Knife and Steel Blistering

So, I did some walking... Tracking trip to Grant Burn, solo, walking a 13.5 km loop 3 days, and a couple of other days with 10.5 and 6.5 kms respectively.  Blistered heel got the better of me.

Sunday E-Sumner

Deathly hungover after Steve and me had a little too much fun Saturday night. Dave had hurt his back and was stuck at home, and as I'd said I would do I had to visit, so once I was upright, I managed to ebike out to his place in Sumner to visit.  A round trip of x kms and the usual hill climb altitude, but didnt MMR.  17.1 kms there, and 16.9 home (slightly altered route).  Used a good chunk of my battery arriving home and the red light appearing.  (it wasnt quite full to start with).

Wednesday Night Moonlit Fat Solo Up On The Top

Headed, for a change, down from mine, into the Longhurst Reserve aka the zig zag, down the dirt, then Derrynane out, and up to Scarff Pl.  Into the Latters Spur track up below the houses, then over the stile and up the fenceline, roots'n'all, but no more trees ☹️ - barren.  The odd bit of walking then through the gate into the dog park.  Couple more bits of walking up the rockiest bits, then up towards the info-centre, around the wheelchair track, over and through to climb around the 19th, usual skidder, grunty mcgruntface, brake free to Worm to head around the Traverse, all the way to Huntsbury/Vernon. 

Briefly onto the road on the saddle, taking in the moon reflecting gloriously on the harbour, and straight over the stile into Scott's knob track, climbing, descending, on both forested tops, some fun in these bits, then across the pond saddle onto the non-forested section to the sugarloaf carpark.  Over the chain and stile and back onto Traverse to follow another rider, slowly catching him around to Vic.  Bypassed the jumps and seesaw, down rabbit, into the rock garden, cruising round into the gums.  Fun usual way down through here, then out to skidder and back over 19th.  Rangerstation, dropped down to the walking track below the road, climbing out to Tawhairanui walk track to the dogparkcarpark.  Straight into the fun twisty singletrack here, not crashing, popping both jumps and through the oaks to the climb, up to the lower dogparkcarpark to finish with a blast down behind the houses, home. 

A valid 10.6 kms with not a bad wee 364 m ascended

Thursday Night Local Canonical Loop

One of my locals with Nelson tonight, from the Cashmere Canon. 

Up the usual 19th Skidder grunter combo, through the Brakefreedom, Worm and onto the Traverse.  Not bad around here, tho was struggling to start with on the first climby bits.  Around we went, and just after the pond Nelson's pedal hit a rock, it skipped his bike very slightly sideways and then the gear he was in started to 'tick' on each revolution.  It only did it in the one gear, so he wasn't too worried about it for the meantime.  At the Lavaflow-top we stopped and he got to seeking it out.  Took ages to find, but eventually found that somehow, one tooth had bent slightly outwards.  So, strategically applied rock, hit with a bigger rock, and all fixed.  

Into HuntsburyDH, both of us struggling with seeing what was coming and I felt like my bike was locked out.  It was so rough and the jumps have all got weird-arse tops now, making them unpredictable, not to mention the ruts on the landings...  Ugh.  Over the bottom gap and into the landingstripzone, weave weave, getting more flow here, then bony as down into AliExpress.  Dropping out into the newer section, sheepshit galore, then down down down, bony and rough.  The lower off-camber switchbacks are getting rutted as fuck.  Straight into the Old Skool, still feeling rough, and struggling with seeing - just not used to night riding yet.  A few shadier spots were looking greasy.  Across the back and forth pumpy section was starting to get pretty fatigued, and into the last shady rocky section towards the big hairpin closest to the houses care was taken in the greasy rocks.  We stopped for a hand-rest just round this corner.  Into the final, down, across, back and forth and out the bottom, into the climb back up the valley.  Grind grind grind.

Up K2 to the 23footer and I said, "lets go up this fenceline."  Push push push, ugh, steep as fuck.  Part way up I said, "you ever seen that rock wall feature?"  "Nope."  So, parked the bikes against trees and proceeded up and across to check out the steep feature I'd found another time.  It looked dodgy as hell, not as steep as I remembered, but damp red brick volcanic with moss and pineneedles.  Decided it would be possible on a DH bike for a start, but maybe rideable on a normal bike, in good conditions.  Wandered back to our bikes of which we could see Nelson's wee front light guiding us back.  Big push onward upward, up up up to the track and gate.  From here a steep(er than remembered) climb up eventually to the skidder site (ridden not that long ago by me).  From here took the singletrack down to the road, then below and sneakily through Tawhairanui Track to the dogparkcarpark and I let Nelson lead into 235 where I crashed last week.  Nice bomb through here, not crashing this time, and pop pop over the two jumps, then scuffing through the oaklands to the exit down the lower way.  Onto the dirt track down to home.

Some weird and not necessarily wonderful ways, 11.23 kms with 491 m clambered

Thursday Night Castling above the Fog

Good ride tonight. Nelson got to mine and we set off just before 5.30pm.  

Up the usual, over 19th, skidder, gruntfest, spectacular sunset as we crested through Brake Free.  Into Worm where it was pretty dark, then onto the Traverse and the light was spectacular basking the last glow on the hills ahead.  Uneventful cruise across the Traverse, getting darker but still not using lights (tho most riders coming towards us were) and around then onto Vernon, lights on for descent here, taking a bit to get the eyes in.  

Quite dark by the time we hit Witch, and this is where we noticed the fog growing in the valleys below, all underlit and groovy.  Along the road, a bit of a stretch at the top of Castle then off, me leading, full lights blazing my way ahead.  Tricky.  Around the switchbacks and dust from above coming down.  Good gap between us, which Nelson closed on the climb.  

Hit the road and the climb back up to Tors where we perched for a few minutes before heading down.  Lights made this tricky with big tussocks glaring the view of the trail beyond.  In the tough stuff lower down I baulked and then couldn't find my mojo again.  Ugh.  Onto the little singletrack above the road and techy tricksiness ensued.  A bit greasy along here too, some bits never seeing the sun, heavily dewed.  Across onto Witch and good blast in places.  Then back up Vernon on the singletrack.  Long slog.  

Traverse, pretty good blast, and the climby bit from the Sugarloaf saddle was shorter and easier than usual and the rest of the way felt really good.  Jumpy in the trees and see-saw then all of BrakeFree, start of Sesame with the peel off into the gums to extend it.  

Clambered out to the skidder and back up over 19th, where in the trees, I peeled right into what I thought might work, but didnt really, and then we found the trail dropping down to the Latters Spur track.  Took this, across into the trees, then the lower one we usually walk, and climbed out taking the cutting behind the slide, rocky track to dogpark and then into the 235 trail for a blaze.  I came unstuck in here.  Took a wide 'berm' line in the loose fir tree zone and front wheel washed, throwing my weight forward, unbalanced toppling, trying to save it, losing it, falling and then getting pinned.  A sandwich of handlebar and ground, leg, bike frame, leg weight holding it all down.  Then my pinned leg started cramping something fucking wicked in the calf.  "Get it off me, get it off me! Ow! Ow!"  Once I managed to stand and stretched it helped but it's been really sore ever since.  A few scuffs and blood too...  Classic.  Finished off with the jumps and cautious on the ball-bearing acorns then final exit down out low and final wee blast home.

Moderately consequential just sub-20 kms, with 732 m climbed