Labour('s) Day Short Sinclair Fatty.

On the way home from the bach in the Fiat loaded with kids bikes (T had the kids in the Hyundy) I stopped for a quick blat up Mt Sinclair. Parked on Pettigrews Rd and rode, strategically ignoring the "Closed for lambing and calving 1st September to 25th October", on account that that was only 2 days away, and how 'sensitive' could lambs be by this time?  I did however abide by the No Dogs sign, leaving poor little Jetty in the car.

Climbed up the farm track keeping an eye on some magpies who were croaking around above.  Over the first stile into a paddock with some sheep and (quite big) lambs, then next stile and climbing to the next stile, into the bush, over another stile, climbing up to another stile, and then climbing again, this time to another stile.  Up through bush and open, amazing views all around, to, you guessed it, another stile, nope, actually, a gate that was open, through this and on to another stile.  This was the top of Sinclair and as I'd remembered half way up that the rear passenger door of the Fiat doesn't lock on the Central Locking, the car was therefore unsecure.  Damn.  Was kinda planning on peaking Fitzgerald too but felt I should get back to Jet.  So, turned around and bombed.  Quite wet under tread, cos it'd rained heavily maybe an hour before I parked, so I was duly spattered all the way back.  Lots of downhill, over all the stiles, and eventually a fast blat down to the car, untouched, and a happy Jet.

Short and sweet, a measly 9 kms, with 381 m climbed...

Tuesday Gondola Gonzos

With Pete's broken wheel and Robin's broken frame we decided to head to Queenstown to play on Skyline. Twas fun. Not sure of exact order but started with Hammy's and Thunder Goat. Then Vertigo and Singletrack Sandwich. Then I'm not sure, Vertigo and Huck Yeah (with good drop to start), and Thunder Goat with a detour off to the right down something interestingly tech, and Singletrack Sammie again but with Jungle Adventure. Then we stuffed up thinking we were gonna find Thingamajig off Hammy's but it wasn't then I've no idea exactly what but included Original, some of Battle Stag, and other laps included Rock Garden, and Coal Pith, and Armageddon and repeats of others. At 12.55 I was at the top, the others were getting coffee, and I reckoned I couldn't just maybe get one more run, so Nelson and me hauled ass down Vertigo and Thunder Goat making it into the gondola at 1.01 for my last uplift. Pete was a couple cars behind so once back at the top the 3 of us did my final run, Vert, Thingy, Single, and Jungle. 8 uplifts in total for me.  Nelson and Pete continued for a few more laps of their 4 hours while I went and caught up with Bex at Bespoke, just down the hill. 

My mapmyride went a completely mental, but overall I must have descended over 3 kilometres.  Nelson's rode pretty much the same, but has 2 or three more laps on it., 

Monday Flat Top, useless Alex, and Sluicings Awesomesauce

Flat Top was fantastic.

Alex was closed for lambing.

Bannockburn Sluicings were pretty cool, except that Pete completely toasted his rear wheel, and we discovered a big crack thru Robin's headtube.

Sunday Dean's Blank and Sticky Fun

Started the day at Albert Town. Dean's Bank Track. Basically your local's Bottle Lake track. About 500m contained some interesting bits but the rest of it was a bit blah.

Then into Wanaka for some early kai and then up to the Sticky Forest. Brilliant fun had in here. Dunno what Map My Ride is thinking but pretty sure we must have done more like 800m climb. Up and down ten times or so

Saturday's Nase Be.

Cruised thru the countryside to Naseby and parked up.  Checked out a Trekka, and talked to a the owner and also checked out his bikes.  Headed up and explored - a bit.  Lots of good stuff has been trashed by the logging, so it'll be a few more years before stuff re-establishes.  Still, we found some cool bits and pieces.  As always, we wandered around lost for a bit, then finally got into a groove and found our way around.

Friday Tekapo Road Trip Break

Brief stop at the Lake Tekapo Regional Park.  We arrived and my front axle was missing, assumed fallen out along the road.  I was like, damn.  And wondered if a trick was being played, but had resigned myself to sitting out this ride and seeing about where to find a new axle.  Wazza turned up with the goods a few minutes later, funny ha ha, so I got ready and we rode.

Not rivetting, but a fun loop none-the-less.  It certainly had enjoyable sections.  We clambered to a high lookout point, and did any other extra bits.  Bikes all performed flawlessly.

