Saturday Cadging Some Codgy Goodgeness

Great Ride out on my own.  We were in Nelson for Phoe's 18th and I brought my bike.  

From the new pad, down the link pathway, steps and sidelines, then another wee walking drop down to a Place, then made my way down past the Rutherford and Flamedaisy then up onto Nile St, cruising along here to then find my way up onto Cleveland Tce, then up Atmore Place to get onto Jack's Track, which was certainly an interesting way into Codgers, but not necessarily the nicest way...

Crossed across Firball, and then onto middle road climbing up to the top of Turners etc.  Hung there for a bit and judged my options and what I thought I might like to do.  Decided on Hulk n Hogan, which was okay, sidled around and dropped and jumped and cruised around to eventually lower down on Jacks Track, which I proceeded to climb again, then up the middle road again back to Turners Top.  

This time into Turners, some groms all hanging at the top, I headed on past and proceeded to ride it like a 51 year old.  No big air, but good pace round the berms etc.  Some quite sloppy bits but mostly it was pretty dry.  Out the bottom of the gums and across to Take Me To Your Leader for the climb.  In here I could hear 'something' then two guys on ebikes powered past me.  Huh.  I continued on up, cleaning everything and quite enjoying it even tho it was steep.  Out the top onto Skidder Saddle.  From here along the Fireball Rd to the the Turners Top again.

This time into the climb to the Firball Trig.  Good climb up here and an ebiker topped out same time as me.  We chatted a bit then I headed off a brand new (to me) trail that headed towards Smasher.  Te Tirohanga Marama o Koata (Koata Marama).  New, fresh, one or two off camber corners, some jumps, quite a distance, nothing techy tho, other than some looseness.  Then it spat me out about where that big jump clearing was on Smasher.  I headed on into Smasher and proceeded to ride heaps but then got baulked and scared on the worst 4 corners which I edged down, then the rest of it was mint.  Not sure I'll use Koata Marama again, prefer the top section of Smasher.

From the bottom of Smasher, out along the Maitai river, following it down back to Nile St and heading home with a bad climb up the access track next to their new place.

All up, a very grand 18.5 kms and slightly surprising 693 m climbed

Thursday Night OG Captain T to the Gods; Around the Breeze and Back

Good spin last night.  Met Nelson in Scumnervale and we trundled down to the old "OG" Captain Thomas entrance - accessed from the redzone, behind the gabion wall.  On the way down we passed a group of riders getting ready at their cars who we would see a few more times.  

Into the steep climb, walking the steps and stopping to scoff the blackberries.  Yum!  On the bikes again, good treadle up on the interestingly narrow weaving through the trees and into the woods. Great climb all the way up.  Rounded the top of the gully and Nelson teched up all the techy rocks, while I lummocksed my way over them, walking the worst chunk.  Onto the traverse across the face to the short descent, where we caught up with the dudes from down on the road.  Proceeded to get stuck behind one, then the next, then the next for a while.  Finally their fastest rider pulled over and let us by and we finished off the last stretch up through the gate and around to the Summit Rd.  Bit of a break here watching them riding up, then headed across onto Godley.  

Up the first steeps, I blew the rock, my power was out, but got my mojo back occasionally along the main face up there.  We peeled around to the windy ridge, a hawk cruising away at our level, and stopped for a breather.  Eventually the other group turned up, (mute?) guy with dog first.  We took off and had a hair-raising run down to Livingston.  I was never more than a few metres behind Nelson.  I swear my bike handles better now.  

At the saddle we hung a right around the 360 crater rim walking track.  The other fellas continued on and we didn't see them again.  Heinous climb got the better of me and I walked the usual bit.  A break at the stile and then off down the steep lumpy steps, glorious run around and down the next steps, some interesting rocky features and cornering, and then across Breeze Col, rocky!, and onto the Breeze Bay track.  Sweet climb around this, some nice rolling, then over the sunken bunker and onto the skinny narrows track, overgrown as hell.  Slow, blind, tech.  Eventually onto the wide open track and bombing down to the Col again.  Onto Godley for a nice climb and fun descent then Livingston up.  Some paragliding dudes floating around, or at least trying to, just next to the track.    

Bomby rocks to Evans, then all the way down Captain, including fun OG section, good blast.

A sterling 17.3 kms rid, with 735 m elevated

Sunday Evening Classic Huntsbury Old Skool Lap

Tired and weary, with sore arms from chainsawing on Saturday, I couldn't face a Vic Park climbing ride, so I drove down and parked in Bowenvale Ave. 

