Eastside gangsta bash....

Met up again at Swtchbckrs and found the long lost Englishman (Chris) there already to form a posse and everyone not to far from being ready. I got changed and we voted to go to East and hit the Sumner ghetto trails again. We parked up behind the old theatre and decided to miss Captain T track and rode back to Redcliffs to the bottom of Mulgans track. Rode and walked up this steep little track and zigzaged our way up through the houses pretty quickly. Got up to the end of the houses and jumped the fence and shot up the trail leading up to the pines on the corner of summit road where the lower rarely used entrance to Greenwood is. I managed to ride most of it but took a bad line on one tough section and got bogged so had to walk it. Rolled up to the road and heard an excited (stoned boy racer type) ask out of the dark how long it took us to get up there, both Chris and I guessed about 20mins and replied simultaneously which sounded very believable (maybe it was closer to 25 mins in reality) which seemed to leave the young chaps suitably impressed. We carried on up the road, which seemed easy from there (as opposed to doing Capt Thomas first) and rested up a minute at the start of Greenwood. Onto the trail from there I lead out and felt pretty good. We regrouped at the ruins and headed on down. I was finding the wind a little tricky and visibility at night as usual not so flash, but got down pretty well. This time I managed to get up the last little climb over the rock which has been catching everyone quite well, I braked more at the bottom and had a lower gear to climb, so I didn't bounce into a hole or off line. This approach was much smoother and faster than going in flat out. I think you need a full sus bike for that to work. I blew the start of Godley and let the others go, Chris getting a bit further and Rich made it all the way. He said that was the first time ever, but maybe for a while anyway. At least one of us made it. I had several goes but didn't get far apart from 1 go I lost balance just before the grunty rock climb to the very top and had no run in which bogged me. I gave in and carried to the corner where I made it up the next section and along the first face where most of the rocky parts are. Down the other side I was following Rich who got away a little on the horrible Teddingtoned part of the track due to my cautious riding there, and had to try and catch him in the dust which seemed worse at a greater distance. I missed where he hooked off to the currently being built section but pulled up and ran up to the new part, Chris overshot me even more and had to do the same. Enjoyed that bit even though it is still in progress, some bits pretty old school, as in just mowed lines in the grass. Got down OK and crossed the fence bridge thing, I felt good here but things went south from there on...

I pushed it quickly up the first slope and hit the rocky terrain feeling good still, went to wheely over some rocks I have ridden heaps before and must have hit the back wheel on another rock which stopped it, slamming me forward to go over the bars, I stopped that by putting my hand on the shoulder height rock beside the track and pushed back. I must have twisted to the left though as the back wheel landed off the side of the track and I shot back, with my hand off the bar still I couldn't apply the brake. It rolled a meter or so before hitting more rocks and I slipped off the back but slipped on a boulder and fell luckily onto grass. The slip though caused my shin to slide on the rough boulder surface creating a nice graze. I got the bike up and Chris notice the seat wasn't quite where I had set it (it had a 45 degree twist from my butt smashing back into to pointy bit, luckily it didn't go in anywhere!!!!) I got out the first aid gear and put a dressing on the shin graze as it would have been smeared with dust if left uncovered. From there on out to the road crossing my balance was shocking and I buggered up almost everything. Hit the Anaconda and seemed better, taking the first cattle stop jump really well, landing well down the other side, but had to brake hard to make the corner, but then felt a bit off for the rest of the jumps so didn't hit them that well. Got down OK though and we cruised the Tale out. Chris and I had a match race up out of Tayors making for a pretty tough but fast exit from there. I thought he had me near the top on the second last corner but managed to hang on and by the end was about 4 seconds ahead which was pretty close. We regrouped at the top and rolled Nicholson park down to Slumner and got to the Bongo for a ride to the Maccas Restaurant in sunny Linwood for a healthy enjoyable dinning experience.

Huntsbury Beerfest Ride...

Friday night last week I dropped round to Swtchbckrs and had a very tasty and energy giving roast chicken meal with the family. After dinner Rich and I set off in the recently re-warranted and fully operational Bongo RS rally van. We made our way over to the hills and parked on Centaurus Ave, conveniently next to a little boutique wine and beer shop. In we went and made a few selections for later, and then mounted up for the slog up the hill. We were going to do the Rapaki, but decided not to break the run of not having ridden it for god knows how long now and headed up the smoothly paved Major Aitken Drive. We did a little exploring on a little piece of single track about half way up which kind of petered out in several houses back or front yards but Rich assured me we were still on park land. A neighboring dog disagreed and set of its bark alarm which brought out its owner who told it to shut up. So I guess we were right or maybe seeing 2 guys with weird clothing and incredibly bright lights wandering around below your house would be a little off putting???? In the end we had to lug our bikes out up a pretty steep slope back to the road and continued on. We joined onto Huntsbury Ave and hit the steep section of the road. I was feeling pretty good here but decided not to push to much to save my legs for the nasty gravel at the top. Once we hit the end of the road it didn't seem to take to long to get to the top of the old airstrip although Rich had a lighting issue to fix at one stage. I didn't wait around though as the wind was cold and I could have done with another layer on, but I had forgotten to load my pack into the van when I left home so couldn't bring anything with me. The top section of gravel wasn't to bad as a slightly smoother and grippier line has been worn in by the increase in riders going down to do the new old skool track. I can remember a few years ago the original trail was almost overgrown in places and now it is a fav again...

