Blue Monday, Spurring On

Wet night and morning, but cleared a bit, so Nelson and me headed south of Greymouth to Hoki and up to the Station carpark for Blue Spur.  Had a doozie of a ride in there...

Climbed up the access road, first left into Doolittle, fun little doing, descent back to the road, climbed back up, then left into Seesaw.  Excellent blast down this into the valley.  Up the valley, shoes off 3 times to cross the stream, then up Elevator, and UpCycle, which was really cool.  Then up the main 4wd track again, climbing seemingly forever, passing the starts of all the tracks we'd hit on the way down. Eventually the very top of Edge.

And, down... First The Edge, then a climb on 4wd to Stagg's Drop, which Nelson immediately crashed on, tumbling down and disappearing into the bushes below the track, landing completely upside down.  I had to drag his bike up, while he tried to untangle himself upright.  This was a fun trail, one of the better ones.  Next into Bad Boys which had a heckuva lot more climbing that it should have.  Then the Cutting which was quite good.  Out of here, we headed up a bit over and down the road to the tech top of Tunnels, and dropped in.  Awesome wee trail this, tho a few too many ups in the middle bits.  Through the tunnel, and then out the valley out to Tucker Flat Rd, right here, and along, then up a couple of steep corners back to the car.

A reputable 15kms, with 414 climbed (felt like a lot more than that)...

Monday: Morning Blue Jet Spur then Family Rail Trail to Ross

Jet Spur
Jet and me went for a quick morning solo blat up the Blue Spur.  Up the gravel road past Seesaw and for the first time taking in Slow Girls, which was a fun wee trail, with a few whoops and doops through, then on up the, at times, grindy gravel road past first The Cutting (and Logarithm), then Bad Boys and up to the top of Stags Drop.  Headed out and checked out top of Rehab Ridge, but not so game on this black track on the fatty, so rolled back and headed into Stags Drop, finding it heaps shorter than the other day for some reason, then into Bad Boys, again, shorter than remembered, and then The Cutting, which had more climb in it that I'd recalled from just a couple of days, but was longer and fun.  Then it was the gravel climb up to beginning of Slow Girls again, past Tunnels and Seesaw, and, for the first time, out on Doolittle - which was cool, and way longer than I'd expected, and actually really fun.  Finally, down the gravel back to the car.

7 and a half kms, with just over 200 m climbed.  Sweet blast.

To Ross!
Then, family headed south in the car on the main highway, past Mahinapua, and at the corner at Ruatapu, turned off the main road onto the Wilderness Trail section, and parked near the end of the side road.  Headed onto the rail trail here, a clear 13 or so kms to Ross, along an old railway line, very very straight, and barely any gradient.  A few cool streams, the really cool Totara River bridge, and some cool swamp lands, with very stunted kahikatea forest.  Long and straight and flat... 13kms each way. Totally wore out the boys.  Last day of the holiday and even I was relieved not to have to ride my bike for a day or two...  26.9 kms, and surprisingly 115 m of alt (most of which is probably the climb up into Ross).

Friday. The Family Wilderness, and Spurring in the Blue

Family Bit

Couple bits of riding today... First off, headed out to Lake Kaniere in the car, bikes on back, and out Milltown Rd, parking just over the Arahura River.  A car pulled up, a guy who does a bit of support on the Wilderness Trail, and said "you're not supposed to take dogs" but after chatting a while (him enjoying our bikes a lot!) he kinda said we'd probably be okay - keep him on a lead etc.  So, rode in and up 4wd bit to start then onto the plush groomed switchbacks that flowed up the paddocks in and out of scrub and eventually into some nice bush. Rode thru to Cowboy Camp where we stopped and had a drink and some fries (and were told that the dog would be attacked by cattle - "Just don't say I didn't warn ya" - he wasn't.)  and rode onwards a short while to the big gulch and swing bridge (MacPherson's) before turning back and rolling, mostly down, back through Camp and more down all the way back to the car. Happy Jet trotting along off the lead for the last while - slowly getting slower (and very worn out sleepy tonight). 

No MMR cos it failed due to lack of reception when we started, but I think it was probably only 4 or 5 kms each way, with a bit over 100m total climbed.

Me time

Then about 3.35 I headed out on my own, back towards town from where we're staying, then around the giant wheelbarrow and up Hau Hau Rd, climbing, climbing, around into Blue Spur Rd and hung a right on Reg Cox Drive. Gravel climbing here, let a little air out of my tires, and climbed up til I hung a left on Seesaw. Great wee blast down this, some fun steep chutes ending up down in the valley around 4pm. 

