connecting the bits being worked on.  

Climbed to top of Vic, headed down Thomson's #1 and turned back up it to the top again.  Then down around the jumpies, down Rabbit into Rocks, Gums, down and out.  Into Heavenly and had a lovely spin down here, cruising nicely.  Where T crashed the other week, I stopped and cut off a wee stump that's always bothered me, then took off a piece of the branch that took out my light the other week, whiplashing me.  Continued, more nice riding, then in Sleepy I stopped and cut a few more pokey-outy stump-branches, which will improve the flow both directions.  Downwards again, through, and in the final corner before dropping to H'Ell I stopped and explored for a way through.  Feel bad tackling this section because there's so much re-gen going on.  5-fingers and lancewoods all self-sown coming up...  Might just leave it and live with the clamber.

Short'n'sweet, 6.4 kms, 250 m climbed

Sunday, Speedbombing the Ghosts of Lyell.

Packed out of Carter's Beach and hooned up to Lyell to take in the first 11 kms of the Old Ghost. Very nice it was too!!  

We treadled our way up and up and up, in and out of valleys, checking out the historic sites all the way.  I was remembering back to the very first time up here on one of the boys' bike trips, a trail of lore for me at the time, and just started-on as what is now the Old Ghost Road.  At the time they were barely even across to the Ghost Lake and wondering how to get the next stages built.  

Tra'y loved the ride, the e-power helping her so much.  I just plugged away at it, remembering the first day of my full Ghost trip with Nelsie and the Wellingtonians.  They'd let me lead and I'd felt the pressure from behind and tried to keep a stupid pace in a far too hard a gear, blowing up in about 10 minutes.  Someone else took over and pretty much grannied it and we all slowed down and it was much easier.  I took that advice this time and kept it slow and steady.  I was therefore surprised when I spotted some riders ahead, and proceeded to catch them up!  Overtook; a couple of slightly older ladies from Wanaka, heading for the Lyell Saddle Hut; and left them behind.  Maybe a couple of kms later, we made it almost to where I'd gotten the first time with the PFMTBC crew, nearly to the slips, just past the 11 km marker.  Stopped in a sunny aspect, had a snack, and then turned to head back.  

In this pic, I'd stopped for T and she'd ridden past and I just caught her (see the red)

Not long until we passed the two ladies again and the bomb began.  What a flow.  Speedbomb lived up to its name.  It handled gloriously, so much fun.  I'd rocket forward, careening down the straights, hangin' on around the corners, always keeping an eye ahead for climbers (none).  The most fun possible.  I'd stop at the bottom of a straight and wait for Tra'y to appear, check she was good and then blaze again.  Sometimes there was minimal wait, she was loving it too.  Sometimes there was a long wait and I'd wonder if I was gonna need to turn back to see, but then she'd appear.  Fun times, and then they were done.  Across the bridge and back up to the car.    

Amazingly, somehow, 1129 m of climbing over a total altitudinal difference of maybe 800 m (really not sure where the rest of it came from).  Gloriously beautiful.

Coastal Kawatiri, Carter's to Charleston with a Comeback on a Cooperating Wind

Left the unit at 9.30 and headed out to the beach into the wind south to take in the Kawatiri Coastal Trail.  

Composed of a few quite long, quite boring sections of farmland, but also some very lovely regen bush bits full of birds and reportedly with kiwi in them. Some spectacular coastal formations, incredible seascapes, and lovely bush.  First bush section was from the Cape Foulwind was very nice, as was the largest bit in the middle.  River crossings were pleasant swing bridges, and there were various shortish sections of nice boardwalks too.  All very nice.  

Only complaint; in the bush at one stage the overwhelmingly disgusting smell of dairy effluent permeated everything.  It somehow got into my nose and just wouldn't shift.

Heading home was incredible.  The tailwind just powered me along and we made very good time considering the distance and how rinsed I was from the Mokihinui the day prior.  

Super easy trail compared to yesterday, reflected in the 68 kms with only 489 m climbed. Head wind was hard heading there but the tailwind home was perfection. Home at 4.45, so a pretty long day. 

Friday Ghosting Forks, Mokihinui GOATs

Awesome ride today, with Tra'y on the Electric Cooker and me on the Stooge. We were the only car to park at the Mokihinui end of the Old Ghost Rd, and in we rode. 

