Craigieburn Lung shredder!

Note: Photos from previous visit to Craigieburn.

Chris managed to get another day off on a Wednesday and we were trying to get together a small but capable posse to ride the beautiful Craigieburn alpine trails. Unfortunately the earthquakes on Monday afternoon meant most people were busy cleaning up to do any riding so it was just Chris and I again. Chris arrived at my place at about 9am and loaded ourselves and gear into the 4wd. T came too, and we picked up some supplies on the way through Oxford. The day was fine, but with a bit of gusty nor-west wind coming through. I was worried that the wind would be way worse in the mountains, but when we got there it was actually less. So great for riding. T dropped us off and went to Arthurs Pass for coffee and a look around. We headed up the Broken River access road a few Kms and found the bottom of the Luge track to go up to the saddle. This was the first time Chris had been there so I warned him it was a bit of a climb so he should pace himself. I tried to do the same but my unfit state and the altitude combined in a way which made me feel severely aerobically challenged!!! I was so slow and had to stop for breath at least 7 or 8 times and felt like crap. I remember feeling way better last time I did it. I guess the track was softer and more resistant this time as well. Eventually we got to the saddle and decided to have a look up "Helicopter Hill". We pushed the bikes up (I was thinking I would just go a little way up with the bike and walk the rest as the sign said it was only 500m). Then the track opened out onto the ridge and we could ride some of it although the wind was pretty against that at the time. Walked the rest as it was pretty steep and checked out possible lines to take on the way down as it looked doable even on the really rocky sections. Got to the top where the shaded areas were all frosted and had a great view. Chris took some photos (I didn't as someone misplaced my camera and we couldn't find it before we left) and he went down a little way to take some video of me descending the top open section. I tried to make it look good, but probably failed, but it was super fun and then we did some more video on the technical sections. I almost crashed when I tried to ride the rocky steep as bit as I couldn't make a sharp left turn safely so went ahead into some bushes. Luckily I managed to bail safely. Got down and descended to the junction below the saddle and turned right. Chris was loving the trail and went past me. I had trouble seeing as the speed was making my eyes water having no glasses on. Clear lenses would have been great. Also a bit more fork travel would help too...



Got to the road and started the grind up. I don't remember it being so long last time either, but I knew it was a pig to climb anyway. At least this time I was feeling better and kept up OK. I think I am better on steady climbs at the moment. Had a break near the top hairpin corner and then another at the carpark area at the top for food. Showed Chris the trail on the opposite mountain face which I think shocked him a bit as it looks like a mad goat trail on a cliff from there. I guess it is in a few places too...





Got to the start of the trail and Chris wanted to take some pics but his camera decided to give up so we went without pics from there. Chris went in first and had a good pace on to start with but then got a bit spooked after a while so I went ahead so I could warn him of any tricky parts. I managed to ride most of it pretty we and was enjoying the ride immensely, especially as we were getting the last of the suns' warmth before it dropped below the westward peaks. Got caught out by some steep climbs on rock scree surfaces a couple of times but managed the rest of the technical sections very well. We even had an audience (2 walkers) for the last and biggest and trickiest scree section who were very impressed that we could ride it OK.



I even rode the little washout section at the end of it that I fell into last time I rode there. It has been made a bit less dangerous now though so that helps a lot. Chris rode most of it well too, but was a bit freaked out on some of the exposed sections, which I was also on my first time there. We got to the intersection and headed up to the ridge again and both were really feeling it this time and had a couple of cramps but managed to keep going and ride most of it. I let Chris go ahead from the saddle on the Luge track as I knew it was rough and much more difficult on my 100mm fork and I was pretty tired already too. He shot ahead and I kept my own pace which was still pretty good. I struggled on the really rough rooty sections, but was OK on the rest. Clipped a few trees on the way down including 2 in a row, but got right down with no other problems. Sped down the road the rest of the way and met T at the bottom and packed up again. Stopped at the Sheffield Pie shop just before 5pm and they had only 1 left (roast garlic vege pie) but they said they could microwave us any other pie we wanted. Got 2 each and then I decided to take to roast garlic 1 and it was the best by far. Highly recommend that 1 for sure. Got home about 6 and had a couple of beers before Chris went home.

Mt Grey on a sunny day...