On the bike, easy down the road and round along the footpath, then noisy-tire-tread- climb up the smooth tarmac Major Aitken.  Good pace, and around the hairpin most of the way up I could see my house on the one bit of road we can see from there.  Into Kenmure and then up the steep to the dirt. Through the new cattlestop and slightly over, below the lowest jump, and into the West Side climber Nelson and me have coined.  Clamber up here, out of the howling easterly, and eventually trickily navigating a Zig and zag-wise route thru the tussocks up onto the ridge. On up the single track, landing strip, then up the gravel to the top. 

Brief sojourn across the Traverse then into DH mode.  Popped and wove down the rocky way, not flying on the jumps as much as I used to, the landings of the first two are just so rutty-shitty now, but the lower two are all good.  Down next to the landing strip, into "Alley Express" (closed, supposedly, even tho it was fine by this stage of the day) over the edge, down through the cattlestop and down the new(ish) bit of Alley Express, back and forth, all the way down til the off cambers then into the Old Skool for a schooling in gravity.  Good blast through, but caught the rear wheel on some major whacks.  (it was flat the following morning).  Finally out the bottom, nice fast coast on the gravel then onto the Avenue and coasting back down to the car.

9.5 kms and 420 m climbed.  Good enough.

Wednesday Night Mulleto

Out for a loner last night, testing the new front wheel!  Gone Mullet, 29r with a 2.6 Nobby Nic on front and 27.5+ 2.8 Nobby on the back.  Good combo.  

Ride thoughts:  Slightly different feel in front end, seems to grip/steer better.  Seat post slightly back now, and need to ameliorate that by moving seat (even) further forward, maybe tilted too, for climbing.  Otherwise, better.

So, left home at 6, headed up through Vic.  Seemed to have solid power and a couple of roadies (1 gravel) were just below as I entered Vic Park Rd, didn't catch me for ages, which was a surprise.  Then they didn't drop me at all.  Usual 19th behind over, skidder, up gutz, climbing similar to pre-seat tilt (of a couple months back).  Up to top.  Quick jump through the two jumps, then peeled round onto Worm for to get to Traverse.  Lots of riders coming my way.  Stopped for lots of them.  Decided not to stop for one or two.  Fuck some people are selfish morons.  Fuck them.  

Into Vernon, climb and cruise.  New tire, bigger wheel, gripppppy.  Across top of Rapaki, loads of radiocontrol gliders.  Straight into Witch, cleaning all but one dab.  Around, front wheel rolls over rocks smoother, for sure.  Onto the road for the climb around up to top of Castle.  6.55 here.

Excellent blast down the Castle.  Speed and grip, but pretty mucky in a couple of spots, and got quite splecked.  The climb seemed easy, over to Bridle.  Straight back into the road climb, hoofing it back up to the top, and it was only 7.10 when I stopped to stretch on the Tors Track.  

Wheel difference accentuated by angling of camera. 

Into the descent, one or two mucky spots, but cleaned all but the usual droppy fun descend.  Across road onto walking track, dab and walk through first climb, quite overgrown, but rest of it was a good blast.  I *think* less pedal strike.

Back into the Witch, climbing again, over, able to see loads more riders coming up Rapaki (this late!?).  Good fang down to the saddle and stayed on singletrack climbing, more muppets coming towards me, then up and around back to Traverse.  Good blast along here, meeting a rider who said "we meet again" (one of the many I'd passed earlier) not far from where we'd met earlier.  I wonder what his ride had consisted of, considering how far I'd been there and back...  Can only assume Flying Nun, maybe?  On round the rest of the Traverse into the sun, then into the pines of Vic and across into the jumps, landing hard on first jump, okay on second, see-saw, and first couple pumps of Brakefree, then checked rear suspension and it was locked out!  

Into the rocks and Gums, blasty blitz down and through, mucky usual lowest spot and through to 19th, where I took the road down, into 235, good most of the way til the Oaks where it was mucky and slick and wet as hell.  All the way down to the H. Ell extension and out to road, for the bomb home.

Mulletted 20kms, with 727 m climbed.

Friday 'Lunch-hour' Singlemindmeldspeed

Bit of a jaunt of a 'lunch break' early afternoon on the 7+6er singlespeed to get the mind cleared and lungs worked.  A few short kms of climb and descending at a very sedate pace. 

Up the usual route, 19th, Skidsville and guts, walked a bit, negotiated a nice way on the steep at Brakefree-end.  Breather at the waterspigot and up around to Thompson's #1 fun.  

