Friday Night Eastern figure 8

Usual pick up from work and we drove the clogged city arteries right through to Taylor's Mistake.  Parked up and headed up the road to the walking track  which was rather greasy to start, but not so bad once over the fence.  Took a new zig and zag through new lambs and mothers and proceeded to grunt up to the deer fence and alongside it I lost the grip on my breath, walking a section I've not walked in past ventures up this trail.  Over the stile and off up the gravel road, a little soft, and draggy, but not so bad.

Onto the seal and the 0 to 220m in under one kilometre as the crow flies, it really is a rapid ascent.  Round the road, Nelson saving his tires by riding the margin, then the coasting down to Evans Pass, faster and faster and faster, through the saddle and up the Summit Rd, taking it easy, and not seeing a single car or another soul the whole way up, lights still not used, all the further 220m up to where the Greenwood heads off.

Lights on, and into the singletrack, sheep and lambs scattering, their lovely deposits strategically placed at intervals in the middle of the track, cruising round to the ruins where we stopped for a OneSquare then I took the lead off down the trail.  Easy at first, screwing up a couple times, but slowly putting on the speed.  Not many wet spots, just some of the usuals.  On round into the gloom, taking it easy on the entry, boardwalk, through the guts, and out the other side, then straight on and down, down, down, swoopy, swoopy, cruising round into the last valley, with the silly dips, round over the wee creek then the blast down to the rocky ups, cleaning them both, and finally down through the swoopy bends, water in one of them, and round over above the road below the macracarpa down to the end, and REALLY sore feet, especially the left, and sore hands...  My left shoe has given up, split just behind the cleat, hence the sore foot.

Next up, Godley.  Both of us buggered up the first rocky section, but everything from there on up was sweet.  Nice climb, tho was starting to get tired towards the end, not quite enough grunt in me...  Off down the new chip, flying faster and faster, greasing through the section they've not done yet, then back on it, faster and faster, til it ended, then bouncing around a bit, but maintaining a fair bit of speed through to Livingston.  The clamber up the next bit got me a ways behind Nelson, but i'd gained on him again through just before the PFMTBC rock, and then i eased myself down the yucky greasy splecky paddock down to the gate, finally at Breeze Col.  We decided we still had some ride in us so we took the trail above the road, little grunt, then twisty tight round and highspeed rocketship ride down to the end of the road, and onto the singletrack on the downhill side, nice cruise round here, the last (gentle) climb back to Breeze Col half killing me.

Nelson led off down the Anaconda, and we had a good run down, me tight on his tail most of the way.  Ingenious treatment of the trail in what used to be the sloppiest bits down in the valley, well done Ranger Singletrack!  finally through the last couple corners and onto the Tail, where we hauled, - me thinking to myself how scenic it all was, lights reflecting in the sea, waves breaking on the beach, (normally sun drenched) grassy hillside and ribbon of singletrack skirting the hillside, - pumping through the wee dips and risers, then bailing up on the puddle before the final cattlestop into Briden's Bush, and the run round above and behind the baches and speed back to the car.