Saturday Two Hauls of Te Kaiterau

Kaikoura for a birthday weekend and rain on the horizon so got out while the boys were paddling.  Drove to end of Kowhai Bush Rd and started into the Kaiterau.  Trail much drier than expected (given we'd had a bit of rain in town), and I climbed and I climbed.  Not sure what I think of the distance measurers as you ride.  The first one, 0.5 km feels like it's a lot further in than that.  The rest seem about right.  Met a woman at about the 2.5 km mark, walking down.  Good climb, got the oxygen flowing into me which made me feel a bit better after a bit too much nice wine (1996 Lastrada Syrah, yum).  Anyway, the whole ride was measured as 6.6 kms but really it's 10.  The detail of the MMR seems to miss a few of the convolutions of the trail not to mention it's verticality.  7 kms up, back and forth, zig and zag - 35 or so minutes.  Then into the 3 kms down - started out tires grabbing a surface off the trail and flinging globs of it up and caking everything for the first few hundred metres, then it settled and in the forest was a lot of fun.  More fun than you can shake a stick at.  My wrist felt okay after Thursday's crash too.. Kaiterau number 1.  Total time elapsed, 44 minutes. The tramper woman was at the bottom and commented on how fast I'd been to get down again.   Meant to be 10 kms, 400m.  MMR? 6.2km, 377m

Drove back to Dave's. and the boys were back from paddling, and Paul was keen to ride so we went back out there, weather threatening.  We headed in, trail was in same condition as before, tho we got a couple of small showers as we climbed.  Paul eventually mastered the hairpins.  I gave him the tip of leading corners with the front wheel wide and he found that made it easier.  He'd stalled on a fair few before that.  Eventually we made the top, I think about 5 minutes slower than my first effort.  There were a couple on bikes at the top, who'd pushed up Mt Fyffe Track (2 kms). Mad.  The rain started with aplomb.  I led off into the descent and it was already wetter than before, more flingy and mucky.  Again, this settled a little way down, tho slightly more caution was needed in the more open bits.  I'd put my jacket on at the top so it was getting dirty instead of me getting wet.  Good bomb.  Stopped every now and then to let Paul catch up.  He loved it.  A good 10 minutes later and I'm out the end.  Nice..  Second time around 6.6 kms, 379m

Saturday Kai- Kowhai Kaiterau -koura

Up to Kaikoura for the weekend to Dave's 50th, so, got T to drop me at the Kowhai River Bridge.  

Hit the trail on the true left bank for the long cruisy uphill.  Singletrack, grade nothing, flowing ever forward, with enough little dips to be able to use a little body english on for a pumply addition of power.  Surface was a good gravelly chip, with additional leaf matter humous which could be greasy at times, tho never really lost anything.  If anything, I'd like some of the corners to be bermed a little more so you could carry speed through them more safely.  I had no idea how many kilometres were ahead of me, other than that it didn't look that many on the map.  Turned out (looking on MMR) that it was just under 7 kms to Postmans Rd, from where it was another 3, plus change, on gravel roads to the Mt Fyffe Carpark, with a bit of  a climb up in the last one.  

Then it was into the Kaiterau climbing trail...  Switchback City.  Nicely graded, relatively steep but lots of level(ish) bits, and plenty of wee boosty down-dips before the sweep-grind switchbacks.  Stopped a couple times, once to layer off, was getting hot, even tho it was quite cool.  I was expecting at least an hour, given it was 7 kms over 480m climbed, but pace was kept quite good on the climb and the total time elapsed climbing was only about 40 minutes.  Stopped to take in the wickedly cool view of Kaikoura Peninsula at the top of the track.  

Dropped into the 2.7 km descent, instantly getting plenty of speed for the flowy, occasionally quite jumpy, trail down.  This thing is gonna be amazing in 10 years time when the seedlings and ferns have re-invaded the sides and it's a beautifully formed ribbon of singletrack squirrelling down the hill.  A lot of fun, and all perfectly rideable.  The lower I got the greasier some sections were.  All too quickly it was over and I looked at my watch and only about 13 minutes had gone by.  What a blast.  

Then it was down the original Mt Fyffe track, which was not how I'd ever imagined it, and then through the (very full) carpark, and back down the road, some very good speed down here.  One wee climb then down down down, gravel roads for a little over 3 kms, 3 and a half on singletrack back down the river forest, MUCH faster and cruisier than on the way up, then about 6 kms on tar-seal to Daves place.  Much muckeriness to clean off the bike...  gave it a good hose down, then took myself to the motel and got cleaned up for the party.

A long slowly climbing then slowly descending ride, with a good peak in the middle, over a smidge under 30 kms, and 580 m climbed 

Good Friday Head Clearer

Up in Kaiks for Jana's 40th.  I took my opportunity for a quick spin around a bit of The Kaikoura Trail on the fatty. Mostly road but some quite fun singletrack.  Headed out, without water or tools, no backpack, along Hawthorne Rd (which is bike/pedestrian bridge since quakes), to the end, then up Mt Fyffe Rd for a while.  Right onto Topline and across this to Waimangarara River, where a short section of twisty singletrack through dark exotic deciduous forest takes you through to the Koura 'Resort'.  There was an offshoot of singletrack near the end that I wished I'd explored, but didn't - save that for another day.

Back onto the roads again, through the golf 'resort' and then left onto Bay Paddock Rd, up to Grange which takes you across to the Hapuku River.  Down into a storage area of large rocks (so many rocks!) and the Hapuku is running very grey and milky (ever since the quake, apparently - draining all those slips and dams).  Bit messy here with big ponds semi-flooding the track, but once into the woods, it was cool.  Fun twisty, reasonably low speed singletrack ducking and weaving through mostly indigenous scrub.  Bands of manuka, followed by podocarp and all sorts.  Went on for much longer than I'd have expected too, tho all up only a couple of kms and I was out onto the SH1.  Crossed this and ducked into Lovers Lane expecting to just ride it, but nope, the singletrack continues, albeit not as well formed and rather bumpy, for about another km then back onto the road to take down to Hapuku village around and onto Old Beach Rd for the tailwind cruise back to town.

27 or so kms, with not much altitude - couple hundy metres.