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

Tuesday Knuckle Sandwich

Drove myself round to Whanganui Inlet and parked up to ride Knuckle Hill track. Very nice easy climb, sometimes granny steep but kinda rolling a lot too and a couple of downhills before final climb to an intersection; Kaituna route straight ahead and Knuckle Hill to the left. Rode 150 or so m til I couldn't anymore and  then started walking, sans bike, up up up trudgery climbing into semi alpine, to the 506m summit. Spectacular views 360 degrees - the back of Mt Burnett (dolomite mine) and right round down the west coast, Mangarakau swamp, Whanganui (Westhaven) Inlet, Kaihoka Lakes, Wharariki, Farewell.  Walked back down and back on the bike and bomb bomb bomb...  able to get way faster than was comfortable, wide quad bike track, climbs were nice and short.  Met one walking lady (german?) and continued on.  Fun.

Just under 8.4 km, 460m climbed

Monday Rameka Pack Expectation Klicks

Great ride yesterday with Tony, father of H's gf Holly. We parked at the bottom of Rameka valley and rode up the Historic Pack Track (one I'd only ever ridden down once before). Great climb, out the top of the Project and up the gravel road to bottom end of the Rameka proper. Into the Packtrack, me on Tony's tail for a start, thinking I might be slower on the fatty, but no.  Asked if maybe I could take the lead and then took off, hauling. Great hoon down, then over into Great Expectations for a switchback city wunder-ride. Loads of fun. At the bottom, into the Klicks for some good times and eventually back to the car.

Hot stuff, 13kms with 526m clambered

Sunday Aorere Golden Hour

Steep hot today.  Parked at the end of road past Devil's Boots, and got riding, up the 4wd track.  Steep bastard that.  Only one tiny bit walked, managed to ride the rest, with lots of rests.  Fricking hot, but early enough that there were shadows to lurk in.  Took the second shortest route, (not straight to the caves) but up to Druggan's dam for a good rest in the shade.  Then on down the water race track, more overgrown than in the past, and getting a bit more tech.  Dropped down to Ballroom cave, had a poke around, then back up and onwards for the fun bomb down.  Techy rutty good, then mega rocketship blast down the last smooth bombsville.  Final wide section passed a couple of walkers then bomb down to car.

Golden, 9.3 kms and 260m climbed

Saturday Para Para Golden Steel

Druv round across the inlet and parked up. Rode up the road and into the steep hot dirt, climbing up all the way to the seat view. Very hot and dripping. Bombed down to the singletrack and leaped in. Rutty to start which caught me out a little, resulting in a weird tip off unable to clip out just after catching my wrist on a branch. Rolling again, more carefully this time, cruising, rolling down and through. Lots of little explores and findings of interesting features and then out the exit and along the gravel back to the car. 

Fun fun, just under 9 kms, 250 m climbed

Couple days before this, I rode along the beach to the Excellent St walkway, carried the bike up the steps, steep as fuck, hot as fuck, and up onto Excellent St for the cruise down past the historic cemetery and into Gibbs and down this to town back round to the house... a short 4 kms with under 100 m climbed.

Saturday Paraparallelogrammetry

Evening before, T and me rode fatty and skinny down to the Excellent St Walkway for a look in the evening, and back... walked up the steps and back.

Last full day in the bay so I headed out for a solo at Para para... Parked, and rode up the road and into the DOC / Fairyland gravel road.  Gate open for a change.  I explored the first ridge detour, then continued on up to the highpoint seat (past my descender),

 then back down the road and into the descender.  Bombed down this, great run, 

then explored a few little side bits, then started around the pond, explored and downward trail (to private, turned back), and into the zig zag, but took a low line track which skirted all the way around the pond, then back into the zigzag up up up to the road, then up the road to the top entrance of this and down down down, then through the back track above the quarry, around the back and down, then down the main drag trails out with the final nasty wee peaky climb out to the road.  Bomb down this, then flat gravel back out to the car.

Fun wee 11.7 kms, with a valid 387 m climbed.

Golden Aorere-tunities.