Did this ride a few weeks ago but have been a bit lazy on the write up. Chris had a Wednesday off so we decided to do a midweek daytime ride, which this time of year is a bit of a luxury. Met with another friend of Chris's also called Chris at Pukeko Junction Cafe and had a coffee before heading to the carpark half way up Mt Grey. Due to time constraints we parked a car at the bottom of the hill and drove another back up to the park again. Then we got ready and headed into the little track at the pond/lake there. Made a few wrong turns and stumbled onto a DH track and figured we should head to the east where the road should be. Followed a bit of a forestry track to a clearing but no sign of the road there so we went down another rough track which narrowed to basically a wall of gorse which we rode through picking up plenty of scratches but luckily no punctures. Was about to turn back when I saw some native tree tops not far away and figured they were in a gully below the road so pushed on a luckily I was right and we popped out onto the road. Started to climb the road steadily aware that I am unfit as at the moment and didn't want to over do it on the way up. New Chris was a little slower as he has only been riding a few months and I steadily pulled away. Old Chris stayed with him until I was a few hundred metres ahead and then he started to catch me. He caught up about 5 minutes later and we rode together to the junction with the lookout road is. Had a rest and waited for new Chris to catch us. We then decided to check out the lookout as I had never been there before and it was a really nice sunny day. I thought it was a reasonable distance to it but we were there in about 45 seconds to my surprise. Took some photos and had a good look around and then headed to the top. At the top we hopped over to the lee side of the wind and had a feed and another rest. It was pretty awesome to sit in such warm sunny conditions out of the wind and relax with a beautiful view to enjoy. We then headed to the top of the next knob and then down the single track to the west. Had a great time attempting to ride the switchbacks and managed to ride about 60% of them I guess.



Some we had a few attempts at as well. 1 in particular we tried about 6 or 7 times each before we got it right (me first!!!) as it looked so doable but had lots of technical challenges packed into a few metres of trail, ie rocks at the start, multiple line options, 180 degree hairpin, medium incline, and loose gravel surface mid corner with drop away to bush on the side. Great fun...




After that we continued on and the trail had longer flowing sections which were also great and we eventually ran out of track at the river at the bottom of the hill where we parked the car earlier. New Chris put his bike in the car and drove and old Chris and I held onto the sides with the rear windows open so we could hang on. Was easier and much faster than riding up the hill, but still pretty tough to hold on and control the bike with 1 hand. We swapped sides to rest our arms half way up, and developed the knee against the side of the car technique to help stabilise the bike, making it much easier. We rode the flat section to the carpark flat out and then I headed home and the Chris's went for a beer first.

Blowhard to Richardson. Part III

Had a day off for Easter Sunday and had planned to ride with Chris up the Blowhard again, during daylight hours this time for a change having decided not to travel all the way to ride with the PFMTBC boys and SWTCHBCKR on the Twin Fenceline track on Banks Peninsula, as I wouldn't have time to get back for T's family dinner afterwards. I finally contacted Chris on Saturday and found he was busy all day so decided to go on my own seeing as I had also turned down my own family Easter lunch as well. The weather dawned fantastically with little wind and about 24 degrees or so by the time I got to the start of the track at 11am. The track was drier than last time but still felt plenty steep and I resorted to granny ring on the 4wd section early to try and preserve my legs longer for the steepest parts. I was determined this time to make it to the top of Mt Richardson, as I had plenty of time and no light issues to worry about. I was feeling pretty slow for the first hour though, which is normal for me in the morning for some reason. I got to the top of the steep stuff in 1 hour which included talking to a couple of hunters for about 4 or 5 minutes just below the top. The ridgetop section was dryer also and made for easier climbing and the few descents were much faster, although having perfect lighting was helping that also. I got to the first clearing faster than I was expecting and had a look about, took some more photos and had a muesli bar. I spotted someone across the clearing about 300m away in an orange flouro top and watched them for a few minutes, I think they were doing the same... I dropped down the sketchy as ridge line and back up towards the flouro guy and saw him walking towards the track. I got there after a few minutes and had a chat, he was hunting and had walked up the Mt Richardson track. After leaving him a few minutes later I came across a tramper having a rest near the top of the Bypass track summit but didn't stop this time. Heading past the Bypass track I noticed the sign said 3.2km to Mt Richardson and guestimated when I got to the point we turned back last time when my light died we were about 1.5km short of the top. The track from then on though is the best although there were a few sections I had to walk still on the way up. I turned left at the intersection and picked my way through the muddy rut track to the top which was mostly rideable and enjoyed the great views out to Mt Oxford and the Torlesses. I then heard more voices and passed 4 trampers heading the opposite direction and a minute later made it to the top. I took a few pics and called home (good reception on the cell there!!!) Then headed back at 1pm. I also checked the altitudes at the car park (299m) and the top (1048m) so the climb and decent where 749m each. I guess with the ups and downs included there would be about 1000m total.

