Tuesday Couple CAP Laps with a Bonus

PFMTBC Inc meeting to view the Annual Trip Video at Steve's booked for 7.30, so Nelson picked me up in Washington Way and we got to bottom of CAP, parking out on the road to save having to drive over the speed humps...

Rode in, straight for the lift.  Hot day, again, and I's still recovering from Saturday's burn-out.  Low energy and quick to break a sweat.  Uplift, and into recently re-opened Lord of the Possums.  Nice, bowls and yumpies, bloody dusty tho.  We had it to ourselves for a while til it joined Duncan's Donuts, where there was a guy and a couple of girls we overtook, then near the bottom of this caught up to a group of guys.  Proceeded through to newly re-opened DOHC, now a black track.  It's pretty rough, and super dusty and in places they've cut out zig-outs and back so is steeper there, but still rather manageable.  Good to be on that side of the park and not pedalling away down the greenline.  Nelson put in good speed and a good gap on me, but this suited me cos right on his tail was too dusty anyway.  I was being reasonably cautious cos my back tire is bald as and was squirrelling around noticeably.

Straight into the lift again and up.  This time taking the Summit Connector across to the lower Nun.  I really didn't wanna do much climbing, so we didn't go up the road to the top, just took the lower down to the Kiwi.  I was super careful not to rimstrike, riding light to keep the pinchflats away.  Up the road to top of Vic nearly killed me.  But we dropped into the right and back across to the see-saw (I baulked, again!), and a little bit of Brake Free then across to the rockgarden and gummies.  Rockgarden saw my rim strike and flat.  Damn!  Walked down to the corner above my 'favourite lefthander' and replaced, then we got going down, me sending Nelson off down the new left off my left that I rode last time.  I took the old line. 

Then it was below the skidder site and out to the 19th Memorial, across the road and down the blast of a run down to Dyers Pass Rd, across and into KamaSutra and LoessRider.  I wasnt game on Kama, but Nelsie wanted to check it out on his trailbike, so we parted here and I had a flowy cruise, catching and passing a few people, and grabbing double-air wherever I was able.  Nice.  Meanwhile, Nelson plummetted down Kama Sutra, and was waiting a few minutes for me at the bottom.

Down the road to the car, him completing 17.6 kms and me 19 kms.  And accounting for 2 x lift rides, we'd probably only had to climb about 100 m ourselves.

Saturday Living Springs in the Heat Exhaustion Foment

Oh boy.  The ride that nearly killed me.  Heat exhaustion being the name of the game...

Nelson came to mine after work, and we set to getting the creak out of my rear suspension, which we managed to do, all the whilst I was sweating like a pig.

We headed over the hill and parked at Allandale, figuring there'd be plenty of shade on the trails.  Rode in, climbed and climbed.  It was very hot.  Into the Pines and up, I was getting slower and slower and found Nelson resting in the kanuka in Rhymes With Orange.  From here, up through some cows into the steeep climb in the bush.  I walked heaps of what I've always ridden in the past.  Eventually to the fence, over the new ladder (nice job, whoever built it), and on up out into the open, to the cabbage tree, and then up, walking up the steepness, before riding again in the regen-bush zone.  Up ever up to the first of the switchback corners where we rested.  372m.

Time for the down, I led to start with, nice blast down around and through in no time what had just taken us ages to climb.  Down the steep nearly losing it in the grass off camber corner, then around by the cabbage tree and across into the bush again.  Over the stepladder, and down down down, zig and zag, narrow gaps between trees, tight riding.  Nelson took over the lead at the cow paddock, and we blasted down here to the gate, then into Mississippi and then around into Zanes.  I stopped to check text and saw him ahead in a few corners, but never gained on him again.  Finally out the bottom and met him again, and we cruised around, did the wee 'drop' detour and the on into Totara Valley and then down back to the car.  Good ride but for the heat.

9.45 kms, with 430 m climbed.

Got home, ate 3 slices of pizza, loaded the cars and we took stuff to the new house, unloaded, then came home and when I showered it hit me.  Full blown heat exhaustion.  Throbbing headache, weakness, aching body and joints, nausea.  Tried to cool off and rehydrate for teh whole night - fever dreams, and spent all of Sunday in bed.  Sick as.

Thursday Night Fog and Heat and Sun and Cool

After work pick up from mine, we headed for top of Mt Pleasant (the suburb), parking on Parkridge Pl. Headed up the steep under-the-pylon into Britten.  I cleaned more of the rocky section this time, but still had to walk the steep bit to the corner.  Across the face, and around into cloud building up on the eastern flanks, making for a muggy climb to the top.  Brief breather here then around top front, and back across to the cattlestop at the climbing rocks - grass all nice and short again , making the trail easier to find than the last couple of times (in October!), and in full sun on this side of the hill.