Rode up the steep-arse street behind the Old Courthouse Cafe, across in front of the historic cemetery then down Excellent Street onto the main road for a bit then Plain Road. Gravel haul to the gold fields entrance then up to the farm, down through this then into the relentless climb into the goldfields.  Up for a long time, in vely slow low granny most of the time.  One or two really small downs, but always more up up up to the high point.  This was followed by a massively fast downhill through bush, then some short steep climbs and descents, then next high point, photo taken (same as last year)

Followed by lots of descent, through all sorts of terrain, gnarly babyhead rock gardens and slushy gravel and sand and all sorts.  fun.  Turn off to Druggans Dam, more ups, and downs, mucky bits, stream crossings and this climb.  

Then over and down to the Dam.  Rest in shade and then onto Water Race trail, in and out back and forth then past the caves and bombing down down down the trail, narrow, some bits super tech, some bits fast and rolly, down through the farm, out the gate and along the last section of road along to Devil's Boots still hauling ass.  Found family and friends post-swim hangin' in the camper. I grabbed a towel and wandered through to the river for a quick cooling swim of my own then it was bike on car and homeward bound.

Quite a butty 24 kms, with an acceptable 552 m climbed.

Odin's Day Redwood Mountain Master Beach Loop There and Back

Straight out of bed and onto the bikes, T and me rode into the wind down the beach to Milnthorpe Redwood track.  Parked the bikes and walked a loop nice loop, in the Redwood Trail, onto the Around the Mountain trail, left onto the Old Master trail, which took out through the middle of the swamp and out to the beach.  Walked up the beach back to the bikes and had a nice tail wind home.  

Nearly 7 kms, most of which was on the bikes.

Chooseday Fatster Beach Cruise

Good workout along the beach to Milnethorpe's redwood track. MMR only on for the return. (Forgot to turn it on till halfway along beach so thought better to record one-way (2.7 km, doubled to 5.42 km)

Rameka Tumeke

T and Phee dropped H and me at the high point (~5km in) on the Canaan Rd and we rode downhill from there, thru the Gathering site and onto Rollercoaster. He was a wreck because of a bad night's sleep in Mot and so hated any climbing. I enjoyed the chuff and grunt tho, through the groovy forest to the Harwood's Hole carpark and then the real climb began which he also hated.  We were overtaken by a young fella we'd seen who's parents had dropped him at Harwood's carpark, he was krankin'.  Then while we had a break at the entrance of the forest a couple of guys we'd passed in the car on the way in got to us.

Into the forest and lovely rooty trail that is the Rameka. Nice and dry (as it gets) with cornflakes all the way.  Was the driest I've ever seen it, but still had wet bits.  Creek crossings were all a bit more rideable than in the past.  Roots weren't slippery, which was good.  Fatty behaved wickedly, and Hugo certainly enjoyed it a lot more once we got to where it started heading down more.  

Speed hit here and we bombed.  A couple of new lines zigs and zags where it used to be the rutted guts.  We took another new easy one in the forest too, which was pretty cool.  Avoided where Wayno got the Dozer moniker.  Also seemed different in the gully before the rocky ledge, which also seemed more rideable with less walk on the worst rocky section.  The view from there.  

From here it was much longer than I remembered, bombing through to the official end of the trail.  Then into the Packtrack, which had more in it that I remembered too.  This was super fun.  And the tomo was further than I remembered too.  Missed the lowest section of the packtrack, taking the connector over the hill.  this has fast swoopy switchbacks and a couple of overhanging thistles were interesting.  One we both ducked for, it was at head height and would have really hurt.  The second got me good, right on the nipple.  Felt like it'd ripped it off.

Into Great Expectations, and we had a blast rolling down this, all the way.  Amazing where the water has sluiced one of the streams, cleared he vege completely.  Lot of fun back and forthing in here, into the conifer, into the regen, into the conifer, then regen the rest of the way.  Nice new bridge over the Rameka Stream and then into the Klicks.  These were fun.  both sections, then we popped out on the road lower down and there was T and Phee.  The went up the road to turn around and we got to do a couple more sectoins lower down, before meeting them again.

A muchly enjoyable 19.5 kms travelled, only 207 m gained, but a total of 950 descended.

