Sunday Solo Jet Forest

Quick ride for Jet and me today, cos it's my mum's birthday and they were coming for lunch, so I had to get home early.  The rest of the usuals were meeting at Steve's or Dotcom and heading up Das Kapitan.  I left home about 9 in the car, and parked up top of Worsley Rd about 9.20 or so.  We got going and I chose to stay on the original Worsley Track, riding the ridges above the ruts all the way.  Dabbed off in the worst section, but cleaned up everything else, albeit with one or two rests.   2 and a half weeks no riding due to a Fiordland trip.   In the meantime a new bike has been added to my quiver, a Transition Klunker, which will serve flat singlespeed duties.  Heaps of fun to thrash around the river, and will be fun in Bottle Lake too.  I've been getting out with the dog on that a few times but just Red Zone Rambling.

Anyway, up the Worsley, up the access to the forest, and up the steep upper track to the very top.  Into Goat (or Hang Loose) and bombed on down, enjoying profusely.  Jumps making me second guess and step down, and one corner I misjudged and dismounted before trouble took over.  Otherwise all good all down.  Up the exit climbing track at a good pace, and then up the 'guts' track to the clifftop, then up the original to the top again, then up the upper track but this time just as far as Debbie Does Dallas lead-in, down this, swoop swoop, huppity hup through the jumpy bits and into the darrrrk forest.  Down here I peeled left onto the wee climbing access track back onto the original B line, chasing some guys down this and catching them up and letting them go and catching them up.  Across the clifftop and into the trails they went down the original there and I peeled into Wayne's World.  Catching the guys where the trails meet and following close down to Fight Club.  I had a break here and let them get ahead a bunch, then dropped-in and wound them in.  Great run down here bombing it, and catching up just near the bottom.

Back up the exit track, overtaking them and then down the last back to the car.  Good 1 and a quarter or so spent and home before 11.  Sweet as.  finally.

Wednesday night lapping up the Old Skool

Nelson and me had a slow start, not getting over to Bowenvale Ave til some time between 6.30 and 7pm.  I'd got home late, and then had a flat tire to fix too.  We got rambling up the valley, only meeting some downhill riders near the bottom, surprisingly the only ones we saw all evening.  Up the valley, then up the grunty steeps before turning off onto the Hidden Valley Link track, both cleaning the creek, but then me blowing it on a rock a few metres after it.  Then round the first hairpin, no probs, and on up, me blowing the second one...  puffing hard.  The rest of the way up was hard, but clean.  Breather under the pylon, and then it was climbing a bit more and the down began.  Nelson in the lead, me following close, my left foot popping out occasionally, gotta sort that pedal.  Good run down, and out the bottom and back up the valley. 

2nd time round, Nelson cleaned it all, and this time so did I.  Feeling a bit better on the climb this time, and then I led the down hill this time...  Blazing.  Nelson enjoyed seeing new lines taken by me.  Out the bottom again, and

3rd time up.  This time Nelson blew the first hairpin after the creek, I got it all.  Feeling heaps better this time, and feeling pretty good at the top, breathing under control.  Into the descent, Nelson in the lead again, and me following, making less mistakes, and riding harder.  A couple of guys totally parked in the wrong spot at the bottom of the rut leading to the stile half way down.  d'uh.  park after the stile, dudes...  Onwards, and fast, smooth and fun.  Light starting to get a bit lower, but good visibility all the way down.  The rutty finish is a mess, and has a very dodgy exit, that neither of us rode.  Finally off down the finish and back to the car.  Chatted to a couple of young dudes who'd started about the same time as us, and then it started raining.  Good timing, with it pissing down as we drove home. 

Sunday Arvo Pleasant Green Loner

Dropped O and a friend at a cub thing at 12, and headed round to McCormacks Bay, parking at the bottom of Glenstrae about 12.20.  Jumped on the bike and headed up the trail, climbing away in the heat.  Up past the bridge and a little higher, I hung a right and traversed across the slope in the opposite direction to usual.  This track Nelson and me had explored once, but didn't actually realise where it came out, which was on Drayton Drive, up which I rode to Mt Pleasant Rd, and then up this and around past where I should have come out, and then on up to Longridge and Clearview up to Britten.  Brief rest in the shade of the pines on Upper Major Horn, then over the fence and up the singletrack.  Around at the top to the right and along for a nice piss stop in the trees at the top here, then onwards around the pingy singletrack to the end, back along the road to Broadleaf, up this and up the gravel, 55mins to get up here.

