Saturday Morning Mount Grey in the Grey

Nice ride today with Nelson and a dude he's met locally recently, Harvey.  Harvey kindly drove, through quite a lot of rain, which buttoned off as through Amberly and up Cramptons Bush Rd, down to a shmizzle at least.  We headed all the way in, up and over past "Lake" Janet, down to the bottom end of the Mt Grey track, where the blown-out ford is.  

Rode up the road from there - very overgrown and narrowing with gorse. At the "Lake" we didn't head up the zigzags on account I didn't think my knee would handle any walking, and Nelson pointed out that the overgrownness of the trail would be very wetting, instead, staying on the road the whole way to the top, including from above the lookout.  We were immersed in clouds from a bit below there, all the way to the top with some a couple of smatterings of drizzle on the way. I kept getting left behind cos I was climbing really slow, all sorts of excuses really: post covid, not enough riding, my knee...  and they're both super fit.  

Started into the down and it was a bit sketchy, tho stuff came at us seemingly quicker than usual. Hairpins, already? Rock roll, already?? Then as we headed into the forest the sun came out. Still very wet in the there, and the roots and moss were slippery, rocks about the same.  Hairpins?  Boy, the Cotic is long... After climbing slower, I wasn't as fast descending as them either, but it was all very enjoyable taking my own pace.  Fucking mucky lower down, especially in the muckzone.  Passed one or two walkers. Was sweet sweet ride, but my hands were getting sorer and sorer the whole way down.  I think the MeatyGrips are okay on non-tech...  have switched them to the singlespeed, and put the (brown) Burgtecs onto the Jeht now - colour coordinated!

Washed our bikes in the river under full sun and blue skies for the drive home.  Coupled with my commute time from home to Nelson's and back again, (not to mention Harvey was about 25 minutes late), made for a surprisingly long day...I'd left home at 7.40 am and it was 2.40pm by the time I made it home.

Slightly toilsome 13.7 kms and 690 m arduously climbed (by me).  Interestingly, this trip was 2 hours 25 minutes of ride time, vs at least the last 5 times we've done it have only been ride time of 1 hour 40 or so...  I'm wondering if I really was that slow, or if the climbing from the bottom slows down the higher steeper stuff... turns out my MMR was set Auto-Pause Off...  that explains it, I didn't think we were 45 minutes slower.

Thursday Singlist Usual

High intensity single speed blitz up and back the usual routes tonight.  Roughly an hour (47 minutes ride time).  Grinding away testing the knee, which seemed to enjoy it.  Hard work in the steeps, really struggling with it all, I'm SO unfit - breathing hard and heart racing.  

Down Thomson's #1 then seated climb back up road, popped up to the rock shelter, quick talk with Doug and see if there were any blackberries around (nope), then seat down and bombing, so much flow.  Another log across my favourite so I'll have to get up with the axe this weekend.  Otherwise, lovely descending all the way, especially below the dog park car park, weaving nice and loosely through those curves, and awesome flow over the jumps and through the oaks and beyond.  Popped out on H'Ell and clambered to road and home. 

Short and sharp, 5.8 kms with 205 m gouged out of the acclivity

Sunday Morning Codger's Dog's Firball, 51 Horses

Hot ride in Nelson today. Plans were malleable and changed as I rode... From base, down the walkway and then out across behind the Cathedral and then up my usual entrance to the Brook, via that nice path along the creek then a bit of a zig and zag up to bottom of Codgers.  Climbed on up here, not that many people around and yet still a few.  Into Tasman Journeys for a zig and a zag up to Jacks then up to Middle road, grannying along the steeps.  Jeht was in 29:29 guise, and riding pretty nicely.  Blessing was so far all of it was in the shade, and there was still some cool dampness in the air from the night, tho was fixing to be a bit of a scorcher.  Stopped at a picnic table for a short break and look at Trailforks to work out where to go.  Decided on the top of Lollipop and see where from there, thinking maybe Hotbox then try the climb up from Maitai over that side.  Got to Hotbox and Beer Bottle climb and another rider rolled up and we talked then I led off up Beer Bottle, cleaning it nicely.  I went all the way to the very top (view from here)

The other dude had headed off down Top Dog from the corner.  Had a wee look down Lolli but nahhhhh...  and Hot Box had closed tape all over it, figured best not to annoy the trailmakers, so took Top Dog and proceeded to enjoy the bejeebus out of it.  Reminded me of the sections of Great Expectations that are in the pines, tho a little more tech than that.  Was too soon over and I was on an access road.  Headed up this passing the top of the climb trail, then DIVAs (compulsory gap jumps - nah), then Hotbox (closed tapes all over, so no go there) so continued back up to the skid (at top of Take me to your Leader), proceeded back up to the main Fireball Skid, then up Firball climb to access the Trig.  Even better view than top of Top Dog.   

I'd spotted a new trail on the map from this Trig, and had been aiming for it, Koata Whetu.  I'd done Koata Marama last time I was up here so this was a good option for heading back down.  It was fun.  Popped and weaved, up top wider and less steep than Top Dog, through a bit of regen native, a few pines near the top and then across the grassy scrub around to eventually join onto the bottom of Fir Ball.  Boffed down through this then through the saddle and climbed up to Whanake and into P51 for a nice rolly back and forth, a few nice tabletops, one cased bollocking (OUCH), then down through into the bottom.  Chose Crazy Horse instead of the bottom of Firball based solely on that it was shorter slightly shorter than Firball (figured it might therefore be steeper and more fun).  Not that great, anyway.  At Container Skid I stupidly didn't take Young Codgers instead climbing up back onto the main Coppermine trails and headed down this against the traffic flow.  

Rolled back down through town (swinging past the Gallery to see if Anth was there for a coffee) and got hot and bothered climbing up Locking St and the walkway back to base.  

Somewhere in the vicinity of 18 kms, and around 600 m climbed (recalculated because bloody MMR straightlined it from the top of Firball to the top of Whanake... (at least 100 m altitude from saddle up Whanake))