Monday Paraparaparapool

Hot jaunt up from Parapara, up the road, keeping clear of traffic (several cars) and then onto the gravel and some seriously hot climbing up up and up.  A couple of times I'd find some shade and stop for a rest, then battle on.  Does my arse look fat in this?

(also, note the granny gear - she's steeep)

Just past the good descent track I heard a bird in the bush and wondered...  Did my 'talk the birds in' sound and two cute little fernbirds popped out to the edge of the scrub and peeped at me a few times.  So cool.  My first time.  After this I rode all the up way to the end of the public section of road (weird 'art gates' are gone) and back to the bench wherein the view is magnificent:

(could be a carbon copy from rides past - nice full inlet too)

Back down the road, bomby bomb, past the singletrack and climbed a little thinking I'd look for something else when at the high point I found it!  Trig, the sign said, and there was a narrow trail I'd not noticed before.  Put the bike on it and it was narrow and steep so I rolled it along on the back wheel.  Not bad going, a little tricky, but eventually got to the top (couldn't see a trig at this point (tho it was right there)) and followed the trail a little further and found a lovely seat overlooking Milnthorpe and Tukurua.

Back up to the bike, ah! there's the trig! and on down the (too narrow to bike, really) track, rolling semi-scooting down through back to the road.  

Down to the singletrack and straight in, careful, careful, yeah, I got this.  First narrow gut with a tiny bridge over it (like a foot long) I'm positioning to roll through and bang, foot clips a rock, front-wheel drops into a hole, and bam, I'm over the bars and flying.  Left shin gets a pedal and some rock maybe, right forearm gets gravel, right thigh gets something hard (good bruise) and I stop my forward momentum with my nose on a bank.  Somehow my sunglasses are full of leaves and snot.  Bike is front-wheel-wrong-way lying off the trail.  Pick myself up, check, nothing broken, but I'm shaken.  Bike, nothing broken.  Phew.  Whoops.  Get rolling again, a lot more carefully.  Down, hairpin, down, hairpin, then follow a creek for a bit, nice.  Across and some flat stuff, hang a right, up to the wee dam, ride around in there a bit, then back down across a trail that wasnt there last time, explore, hmm, cool, steep descent to terrain I recognised, explore, explore, explore, lots of ways, a couple familiar, one not and really steep, and pretty much all of it too narrow for my 820mm wide bars.  Ended up down to where I knew then it went places I'd never been, including a fecking steep climb at the end, up to the gravel road further out from where I'd exited in the past.  

Long sore drudge back to the car. 

A meandery 10.3 kms, with decidedly low 324 m climbed.

Saturday Aorere Golden Loop

Something new(ish).  I parked at the Devils Boots and rode back out the gravel road, hung a right up Plain Rd and headed for what I believed to be the far entrance to the Aorere Goldfields.  Got to the corner I thought was right and there was a massive sign (home painted) "Access Closed" "(no guns, no dogs)."  Got my phone out and started to check I was in the right spot when a farmer serendipitously turned up.  I waved him down and asked if I was on the right track, and about the Access Closed sign... 

    "That's just for the dicks." 

    "Ah, the dicks with the guns and dogs?" 

    "You got it".  

So, off I climbed, up through his farm, basically (but actually on public road).  Checked a map once finding I was on the right track, all no gates, then finding the access track pushing it's way up a steep ridge surrounded by low stature manuka scrub.  Fucking steep, but stayed on top of the granny and the grip and the heat of the sun and climbed my way up, hot as fuck.  A couple of chances for nice views but at the (first) top the scrub was all too high, so I actually went a ways back down the road to get this photo:

Next it was a rapid descent, fun, but wide 4wd track, through to a few more climbs and a couple descents before a climb up to a barren view of this, oh, with a side track explore up a steep arse ridge too. - Druggens Dam down in front...

Good descent started here, bombing down, bombing 4WD...  Found the turn off to Bedstead Gully that I'd ridden in the past, and headed in.  Hmmm...  rougher, then waaay more overgrown than those times.  Looked like nobody has been down here for a while, or if they have they've been in full motocross gear cos it was scratchy and super bad.  I got to a point where I knew the trail from the 'campsite' of old was gonna be worse so turned back (and it was getting pretty terrible).  Streams were stagnant here too, showing the lack of rain lately.  

