Monday, Troll to the Bach, the Hard Way, With Inclemency

Miserably wet, but surprisingly enjoyable journey to the bach today.  Kitted up the Troll, 'guards and all, everything sealed against the elements.  Getting excellent use out of the 3 bags I used.  Encountered pissing howling southerly, trying to wrench control of the bike on certain sections of all of the tops I traversed.  

Left home 1.30 pm and headed up to the Summit through Vic.  Onto Summit Rd and headed around, with gales trying to make me crash below Sugarloaf, then Vernon/Rapaki-top, and most of the way from Witch, especially the saddle before the Tors - so strong!  Sections of wild tailwind too, and pedalling into the wind on a couple of the downhills.  Whiteout just before Bridle Path.   - all actions to be repeated on all the higher sections of the trip.  Troll'stopher rode much better than last time, brakes holding out nicely and new Fast Track tyres gripping accurately.  Across top of Ticehurst Tce and down the valley into Lyttelton and straight down to the Ferry, 2.30 pm for the 2.50.  1 hr in.

Off the boat, up the hill and grabbed a bite for later from the cafe above.  Patches of sun around.  Down into Purau nice, then into the climb.  This went better than last time, not being nearly as hot.  Hunger got the better of me part way up so I stopped on some dry dirt under a Kanuka on a corner and ate.  A few cars up, one or two down.  Got riding again and felt heaps better.  Slow and steady, grinding away at it.  A couple of short walking stints and lots of grind.  Amazing moody views everywhere, and long periods of time with the whole road to myself.  Gale just over the top, from the side, and behind as I was heading down.  Fast fast fast down, and brakes much better than last time too, scrubbing off speed before the 25kph at the bottom, then rolling around to the church.

Stopped here and looked for a tap, finding none, so I captured rainwater dribbling out of the downpipe - enough in the filter to refill my bottle and headed down to the waterfront and around.  Climb over into next waterfront and then up to the Pigeon Bay turnoff, a sheep leading the way.  Gravel began and biiig climb ahead.  Wetter and wetter as I climbed, grinding away, 

eventually I got to a dry spot under some macracarpas out of the wind where I stripped off and put on dry singlet, longsleeve and windvest under wet raincoat, and my hat.  Much better.  Texted T from here too, it was 5.30pm, 4 hours since I left home.  Onwards upwards, short walk up around the corner, higher and higher then finally over the top, gusty winds on the initial descent then down down down narrow gravel rd, fast and controlled and fun as heck.  Nice and long, then around down and through Holmes Bay and over to Pigeon.  Not a single car encountered all the way until a local in Holmes Bay.    

Up valley here it was dry, and I think the sun tried to come out, but moody and dark over Mt Pearce and the rest of the tops.  Stopped in at Hays Reserve and ate a OneSquare and explored the tracks a little - lovely big podocarps, then riding again, on up the valley, a lonnng grind, walking, riding, walking, riding, taking a call from dad, and texting T "nearly at the top" (it was 7.10pm) and only finally making the top at 7.30pm -  not 'nearly' at all.  "Nearly" if you were in a car, for sure.  Fun steers all running to see me and follow me up the last paddock to the top.  They were great company.

Onto the Summit Rd here and the final leg.  Seemed surprisingly flat around to the old water-trough corner, then that tight wee climb and surprisingly flat around to the corner that's just been cleared of the big macracarpas.  But then seemed to take ages to get around this corner and up to the logging entrance, then encountered the first 2 or 3 cars I'd seen since the bottom of Pigeon, climbing up around the tight corners before Little Ak. around the last tight bushy corner and a mac was roaring in the wind but I wasn't feeling it, then the powerlines were screaming and I was barely buffetted, then around the corner, uphill straight, gale wind pushing me along.  Spectacular!  Over the top and the tailwind pushing me down hill at a rate of knots, it wasnt until coach corner that I felt the wind in my face from the speed of my descent.  Fast down, very enjoyable rolling with speed down the steeps and then through the lower rolling valley section, finally up the drive to the bach, 6 hours, 45 minutes since I left home.

