Sunday to the Castle and back

Excellent empty stomach solo blitzkrieg across the top and back, taking in Vic, Traverse, Vernon, Witch, Castle and the Tors, there and back identical to a certain March ride of this route.

Grunted up the usual, gasping on the steepest bit.  Climbed all the way up to the top where there was a massive crowd of teens making a huge noise, some sort of organised walking trip.  They let me past and I boffed around over the jumpies and peeled right into Worm climb, out to Traverse whereupon I met many riders coming the other way.  Good blaze around here and then up onto Vernon for a biff boff baff down and around, not so many riding up this.  Straight through Rapaki-top and into Witch for a techy dab-free climb.  Stopped for a well earned breather at the usual high point then bopped off down to the road, railing the berms like a happy thing.  Onto the road and climbing, cruising, keeping up the pace, up to Castle where I stopped and had a tiny nibble on some One Sq.  

Now, the crux of the matter, Castle Rock track.  Keen to test the Jeht here and I was not disappointed at all.  Railing blast of a flight down it, superlative handling.  Good climb in here then final bits of rock and onto the road at Bridle-top and straight into the climb back up to the top, and ebike hooning past me.  At the top a couple of runners above held me off from pushing up to the Tors Track.  Then waited for them to get low enough I wouldn't catch them, then off I set.  Cleaned more of it than usual, the usual dab points ridden right over, until I found a new one.  Rode unclipped for the last bumpy descent then flew off down the road.  Along here, I got a nose grab of petrichor - the beautiful bushy, musty, dank smell you encounter at a certain perpetually shaded point on the Summit Rd between Witch and Tors.

Onto the Witch, a few riders coming through towards me as well a couple of walkers, cleaned the climb and then hooned over and down to Rapaki for a long slog climb up the road, around to Traverse again, good blast around here, catching a couple of women just after the pond, and then a good flight to the forest, jumps, see-saw, first few berms Brake Free and out down Rock garden, gums, through where I cut the other week and all the way down.  Onto road, into dogparkcarpark for the slightly greasy but fun 235 and blasting out to the very end, clamber up to road and home.

Over 20 kms, and 720 m altituded, felt good.