Bit of a drudge out, walking some, then riding, and back on the main track headed up over and down.  Around a narrow part and "whoah!" got quite a fright at a Range Rover headed towards me.  Piloted by two young women (and followed by an older Surf with a couple guys and a girl) said our hellos and what a great track, and I continued on down.  Found the right-hander to Druggans and headed that way, completely unfamiliar to me even tho I'd done it at least one of those previous times.  Nice bomb down to the dam and saw a couple of bikes(e) down there so rolled along and sat in the shade, ate my half OneSquare and yarned.

Not so far from here, down to the water-race trail and it's way more rugged than it's been in previous years.  Nice roll around, good to be in the shade, then the descending from caves (which I didn't visit), and some serious bomb, with a couple of quite techy sections higher up, but easier and smoother the lower I got.
  

Finally out the lowlands back to the car.

Epic loop of steep climbs and rugged descents, eventuating in less altitude than it felt like (540) but a serviceable 22.6 kms. Scorching hot sun didn't help much and neither did the scratchy gorse and hakea.

Thursday Motupipi Spinny

Picked up Paul and Milo from Waitapu and we trundled round to Burnside Rd to check out the Motupipi network. They were pretty darned fun!  Not a massive loop, but when you've got a 10 year old on his brand new bike in tow it is good not to be too big.  The ups were steady, nice switchbacky goodness, and the downs were all twisty fun.  Heeaappss of trail crammed into a tiny space.  Apparently, Easy Peasy, La Bamba, Outer Limits, The Grand Traverse and Easy As...

Nice.  About 8 kms with only 152 climbed

Saturday 2nd Trip Day 2nd Ride -Mill Rd Singles

The boys all buggered off back to Mot but Nelson and me wanted more so we took the TFC Ute to Parapara inlet and parked up.

Another rider passed by and we chatted, then headed up the road (after I rechecked the locking of the truck). Steep gravel low speed then onto tight narrow descent. Fun,!

Less than 8 kms, and around 260 climbed (for some reason mmr not showing it).

Saturday 2nd Trip Ride - Rameka

A bunch of vehicle shuffling resulted in us dropping off the boys at the cafe at the start of Canaan Rd and Nelson and me driving down to Takaka and back up, then chasing them in the Canaan Rd. They'd stopped for a while at the cafe before heading in and so were waiting (patiently) for us at the Roller Coaster and we proceeded from there. Fun downs, sucky ups, and wet as hell through the last bit tot he Harwoods Hole carpark.  Then into the climb up to the Rameka.

Quite a splecky and messy but fun trail through the forest, with the final downhills an absolute blast.  Nice break just after the rocky ledge climb near the end.  Then into the Pack Track, for a much funnerer downward blast, and over the hill into Great Expectations, which was also as fun as a fun thing on a fun day.  At the bottom of this, over the nice new bridge, and missing the Klicks, we headed up onto the road, and back up it to the top of Great Hexpectations again. Ugh what a dastardly climb that was.  Back into the top of Great Exp's, and then left into the new one, the mighty Historic Rameka Track.  It was nice.  Bit of climbing at the start, but nothing major, and once you start down it's all down, very high up, amazing views out over the valley, you seem to ride for ages and the valley is still miles below you.  Then suddenly you look out and it's looming nearer.  Great blast down, tho there's another (Odyssey) that we're yet to try.  If we'd had more legs we might have ridden it, then back up, and down this, but no.  Next time.  anyway.  ... Nice.

Anyway, a worthy 36 kms, with a mere 572 m climbed, plus the 680 or so we started from making for a whopping 1300 or so descended.

Saturday Parapara round 2 Explorations

Allowed out on the last day of Collingwood headed back round to Parapara Valley Rd and rode up the highway much I did the other day. This time I detoured exploring anywhere I could. Up the 4wd DOC road, checking out a singletrack up the first knoll, with seemingly several options, none of which bore fruit.  Back down to the road and onwards up, past the access points to the zig-zag trail, up the straight and into the sort of hidden entrance to one I'd checked out the other day.  This, I thought was going to go down to the pond, but nope, it just curved back around to the 4wd lower down.  So, on up the 4wd track to the seat and onwards beyond eventually arriving at a funky gate (albeit with crosses on it) of a private Christian hideaway, next gate had lots of "Keep Out Private Property Electronic Surveillance" signs. Turned around, and climbed and rolled and back to the seat for a snack and this picture

(note the tide in, vs the tide mostly out on the previous pic from up here)...
Then zoomed down to the steep trail.  