I picked my way across the very rooty top section and through the muddy rut trying to avoid spraying mud all over the bike. Then hit the main trail. It felt great and I had much more confidence right away being able to see properly. I was still a little careful seeing as I was on my own though. Really enjoyed the trail across the top this time and loved the variety of surfaces to ride. I passed the trampers again on a rocky climb and made that look really difficult but made it to the top, then met up with the first 2 hunters I passed on the way up, giving one a fright as he didn't notice me coming. I stopped before them and had another yarn before bombing down the big open clearing and into the steep sketchy climb again. I took the climb sections along the ridge steadily and found myself at the top of the big steep section way faster than I expected. Came down that carefully but nice and clean and then started to bomb the way down, feeling really smooth and grippy in the corners it was a real blast and you could really let the speed climb being able to see clearly what was ahead. Got down to the 4wd turn around puddle and grunted up the little climb there before the last exit section to the car. Got there at 2.15pm so all up 3 hours 15 minutes (including lots of stops to look around and talking to the hunters) and 1 hour 15 to descend from the top. So finally I have made it all the way to the top and back, this time with no incidents either (and I have the photo to prove I was at the top too!) Excellent ride.

Eastside Fogfest...

Met up with Chris at his place about 5pm and headed out towards Sumner after he finished fixing a flat from dropping off the massive crack in the road beside the river on Fitzgerald ave. Saw some of the damage out there from the quake with the cliffs at Redcliffs being the most incredible even after seeing pictures of them. We decided to pull up at the end of Redcliffs and headed up Mulgans track. The bottom part had a bit of rockfall on it which had been cleared a little to make a tricky little chicane and the rest of the track was pretty good from there. Apart from it being fairly steep and the switchbacks super tight. I managed to ride the first section apart from most of the corners and then all but the steeps at the bottom of the next section which was even steeper. It took me about 15 seconds to get going on that as it was so steep. Then walked most of the last steppy section as I was pretty buggered by that stage. We made the road in about 10 to 15 minutes I guess so it was a very fast way to get up. Cruised the road to the start of the single track from the top of the houses that leads to the summit road. The fog was rolling in here and the pines beside the road were doing a great job of combing the water from the air and dripping it like rain all over the track!!! It was still firm, but a bit greasy in a few places and this combined with my lack of fitness meant I was owned by most of the little steep techy climbs and got dropped by Chris. We pushed on through the thickening fog and both noted the eeriness of the scene as the large pines at the top loomed into view.

From there we cruised along the road in thick for towards Greenwood track. Along the way a couple of long board riders sailed by through the mist and then about 300 metres from Greenwood we cleared the fog and could see the last rays for the sunset leaking over the Southern Alps and the huge bank of see mist rolling inland. It looked pretty clear out home still. We headed across Greenwood to the old gun emplacements without lighting and this and my lack of finesse on the rocky parts slowed me down a fair bit, although Chris had the luxury of 6 inches of travel to flatten out those bit somewhat. At the top we set up out lights and headed down into the mist again. The poor visibility making it fairly impossible to see what was on the track on the fast sections. I was quite pleased to be not far behind Chris for the first 2/3 or so of the track but was getting tired and caught out at the 2 little rocky climbs near the end also which slowed me up considerably. I definitely noticed how much slower I was after not being on the track or that kind of terrain for so long, but slowly gathered a bit of confidence. I am sure it would be much easier without the fog though.

With Captain Thomas still closed due to quake danger we headed along Godley Head track. I managed a good deal of the first steep climb before losing traction, but Chris cruised up no worries on his tractor/bike. We picked out way along OK until about 15mins in on a little climb I somehow pushed the front out wide to the right against the bank where it connected with a piece of rock jutting out about 50mm about midway up the wheel. This stopped the bike instantly and despite no going overly quick I cannoned forward until I hit something, likely the rock wall beside me or just the front of the bike, most of the impact was on my knee against the handlebar stem and my ankle on something else. I rebounded back and to the left over the side of the track leaping off the bike and running down the slope until it flatted a bit (about 8 metres or so). As I was running I thought I was fine and then as I neared the flatter spot the pain started to increase in my knee. I dropped and writhed about for a minute as it ramped up until I was about to vomit (like when you get kicked in the nuts!!!) I felt like I hadn't done any major damage though and hoped it would ease soon enough and I could keep going. I had fingers crossed it didn't swell to much though. After about 5 minutes it wasn't to bad and I got back up to where my bike was beside the track and found the rear flashy had fallen apart in the impact with the ground and reassembled it again. I gingerly continued on and about 1 minute later met up with Chris who was coming back to see where I had gotten to. We continued down in the fog which forced a very slow pace and then I took a wrong turn and had to go back. I was looking for the new section that was being worked on last time I was there, but never found it. By the time I got to the last climb before Breeze Col and the Anaconda my knee felt pretty good again. I remember thinking though that the technical rocky bits coming up were going to be tough though, but I managed to either pick my way through very skilfully or they had been cleaned out a bit to make them easier??? Anyway I cleaned them well and met Chris at the top of the Conda.