Anyway, at the top we crossed the road and headed up onto the Mt Vernon track and headed off, me in front holding Rich up as I was not confident on the new surface they are swathing all over the place, I think it is to dangerous on any steep sections and the idea of building it up in the middle to run off the water is not suitable for these kinds of narrow trails as there is no room for error if you get off line. It works at Bottle Lake etc on a 2 foot wide trail, but not elsewhere if you ask me. I think better track design and more drainage channels are far more effective and cheaper too. We headed straight across the top of Rapaki and onto the Witch Hill track. I managed most of the climb OK but had one blunder losing balance on a straight section. Made it out feeling in good form though. On up the road to the top of Castle Rock trail. I let Rich go ahead and couldn't get my foot in the pedal for a few seconds leaving a decent gap between us and then felt off form suddenly and he was gone. I was put off by some odd sounds from the chain rattling and things felt loose. I tried to ignore it and kept going (at the bottom of trail I looked and found the front ring had dropped to granny somehow making to chain slacker than usual, hence the different sound) getting to just before the first hairpin and bounced to the left off a rock, I looked down and saw a line to the track and took that anyway, shortening the track by about 8m or so. I managed to ride the bottom section well and had a good pace on up the climb which caught me up to within a few seconds of Rich. We turned around pretty much right away and reversed the trails we had just done. I had a really great run up to Castle Rock and cleaned it all at a good pace. Flew down the road and onto Witch Hill again where I cleaned all the hard bits but had another sill dab on a fairly simple part of the decent. Came out at good pace and headed up Mt Vernon. Put some power down on the first bit of the climb knowing that you get a rest faster if you maintain a good pace to the point about 80m after the pond thing where the trail flattens off. Around the corner I took the old switch back line over the rocks which I found really fun and then got to the rocky gnarly corner which normally catches me out. I took the high line but hit a bump and lost balance to the right so tried to drop down to the low line, somehow finding the front wheel rodeoing up a 40cm or so up into the air as my weight transferred back to fast until another rock must have halted the back wheel and shot the weight forward again putting the wheel back down and allowing me to ride on without a dab for balance. A bit flukey of course, but I will take that. Came across the south face and dropped down to the road off a little rock face at the bottom. Apparently it looked pretty impressive as I heard a parked up Boy Racer across the road say "You are awesome bro!" To which I replied "Cheers ou!" and sat by the start of Summit trial to watch Rich come down. It did look pretty good seeing him come down the last bit at pace so I am going to say the 'racers' were not being sarcastic...

We decided to call it a night and headed across the first section of the Summit highway as it is now known, and turned off onto the old entrance trail to Bowenvale. Shot down the 4 by section as fast as I could manage, also knowing Rich normally drops me here so was expecting to get passed, not really seeing much with the bumps and wind affecting vision. Managed to not slow him down to much I think. Over the gate we explored a few lines down the 4 by switchies and Rich found a nice line down the second to last section with the rock drop. I took a line that lead to thick tussocks and rocks and had to stop. Got to Old Skool and had a nice run, had my first run up the new banking on one of the first tight left handers which was fun, good work to the trail pixies. Enjoyed the other new section built to avoid the water issues from last winter too, so it will be interesting to see how that goes. Got out all OK and cruised back to Swtchbckrs to sample one of the Fantas we had acquired earlier.

Post daylight savings Sumner night blat...

Met up at Swtchbckrs at about 6 after work and got changed and ready to ride. Remembered that the lights were going haywire on the Bongo, so got the torch out and a screw driver and pulled open the steering column light switch. Found a few oxidised contacts and a worn slide on the activating part of the switch. A bit of sandpaper from my cycle patch kit and and a slither of trusty insulation tape had everything fixed up in about 25 minutes. With operational lights we headed on out to Sumner city. Parked up and shot on Capt. Thomas trail. Managed to get about as far as I ever have up the first steppy steep bit. I think a slightly lower gear would help there. Blew out a few of the tough bits on the way up, mostly stuff I should ride too, but got a couple of difficult ones as well so not to unhappy about the form. Got to the top in good shape and we decided to take the road up to Greenwood. We hit the single track and I felt pretty good still so kept a decent pace on although a few gusts made balancing a little tricky. Got to the top and took it easy past the ruins due to wind and watery eyes and got rolling on down. Went through the rough rocky sections at good speed, it seems I have mastered the troubles I used to have in there, or someone has made it heaps easier??? Due to riding under lights and the wind I had the speed dialed in a little down, but was feeling bumps and rough terrain in the back and hands. Normally I am fine until I hit the bottom where the pain bites big time in the arms and sometimes feet. Went pretty well apart from getting stuck for 5 seconds or so at the tricky rise/rock near the bottom. From the bottom of Greenwood, we headed to Godley and had a go at cleaning the bottom section. Blew it first go and tried a couple more times but got stuck in the same place each time. Walked up that section and managed the rest of the climb to the top OK enjoying the technicality of the rocks on the trail. Uneventful decent into the next climb and enjoyed the rocks there too although I had a little dab at one point. Got down to the top of The Anaconda and headed in. Felt pretty good but a little sore still and the wind made for slightly lower speeds. The clay track looks a blur under lights too, so you have to trust the track and your suspension to get through OK. Had a good blast out the tail too, had a good cross up slight right before the exit cattlestop bridge thingy and had to gather that up before hitting the up ramp. Jumped further than ever so I guess it didn't scrub to much speed off. Rode slowly out of Taylors as Rich was pretty blasted and had a bit of a look about for new lines in the park down to Sumner and played on the driveway drops on Scarborough way as well. Healthy Maccas meal on the way home too.