Initial climb followed by instant bliss.  "This is the best thing in the world!" I holla'd back to her.  So nice.  Then, onto the end of the road, down to the gate and onto the trail proper.  It was beautiful and spectacular and the weather held and the river roared, or was eerily quiet. It all felt so good.  Even the climbing wasn't terrible.  Not horribly tech.  Speedbomb loved it; it carries momentum so well, rolls over everything so nicely.  Couple hours to the Specimen Hut, so many good views of the river, roaring or quiet and sedate, quite varied.  Steep drop offs, in places, and Tra'y had a few scary moments.  She ended up with some quite juicy bruises from nooby mistakes.

Managed to get all the way to Forks Hut. Ostensibly 20kms in (but our total of 37 might beg to differ slightly). 1226 m climbed tho, so that's quite something given the lowest point was 22 m and the highest was 188 m. Long tho, Started at 8.30, 11 at the Forks Hut, 11.15 departure, 1.55 back at the car. 2.5 hrs each way, pretty much... 

Follow-Up Rooting

Short rest at home post eeb ride, and decided I needed some more, and I was keen to see how far the Vollies got on the next section of Uprooted. So, headed out and up on the Stooge for a wee jaunt.  Popped into the DogParkCarpark entrance to climb Sleepy and up to the walk track, then below road to 19th.  Up through the gate and climbed the singletrack to Skidder, then straight into the new Uprooted extension.  Wow.  Surpassed expectations; incredible job. I do regret not joining in, but it just wasn't gonna work. Other priorities, ie a TFC Planting that would have taken my volunteer precedence, but that also got overridden by time spent with T on our interesting urban exploration. 

I climbed it to as far as they got, and then pushed up the steps of the walking track it parallels, then up the top of the grunter out to Brakefree then last climb to the top.  Loop around the carpark and back in, down over the jump, then usuals, rabbit, rocks, pines, gums all the way down.  Heavenly Heavenly, then sleepless Sleepy, Hollowed out all the way down.

Sweet f a travailed (5 kms) and 178 units of bugger all climbed.

Saturday Eeebs about Town, Cameron's for lunch

Sweet eeeb ride with my missus. Dropped some cookies off to the olds, then meandered to Riccarton Bush market via the backstreets of Somerfield/Spreydon, through Church Square and Hagley Park edge.  Then up to Uni for an architectural wonderlast.  Feeling peckish, we detoured across to the Fendalton shops for coffee and a scone, then detoured back through to Uni, Staff Club, Halls, byways to The Avonhead, and across to Sockburn, some bikeroute in that strange triangle to the Sockburn Roundabout.  Footpath around the caryards and up-and-overbridge to Cameron's Japanese Family Restaurant, the old Burger building.  

I had a very nice Pork Bone Ramen, but Tracey's Karaage Chicken wasn't so great (affecting her badly later).  We crossed busy Main South, stopped in at Mi Woolies, then alongside Wigram old-airfield and took the Wigram Drain, under the motorway, through Nga Puna Wai grounds and downstream on the Heathcote to Sunnyside Hillmorton, Domain Tce bike route meandering past Pioneer then through to Bengal, Delhi, Lady Poison, Hacked up home.

Electrifying 33 kms, and just the 278 m (most of which is our hill).

Sunday's Cavendish Coffee Stop

T and me headed up, her on the Charge again and me on the Jeht.  I had to walk the worst of the grunter because I need a new drivetrain (and my legs were super tired from going up it 3 times yesterday). 

Hit Worm onto the Traverse with lots of stops for oncoming traffic (and meeting Pete and Alistair at the top of Lavaflow).  Up onto Vernon for a nice flowy blast (stopping occasionally to make sure T was okay, she was).  Then I did Witch while T took the road under, then together around to under the Tors, then we tried out her towing me on the climb to Castle, which was good, although hard on my arm.  Then I hit Castle for a nice blast, riding well, and together we rode round under the gondola to Cavendish Saddle, and up the hill to the top station to get a coffee and enjoy the beautiful day, and view with all the tourists. 

From here, T headed back down the way we'd come, and I headed around the back of the building and down the Crater Rim, biff boff baff on the steps and rocks, meeting T at the Bridle-top (and getting a clap from a kid who watched me negotiate the rocks at the end). She gave me another tow up the Summit from to Castle-top, then it was a nice coasting roll to Rapaki (skipped Witch - I was tired after yesterday), then another tow up around most of Vernon. 

Onto Traverse for the hoon towards home, into the jumps, down rabbit, into the rocks - which T handled spectacularly, then gums, again, but my usual way here (she only walked that one corner), then all the way home.  In the steepest bit in the first Heavenly Creatures section, T had a weird wee crash, ending up pinned by the bike and her own leg.  Peaky ankle and knee... Good flow from here tho - but she was hurtin' and knackered.

Substantial 22kms and a not insubstantial 880 m supersumed