Last time I was in here I'd hung a right at the bottom here, and headed up the valley, but this time I figured I'd try left and check out the Blue Spur Range Rd as a climb.  Ugh...  Long. gravel. grind.  When I thought I was maybe nearly at the top I checked out Trailforks and found I was only half way up, so kept on grinding.  A couple of quite steep pinches that had the legs and traction trying it out a bit.  Finally reached the 'top' and rolled down a bit to where The Edge peeled off.

This was cool.  Steep and narrow, next to (on the 'Edge' of?) a rough as guts skidder/quad track dropping a fair bit of altitude all at once.  This led to Gravel Pit which had one option with "Caution Caution" above it.  I had a phone call here so while I was talking I clambered down to see...  Steep into a sheer vertical drop of a couple metres into a good roll out, but I wasn't game so took the bunny route to the left instead.  Fun drop down still, over a couple table tops then around a bit and into the next one, Stags Drop.  So named due to a gnarly couple of rocks drop near the start - scarred by chainrings.  The rest of the trail was fun a few cool drops, looping down and around to Bad Boys which was also pretty cool.  Then The Cutting which was variable, but good, the odd bit of climbing but lots of fun features and drops and stuff.  Map My Ride obviously lost it here, and has me all over the place.

End of Cutting led into Logarithm, which I didn't realise til too late was heading down into the valley again.  Ugh, more climbing??  Oh well, fun descent, some steep bits and was a bit more raw than the other trails, obviously newer, as it's not in the 2014/15 Kennett's book  Hung a right at the bottom and headed up Elevator, which gets you up pretty quick but had a short walking section, but the fat bike gives pretty good traction on these steep bits.  At the top I passed on doing the Cutting again (didn't feel like I had the legs anymore), and just cruised the 4wd road (Reg Cox) down(ish).

At the exit of Cutting (also the exit of Slow Girls - still didn't ride that), the 4wd has a bit of a climb that tired legs didn't like, and eventually I got back to where Seesaw heads off - opposite this is the steeperer entrance to Tunnels. Down this rather steep chute into a hellish looking rock filled gulch, which then turned into interesting slick(ish) clay ruts and more steep rounded slick rocks.  Great fun!  Blasting down and around and back and forth and then across (obviously following an old water race) for a while and then ups and downs and more downs finally to the tunnel.  Cruised through this kinda chest/belly on seat, and onwards down sweet trail eventually across a flat to a gravel road.  MMR completely lost me in there with a couple of big skips.

Hung a right on the gravel road, looked longer ahead of me than I'd remembered, up around a bend, a right on Hau Hau, a couple more bends and climbing bits (one of which I added air back into the tires)and back up to Blue Spur Rd.  Back onto tarmac for a high speed blast down hill back past the refuse station and finally to the giant's wheelbarrow and a short blast through Preston's Bush trails, across the road and back along to the house, just over 2 hours since I'd left.

A very wobbly gps track, only 510m climbed, and 23kms in 1 hour 47 (so, not a hell of a lot of stops).

Hoki's A.O.K.

13th April, Friday, 2012 - 
Blue Spur.
Easter and first week of school days found us with 10 days at Mahinapua. What a spot! Choice of paddling the Canadian on the glorious scenery or riding about with the kids on the local shortwalks. Sweeeeet!

After a couple of non-starts of riding with local Liam (- a rained out lunchtime then a too-tired-to-ride night), I managed to finally get out for a 'me' ride on Friday the 13th - a morning drive up to Hoki, up Hau Hau Rd to the Blue Spur trails, thanks to Liam for the map. Twas mint.

Parked up at Stations 'boutique' accommodation/restaurant/bar, and headed straight across the road and up the backbone of the trails up there; a 4wd road. Steady climb to start gaining 75 metres in no time, evidence of a couple of motorised trail bikes having braaaped their way up recently. I checked on the map a couple of times to get a feel for its scale.

None of the trails i was about to ride were muddy, as such. They were a little slick at times, and there was the very occasional puddle, only really on the 4wd stuff tho, all thanks to the veritable drought breaker on Tuesday (Liam's monday ride was even dusty, so he said). Surrounded by young pines and scrub these trails should be in here for a while yet, and only getting better, or neglected if not enough people ride them.

I peeled left onto a track called See Saw. Straight away i knew i was in for a good time. A couple of rooty drops into the start of it, then sweet narrowish benched singletrack meandering down,
not losing too much altitude but all the while heading down reasonably quick, able to open up now and then (and if you knew them well you'd cane it), the odd steep corner, a wee jump or two, finishing with a sweet steep section, a coupla switchies, a banked ply wallride corner, and finishing off with a pretty sweet steep drop down with a run out finishing with a wee bridge crossing a creek.

Onto the Valley Link, a 4wd track (that had indeed had a 4wd up it recently), mostly up, softish, longish wet grass, with 4(?) fords,
two of which i steppingstoned, and the last two of which i rode realising i could have ridden the earlier ones.