Wharfdale River Expedition...

As has now become tradition, when you arrange to do a ride on the Wharfdale track it decides to get wet. Met Chris at home at about 8.30am after doing some maintenance on the X-Edition, ie a chain lube and stuck on a new rear disc rotor (the old one kept warping with heat). We loaded up the Bongo and cruised to Oxford via German road. Stopped for supplies and some loo paper and headed up to the Wharfdale car park. Felt natures call there so visited the lovely long drop for a spell. Luckily I had the paper as there was nothing left of the DoC supply that was there last time. Got ready went to head into the forest with a bit of light rain falling. Got 3 metres and realized I didn't have my pack on, the realized I had just locked it in the Van and it had the keys in it!! We tried Chris's keys with no luck, and then thought we might need to break a window. I found some fence wire and had a go at lifting the lock from in the door but didn't get anywhere. Then I slipped it in the door and got it down by the lock knob but couldn't get enough grip on it. With some help from Chris pulling the door and a bit of fine tuning of the wire shape much to our relief and excitement we got it open and I climbed through to get the pack out this time...

Took it easy on the way up to the saddle as I knew it is a long ride especially if you are buggered to soon. Coming down the first longish decent I heard a bit of noise from Chris but didn't think much of it. Stopped a little further along and had to wait a minute or so before he showed. I thought he must have dropped his chain or something, but he reported his front wheel had washed out on a root and shot him off into the bush!! He had some mud on his side to prove it and a bit of a knock on his hand. Luckily nothing serious though. Carried on managing to do some of the tricky bits and not others, but feeling pretty good considering the wetness and slippery roots, although that is par for the course on the Wharfdale. Chris was having a lot of trouble with wet and foggy glasses also. Most of the trail was pretty much a small river with nice deep puddles which you couldn't tell the depth of. I found the the right down the middle route was often the best as the mud seemed less even if it was deeper there. We both got caught in a few of the bigger mud bogs along the way but generally got them pretty well. I was surprised at how well I managed to ride one of the toughest sections from this side of the saddle from the first hairpin about 1.5km from the saddle, I managed a clean ride right up that through the big steppy bogs and up the next steep hairpin (although I had a little dab just at the top of the hairpin where the steep chute comes out of the corner) and I cleaned the rest to the saddle so was happy about that. We stopped there and had a feed and drink and got rained on and cold. Not the best idea considering we were about to descend for 20mins or so after that making warming up difficult. We headed down and had a good run carefully avoiding the slippery roots along the first section. Had fun riding some of the tricky bits where the slips have changed the trail but mucked a few of them up myself. Really enjoyed the decent and found ourselves at the river crossing in no time. Cruised to the hut having a bit of fun on the last little section before the hut with the big steps and roots making a nice technical bit of riding. Stopped for a little bit more food etc and checked out the river flats for a minute before heading back.

Had to climb back up the tricky steps and then managed to ride down the equally steep and tricky opposite side to the river. I stopped to take a couple of pics of Chris doing it again successfully which are above. We cruised on in quite nice weather for a bit before the rain came in again for good. Climbing was good with a couple of dabs here and there and a few clambers over washed out creek crossings. We got to the top faster than I thought we would and headed down the now very wet south side. Chris really struggling with visibility and me going OK but getting wet but the overhanging trees, rain and spray off the track. My helmet seemed to have a constant river of water running off the front of it onto my nose!! Kept up a pretty good pace and waited a few times for Chris but no major whoopsies luckily. Had a bit of a slide on the cliff edge coming down into the steep rocky hairpin down into the biggest of the creek crossings not to far from the saddle. Thankfully it was only the back wheel and it gripped again on the lower bit of track otherwise I would have needed a parachute or a strong tree to grab!!! Made out way out to the bridges and felt pretty good so I kept a good pace on going down and decided to nail the last climb holding a pretty good gear right up to the gateway followed by Chris not far behind. Had a ball (and water blasting) on the last downhill section hitting the whole thing at full noise. I had to blow the water out of my mouth on each breath as it was like riding into a hose being sprayed in your face the whole way, with crap from the trail getting in your eyes and then being washed out again luckily. Got back to the Van and cleaned/dried off and changed into dry clothes. Much better prepared than last time. Easy cruise back home from there.