Hungry Sunday Solo Hunts

On my own, no breakfast just coffee ( + green tea in the bottle).  Headed up the usuals, 19th, skidder, steep.  Up to top, and into Thomson#1 for a nice groove, then back up the road to top, down around the jumpies, hard right into Worm, and up onto the Traverse.  Good spin around here, stopping for a few (telling one group off for not giving way descending), then dropped into Huntsbury DH just after another guy had dropped in, slowly winding him in as we descended, flowing through the last gap right on his tail.  He hung a left on the older version of the singletrack just after that, and I followed, striking up a convo with him and him pulling over for me.  Bombed down through this then across the landing strip and seeking out the wee Rocky ridge entrance ways.  Climbed up the zig zag on the back of the knob to find my front wheel going flat.  Ugh.  Swapped out the tube and said gudday to Doug, and got going again, forgetting to unlock my rear suspension down over the rocks.  Down through the jumps, bypassing the odd one, all the way to the bottom of the dirt end of Huntsbury Ave.  

Turned back up the hill and climbed, and climbed.  Stopped for a rest under the cabbage tree below the rocky knob, snacked half a One Sq for 'breakfast' and continued on back up.  Gave some directions to a lost dad and son, then gravel ground to the top.  Back on the Traverse, good spin around stopping once for riders, feeling pretty strong on the climbs, then dove down the jumpies, see saw, brakestart then to rockgarden and gums dropping down through, out Skidder, road, 235, fun in there, wet landing off treebranch jump, then climbing, last blast drop behind houses to home.  Fun times.

Expressive 14.8 km with 525 m climbed

Saturday Morning T and R on the E and T

Beautiful ride today.  Up the hill with Tra'y, her on her E bike and me on the Troll.  Feels so good climbing on the Troll.  We rode hard through the Skidder and into the climb, with her getting miles up!  I walked up to her and we swapped bikes for the steep bit.  Back on, and riding climbing up all the way to the road.  Hung a left, and cruised nicely along to Castle Rock.  Here, she went off down the road and I took the singletrack.  What a beat up!  Hard work, but got smoother picking smoother lines, but feck it's rough.  Caught up to T just past the Bridle and we looked at the view and then turned back... There were people out everywhere, walking biking, running...

A bit over 20 kms, with an indubitable 762 m clambered 

Thursday Night Convoluted Topspin

Great wee ride tonight with Nelson, staying up high and looping about Mt Pleasant.   We'd figured ridgelines would be best given the amount of rain we'd had a couple days ago...

Parked on Parkridge and headed the usual byways entering Britten at the gate on Upper Major and singletracking up from there.  Zig and zag then at the top we hit the road and coasted down to hit the OG (Original Greenwood) entrance, peeling left into Sheepshit Alley for a nice cruisy descent.  This always has more upwardsness than I feel it did (considering the climb it is the other way), but a nice blast down and took the 'Moab' line towards the end.  

At the bottom we hung a right and cruised up the farm track, noticing for the first time a bulldozed fence line being put in.  Continued onwards all the way to the gun emplacements.  Bit of a tootle around here then rode and explored the closed Bluffs track to the point we couldnt.  Turned back and bombed down to the OG line across, me leading and juuust making it through all the tech bits.  

On the road again and back up to Britten for 'around the front' and then across the road at the cutting and up over the fence and up the very overgrown long grassed (especially for this time of year) zig and zag climbing all the way to the top of Pleasant.  Very pleasant to get to the top for a bit of a rest and snack.  

Dropped in, me in the lead, and pinging all over the place but enjoying the rocks and the down.  Carved our way through the tussocks and then out to then end.  Down the farmtrack briefly then dropping into what Trailforks calls Titus (Previously the Greenline/Greensticks/Swoopy).  Hero dirt stylez down here, carving back and forth with great gusto and grip.  Fun times.  Then climbing (what Trailforks calls) Knapsack but I call Sheepshit Alley back to the top for the final stretch along this road.  

Dropping into Britten, Nelson took off like a rocket.  I was not far behind but wasn't quite as gungho.  Good across the front then he missed a turn and I took the lead for the drop down, then we explored out to check out the rocks.  Back on track we bombed down the steep section (that freaked me out last time I took the Troll down it) and over the stile to hit down Kenton Track, this time all the way.  It was mint.  He led the first bit but took the high line (towards where I exited last time) and I went low, leading the last section.  Some awesome tech in there.  Finally, up the steps, pushing up alongside houses then out on to Rockview, and up Major Hornbrook to the cars.