Back up road to VicTop.  Seat down and off 'round, bypassing the jumps, exploring the roots through to the cattlestop and into rabbit paddock.  Down to rockgarden where I lost the chain.  Rethreaded and re-tensioned the single-ator and got into gumsville, not as greasy as you may've expected.  All the way down through to 19th, off the road for a nice dark coast, around up back onto Rd and coasting no hands to Dogparkcarpark.   Into the woods again, bit of front wheel drift in the first wetspot, more careful after this.  Stopped at the jump to see about drainage, then on again through the oaks and up to finish off on the last descent behind the houses.

Tidy 5.6 kms, with 201 m climbed.

Waitangi Monday Climby Loco'Loopy

Heesh, what a buncha climbing. 

Grunted my way up, 19th over to Skidder, up gutser to Vic Top.  Brief sojourn down the fun jumpies, over the see-saw, top first section of Brake free and then down the rabbit paddock to the Gummies.  Usual route through here, then out to the skidder and into the exit to the left of the gutser, left into the ^Sick entrance, and left over the lower exit into steep, fun, rooty, and slightly damp Razza's.  Down past the 40footer, assuming Sneaky Ridge would be too greasy, headed down into the dark macracarpas of Brent's, staying high on the left mostly, and being a bit middle aged, as in not totally caning it.  Out the gulch bottom onto Flow - nu bridges down into a fast blast down the valley bottom and a right into the Hidden Valley Bonus.  

Climb-a-climb-climb up the usual steeps, cleaning all the corners and out under the pylon.  Then, instead of straight into the Old Skool, I headed up the 4wd for a ways.  A few zigs higher to the 2nd to last singletrack exit (as you're coming down), peeling into this and riding the techier line along the ledge, across the 4wd into the new rocky sections dropping down and into the off-camber corners then into the Old Skool.  Great blast down here, jumping lots and pumping through, around to the lower section, swerve corner weave, and exiting up valley.

Climby McClimbface up Bowenvale Valley bottom, then into the steep bastard K2, ugh!  Zig across under the 23footer then up it's side and then across onto the rest of it.  More ugh climbing up to pylon, more and more to 40fter and up the last two steep little bastard grunts to the Skidder.  Into the usual 'lower gums' down to 19th, jump, then road down, peel into 235 for a good blitz, not too greasy, and jump landing dry enough, then hooked a right up the wee access track up to road, up to dog carpark into the final down blast behind the houses, home.

Pretty honed 11.5 kms, and 450 m extricated from the gravity well in numerous bursts. 

Tuesday Night Vic to Hunts and Back again

Good outing with Nelson tonight. 

Met at mine and headed up through Vic, usual grovel up from skidder.  Rode right to the top and took a quick turn down over the fun jumps, veering hard right above the see-saw to cut onto Worm, climbing back up to the Traverse.  Across around this all the way to top of Huntsbury for a bit of a pause and breather.  Into the descent.  Blitzy over the rocks, first jump and wind threw me randomly and my landing was on the cusp of the rut, SO close to crashing and careening off track towards the cable fence.  Somehow managed to wind it in and kept going, but my second jump landing was sketchy as fuck too.  Third jump I had it more under control and the final gap was fine.  

Down the 'landing strip' trail on the left, and through the cattlestop, up onto the first rocky knob, slow speed tussock navigations across through and up the back of the main rocky knob, picking our way onto the ridge, rocks tech good, dropping down onto the singletrack and bombing winding and wending, Nelson jumping all, me jumping some, fanging all the way to the last drop at the bottom (after navigating a random couple who didn't seem to know what getting off the track meant).  

Around onto 'our' climbing track (over the western side of the ridge) back up, tricky steeps in tussock then back up onto the single track, climbing past the rocky knob and on up the bastard gravel to the Summit Rd intersection, for a bit of a stretch.

Onto the Traverse again back the other way, Nelson losing me on the climbs but me holding my own okay on the downs.  Good rest just before the trees, then we headed down and into Pedal fine.  First couple of corners, we took an alternative line off to the left, which led us on neat corners droppy down and out onto the 'middle' 4wd(ish) track, and for a second wondering where we were.  Along this for a bit to the entrance of Rad^, but peeling off to drop across down fun steep rooty Razza's.  Popped out the bottom of this and it was back into the steep climb around up and across to the skidder.  

Over into the lower-'gum's continuance, out to 19th, and coasty coasty down the road and into 235, pinging good down here, jumps and out onto the Harry Ell exit up to Vic Park Rd and home.

A pretty steamy 14.4 kms, with what seems measly, 530 m ascended.