Sunday Solo Jet Loop

Nice wee ride this morning.  After yesterday's rain I was a bit wary of what kinda condition the tracks would be in.  Hard to know whether the forest would have been soaked or whether the trees would have held on to the moisture, and, similarly, the open hillsides, how much would have soaked up??  So, decided on something possibly a little foolish, parked up Bowenvale Ave, 10.30ish, and headed up the Old Skool track.  Greasy in places, evidence of one descender before my ascent.  No stock around, so Jet was running free, having a jolly time.  I climbed, and walked greasy bits, and climbed, and my bike creaked, and ticked, and I've got some sorting of that to do...  I half died on the 4wd switchbacky section, walking lots, and riding a fair bit too.  Quite a few rests.  Then, up top of Huntsbury and across to the start of the Traverse, reining Jet in for a horse, briefly, on the way.

Onto the Traverse, a few wet spots, but nothing serious.  Good roll through here, Jet in behind most of the way.  He struggles on the 'cattle stops' and so at each one I had to stop and guide him through the fence adjacent to them. Top of Vic and I still had heaps of time to kill before my 1pm pick up of O, so, headed down Thompson and Thomson, heeling Jet tight across the Dyers Pass, and up, then onto the Old Dyers track, bombing this down, rocketship quick flowing and floating down and around and through below the road, til the rougher bit, still enjoying, then carefully picked my way through the mucky stuff, and then caught a guy as we entered the clay pylon track section, cruising ahead and round and up through all the greasy shit before the road. Unbelievably, it was 18 months since I'd last ridden this!

Crossed carefully here and clambered on up into Vic and up past the 19th Battalion and into the wee singletrack around to the skidder site.  Bit of a rest here, and some dude, Martin, started talking to me.  Then we headed down Spazza's through to Brent's and had a fright in here of a tree down I'd not encountered before, then a squirrelly moment on some slippery roots just before the bottom exit.  Into Bridges, catching up to someone, he let me past, then onwards after his (faster) mate, catching him once we got into Flow, in the trees.  Awesome we jaunt down through here, whooping all the whoopdedoos and enjoying the slightly-washed-out aspects lower down.  Bomb down the 4wd track to the HiddenValley Link and up here.  gasping on the second hairpin, little rest, then onwards up, cleaning the whole climb out to the fence where Jet really struggled to get over.

Finally, onto the Old Skool again for the descent.  an hour's more drying on it, and it was sweet for descending.  the grease only really an issue when climbing.  Good blast down here, first time ever on this track on the Spot.  Taking it a little carefully on some corners with regards to grease, and ending up at the bottom with a fair bit of clay in the tires, which proceeded to fling off as we raced for the finish.  Back into the car a little before 12.30