Thursday solo there and back again.

what a ride tonight. no word from Chris, so i got out on my own, drove over and parked up Bowenvale Ave about 7.20 and headed up the Old Skool, steepness getting the better of my unfit bod once or twice, but enjoying the cleanliness of the climb on the single up into the sunshine, then really enjoying the smoothed out clay surface under the pylons, its really taken the lurch out of that section. then on up the nasties, spinning out once or twice, not on my game. at one stop, watched some dh'ers on the lavaflow, walking and checking out sections, and a couple of guys bombing, looking spectacular taking mean lines and raarking up the dust in some of the last sunshine as they blitzed it - their woots echoing across the valley. i continued on my way up to the summit.

fiddled with fork tune as i crossed the road and hit up vernon realising the goodness of the fork change, getting my groove on down over the rocks around into the Rapaki catchment, flowing on down and down to the carpark, rolling through and onto witch hill trail where that one rock early on got the better of me, but cleaning up the rest and enjoying some of the new smoothness.

then onto the road and the schluff to Castle Rock. inspiring descent into the darkening valley, managing to dodge most little piles of fresh sheepshit, but managing to get splecked by one lot... smelly. made the top of the bridle and turned back admiring the carnage of the boulders and rockslide off the top of Castle Rock proper. then endured the good climb back up, big ring the whole way (36t (2x9)) and cleaning the last bit that often gets the better of me.

amazing the rocks piled up on the roadside, and the damage (now patched) where they'd fallen from the Tors etc.

getting cooler now on the descent. looked down at the walkway below the road and dreamed sweet singletrack memory dreams, but was a good boy and continued round, over the witch. got dimmer and dimmer as i climbed back up vernon. then crossed the road again and on round a bit of the traverse before dropping back down into the Old Skool, down the shortcuts, taking a bad line on the worst rocky section and bailing before crashing.

on down and into the sweet sweet singletrack, visibility getting pretty dim now, dusk really setting in, kinda fuzzing the bumps out of the trail almost. blitzed on down and out the bottom back to the car dead on 2 hours after i'd left.

Sweeeet