Sunday, Flow and Punishment. A Stooge Odyssey

Dropped my car at the bottom of Soleares, then we took Nelsie's car up to top of Mt Pleasant Rd - giving us a 400 m advantage. I was on the Stooge. 

From the car, we rode straight round and up Broadleaf, whereuponst, the battle ensued... It's such a capable bike, but man the peaky rocks tweak it up.  Mammoth effort required to float over everything so you end up getting beaten around.  Still lots of fun, and the smoother sections are a dream.  Down the upper greenwood Nelso got ahead, but I kinda started catching up again, whipping through the bermy tussocks.  Above the ruins we bumped into Finlay, and Jo and Ben and a couple others I didnt know.  They were walking Sumner to Lyttelton.  Took off again and hit Greenwood.  Surprising how well I handled this.  Kept pretty good speed and Nelson never got too far ahead.  Some bits were a total beating.  Hauled up after Gloomy and had a short rest, then got going again.  Surprisingly good flow down this next section, and I took the single x dropover, around into the swoopy zigs and zags I was staying right on Nelson's tail until one rockgarden.  Then last blast to Evans was a hoot.

Onto Godley, dab-walked the rocks at the start but cleaned everything else out there, nice flow to Livingston, where we stopped and watch a para-sailer wafting back and forth, grabbing an uplift, sliding across and down, then back around.  Looked cool.  Good climb followed over to Breeze, turned around and climbed back up.  Sweet.  Then back up from Livingston, bit of a grind, but maybe better than the farmtrack from the road, and then into the flow back to Evans.  Once past the rockwall it's such a blast.  I had one very sketchy moment in here, hoo-daddy!, then the rocks towards the end were punishing.  

Onto the road, through the pass and into das Kapitan.  Again, flow, and punishment.  Cleaned everything I didn't expect to, although I took a nana line around one of the drops I normally do.  Great blast.  Past the No Entry sign (they're new and obviously everyone's ignoring them) and into what has to be one of my favourite sections of trail in the Port Hills.  Such a blast.  One hard bottom out I thought might flat me, but turned out okay.  And the final sections were a dream through pines.  

Finally, out onto the road and a nice cruisy meander back along the coastal pathway.

Initially forgot to turn off MMR unti we'd driven back up to Nelson's, but snipped it now, only, a little early, but close enough.  A valid 22ish kms, and around 360 m climbed overall...

Saturday Travis Ebike Planter

Final planting of the year, planting trees for Canterbury at Travis Swamp so I ebiked there much faster than I expected... 

Forgot to map my outward journey: Dyers, Colombo, Malcolm, Martin, Eastern, Wilson's, Charles, Grafton, Olivier's, Worcester, Rowecliffe, Kerr's, onto the glorious new red zone Coastal Pathway from the Rowing sheds. New bridge to New Brighton Rd, then Anzac to Travis. Such a direct route, practically a straight line! 

Did the planting, many great plants in the ground and nice networking, then scoffed 3 sausages and a couple hash browns and headed home, this time sticking to the new pathway all the way to Medway bridge where I stayed on Avonside Tce side around Jet's old sniffing ground, after the houses were gone.  Quite an emotional journey around here, melancholy for the huge loss of humanity that had lived their lives right through there for so many years.  Then Stanmore to Nursery to Wilson's and Eastern all the way round Beckenham loop, through the school and back up the hill home, ending with 16% battery left... I wasn't scrimping on power. 

17 or 18ish kms each way.  This was my pathway home. 

There was an attempt...

Broken ride last night.  Stooge BB needs replacing, and I only received the new cassette for the Jeht yesterday, so haven't chucked it and the new chain on yet, so...  I dug out the Ritchey - first time since November last year.  Lubed the chain, pumped up the tires and I thought he was good to go.  Chucked it on the car and headed to Sumnervale to meet up with Nelsie.  

We headed in, it felt weird, like the front was gonna tuck under me, but that's just cos I haven't ridden it so long.  And I stopped and pumped the tires a bit more before we hit the hill.  Into it, around the first hairpin and !tink!, and my freewheel was freewheeling both forward and backwards.  Fuck.  Oh well.  That was it.  Turned around and scooted back to the cars.  I offered Nelso to continue on his own, but he opted for option 2 which was to go to Two Thumbs.  So, we went and had a beer instead of a ride.

Just for laughs, didn't even make a km and a half!

Sweet Sunday Stooge

Quick chuff up on the Stooge tonight.  

Cruised up the road, lovely mild late afternoon after a morning of working, and tired laziness after a late night.  Dropped down into Sleepy from DPCP and cruised up this, then up to 19th, backtracking to pass over the top of it, then through Skidder and took the 4wds across to pop down Cool Runnings.  Some funnings, then straight into Up-rooted, all the way to the top of both, then up to the carpark at top of Vic - basically saw no-one in Vic Park the entire time (there were a couple people rode down through Macros as I climbed, but no-one else on the trails).  Some ladies in the carpark were the first I'd encountered.  