The long and hard way, 60 kms, 2150 m in dead-slow ups and exhilarating descents.  Added bonus of 220 m extra down - steep as they were. 

Christmas morning, Bike to collect car, with an extra

On Xmas Eve T and me had left the car up at the Awaroa turn off to walk down the road and out the Waiharakeke Track. Xmas morning I rode up to the car, then continued all the way down to Awaroa, around as far as I could on the beach of the estuary, then back up the road to the car.  Merry Chrissmast

Total of 12 kms and 430 m climbed.

Monday, Rameka Projections, Phat Packing Klicky Expectations

Early start from Totaranui to drop H and Summer in Takaka for the bus.  Did a wee shop and then headed up Rameka valley to park for the ride up around and back in the Rameka Project. 

Before I left the car a woman came flying through, GSP in bounding tow.  "Gudday."  Climbed up the 'Historic' track, zigging and zagging up, similar to last time I was up here last year.  Chatted to a couple of local dads on their way down who'd been enjoying the view from a bench near one of the corners.  Up top of Great Expectations and up the road, around, grinding into the grovelly climb.  I stupidly took the "Start of Pack Track" signposted what I thought was most of the way up and bombed down this to the track, only to find I was miles down it, so, I proceeded to ride up it, steep as fuck, to the top (ie, the end of the Rameka-proper).  Rest and snack, then in...  funtimes!  bomb bomb bomb, sketch from rain overnight, dropping and popping down and crossing the road then up around and down, cross again and into Great Expectations,

which delivered an excellent blast, downhill forever, back and forth, around and down.  Lovely views, fun trail.  finally in the bottom and left into the Klicks, lots of fun, road for a bit and Klicks to the bottom and back to the car.  Not long after a dad and son arrived behind me, having just been up the zigs and down Odyssey and Klicks.  They must have been climbing up to Klick 1 when I was on my way down...

Funtime 13 kms and 500 meterage points

Friday's Unparaparallelled Saturation

Parked at the usual spot just off the estuary and headed up the main road, only a small number of cars passing on the km and a little, then onto the steep gravel. Gate wide open and I climbed. One car up. Took the little top single-track loop up some switchbacks back onto the road, one car down, for the bigger push over and then down to the descending single-track. 

Rain actually falling now, and the downhill was wet foliage galore.

Super grippy but slow and careful was the flow - very enjoyable! Down and down and down, heaps of pig sign lower down then across the creek and along around the swamp to the dam. Looped it around the dam, honking every time I touched the brakes. Bit of a wheely-walk one overgrown section, saturating legs even more, then out onto the track back across behind the Rintoul. Took a look down the quarry then off down the steep rooty and rutted down, across the front of the quarry and hard left onto the cruisy fast, finally(!), descent. Fun for a nice while and then another stream, crossing and big hole, with a very friendly eel.  Last but of trail, step climb to road, down and out to the car.

Jam packed 8.4 km and a whopping 266 m clambered.

Aorere Gold Sluicing Sweat Equity

Parked at Devil's Boots and headed in the access track on the fatty, then up the 4wd track. Steep and not too hot.

Passed the turn off to the caves thinking there was another one a little further up for the dam, but I was mistaken and when I looked at the map realised I was way up the trail beyond it, so I kept going. When I reached the turn off to Johnson's Battery I decided on a little explore, headed down this track on foot, steep as can be. Found a tunnel, eery, kept going for a wee bit, but it was looking a long way and I didn't like being away from the bike for too long, so turned back and clambed up again. Back on the bike and I carried on heading up to the trig, took in the view,

then turned back down, bombing, climbing the couple of times, and mostly bombing til I eventually got to the turn off again and headed in the ups and downs through to Druggans Dam.  Bit of a rest and watched a dragonfly and an eel then headed off down the waterrace trail, getting more overgrown, but still some fun times, past the caves and an even more fun bomb down down down, passing one dad and daughter, and really flying down the straighter stuff, farm track, gravel track back to the car. 

