Wednesday Evening Marauders.

Good spin for Nelson, Bex, and me last night. We met at the bottom of Ramahana just after 5.30, to see a million nightlight helmetted people heading for Rapaki. We headed up Ramahana, Aotea, Huntsbury bitumen to the dirt and on up, clambering away as you do. From the dirt we could see a million nightlights traversing the Vernon trails and as we approached the top gate a million more across the Traverse.

We hit the traverse, me with my original DX handlebar mounted, and the new tightspotty DX helmet mounted, providing more than ample sufficiency of trail view ahead. Blatted round the trail, lights working reasonably well to start with. Later on, the handlebar mounted one started to play up, cutting out over rough stuff, leaving me with just the helmet light. I could turn it back on and it would go until the next rough section. Later in the ride, it would cut out, and cut back on randomly... dodgy connections i guess? Good blast round the Traverse, a couple of jumps i was wondering when i was going to land again. Finally, up to top of Vic and we paused for Bex to catch up and then hit Thomson and Thompson out to the Kiwi.

From here it was up the road, grinding away to top of Nun where we met a couple of other riders and made jokes about the recent hilarity and how we'd chase them down and ask 'politely' if they'd move etc etc leading to their fisticuffs with us. They took off and we had a brief food stop, sharing our bars with Becca, then i led off with my intermittent lighting excellence detracting slightly from my bliss... Blazed on down, pausing for a regroup at the halfway mark, then blazing on down to the Kiwi exit. Then it was off down Old Dyers, floating on a cloud down the first flowy bit, then getting a bit of a pounding on the lower rougher bits and a cruise to the road again.

Across and up, thighs starting to burn a little to the 19th, then singletrack to skidder, into ShaDazza's wondering which way to go its got so many options now, seemed to flow the usual route tho, then out and across to Brent's, nearly taking out a possum. Waited here for a little til we were all together again and Nelson led off down, taking the left hand route. Down the 'easy' end across the bridge and into Flow, a loonnnng time since i'd been down here, well over a year, looking back it was December 2010. i took the high line and nelson took the low line and i had a much better time of it, but he reached scotland afore me. Into Bridges, taking the high line and then the fun pumpy 'new' bit (not so new anymore), down into the the valley and then down to Hiddenvalley/Link track for to climb one last time. We were on this when Becs came down, and she decided time was running short for her and bailed on us here, heading down the valley while we climbed on up, burning thighs, to the pylons from where we could see her light down on Bowenvale Ave.

Round into OldSkool, as long since i'd been down that too, first half was covered in sheep, and what do sheep do? they shit... made for at least one interesting rock, and cos of the overgrownness of the trail, it was hairy in places, and cos its not fresh in the memory a couple of corners nearly took me out. Over the stile and things improved, no shit, and we had a good run down here, one or two boulders out of place i noticed. Finally, out the bottom and my body was stiff and sore from the descending position.

Cruised back round to the car by about 8.30, and headed for the Casbah, souvlakis eaten at mine.