A very pleasant 13.8 kms with 520m climbed.

Thursday Morning Along the Top and Back

T on her E and me on my Troll set out nice and early up through Vic, across skidder and up the gutser.  Both walked, I pushed her heavy bike and she couldn't believe how light the Troll was.  We cleaned the next bit to Brakefree then rode up to the very top.  Cruised the Summit Rd all the way to Cavendish Saddle, admired the view, then turned back.  Up Vernon we rode out around the wheelchair track which give some quite cool views I didn't realise were there.

At the top of Vic we continued down to Dyers Pass and bombed down the road, around down and into Vic Park Drive top-end, and back down through here.  I peeled off and did the 235 singletrack, enjoying the crap out of that, then out the lower end and home.

Lovely...  24.75kms and surprisingly 968m ascended.

In the afternoon we flew off up to New Plymouth for WOMAD.

Sunday Heated Head Loop

Feeling weary, took myself up thru Vic via the usuals, road, 19th, skidder, and gruntsvillian.  Across Brakefree and upwards to the top.  Peaked to the road and dropped down in, looping over the jumpies then straight into Worm and headed onto and around the Traverse to the top of Huntsbury DH.  

Dropped in, down upper HuntsburyDH, yumping the yumpies and then out onto the landingstrip zone taking the old line to the left over the rocks, and down.  New trail has been split off to the right for an out and back around but dead-ends, so back onto the dropster down to the cattlestop, and down Ali Express, attempting but failing the steepest rocky section I used to ride all the time.  Something about that wheel sized hole at the top gives me the willies every time.  On down the rest of it enjoying the tech, and around the off-camber ruts back and forth before hitting into the Old Skool.  

Nice blast down this, pumping the pumps and feeling pretty smooth.  Out the bottom and straight into the up-valley grind.  Very shortly overtaken by a young fit bastard, who proceeded to gap me all the way up the valley.  I bungled on, losing sight of him before entering the trees.  Grind, grind away, at Hospital corner I continued on up the valley.  Hot and still in here, I stopped after the bridge in a nice shady spot and somewhat unfathomably bumped into Doug. 

He's everywhere these days.  We had a quick chat and he headed down while I headed up, heat starting to get to me.  Walked a bunch and then rode the nice traverse across to the gulley below Brents.  Climbed up over the cattlestop thankful noone was descending hard, and then ground up the steepest bastard to the first 4wd section which was also insanely steep evil climb, stopping a couple of times for breathers.  Took a couple photos of cool fungi,

then ground on up the next not so bad steep to the Rad Zone.  Ugh, up to the skidder site, then easy over 19th again (due to trail closure on usual route), heat was hard... 

Lovely cool blast coast down road and into the 235 for a sweeeet descent in the shade on slightly damp dirt, jumpitty jump and oaked, then climbing granny, up road, last final blast down behind the houses and home.

Heated, nearly stroked, 11.9 kms, 502 m escalated.

Wednesday Evening Local Solo Zoop

Good wee spin on my lonesome tonight.  Quite warm out, and had been wfh getting new windows installed.  

Chuffed up from home, feeling fat and slow.  Usual over the 19th and up the skidder.  A young dude on a Santa Cruz entered the climb about the same time and proceeded to power away from me, making me really feel fat and old.  Survived the climb and proceeded up to the Thomsons, bomb down one and two, then coast through Kiwi and climbing up the road, a million gromlets rolling down the road towards me from the park.  

I bailed over the saddle onto the Gov's Bay track, finding it a little greasy.  Stopped for a quick blackberry munch (finding them a bit past it now) and kept going, around the south sidle and then climbing up the techy rockness.  Cleaned a lot more than recent attempts, tho still dabbed through or walked a couple of bits.  Over the top and dropped onto the lower Nun at the Drainpipe/CaptTorpedo juncture, floating down the rest and popping up onto the road.  Through Dyers Pass and up the Scummit Rd, past some groms walking(!) and on up to top of Vic (where there were more riders stationed).

Dropped in here, down around popped the jumpies, see-saw, then right-hander and along the fenceline up to top of Pedalfine where I perched for a little rest.  The dudes who were at the top of Vic boosted through the jumps and then headed off over down Shrooms/Cowabunga area, and I headed down Pedalfine, seeing them through the vegetation a bit lower down.  I peeled off to the lower left (like last time) and rolled nicely out through to the traversing 4wd track.  Looked at dropping down the bits I did last time, but decided against it and headed along to the bit that leads to Razza's.  Bombed down this, into Razza's and had a lovely hoon down this, one root nearly catching me out.  

