One last day of TOIL to use up so stayed home of a Tuesday and got out for a nice long ride. City had been under fog all morning, but by the time I left it'd burned off and a nor-west 'squal' was approaching across the sky. That spat on me most of the way across the top til I was about below the Tors.
Up through Vic, grinding away up the guts and out Worm to Traverse across. Catching a woman and passing her just before I got to the turn off for the 4pause/HuntsDH. Popped off for a short blast down this, a pretty greasy section of track, but the jumps were good. Took it down across and left down to the gate on Old Skool descent then ground my way back up to the top of Huntsbury.
Into Vernon, occasional moments of weavy flow and a pretty relaxed attitude to the whole thing. Bounced across Rapaki-top and straight into the Witch. One dab but rolling-on, no stops. Okay climb, not bad descent, nothing special. Across the road and straight up onto the walking track single. Techy this direction, slow and techy. Stuffed up a few spots, fear of falling to the road below getting the better of my balance. All done and onto the road to under-pass the Tors, treadling up to Castletop. A roady was stopping and checking out his bike here, and it turned out to be an old colleague (now retired). We had a good catch up, moseying a little down the road from where he pointed out his house to me.
Parted ways and I rode back up to the trail entrance, dropping into downhill mode and slowly increasing speed as I rolled, until I was travelling quite quickly, grooving and weaving, pumping and jiving, haring down the rocks and through the weave, tight around the hairpin, gaining speed again, back wheel flicking on slick rocks, next hairpin, roll roll, pop pop and..., climb. Pushed it hard, stayed on top of the whole situation, negotiating rocks and roll. Over, down again and round out to the road. Peered into Lyttelton for a sec, then hit the climb back up to Castletop.
Walked up onto the climb to the Tor track, then rested with a snack in the sun before skiving off down the trail. Rocks slick, tech-trickery, blitzy blitz, dab or three, and down across the road onto the singletrack walker, enjoying it this direction a bit better. Lots of cleaned then into the Witch, better this way, and nearly rode up the road after Rapaki, then decided to do ALL the singletrack, and climb Vernon. Pretty not bad.
Back into the Traverse, all the way into Vic, picked up a bit of speed and into the jumps, over the seesaw, around the track closed, "why's the track closed, it's perfectly surfaced and dry,... oh, right, oh well, all good after that, but out, down to rockgarden entry of Gums, and across and down my usual roots and routes. All the way down, out 19th, down the road and into the 235 for a nice greasy spin. The broken dead old tree that fell over the other week is still there so I broke a couple branches off it, thereby making it slightly easier to get under... should take the hatchet up, I guess. I was surprised no one else had broken any more off (one or two on the other side had been done). Nice condition, grip-wise, lower down too. Then leafy climb and up the road briefly again before the bomb behind the houses, which was stymied by a woman and two dogs, then fear of grease-city.
Well worth it, 21.4 kms, with 847 m climbed
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