Queenie's Day, singlespeed Taylor's catchment circumnavigation

Helping out at the Taylors bach all weekend. Today i did some tire changes on the spare (guest's or Tracey's mtnbike) and the singlespeed, the latter receiving a 2.4 mutanoraptor up front that i've had lying around since Chris left all that time ago, and the 2.35 Highroller i had on the Soul (also from Chris) chucked on the back.

Did a bit of chainsawing clearing overgrown roofs then got my (single) gear on. Rode back up the road from the bach to the walking track that used to go all the way to Sumnervale, but doesnt anymore more on account of all that seismic rockfall dodginess. Rode a fair bit, surprising amount actually, and walked a bit too, all stuff you'd probably ride granny no problem. At the gravel road i went up that to where the parasailers were all lifting off and landing. Hung a right at the road, and round the corner to the first farmtrack and gate on the left, into which i treadled, riding and walking up a singletrack to the main Godley singletrack at the cattlestop just after the landing strip and before the 2nd two boardwalk/bridgey sections. Took these photos on the way up to the cattlestop.



Blasted on the smooth stuff round til the final descent to Livingston, feeling the flow, enjoying the responsiveness of the rigidity of the singlespeed, but then the rocky stuff kicked in and it got quite hard work. Climbed well out of Livingston and enjoyed all the flow round to Breeze. At Breeze I was pretty much only a half hour in, so i carried on round below the road, on the smooth and fast and perfect for singlespeed trail to the highest point where its kinda rocky and there's a few succulents around, before you head down hill to that bridge. Turned around here and jetted back round to the top of Ana the conda.

Anda the conda... good to start with, but it really gets pretty rough for a rigid bike lower down. Had a few good turns of speed on a fair few sections, flowed over all the jumps nicely, but some of the rougher bits in the bermy lowers got my gyp a bit. Not a bad flow out the tail, taking it pretty easy on the rocks tho, one other biker encountered, him riding something new and flash and wearing new and flash gear and shiney yellow lensed glasses, just as i entered the bit above the baches. Said "gudday" and continued on my merry way down the rocks over the fence, and back up the road to the bach. Returning to where i'd started in less than an hour. Not bad.

Down the path, onto the deck, and into the spa, from whence i watched the full moon rise over the hill.

Hmmmm, very similar (tho better, of course, in that i didnt have to encounter any silly big gates, and i was off road more) to what the boys did on Tuesday.