Not even 8 kms, with a massive hundred metres of altitude.

Wednesday Evening Red Zone and Non, meander

Town bike ride tonight following a shitty wet weekend.  I'd hoped to get a good ride in Saturday morning, but nope, woke up to solid rain which lasted til this morning.  Nelson came round after work and we jumped on our townbikes, me on the Troll, him on his skinny.  We headed down river from Swanns Rd bridge on the Avonside side, staying on that side all the way to the end of the trail.  Along Kerrs Reach we rode on a newly built track which ran out half way down, and the dirt on the sides was soggy as hell.  Nelson managed to ride down it, sinking almost to his hub, but stupidly I walked down the bank, winning for a start til my both feet sank into slurry.  ugh.  Cleaned our tires off in a puddle, and further downstream I washed my feet off too.  Crossed Anzac Drive at the bridge and onwards downstream, bumpy rough packed shingle stopbank trails.  Past  Andrew's old place and right to the end of the line.

Then we headed through and checked out the old bmx track, now munted, then into the wind along Dyers Rd, taking turns to slipstream, to Brookhaven, through Charlesworth, and over onto the Ferrymead Tow Path round the back.  Brief break near Ground Effect for a snack, then up Bridle Path Rd, and up Morgan's Valley Rd, right to the top.  Hard graft up the last steep seal, but 80 kph on the return back down.  Wheeeee.  Light was starting to get low at this stage so we headed on up Bridle Path and then Port Hills Rd through to Opawa Rd, a lap around Steve's block just for a laff, and then straight shot up Opawa, Shakespeare, Wilsons, Nursery, Stanmore (into supermarket) and home.

All up, 34.5 kms, apparently 251m climbed which was slowly accumulated around the traps with the 100m boost of Morgans Valley.

Thursday Night Solo Loop

Nelson had a crook neck so I was out on my own tonight.

Installed new PD530 pedals (5 grams lighter than the XTs, and half the price!), oiled chain and put grease into all suspension pivots before departure. Parked same place we did last time and headed in Major 8ken Drive. Felt like a bit of an explore so rode into that catchment pond park in the gully. The track headed seriously up with numerous flights of steps and steep bits in between so there wasn't a lot of riding. Sort of told off by a dog-walker, but I reassured him I was walking my bike, and wouldn't be riding down (tho, at night, some time, might be a good one...).  Last section across to Vista Pl was ok, then up this and on up the road.  A nasty beasterly wind blasting across made me chuck my top on above the pylons.

Up onto the singletrack then up the landing strip and up the gravel to the top. Onto the Traverse across the tops, tail wind helping me along.  Overtaking a guy moaning on the side of the track just before the Lavaflow.  He'd come off navigating that rock just there, and was suffering a post crash calf cramp.  Good toodle round the Traverse, tail-wind, and slowly winding in a guy ahead, but not much.  He was stopped at the end when I went past and straight into the trees and down to the Rabbit Paddock.  Brief breather here then off down into rockgarden, then gums, my usual left hander fun blast.  Tires were both feeling a little low pressured and rolly (would've been burping if tubeless), and I even heard a clunk I expected to turn into a pinchflat at the top of the gums.  Luckily not (cos i still hadn't patched my tube from last week), so at the skidder site I chucked some air in both ends.

Into Spazzer's, weaving and grooving down this, then straight across and into Sneaky Ridge, fun wee drop over the rocks and down through here, spotting a guy ahead as I came into the deciduous section at the bottom.  Nice pop over the jump onto Bridges, and then across and down the usual zig zaggy way, slowly gaining on some other guy (or the same ?) towards the bottom.  Fang down the valley bottom and hooked a right into Hidden Valley.  Man the creek crossing and climb out is a hole now - walked it, then remounted to take in the first hairpin.  Balance was wonky but juuuust about cleaned the second hairpin.  Good climb from there on around and up.

Finally, up onto the Old Skool.  Awesome run down this, seeing someone across at the stile as I was going under the pylon, I'd caught him before the lower zig zags, overtaking and leaving him behind.  Then a nice cruise down the road back to the car.

Just under 14kms, with nearly 500m altitudinal gain

HOPEfully I'll get a couple more rides in before the Annual Trip, next Friday 13th.