Faster this time, fun down the steep tightness, bombing between manuka trunks and ferns.  Some flow, but also a bit of brakeage to make it around the tight bits.  Down into the valley...checked out another trail I'd spotted on Tuesday, back uphill for a bit, around a slip and then met tightness and a few steps.  Left the bike and followed it up and up for a while before giving up as it wasn't rideable.  Rode out and on down the trail, checking out another bit of track leading into this one briefly, riding through to a creek and back out and onwards down.  Fun wee blast, again faster than last time but with the stally bits included.  Across the creek and some climbing but not much out to the quad-track.  Now, another explore up a singletrack, which ended at a dam for the pond, back down this and up the zig-zag trail, not a bad climb at all, upwards chuffing to the 4wd track.  

Climbed back up this to the 'steep track' and at the top of this spotted a track heading off towards the Tukurua catchment...  hmmmmmm...  Walked down this 50m or so and could see it continuing down, wondering, wondering.  Walked back up and sat on the bike thinking, "should I? Should I? I kinda wanna. Nah, who knows where I'll end up, Onekaka? then have to bike all the way back around the road or back up...  Should I?"  Decided not to.  Headed down the steep trail, faster even than the previous time, getting into the flow of it more so and relishing it.  Around the first hairpin smoothly and on down, next hairpin, next corner, down through over the bridge and on down.  This time noticing for the first time lower down some evidence of goldworkings (piles and walls of rocks).  Across the creek and up to the quad track, and down, speeeeeeed down here and peeling off to the quarry this time.  Other bike tracks from when it was wet had turned back here but I followed onwards and found a trail off up to the left which I rode through, getting ever slower and less rideable til I was walking the bike. Then I walked a bit, more exploring, finding more gold workings, gullys, trenches, and some really deep holes.  Wandered back to the bike and back along the track to the quarry, and back onto the fast descending trail.  More speeeeed.  Wooohoooooo.

Another trail entering from the left in one of the last corners, I stopped and rode a wee way up it, finding a wee bridge over trench of a creek, then steps.  Walked a bit up this, deciding it must be coming from the walking track I'd found earlier, and also finding an old goldworking tunnel.  Deep, couldn't see much up it.  Scary.  Back to the bike, rode back to the main track, rode out to the road, and back along the gravel to the car.

More than the other day, with the extra climbing... 467m climbed and 14.4 kms covered

Aorere Gold, Wednesday 11th

Today, family headed round to the Devil's Boots and parked at the gate at the end of the road. O and me riding, the rest walking. The two of us headed up the 4wd track (the others, the walktrack that we'd ride down later). Steep heat, hot sun pounding down, hardly any shade, resting in it when we could. Got to the turn off left and headed into some trail I'd never done, but some of the boys had come thru on the Golden Bay trip of a few years back.  More up and down than I'd expected, but eventually we got to where the ill-fated Bedstead Gully track came out (having been cleared apparently a couple weeks after O and me rode it last year). Last couple of climbs and we descended to Druggans Dam. Snacked here and got going again dropping the tech down to the water race, O crashing hard on the steep - front wheel dropping into a hole and OTB onto a prostrate tree, scuffing his four corners.  He lay there a while before getting up, but soldiered on brilliantly, keeping up with me on most of the waterrace from there on around.

Around the water race to the caves, popped down to both, nice and cool in the Ballroom cave, total respite from the muggy heat outside, but the others weren't at either, so we kept going down the trail. Woot!!! Caught them up, giving them a hell of a fright, then bombed onwards the car, meeting some other riders on their way up.  Loaded up our bikes on the car and then drove cloading it up and driving through the gate and further up to the beginning of the tracks to wait, only a few minutes, forty the family.

Roughly 10kms and a hot steep 270m climbed