From here, dropped off down, first jump, then down rabbit, into rocks, pines, gums, nicely nicely, then cedars, through to 19th, into Heavenly for a lovely buzz down through here.  

Out the last and up straight into the lower half, good flow, Sleepy Hollow then climbing, attempting a little bit of line building in the climb to the pylon, then down oldskool 235, new line, around onto old, drop, oaks, and final blast to H'Ell.  Clamber, road, home - in other words, all the usuals.  

A nice local schmooze about.  A needed, and welcome wee blast of 6.77 kms and 285 climbed

Wednesday Evening Local Loopies

Mellifluous spin tonight taking in all the tight (and right) local singletrack and putting together a nice loopy pattern. 

So cool tonight to realise the various works being done in the below-dog-park-carpark-zone have made a sweet wee extra loop.  Basically, the bit I've been diving into recently, before heading up the Sleepy Hollow section, is actually meant for climbing - and loops around under the pylon to head down what was the 235 - I'd been puzzling the nature of the curve under the pylon.  This now turns left before dropping down the rocks towards the wetzone, peeling back and dropping into the lower new section just below where it peels off above.  It's very cool (and reflected in the end of tonight's ride).  

So, headed up the road and dropped down into the oaks and up across the wetzone through the bypass track I'd cut (which is drying out, seemingly (finally!)) and that's where I found the new connection from the rock drop.  I headed in this, meeting and chatting with a runner and dog, climbed up into Sleepy, meeting and chatting with another walker with dog, then out and up the forest track to pop out at 19th.  Back along the road here, up and over 19th into Skidder, and into Upper-rooted, a bit more work done in here, then up to top of Thompsons #1.  Dropped down here, nice flow, down into the #2, with a good blast here too.  

Down through Dyers and up the Summit to the Nun saddle.  Left off over onto the Governor's Bay track for an interesting wee blast down here.  It's becoming a little overgrown in places, the natives are doing too well.  Across the level bit and into the techie climb.  Did really well for a start then started muppetting, cleaning some, walking a little, and clambering out the top.  

Dropped then, over onto lower Nun, finishing this off then back through Dyers and climbed up into the Thomson twins, topping out Vic.  Brief puffing loop around the carpark, much to the bemusement of the groms up here, and straight in, down for the jumpies, but!!! my brake hose came unstuck and started buzzing (grinding, more like) the tire.  Grahh!  Semi-repositioned it, but didn't trust it, so rolled down to the drinking fountain and asked some young'uns here if they had any zipties...  nope, but one girl had some excess electrical tape!  Yuss!  

Sorted, I headed down into the rocks/pines/gums for some fun times, then across Skidder and into Dazza's-start, peeling right into Razza's (bazzas) and popped off down these steep droppy roots, across the 4wd into the continuation, down through Macros and up onto the sideline, stopped to move a tree, down some newly cut bench (part of what turns out to be a walk track they're building from that new bridge Nelsie and me encountered), and straight into the bottom and into Uprooted ahead of a couple of young women.  Clamber clamber here.  Once up to the first corner, the girls had started and I felt their pressure (even tho I gapped them) all the way up.  Young and fit, obviously - cos they were chatting away.  Up at the Rad zone 4wd crossing a group of fellas entered the next section of Uprooted ahead of me and I followed them the rest of the way.  2 non- plus one e-bike gapping ahead, and another non-e rider struggling to stay ahead of me.  

Out through Skidder, across, and dropped into cedars for my usuals home.  Excquisite blast down Heavenly, it's really been trodden and scuffed, so nice and free of leafy detritus, great flow.  Out and up for the continuation, then great flow and into Sleepy and beyond, where rolled into the 'new' climb from the pines, up to the pylon (only one little section of a switchback levelling needs adding), and around into the oldskool '235' for a lovely hum down here and around and back and around the new onto the lower sections to roll down all the way through the oaks and then the last fast blast beauty out to H'Ell and my clamber to road (where I ripped out the broom bush growing on here) to rip down the road to home.

 

Transcendental 10.5 kms with 411 m upped

Saturday to Bain's Bay and Back

Staying at Moana with Steev'n'Meeg, 

Steev'n Me headed over the Arnold and along the lakeside Scenic Trail. Fun ride. Cruised until there was no more to cruise, washy deep gravelly sand impeding us to a walk, and we explored a little further, but couldnt see whether there was a way beyond.  Sign said "Track Closed from this point due to bridge removal."   Not really sure if this was true or not, but we weren't getting the next step to Mitchells.  So, Bain Bay it was.  Then we turned back and hooned.  

two bike pics, nice swampy forest ponding reflections behind...

Nothing tech, just a nice cruise. 20 odd km, with sweet F. A. (115 m) climbed.

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.