Sunday No-View Hill

Over at the bach for the weekend, with the Fat bike.  Everyone else seemed to have a good ride on Saturday, with Pete and Nelsie heading up the Blowhard, and Steve and the boys doing some mileage on the Port Hills.  Sunday morning I jumped on the fatty and headed out.  MMR wasn't playing ball so I just started it and hoped for the best, heading up the road (it finally kicked in up by Factory Rd).  Usual 15-20 mins to the start of the steep (Misty Hills gate), then around 45mins from there to the top, pain in the arse steep that it is, grovelling away in low gear the whole way (one km with a top speed of 6.8kph).  Up into the bottom of the clouds here, with a smattering of spittage falling too.  I contemplated Mt Pearce, but decided against it, and hung a left along the Summit Rd, finally enjoying the lack of steepness.  Up to the corner saddle (between L.Ak and Okains), and over the gate out across the ridge, riding cattle trails and clambering over the rocky ridgeline.  Up to a gate where I stopped for a quick rest and snack.  Then over the gate and on up and around the back side of View Hill, then up the farmtrack, zig and zag, and up to the top, highest point, having another rest here and finishing the last 1/4 of a OneSquare.  Totally in the cloud up here, about 100m visibility.

Then it was time for descending.  Down the top ridge, down the zig and zag, down onto the paper-road, fat bike friendly speed.  Over the gate into the doublefenced run, and down down down, getting faster and faster as the road got smoother.  Top speed of 65kph reached on the gravel, bombing, fat bike tires gripping so comfortably.  Down to Chorlton, around the corner and half deafened by the tire noise on tarmac as I tucked and flew down the road, past the beach, then back up the road and in our gate.

19kms, and 785m climbed.

Thursday evening short family Vic

Bikes on back we drove to top on Vic Park. Rode down thru to Brake Free and did a few laps in here, the boys loving it, and O especially liking the 3 jumps in a row (after the Sesame St turn off). After my second lap I rode off into the rabbit paddock, following a barely sketched singletrack across to the rocky knob, giving Jet a sniff for the rabbits, and then back to the fambily waiting at Sesame St.

Into Sesame St we headed, T struggling on the first rocky steep.  O disappeared into the gums, so we followed him, me letting H go first, guiding him from behind, with T following me, and walking lots.  Regrouped at the skidder site for a play on the pumptrack, then we split, the others heading down to my folks house while I rode back up to the car.

Map My Ride took too long to find me so I bailed on it.  Wouldn't have been more than a couple of kms and a hundy or so metres of climb.

Meandering Night Monday

After-work pick-up from my place, and we drove across to park by the bridge opposite the end of Bowenvale Ave.  Craig showed up not long after we'd headed up the start of Bowenvale Ave and we all headed up valley.  He was on a new (to him) 1992 Diamondback.  We headed up Old Skool, me dropping back somewhat, but them waiting after long hard bits.  I was feeling fricking awful on the climbing, like I had no lungs and no legs, or like whenever I turned the pedals there was something like a 40% drain of my power.  Walked a couple of bits I've never walked before.  Eventually we made it up to where you either turn left up under the pylon or right and head down Hidden Valley Link.  We turned left, and at this point Craig turned back saying he had some stuff to do.

Up into the zig zags, I started to die.  Then, I actually did die - and suffered hell for the duration of the climb.  At the gate we regrouped and Nelson had cleaned the whole damned thing.  I managed to ride from here, up onto the new descending track from the Traverse (that's next to Huntsbury).  We bumped into Robin near the top, who was on his way down.  Then it was off round the Traverse, Nelson chasing some XC dude, and me just trailing along feeling like Captain Slow.  Through the top of Vic trees, the sun boring straight into our eyes, and into Thompsons for a swoopy fun ride through the burned terrain.  Across the road and up it, my struggling legs barely managing the climb to the top of the Nun.

Good flow down the top section, reeling Nelson in then not, and then once around the rocky corner into the slightly lower stuff I started feeling tired, maybe?  Anyway, pinchflatted somewhere after the wooden bridge bit, and ended up having to walk the last 20 m or so to the carpark pull out.  Nelson had stopped in those corners, so we got to it and changed the tube in record time, he got my old one out while I put some air in the fresh one, then he got that into while I folded up and put everything away, then I finished off the pumping-up.  Was careful on the rear end for the rest of the way down, then under the Kiwi and back up the road into top of Vic Park, me gasping and dying on the climb.