We dropped in just in front of some runners and in some parts you couldn't even see what the track surface was or what shape it was so it was pretty freaky going at a reasonable clip down. I surprised that I managed to keep pretty close to Chris all the way down, but was still slower than normal and not getting much air on the jumps. We both avoided the new jump as you could see nothing beyond it with the lights. Had a nice run down though and enjoyed the Tail ride out to Taylors also, although the last 2 sections have got really rough since I last rode there.

Slow climb out of Taylors without the customary race to the top and headed down through the park where I forgot to put my light on full, the cruised across the seafront at Sumner. We had a little race around the waterfront to the car which I was behind for most of but eventually Chris's big tyres got to much for him and I got past in the last 100m. Got back to the car and headed to Maccas Linwood and dinned in the 'Restaurant'. Then dropped Chris home and headed home via the supermarket myself.

My knee was pretty good in the end, used the ice from my drink at Maccas to help bruising and had to chuck a sticky plaster on to keep dirt out of the cut. All good now.

Blowhard Part II...End of daylight...

Second ride back from my hiatus and why not go for another leisurely jaunt up the Blow Hard again? After all we failed to make it to the end last time due to lack of light and being unsure of the decent under lights. Of course that was not to bad if you actually had a light that was operational...
Anyway I met Chris at my place after work (Rich had a prearranged whanau commitment so was unable to make it) at my place and he unloaded his new 7'' travel Marin rig and we loaded it into the trusty Corona with my Genius/Merida on the rack and headed off. 15 minutes later and we were enjoying the sweet smell of the bush at the bottom of the track and getting ready. On up and it seemed a lot tougher than last week right from the get go, or possibly I was going a touch faster, but either way I was on the limit in middle ring from the get go. We ran into a hunter coming back down the track who said he had had a good day, but didn't elaborate any more and was not carrying any wild beast either, so maybe it had just been good weather? At least it was OK down below where we were, with no wind and no cloud so that was good. The problem was the sun was going down faster than we were going up and I was keen to make it to the clearing in time to take some photos and check out the view. With that in mind I was pushing myself harder than last time but not trying to ride as far up the steepest sections as I could so that when I had to stop and push I still had some O2 in the blood and could move forward at a reasonable pace rather than have to crawl for the first 30 seconds. This tactic seemed to work better and we managed to keep a steady pace up and with Chris pushing the big bike I was about the same speed as him for the most part. We got to the top of the steep section and I didn't have to stop for a food break this time and we continued on, riding more than last time but still pushing a few sections we should be riding really. On the short decent sections across the top I was feeling slow, but better than last week, so I was happy with that. Chris was pretty sharp on his new bike though of course.

Finally we broke out of the bush with a few rays of light still creeping over the Alps, allowing a good view and a couple of pics but the wind was back to normal up there, howling! The result being that the photos in low light and high wind being pretty blurred and crap really. Never mind. We cruised down the steep drop beyond where we turned around last time and made our way back up the ridge towards Mt Richardson. Had to skirt around a bit of muddy stuff a few times but other than that the trail was mint. Had the odd issue with the wind and lack of fitness and then low light (this was the last night with daylight saving in place) so switched on the light to low. I forgot to charge the battery so figured after the last ride it should be good for several hours on low still. About 5 minutes later though it went out and I was left in near darkness. I carried on up to where Chris was waiting and told him about the light. He was keen to go back now anyway. I slowly made my way back down barely able to see the track and Chris waited for me a few times. We decided to go back the way we came rather than go down the walk track to Glentui (I figured it could be a fast way down and my light should go on low for another burst maybe 5 or 10 minutes if I was lucky). I borrowed Chris's backup light and mounted it on my bars which made it point of centre to the left a little but was heaps better than riding in pitch black (no moon either). We made surprisingly good time across the top and at times I was able to ride close behind Chris and see with his light. At the top of the steep decent down to the bottom I stopped and put my light on low and crossed fingers it would last. Chris bombed down and I picked my way down the top section getting near the flatter section before clipping my bar on a tree and coming off. I landed mainly on my back so was protected by all the soft clothing in my bag so got up as fast as possible to not waste the light and re-mounted hoping the bike was OK. It seemed to be anyway and I only had a bump on the elbow and a scrape on the leg which was pretty good seeing how far I fell down and the rocky stuff I was riding. I think I landed on some loose rocks so not to bad. On down I went and was enjoying the decent and could see by the marks on the track that Chris was also...Was near the top of the 4wd section when the light died again, so had to slow right down to get down the last 2 to 3 hundred metres or so and then crawled the 4wd road section. The off centre light meaning I had to scan to the right to see the track properly and right bends in the road were blind as. This lead to me not seeing a rut in the road on a right hand bend in time and nearly coming off again. I had to half bail into some broom bushes but stayed upright at least. Got down in the end and started to load the car when a guy on a quad bike came up and started talking. We had a chat for a while and it turned out to be a guy I knew from school years ago. Chris said only in NZ!!! Came home and had a couple of beers. Nice.