Over the road, over the fence, and into long grass climbing up, back and forth to the top of Mt Pleasant well above the sea of cloud rolling in over the city.  A well earned breather in the shade of the building, then around the back of it to take in the view of the harbour.  Finally, descent time, a nice breeze blowing down the rocky entry, muppetting before the stile, then I led the way down the ridge, big fat wooly lambs all over the place getting in the way (and littering the track with their tasty treats).  Down to Greenwood, and we debated which way to go, choosing to head back round to the old start of Greenwood, and down the skinny singletrack to the trees on Richmond, entering the fog down here.  Low visibility, nice cool moistness all around, we cruised across and then back up to the Greenwood (above the ruins).

Into the descent again, bombing into Greenwood, lambs in the way for ages, around into the rockier bits. There was some weird chunky clattering I wondered about at the time, but bike kept riding okay, so continued on.  Nelson had good speed, I was okay until we were on the sidling section before Gloomy Gulch, where I slowed down a fair bit, but then got my mojo back on the rocky descent into the swoopy bit before that drop jump, where Nelson was waiting.  On down, holding on to him until the entry to the creek gully, where he managed to carry more speed and hoof away.  I bollocksed the rocky up, and got going again, arriving puffed as at the bottom.  It was here I noticed that I'd lost the blue 'switch' for my Climb-Trail-Descend feature on my rear shock.

Up road at a cracking pace mostly in the fog.  My knee started to hurt a bit.  When we got to Jollies Bush we figured - never been in there before, lets explore.  Huh!  We kept left, carrying up steps, riding a bit, avoiding ever-overhanging onga-onga, zigged and zagged upwards, eventually finding our way up to a stile on the top edge, and up onto the track just above that.  Still in the fog, kinda, rode up this, meeting a couple of women riding down (one was new to riding), and at the top decided to just drop down the top section of Greenwood to see if we might find that CTD switch where I'd heard the weird clatterings.  Off we went, Nelson in the lead, slowing down where I thought, and Nelson was juuust about to call off the search when "here it is!".  Turned around, and rode back up the techy rocks, past the ruins, thru the old entrance, then up road, and a fun fast bomb down Britten back to the car.

18.3 kms and (only) 610 m climbed

Tuesday Night Eastern Wheezin' Noose

Nelson had a meeting til 6 which worked for me feeding the dog, so I sorted out my flat tire and then rode to Linwood Ave just past the K-Fry. He picked me up shortly thereafter and we proceeded to Sumner...

Sorted out MMR (Location on in my Settings was out of whack - and it still didnt kick in til up the valley (USELESS!)), then got chuffing up the Captain.  My wheezing was killing me, really making it difficult to climb.  Nelson powered off, rocketing ahead on his super fast lightweight bigger wheeled climbingly optimized machine.  I chugged and puffed and set the scene for the rest of the evening.  He was waiting for me at the seat at top of switchbacks and I rode his bike briefly, (rear tire needed air), and the on we climbed.  Nice work done where that slip was, and they've also cut into the rock on the upper of the old drops.  Finally made the top, me very slowly.

Across Evans Pass and up onto Godley - immediately I started muppeting on the rocks, just too weak to keep any momentum.  Eventually got rolling, but was gasping for air the whole time.  Nelson vanished off into the distances, I think surprising even himself as to the turn of speed his new steed gives him.  He was waiting for me at the top where I managed to gulp in some air before we trundled on.  Much better form on the sidle and descending, barely letting any gap form between us as we headed down.  In fact, I even reeled him in a little in the lower curvy bits towards the bottom of the hill.  Across Livingston Col and decided to hang a right, out the 360 walkway section.  Nice interesting, mildly techy sidle climb to a steep section up and over, then fun descent, a few sections of steps, and views all the different from the usual otherside slog.  Eventually to Breeze Col and back over the fence.

From here, we headed along above the road, on the skinny as skinny trail.  Overgrown, again, but perhaps not quite as overgrown as last time.  Played a little on the concrete bunker thing up top there, then bombed down to the carpark, and through onto the return below-the-road track.  Nelson dropped me again on the climb, and was all but vanished by the time I rounded over the top. Otherwise I had a reasonable run around back to Breeze Col where he was waiting. The final short and practically flat climb half killed me tho.