Sun had set, and it was gloaming time, so we headed the most direct way down, through Brake Free, into Sesame St, straightlined down Spazzers, then across the ridge line into the new bit straight ahead, fun tech down this, then zig and zag (in some muck) and over the wee jump onto Bridges, weaving down the rest of this and blasting down the valley bottom out, all in near darkness.  Finally, down the road back to the car by about 7.45pm.

Twas 18 or so km, and we climbed 633m.

Thursday Soaking Night Rodey

Nelson met at mine after work.  Wet weathers on, and we headed out into the worst of it. Across town, Stanmore, Nursery, Wilsons, Eastern, and up the Major Aitken, bit of a jiggle up top there then up onto Huntsbury, me walking steepest sections.  Rain thicker, coming in sideways, into cloud to the top.  Hung a right along Summit Rd, down the Ell, zig zag down Cashmere and back across town. Wet...

29kms, 570odd m climbed

Wednesday Night Crock and Dile

Countdown carpark pick up and over to Halswell Quarry park, parking at Cashmere Rd entrance. Headed up and into C2, then up the new 'easy' which sidles alnng nicely thank you above the original Crocodile. Onto Crocodile just above Deviation turn off, and up this to the Low Rd.  Avoided the muck for a bit then detoured onto the main Kennedys, but got to the gate at the top which was telling us to Go No Further. There went that plan out the door (of going to the top, doing a lap of the nun and back) , so back off down Low Rd, finding it actually pretty dry, (worst wet was just above the houses where we'd already come up) and then onto Crocodile bombing down the original line all the way to C2 and hanging a right on Murphs, fun slightly techy down hill, finally rolling out into the valley bottom.

Checked out the Upload track, twisty turny up steep, then down Download, dropping through where Nelson's tire burped a bunch of air out.  Topped that up and off up C2 again, huffing and wheezing, and up the Easy again, this time wanting to check out Deviation, which we soon found closed, so we checked out Al's Alternative, down the valley onto the original Crocodile switchbacks, and then up the Gorge track back onto Al's Alternative, then across the bridge and up the 'access to Deviation', one very muddy switchback, then across and into the forest trails of old.

Down download again, and up C2 lots of lights wafting around, with an Orienteering even on.  We waited while some of them went down this track ahead of us and off down into the short black diamond track we followed, scattering them lower down.  Fun little techy down, but not that long, and ending at the bottom of Murphs.

Off round for one more climb up C2 to the top of Murphs, down this for a fun blast down and then back up the original finish of C2 and down through the dog park back to the car.  1 hour 13 of riding.

My Mapmyride did some crazy shit, so here's Nelson's track.  Around 12 kms, with 312 climbed.

Saturday Afternoon-Evening Eastern Loop

Nelson finished work at 3 and picked me up. We parked in Sumner and headed up valley and into Sumnervale, onto the Captain Thomas, which was dry to the point of almost being dusty, except for the odd wet spot.  Made good time up here, tho taking it easy with my legs still tired from the 80kms earlier in the week riding and kinda hungry from lack of eats in the day.

At Evans we headed up onto the bottom of Greenwood, sidling up the chainlink fence to look over the view of the harbour, then up the old track around the orange plastic fencing onto the main track and climbed.  Cruising and enjoying the techknuckleness, only meeting two men lower down, and up around the Gulch, two ~12 year old boys struggling with the boniness.  Clamber clamber up through the rocky upper reaches, with Nelson crashing off near the top, then through to the ruins and a bit of a break and snack.  Cold nor-west blowing across the tops.

Up here Nelson set up his new gimbal for his GoPro.  Got it all running and the sun was lowering in the sky, so off I led back down, him filming.  I had an excellent run, weaving and flowing smoothly all the way.  A couple of stops to align the camera, and onwards, flowing fast and smooth.  Excellent blast, tho I was getting bloody exhausted by the bottom.