Stopped briefly for a look across at potential connector to the climbing singletrack, but didn't take it and as I got going again I spotted a dude chucking his bike over the gate...  now the pressure was on.  With him looming behind (but not really) I plodded on up to the top, over the stile and straight into it.  Pinged a few times in the first few rocks so on the first corner stopped to let some air out of the front tire.  Got rolling again towards the stile and was muuuch betterer.  Over the stile and into the roll.  Moments of off balance but then the flow got flowing and had a great run all the way down, past a running girl, to the bottom.  Down the 4wd, and right into Greenwood.  Awesome run down here, bike and me riding really well.  Brief rest after Gloomy Gulch, but rolled on picking up speed all the while.  In the top of Dave's section lost the chain (cos i'd been too far down the cassette), so stopped replaced that and got going again with more avengence.  Excellent run through and around then down the fast bit before the rocky ups and passed some walkers of bikes unsuitable for the terrain.  Bombed past them, showing how it's meant to be done, cleaned the first rocky up right in front of the guy, and then up the next one and swoopy swoopy rapid roll round to the end.  Over the fence and on the road at 1.35.  This is when I spotted the other rider heading through the rocky bits and past the two Americans, who were walking some really smooth bits again.

Bit of a chat with the other guy (on a Marin Quake?Quad?), and then he took off out Godley.  I stood there, deciding for ages, couldn't make up my mind, which way to go.  Back up Greenwood?  Too hot.  Straight back up the road?  Have I ridden long enough? Nope.  Okay then, out Godley a ways and back again, it is then... 

Cross the Pass and headed up Godley.  Screwed up the rocky bastard but cleaned out the rest, and slowly caught up with the guy on the Marin.  Over took him just before the landing strip and at the rocks by the fence (top of our climbing farm track) I stopped for a good long rest, and he continued on.  I turned back here and had a lovely run all the way back to Evans, with many sections of good speed.  Across the Pass again and on up the Summit Rd, slowly reeling in another mtnbiker, who, when I passed looked grey in the face (sunscreen?  or sick??)...  Left him behind and carried on up the road keeping a good push on the whole way.  Finally round past Greenwood entrance and up round the corner and up onto the Britten descent, getting sweet flow down back to the Upper Major, then flew down this, down through that wee park, not skidding down it's gravel, and then down the road at speed and into Craigieburn Lane.  Walked the top steps then switchbacked my way down and flowed on down the rest of the way I'd come up, with massive speed on the final straight to Glenstrae, approximately 2 hours after I'd left there.

Sunday Worsley & Far Side Jet sprints

Needed to keep it short this morning, and nearly got out really early, like 8am, but eventually what with one thing and another it was about 9.20 I found myself over near the bottom of the hills, heading for the top of Worsley Rd with Jet in the back.  Parked up and headed up behind a couple of motorbikes.  Clamber clamber, with the newly working forks working bloody well.  These are the white 55s that gave me so much gyp on the trip - Josh chucked in a coil instead of the positive air component, and she works a treat.  Up the grind, and before the powerlines came across one of the motorbikes.  He was fiddling around in the front of the bike, and it wasn't going...  rode on up, eventually catching up and passing a young running/walking couple, her giving Jet lots of pets.  Ground out to the top where the other motorbike was waiting and he asked about his mate and I said it looked like trouble so he was gonna head back down..

Then off up the entrance to the B-line talking a bit to a dude who'd just come down bodybag.  Him and his mate went down, I went up, grindy grind to Debbie Does Dallas -lead in, and fanged off down here.  Slow to start but gradually speeding up, and then down past the ruins and into the Douglas fir darkness then out. Below the big cliff stopped and had a wee look at a trail being built just above this one.  Got going again down the steeps into Alice's Restaurant where I baulked the usual couple of corners cos they're just so damned steep.  Saw 3 riders across on T2 briefly, and then spotted them on the climb out.

At the junction I followed these guys up the guts track, riding all the way, but they'd lost me by the time I crossed the pylon gap.  On up to the cliff top, a young DH couple hangin' out sayin' hi.  Sat on the cliftop for a bite to eat and a wee rest before heading off down Wayne's World and then across and down into Fight Club (passing the young couple pushing back up on the way).  Fight Club was a blast, suspension just soaking everything up beautifully.  Out the bottom and back up the exit track to the junction.  Nor'west wind was starting to pick up, so figured the forest might not be too safe any more, so we headed on back down the usual to the car.  Loaded the bike on and we drove down the road.

Just before the bottom corner I pulled up and parked.  And rode up one of the new downhill tracks in the Farside network...  Fluffy Sheets or something.  Anyway, decided on the way it wasn't that great for climbing, but stuck with it.  At the top I explored, first, off down 1 Trick Lucy but it descended in a direction I didn't like, and looked like it was gonna leave me in the bottom of the valley, so, pushed back up onto Farside and pushed to the top of that.  Into Utopia I flowed.  Very familiar feeling, like farside, with some sweet wee swoops and dips and off camber corners, and then it spat me onto Fluffy Sheets near the bottom.  Back up the usual next-to-the-road off-road track, meeting some very tentative riders coming down, and cleaned out the top in no time - much better than going up Fluffy Sheets.  Here I dropped into Farside and had a real blast down this, arriving back at the car in no time, 11am-ish and headed with my hot and tired doggy, home.