Climbing again, up the bastard steepness to the Skidder, and strangely deciding to climb up the grunter again to take in the Gums.  Ugh, anyway, climbed, grunted, and out the top, quick drink and down the rabbit paddock and into the rocks, gums, back and forth, nice roll.  Through the bottom sequence and whooah!  Trail being worked on.  Climbed back up to Skidder and took the 19th route over, then down the road, rolly rolly, and into 235 for a final sweet burst, nearly greasy, good jumps, out through oaks, climb, onto road, climb, then Dog Park/Microwave Tower dropping fast down behind the houses and home.

An propitious 9.8 kms, with 420 m climbed. 

Thursday Night Captain God- Snake Escape -Ley Thomas

Good spin tonight with Nelsie.  I arrived at Sumnervale to find him already parked up, and having already tickled his drivetrain into submission.  We set straight to it, around Finnsarby Pl and across the redzone, along behind the gabion wall and into the grunt of a climb.  Stopped and ate some blackberries (which were a bit past it, in my mind).  On upwards, and both of us, tho mostly Nelson, muppetting and tweaky pinging all over the place.  It was like his balance was all off and he kept losing it, including having to step off over the bike on a couple of occasions.  Great climb (once you're past the bastard start) and it wasn't long before we were clambering over the slipped out gatefence and hitting the main drag.  Still muppetry ensued, with Nelson walking bits he probably hadn't walked for years.  I wasn't quite so bad, but still not 100%.  Eventually out the top and, given we were aiming to be back down before sunset, we took the road out to above Scarborough and headed up the farmtrack to the Godley.  

I led down over the boardwalks and through the curves, getting some great speed on, but bony trail was pinging all over the place.  No close calls but certainly on the edge a lot of the way, but gapping Nelson (for a change).  Through Livingston and Nelson led the climb over and down to Breeze, both of us getting a little hung up on the ruts after the pfmtbc rock (which it looks like hardly anybody rides anymore).  On the road back up the hill and we parked up at the top of the 'new' Anaconda entrance.

I dove in first, finding a lot of bones and looseness.  A little hairy around a few corners, and I couldn't quite get my flow on in this top section.  It's hardly used, by the feel of it.  Once in the OG snake I was away.  Started off a little slow but once speed was up I maintained it.  Super sketchy around some corners, and a few mega pings, but out onto the 'tail and struggling to keep on the offcamber, overgrown grass.  Then through the cattle grate and the final bits were plenty fun.  Managed to gap Nelson a bit too, which is always a bonus..  Straight into the Taylor's Escape trail, I put him out front again, and of course he slowly increased the gap on me.  Man it gets steep in the gully, but the going certainly improved as we clambered.  One rider coming down towards us, she waited off side for us.  Big corners, then across the top, and on the last hairpin I lost my balance and tipped, hand out to steady, I super-struggled to extract my foot.  Strain.

Onto the road for the climbing, up around the launch pad (lots of these floaty guys around today) and then after taking in the view of the spit and Scarborough beach (pumping!) we headed up the farmtrack again. 

Another break at the top then into the Godley, which I led and caned!  Awesome flow through all the rocky mess, and I finished by taking the walking track bit, coming into the last corner just after Nelson on the main track.

Across Evans, another quick break, both feeling pretty stuffed, I led into the Captain, into what proceeded to be a cruisy fun ride down.  All good, flowy, fun.  On the wee climb after the rocky bits I changed down too low, and spun out, managing to dab my way up it, but Nelson had selected the perfect gear and cleaned it!  first time in a while.  Flow flow flow, over the gatefencehole, and then overgrown techknuckle followed.  Fun, but on your toes, tight, lots of narrow and holes getting bigger, cool rock roll overs, trees to duck, so much fun.  In the pines I got a call from T, (how long?  half an hour??), and then down the finish, back along behind the gabions, gorse stinging salty arms, and then I found a grape vine and we gorged.  As we rode through the red zone 3 paragliders landed over us in that paddock.  Back to the cars and done, 5 minutes before sunset.

Moderately valid effort, 20.64 kms, and 8 m shy of 800 m ascended.