Sun well behind the hill, but still plenty of light left, we headed up onto Godley.  First section all good, but second section the bony rocks were chucking us all over the place. Nelson seemed to struggle to stay on a bit more than me, but I wasn't finding it that easy either.  Once up on tops it was better, except for that cold nor-west blasting across the hill, so we stopped just around the corner through the cattlestop, and before we hit the descent Nelson got the camera going again.  Another awesome blast, with some massive speed being carried through the lower section towards Livingston Col, with whoops and w00ts when we got there.  Camera stayed on as we climbed up the next bit, enjoying the techy rocks and then a good blaze around towards Breeze, mind the nasty wetspot heading across the slope above the PFMTBC Rock, and just before it too, I bailed out to the right, whereas Nelson kept flying through the mucky bit and over the rock.  Blasting cold breeze through Breeze Col.

So I chucked on my vest and we headed off down Anaconda, not knowing what to expect, but expecting the worst.  Top half was mint, second third was mint, lower wiggles were okay - one hole I avoided but Nelson smacked a back wheel through, and one wet bit that was below where you rode, so no problem.  Into the Tail and cruised the first, then I's getting sorer towards the end, (which I always do if I don't stop at the bottom of the snake), but enjoyed the final rocky bits and down through the paddock, me slowing right down for the muckfest before the bridge.

Last slog, up the hill, light getting pretty diminished (street lights may even have come on, actually), over the hill and down into Nicholson Park, Nelson turning on his light, but I found I could still see okay, taking the steeeeeeeeep drop down to Flowers, then three switchbacks in there then across the narrow trail between the houses and down Whitewash Head, blasting through onto the esplanade and cruising back to the car.

Good blast, 21kms, 740 m gained

Tuesday Night Threes Ride Night

With trails posted shut or otherwise likely to be mucky we did a weird thing and rode three different rides in three different locations...

First off was checking out Farside which we hadn't been to since before the park closed.  Parked just up hill from the corner.  Rode up, rode down.  It wasn't mucky, but it wasn't exactly hardpack either...  no spleck, but plenty of grease and a fair bit of fun.  Short and sweet - 1.16kms, 60m gained.

Drove back down around and up Hackthorne, Dyers, parking at the halfway Nun park.  Headed up the walking track, and right at the start noticed what looked to be a newly built trail...  hmmmm... Nelson wandered up and looked and came back, then we got riding up the walking track, walking around any mucky flat bits and up the various steps, onto the road and past all the Nun Closed signs, actually finding that the Nun would have been fine, except that we saw the new trail entrance, unfinished, and decided to explore...  Fun, DH oriented trail, one or two reasonable sized drops (off big rocks), but mostly pretty rideable, and in nice condition, no damage done.  It petered out when it crossed the old 4wd track in there, so we followed it's route down through the scorched earth scrub to find the Nun just before the final bends into the carpark.  Short and curly this time (with a big MMR skip).  2.45 kms, 109 m altitude.

And finally, drove round the Summit Road to the top of Rapaki, and headed into Witch Hill, (past the Track Closed sign, again, it needn't have been there, there wasn't a wetspot on the whole thing).  Climbed over and around, across the road onto the walking track, this is quite techy in this direction, and only 2 puddles and one cowpoo the whole way.  We'd thought about exploring over the fence in a new area of trail Quetty had told us about, but decided it looked too cattle pugged and mucky, so off up the road to the Castle Rock corner.  Up above the corner onto the Tors track, and a wonderful blast down this.  Two flat wet bits, and the most techy rock also had water and muck over it, so I walked that (but Nelson rode it, of course!).  Last tricky descent was a bit clipped out but rode it all.  Then back on the walking track just above the road, around, and up Witch Hill, stopping for a nice rest out of the wind and to look at the moon and view, before a final fast blast around, enjoying the boniness of the trail back to the car.  Slowly increasing in ridings - There and back again, 4.8kms, with over 200 m gained.

Making a grand total for the night, 8.4 km, 375 m altitude gained.  Third day of riding in three days (nearly 80kms ridden), my legumes are burned OUT.

Monday Night Roadlings

Nelson picked me up from home after work and we headed out and parked where we usually park for riding McCormack's Bay. I had the Troll and he had his skinny-tyred commuter. Hit Glenstrae, hard climb up, standing to the first hairpin where I was gasping, then we swapped bikes for the next leg, up to where it flattened off, then swapped back for another standing working hard the whole way climb up to the Moncks Spur turn off. Up this top of Moncks Spur section, sitting mostly but slogging away, to Mt Pleasant Rd.  This dragged on all the way to the top seeming oh so much longer than I've ever seemed to remember it.