Booyaa!!! I am BACK! Blowhard blowout...

It has been 9 long months since my last proper ride apart from a couple of sneaky jaunts round Bottle Lake on the SingleSpeeder, not real mountain biking though, with actual mountains etc... So what better way to test the fitness and skills then to attempt probably the steepest and possibly least rideable legal trail in Canterbury. I certainly couldn't think of a better test than the good old Blow Hard track. Also it is pretty close to my place as well. I called in the boys SWTCHBCKR (Rich) and Chris who came out after work. We all loaded into Rich's soon to be new Subbie wagon and tootled off to the start. Not bad conditions considering the weather hadn't been flash for days and the clouds were about 3/4 of the way up the hill and no sign of rain. Hit the hill right away and warned the others that the apparent steepness was just an appetiser, and prepared for my lungs or legs to explode, or both. Surprisingly I managed to keep a respectable pace considering my complete lack of match fitness and with my rear Maxxis Crossmarks hooking into the moistened clay surface perfectly I actually managed to out climb my much fitter companions on a couple of occasions. Once we passed the end of the regular 4wd trail things got a bit tougher though and I found if I pushed as far up the steep as sections as I could like I normally would then I would really struggle to walk up for about 15 to 20 seconds as my lungs etc caught up with demand for O2. I surprised myself again with how I was able to keep pushing steadily to the top all the way, but was ready for a 1 square at the top of the steepest stuff. From there we pushed along to tops in the forested sections, up and up then down a little before up again. Light was fading and the boys were worried about the decent and not keen on it under lights. I was keen to get to the first open section at least and we pushed on, eventually making it before the light really faded (it is amazing how long it takes to get there and I always think 'ah yes I am pretty sure it is just around this corner....no...must be this one...no...' etc etc...) When we looked about the tops the Lees Valley side was almost clear of cloud/mist/fog and the light was amazing, while we were almost about to be immersed in fog, so the atmosphere was unreal. It really worth the effort just for that. Also for once there wasn't a breath of wind and you could even hear the sound of a stream from way down in the valley below. Very cool, a bit LOTR like...

Back down and I was tail end charlie, and got dropped right away as I caught a stick in my derailleur which took about 15 seconds to extract, giving me no chance of catching up. Also given my lack of riding I was a bit ginger on the downhills as well. The loose rocks and slickness on some rocks as well as some very dull lighting in the thicker forest sections made me pretty wary, plus being last I didn't want to come off and be left unconscious down a bank for hours either!!! After about 10 minutes I had to resort to my light as it was so hard to see the track but it seemed even worse as I was in foggy section and the reflection off the fog was worse than riding in the dark. This made me thing the others were right about the steep stuff in the dark, but it was too late by then anyway. After another couple of minutes the light was pretty much gone in the forest and I flicked the light back on. This time the fog was gone and I could see pretty good, apart from having a half inflated spare tube in the top pocket of my pack which was pushing against my helmet hard when I was trying to hold the light far enough ahead to see properly at speed or on steep descending sections. So just before the drop off I stopped where we had a snack earlier to remedy that problem. Re-mounted and rode about 40 metres and found the other 2 on the side of the track. Chris was faffing about with the front of his bike muttering and cursing as it seemed his light had lost its charge or some other fault and was refusing to illuminate the way ahead at all. He did have a small town light on his head and said he would walk down and we should go ahead. So Rich went ahead no problem, but I was having issues getting my feet in the pedals on the steepest section we were on at the time so took a bit of time, and Chris walked. Once we got past there we got Chris between Rich and I and went from there. Chris seemed to manage that pretty well and I was struggling to keep pace most of the time, being a bit tentative still. We all manage to get down OK at a decent pace and found ourselves back at the car in quick time as usual for the Blowhard...On to my place for a couple of reflective quiets and then on home for the boys and to bed for me....