Thursday's Pleasant Jaunt.

Good ride tonight with lots of ups and downs.  Pick up outside work then trafficking to Sumner, couple short stops on the way, and up to Evans Pass wherefore to park.  Pretty much dead on 6 as we treadled our ways up the road (me stopping for a ventolin blast cos I knew I'd be wheezing up a storm within minutes) and into the cloud, moody scenes or total engulfment from about Jollies Bush Reserve on up.  Wet road from cloud drip under the pines, and then from every other tree we met, especially later on Britten Reserve and up also Broadleaf.  Anyway, up round the road and onto the Britten singletrack all the way, stopping for a couple of unsuccessful shots of the sunset over the Alps beyond Sugarloaf through swirling cloud.  Onto the road and down through the cutting, then a change of mind, turning around, back along the road and up Broadleaf, wherein my breathing got the better of my legs.  Up the gravel and we hung a right onto the singletrack, lights on, cloud ripping across the top here, but dissipating soon beyond.  Off down the trail, balance wonky and a few tussocks blocking the view, possibly related.  Good bomb, though, down the last bit, me tight on Nelson's tail, watching as he briefly left the trail before the tweaky corner.

Over the stile and down then into the climb for the Gondola building.  I was gasping within seconds, dabbed off, got restarted and managed to clamber up the rest, with each hairpin becoming progressively easier.  Peaked out, rolled around and back to the shelter of some flaxes where we had some kai.  Then into the descent, wind tearing across the slope, blasting every second hairpin as we battled our way down.  Through the saddle and up the walking track entrance to the climb, steeep into steep, over the stile and on up steeply (for me) grinding away as Nelson gapped ahead.  I reeled him in briefly but then over the top and up to the gate he dropped me again.  Regroup at the top of Pleasant and then off down, quite dark now and cloud all lifted away.  A blast of wind grappled with Nelson's bike as he went over the stepladder fence crossing before we blazed on down, me tight on his tail watching his rear tire pinging off every second rock.  Into the tussocks and the trail flowed better than ever before.  Down to Greenwood and on at it, good pace all the way, sheepshit starting to impinge on the track, and ewes and their lambs getting out of our way through the ruins.

Great run down Greenwood, upper rocky sections are pretty bony now, but the whole run around the hill before Gloomy Gulch was tail wind flight mode.  Very nice.  Through gloomy and clamber clamber to a rest near the regular rest spot, stretching of the back and relaxing of the forearms.  From here down was sweet.  Roosted and boosted, down then round and back and forth and round some more, into the gully and down for the final run, through the two rocky ups cleaning both very well, and swooping down the last to the stile.  Back a bit sore at the bottom, but not as bad as the old days.

Down the road and into Godley, Nelson in the lead. I gasped my way up the start and then watched as he cleaned the rocky climb.  So, into the right gear and I knuckled in, took a line I'd never meandered onto before and cleaned it through.  Onwards and half way between that feature and the next tricky bit had to stop for a breather, lungs running at full bore.  Got my breath and cleaned the rest of it out, gasping still.  The rest of the early rock sections were hard work but fun and once again Nelson gapped me on the climb  Rode all the way round to the 'airstrip' then turned back, tail wind and mostly downhill, for an awesome blast back to Evans Pass.  Superb run, 5.Spot eating up the rocks, and on the gnarly rocky section towards the end I took the line we climb on for a change, which certain was different.  Back to the car about 8 where Nelson realised he'd locked all his keys inside!  Wandered around and both eventually found some wire, all to no avail.  Some helpful other bikers, a couple, rolled through, no help tho, but suggested AA. Call made, "$195 to join." No thanks...  bit more google searching and a call made to 0800LOCKEDOUT and he turned up about 9, and had us in the car within a minute.  Money for jam.

Delicious Taj for dinner consumed at mine.