Summit Road, and jacket on, ready for the downhill.  Rolled off, coasting nicely, sometimes tucked, raising up for airbrakes into corners, or not, then coasting again, I barely pushed the pedals at all, my superior weight propelled me effortlessly downward, easier and faster than weight weenie Nelson, who said later it was like he was wearing a parachute.

At Evans we explored a nice little section of singletrack. skinny and slick town tires greasing around all over the place in the short mucky section, and fun tight rolling the rest, coming out at the first hairpin corner.  Then it was off down the road at greater speed well over 60kph, wondering if I was going to get taken out by a possum on the road, and then a cat, doing a good rate of knots into the 50 zone, and rolling down into Scuznor, tucked and coasting for as long as possible past Van Asch.

Rolled around thru Moncks Bay, drafting each other through Redcliffs (til Nelson dropped me) back round to the car.

1 hour round trip, 543 m altitude climbed, thru 15.3 kms.

Sunday Father's Day micro-Tour.

On the Troll, headed for Bottle Lake, through Banks Ave, backstreets, Horseshoe Lake Rd, Lake Terrace, Burwood, sneaking along the edge of the forest and in the side onto the singletrack, up past the gazebo and down (nearly losing my bag - fastening it better) then through ponds, out to the beach trail, and headed north as far as I could go overtaking a couple of girls and their dog.

Then it was on the road from Spencer Park thru what was once Brooklands, left and along to Stuart's Gully hillbilly camp, feels like deliverance riding through their street, and finally found my way onto the 360 trail.  This became a nice little singletrack along the Waimak edge, twisting and turning, then eventually under the two bridges.  Headed along Coutts Island but realised I'd gone a little far, so backtracked (through a Fulton Hogan gravel yard) to Dickies Rd, riding down this and checking out the new motorway.  Past the Peg Pub, and found my way through to the Otakaikino Track, back under the new motorway, and following this thru to and through The Groynes, in behind Clearwater, then further upstream past previous year's and last week's plantings, Stopped for a snack at Omaka and some texts on the 40km mark.

Got going again, and headed through past the lakes and over the hillock onto Sawyer's Arms Rd, (with a brief detour down Veitches Rd and Cavendish) to one block of the Railtrail, then onto the new cycleway down Sawyers Arms, past Northlands, down Grassmere, Rutland, and Trafalgar St to Edgeware Rd.  Along this and finally home via the Supermarket for a well earned Berkenhead Ninkasi.  Rather tired I was.

55 km loop, 170 m 'climbed'...

Sunday Planting non-existent ride...

The boys (plus Jenna) were all riding to Otakaikino planting, but I couldn't make it cos T was away leaving me on childminding duty.  So, MY boys and me drove out to the end of Sawyers Arms Rd, passing the crew at the big roundabout and as we unloaded our bikes they rolled up and we treadled the last couple of kms in with them, past the lakes and through the tunnel and past Omaka and down the stream to the planting site.  Jet galloped along having a lovely run, and we all caught up.  H was slow but kept up, good - considering he was just coming off the back of a puking sickness of a couple days before.  Did the planting, planting a lot of plants, ate some sossies and then rode back, not quite the way we'd come, me choosing a slightly shorter route than the others (on account of H.).

About a 5-6 km round trip.  Not a lot and didn't bother to MMR it.

Wedknees Night Victoriana Witch Sugar

First off, yesterday saw me ride to Joy's for dinner, 9kms with a good climb up Canon and Pleasant on the Troll (except the stupid MMR skipped me from High St to Cannon Hill, missing my detour around the south side of the river/estuary from Tunnel Rd past the golf place and Ferrymead Historic.

Tonight, usual post work pick up from the Countdown carpark and over to Bowenvale Ave. Rode up the valley, a group of 3 other riders ahead most of the way, grunting up K2, right onto a wee singletrack section, up to the 23footer, then up under the pylon and up to the 40footer.  The other three were tweaking one of their bikes and set off ahead of us again, us following up past rad^sick, around the zig zag and on up to the skidder site.  Climbed more from here straight up the 4wd, thru brake free, up through the fence and then left along and up Worm to the Traverse.