Exciting 16.6 kms but what felt like a lot more than the measly 409 climbing points that were hard allocated

Quick Dog Run

Quick up on the Troll with Jet last night, testing out my new tires.  He was gagging for it, even tho his old man hips were gonna be screaming at him later.  We cruised up the walking path, and into the bushy one, then up between road and dog park to the carpark, straight across into the trail.  He faffed around a bit and then some riders came through, then a couple of runners who I let past.  Then we got going, stopping a couple of times to let him catch up.  Jumped the tree branch, waited, then through oaks, up to the right, up around to dogparkbottom and down, into Charles' Track.  Nice and broad now, easy riding, will use more often.    

Then headed left out the side (cos there were some people with a dog going up on the other side), and down across the grassy bits to home.

Not even 2 km, and (by my own calculations) 86 m climbed. (MMR says it was only 55, but that's bollocks, lowest point, 222 m, highest point, 296 m, descended to 259, climbed again to 271, and back down...)

Saturday Captain God, Snake Escape, God Thomas

Awesome long ride with Nelsie tonight.  Chucked my bike on his roof rack at his place and we headed for Slumnervale, parking around the corner from usual at the cul-de-sac we've been riding out the last couple times.  I'd had a busy day followed by a snoozy hour before leaving home and unfortunately too much sugary chocolate and a bowl of chippies, so was feeling a tad pre-diabetic

Steep up the steep, but into the groove once on the 'level,' clambering around and needing a good rest at the seat where the trail comes up from the valley.  Riding again, usual steps through the rocky stuff, and riding out the top no problem, only meeting one guy on an electric dirtbike (naughty!) on his way down.  

Onto the road around out towards Scarborough top to ride up farmtrack to Godley, for a blast of a blast down towards Livingston.  Smooth and flowy, bike feeling reeeaally good.  Through the col and up around, Nelson bollocksing some rock feature.  I continued on, assuming he wasn't far behind and as I rounded the furthest hairpin realised he wasn't there.  Over pfmtbc rock and down rutsville to the road and waited.  He turned up eventually saying he ended up doing a couple of goes at the same feature.  

Up the road a little ways and dropped into Anaconda from the top.  Excellent blast down this, flowy flowy again, feeling the drift-into-catch on the corners, almost all the way down.  Tidied up once into the Tail and nice blast down and straight into the up-valley climb out on the Escape.  Drawn out affair this, with the gulch in the bottom the hardest most painful part.  Good once further up.   There was a guy ahead on the hairpins at the end of the valley so Nelson started chasing, gapping me completely.  He ended up taking him at the top of the last hairpin over Taylors, and I was juuust about catching him before the final final hairping, but not quite.  

Back up the road from Livingston and then up onto Godley again via the farm track, this tiem turning right to hit back to Evans.  Nice fast blitzy blast all the way back.  Tech rocks.  Bike handling wonderfully.

Finally, into the Captain for a glorious descent.  Primo conditions and feeling really good now, finally on the down.  Speed and flow were our closest companions.  Very good for us.

Couple and a half hours, 20kms and nearly 800m climbed. All good

Thursday Morning Singlesped Power Three-quarter-hour

Up and back blast to get the blood flowing this mild nor'west morning.  Set off about 6.30, up the walking track just above the road, gasping for air in no time.  Onto the road at the first carpark and chuffing still.  Straight in past the 19th and into the grunter for a short walk.  Then up zig and zag out and up to Thompson's #1 for a lovely hoon down to the climb back to road.  Seat down, dropped in, down around the jumps and blast down rabbit into rocks, cleaned, into gums, flow flow flow, out to road, then turned back up towards skidder, and onto the over-19th trail.  Dropping out beside the rangerstation and down around the road.  Into the dogparkcarpark, trail now trimmed tidy-like and flowy as all fuck.  All the way down to H'Ell.  Clamber to road, and home.  7.15.  Sweeat!

Underwrought 6 kms and 200 m climbed