The end of Valley Link leads you across the creek and up the aptly named Elevator - a steep, rocky, forestry 4wd. Into granny for the first time i just couldnt get my climb on, then i thought i had a flat, pulled the wheel, tire, tube, pumped that up big and no leaks. My fricking (brandnew) rimtape havin slipped again, exposing 3 spoke holes, which as we all know is trouble brewing... Anyway, chucked in my spare tube and pumped everything back together and got climbing again, riding out the top.

Here it was back onto (and up) the original spine 4wd from earlier, up to the top of first Bad Boys, then up steeper (but all ridden) to Stags Drop. What i'd seen from Elevator of Rehab Ridge (just up further) told me i didnt need to look, and any further up the spine road didnt appear to be much, so, I hung a hard left into Stag's Drop.

This was another like See Saw, hand crafted, flowing, with a few interesting features, including what i assume is "Stag's" Drop, a rocky feature that had me second thinking but rolled on down and had no problems. Pumped on down and back to the road.

Next up Bad Boys. Minimal climb (i think?) to start then again with the sweet rolling singletrack, interesting grip, occasionally camberless sides, but also beautifully cambered corners in places, flowing and rolling for quite a while, around back to the road.

Here i made a boo boo, having gotten cocky and not consulting the map, i thought i was seeing the end not the start of the next trail, so headed off down the road, eventually finding The Cutting, riding under the trail above, then cornering round to that trail and seeing that it came in from above, so realised my mistake and headed back down to and up the 4wd road again, to the start. A wee climb for starters, then around and up and down a little and swoopy and nice and fun times had, 'flow' well intact, then crossing over my previous entry and flowing on down further, on and on before spitting me back onto the road.

Slow Girls finish was just along here, its one i decided to miss out, figuring i'd had long enough up here and wanted to get down Tunnels before climbing back to the car and maybe heading for Kaniere Water Race.

So. headed on down the 4wd road a bit back to where i'd initially peeled off to See Saw, and entered Tunnels via Shorty's Drop. Definitely left the best to last. Started off sweet enough then got a bit stroppy. Slightly greasy clay, steep, rutted, rocky in places, fun fun fun, down bends and twists galore then into bush (at least, the secondary stuff that gets into the gulleys amongst these youngish pines, lusher in the gulleys, dryer on the ridges),
i thought, could this be why they call it tunnels. Beautiful flowy singletrack, round bend, over rise, down drop, round bend, over creek, on and on, a sign saying Rollercoaster Ridge along here somewhere, then

ah, now i see why its called Tunnels. Options: Disappearing Sands or Do Duck In, and do you have to duck? yep. scrape scrape, my elbow wore the clay for a couple hours til i got a shower, and my handlebars were ALMOST too wide, (and they're only 720s(?)).

Out the end
From there the trail was fast and awesome, ripped down the hill for seemingly ages, finally finishing with a cool wee jump over a creek then a couple more drops to flat further along and a longish smooth run out to a gravel road where I hung a right and in no time another right onto Hau Hau Rd (at the Pumphouse), then climbing round a couple corners (past another tunnel), up to the sealed road and right to the car.

Drove

Lower end of Kaniere Water Race...
Parked at the bottom and rode up the road, it was a bit drizzly, 8 years since i'd ridden down it on the annual trip in the days-before-blog, all those years ago. It had changed from my memory. Up a steep 4wd track for a bit, then at the level of the race it followed below it for a while til a saddle the race went across all leaky wooden boarded which i remembered, and then it hit the good native forest single track. following an old race the trail was smooth for a while, weaving back and forth with the contour of the hill, nice forest all around, and of course, in the rougher sections, roots.
not long after these, the trail headed down, with steps in places, and i looked at my watch, and it was after 12, so figured, cut my losses, and turn back. climbed back up all the steps i'd headed down, then relished the spin back round the trail, a very mild downhill gradient, just enough to help slightly with the push, but all too short, and i was back to the raised wooden race bit, and back onto the wide open 4wd track, which i blasted, then thoroughly enjoyed the speedy gravel descent back to the creek valley and the road back down to the car.



Mahinapua Walkway...
family ride on Saturday 14th, afternoon, after a morning on the lake in the canoe..., with H not so keen on putting in the effort, and O absolutely caning it, T just cruising as she knows how and me with major frictional drivetrain (that'll be requiring some work). we got about 2/3rds of the way and decided they'd continue and i'd spin back to the car, then drive right round to get them. thereby me missing the most attractive part of the trail :(. Not that many kms, i hauled it on the downhill bits on the way back, the main impedence in places being the old tramway railway sleeper equivalent bumping everything up. back to the car and a fair time at 110+ on the straight south past the pub and our driveway, round and back up the other side of the lake. arrived at the family just as they pulled up, both boys reckoning the approaching car was me...