We could see a tonne of lights coming towards us all the way around the Traverse ahead, but set off anyway, meeting the first few just after the dipper.  More at the usual stop place, and then one dick on the rocky drop after the pond, who didn't say anything and made Nelson stop and nearly got me as he came over the rocky jumpy bit.  Obviously oblivious to the general give way rule of thumb....On up and around, I was feeling surprisingly good all the way still, and at top of Huntsbury, just past the Lavaflow, we headed down the new line I'd found a couple weeks ago.  Nice flowy downhill, swooping through the tussocks down to the landing strip and start of downhill into Bowenvale.  Back up the gravel Huntsbury to Vernon.  Again, loads of lights around.  Common as muck these be-lighted mtnbikers...

Good run around Vernon to Rapaki, meeting only a few riders and a couple of runners.  Flew through the top and around into Witch Hill for a good rocky climb up and around to the highest point.  Rest-stop and a bite to eat here, watching Quetty(?) out on ridge between Avoca and Horotane Valleys.  On down towards the Summit Rd, then turned around and back the way we'd come.  The climb starting to get to me.  Flowed around, meeting one on a blind corner, and back down through Rapakitop, a whole bunch waiting for us before they entered Witch.  Up around Vernon, the climbing really getting to me this time, slower and slower.

Instead of across the road into Traverse, we headed up and into Scotts Knob, nice climb up and fun descent, roots and rocks, finishing with steps, then a walk up the next section wet rocky bits, more climbing and switchbacks than I ever remembered, followed by a sketchy techy slicky rocky dropping descent back down the road near the pond.  Into the next section of walk track, open ground, climbing up to a rocky section then descending to the carpark where a couple of fire trucks were packing up after some sort of exercise.  Staying on this side of the road, we headed up the side of Sugar Loaf, carrying the bikes for a little bit (upon later looking at g.maps we probably should have ridden Gilpins Track, and then up onto ridge from it), then getting onto a walking track around the front, fun riding, to the car park, and on down the ridge to Vic Park.

Down through the pines, mucky rabbit paddock and into the rockgarden and gummies.  Usual left into the old favourite, good traction and no muck, down through this and out to the skidder site.  Yet another group of riders here.  From here it was up the secret singletracks towards the top of 19th memorial, and over the back across and eventually down through the blind drop to a walking track, past a 'No Mtbs in this area' sign across the walking tracks, a couple of zigs and zags, and then steep fun down (another sign), into the drop zone, steeeeeeep, and new lines since we'd last ridden in here, dropping down down down into the gulley.  Nelson railroaded the curves, while I lost all traction in both wheels and careened to a halt, having to walk down the insanity he'd just ridden.  Across the creek, short walk and dropping again down to walking track and finally valley bottom just above the bridge that guy died at a few years ago, letting a string of riders through first.  Final bomb down the wide open track to the bottom and we were done.

A struggly 770m climbed, over 17.7 kms...

Wednesday night rode-y

Riding the Troll, I met Nelson at the usual Moorhouse carpark, him with the skinny-tyred machine in the back, cos with all the rain we knew we couldn't be mtnbiking.  We headed to Woolston, parking by Holy Smoke and got changed then headed thru to the river, over the bridges and through the streets (stopping to look at all the classic cars next to the railway tracks) to Aynsley Tce and around to Rapaki.

Up, both climbing at a good clip - Nelson cos his bike's so light, and me cos my lowest gear on the Alfine is not as low as your average mtnbikes.  As a result, it wasn't long before we were overtaking other bikers.  No one commenting on our 'inappropriate' bikes but I swear some laughter was at my expense as I passed.  Hard work, and Nelson jetting ahead, I just slogged it up.  We regrouped on the flat, then he gapped me out again on the final climb.  I was glad I managed to get all the way to the top - legs truly pumped.

From the top we headed left, around the road, following it all the way, under Witch, under the Tors, past Castlerock, fast descent no brakes over 60 down to Bridle, and around under the Gondola into the wind on the corner, climbing up through the cutting.  A brief detour up Broadleaf Lane to the gate, just for the extra altitude and back, then the blast all the way down to Evans Pass, nice smooth rolling speed, over 50kph, then down into Sumner, blazing down through the red light and good high speeds over 60kph again down here.

Finally, taking a couple of turns slipstreaming each other around through Redcliffs and down the causeway clipping a nice 37 kph, then Ferry Rd back to the car.  Beer and food at Twisted Hop, and home about 9pm.

Just under 30kms, and over 800m climbed...