Rode from Nelson's place tonight. Up Soleares, which happens to be a right bastard steep (worserer than Vic Park Drive from mine). Right on Belleview and then left up Major Hornbrook - Kaikoura View, then up through the parky bit and up across the Long/Clear/Ridge-Views to the Upper Hornbrook entrance of Britten. A nice night up here. Zig and zag across the front of Britten and around up to top, then around the front and out the exit by the cattlestop/cutting. Over the fence and up through the long grass narrowed trail onto the climb up Mt Pleasant. Nelson dropped me up here, whereas I wasn't doing so bad lower down, boosting to catch him every now and then. Up ehre on the rocky bits I just kept hooking feet or stalling on the rocks. Bit of a break at the top of Pleasant.
Into the descent, nice rolling but fucking boney. Much worse than last timast time, which was bony af then. Good times through the tussocks thought and I think for the first time meeting all the new fences at the bottom of this... Down into 'Knapsack', where I found I had no idea where I was going - hussing around blind hairpins into unexpected turns, and then towards the far end I just had no idea and it seemed to just go on and on... Climbed up the 4wd trail (diagonally towards the gun emplacements) meeting the new fence/gate across this, and eventually (it's always longer than I remember) got to Greenwood OG entrance trail. Across this, fun times, removing the stupidly placed (metal) trail closed sign that was perched in the middle of the new cattlestop, then dealt with all the rocks across the top here. Next we dropped into Sheepshit Alley. Droppy fun descent then a short climb and at the top of this on a corner I heard a weird skreek. Not the kind of noise a rock strike makes, almost a cracked frame type sound, but bike was riding fine so carried on, tho noticing handling was getting a little weird. Anyway, when I finally got to the bottom (again, longer than memory served), pulled up and thought "why is my waterbottle leaking?" "wait, that's not water, that's OIL!" Pissing out of the top of my shock all down over my bottle and frame... Huh. Air was staying in so it was still springy, but no more damping.
From here rode up the road back to Britten, bouncing a bit, and dropped into here bombing down, bike feeling pretty much fine. Bombed down the way we'd come up tho turned off down Madeley Rd to Mt Pleasant and bombed down Soleares back to Toledo.
Shockingly good 14.6 kms hastened and 537 m vied.
Later follow up... damper shaft broken in the shock, not just an o-ring.
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