Into the Anaconda - shitty gravel to start, but further on it was as per the past.  Good blast down, tho my lower corners were a little untidy, then into the tail, starting well, but the rocks muppetted me a bit.  Big surf and lots of surfers in Taylors.  We trundled up the road and into the walking track, up which much I walked.  Stile to upper gate wasn't so bad.

Then onto the road and around for the final climb up the hard work track to The Godley.  Got rolling on this, back towards Evans.  Good run for me, mostly.  Not quite as quick as Nelson, but then down near the end I bloody pinch flatted, new tube, damnit!  Nelson was already on the road, and rode back up to me by the time I was nearly done.  Replaced it with my leaking tube from weeks previous, and off we were again.  

Through the Pass, and up onto the top of the Captain.  Pretty good roll down here.  By the time I'd gotten through the techy drops and through that climb for the sidling easy, my rear tire was feeling soft, so stopped at the seat (top of switchbacks) to pump up.  Good bomb from here, to the bottom (except for the stupid weed-eatings all over the track near the end).  Over the stile, and down the steps and along the horse paddock, my tire getting low again, to the point of being too low to ride normally, I limped to the car leaning forward on the handlebars, put my bike down, and the Pthsshhhhhhhhhhhhh - all the air out.  Perfect timing.

Pretty much a 20km loop, with 743m climbed.  Not bad for a Tuesday night.

Sunday Hot Stuff

Drove over to Steve's with the Fat on the back for 9am finding him and Wazz, Wahayno, Robin and Andy all ready to roll. Pete would be chasing...

Up the most busy Rapaki we've ever seen, Steve and me stopped for a good chat with Ranger Singletrack who was on his way down in a Ute.  The others treadled onwards up and took in the Monty Loop.  Meanwhile, STeve and me struggled our ways up to the top and waited for them, wondering how they could be so long.  Pete showed up, and then we spotted the boys coming up behind.  Bit of more of a rest for us, and then off up Vernon, hot grind, but Fatty handling everything pretty good.

Lost count of the comments "ooh, they're big tires"... "what's that for?"...

I had to bail early, so was keen on keeping it short, and Steve was keen on that too, so we headed around the beginning of the Traverse then took the new track down to the top of the Old Skool zig zags.  Pete rode on ahead a bit and got his drone out, and we bombed off down past him under it's buzz.  Here's where I said my good bye to most, and bombed off ahead, but on a new section of trail being built Pete got the jump on me and took the lead through sketched out cleared grass down the slope avoiding the worst bits of 4wd to the pylons.

Onto the Old Skool proper and fat bike was riding really well.  The dropper post works a treat.  I took off ahead from the stile, and left the boys to it.  Nice blaze down the rest of it, surprised at how well the fatty soaked it all up.  Tire pressures must have been about perfect.  Through the bottom and then down the road and around the river back to Steve's.  Then home and off Sailing for the afternoon.

My MMR crapped out so I had to copy Steve's,  - my finishing route back to his place was different - where I took Eastern Tce, over the bridge and through to St Martins Shops, alley way, bridge, Ford Rd., but other than that, the same(ish) (top speeds probably different).  16kms and a gain of 460m.

Tuesday Sweaty View Hill Road.

Holiday here in Little Akaloa drawing to an end, last chance for a ride, so headed out and up to Chorlton.  From here, up View Hill Rd, steep bastard that it is, it was so muggy and warm I was sweating like a pig.  Stopped for a few rests, but cleaned everything. Climbed to the gate then turned and bombed back down, high speed enjoyment and cooling breeze on the down. Detoured over Luke's Rd and through the neighbours back to our driveway.

14.7 kms with 612 m climbed, most of which was steep.

Muggy Menzies Thursday a.m.

From the bach, only remembering to turn on the MMR once I was a little way up Decanter Bay Road. Mail Van passed me on the way up, and I caught it up on the way down into Decanter Bay.  Passed it at the bottom and headed on up towards Menzies.  Nice steady climbing, into low cloud/fog as I got higher, eventually all the way around to then descend on down to Menzies Bay. Said gudday to the people in the first house (seemed to be packing up their holiday times) then turned around and rode back up again.  Up to Rehutai homestead and then the descending cruise began.  As I rounded towards Decanter I met some horses(7?) and 3 women.  I got off my bike and walked through and they were very thankful and pleased.  They liked the fat bike too.  After them came the fun descent, speeding gravel road, into Decanter and finally the last climb, sun having burned off all the cloud, so it was hot and bothersome.  Final descent into Little Ak on the seal, speeding down into the bay, ready for a swim off the wharf.

It was hot and muggy. Surprisingly 905 m climbed, over 22kms