Fun on the Slippery Nun

Tuesday 3 April. The plan was for the PFMTBC chaps to meet Rich and I at the top of Worsleys road and do a repeat of our last ride, only this time under lights more or less all the way. We managed to get across town about 25 minutes early and figured a quick loop up and back would be a goer with the remaining daylight left. We cruised up the 4wd track in good time noting the nice dry trail at the bottom. About half way up though it got damp and was reasonable wet at the top. We re-gathered ourselves at the top of B-Line and I lead in. The half light was pretty tricky and with lights on was not really any better, so we push on carefully. I rode over one of the rock piles and the front end slipped quite a bit with the greasy mud and the slippery rock not being the best combo. We came around a corner into a rocky section and noticed a couple of guys walking up. Once close enough I realised one of them was one of my friends' brother in law. He was doing some last minute training for a hunting expedition in Fiordland. We chatted a few minutes then continued down. After the clifftop section the track was dry again and the grip was fantastic. We took the line above the 4wd section this time and it was well worth the tiny climb to get onto it and it lead us out to the main track without having to climb back up. Rich quickly called Steve and the others and we discovered they were up ahead of us.

Up the track again a little slower this time and we came across the boys (Steve, Andrew, Tony and Maree with Warren up ahead) waiting with some young guys testing out their 4wd vehicles. I don't think they got very far past that point somehow. We all got past them and Rich and I went ahead and climbed the Bodybag section. I nearly made it, but was riding without my light on and didn't see a slight rut and lost traction on the steepest part. I pushed up about 10 metres and rode the rest. We watched from the top and saw the others pike and peel off into the B-Line instead. So we carried on over the top to the Nun. I lead off and was pretty tentative with the lights on and a decidedly slippery surface and greasy slick rocks, I wasn't keen to go for a skate. I dropped into the rock lined dipper and felt both tyres slide about badly, but I stayed well balanced and carried on. Rich pulled up and avoided the risky rocks. I waited a few seconds and we carried on. Felt pretty good, a little slower than usual, but not to bad. By the time we got to the saddle I was getting pretty confident with the grip. We had a good pace on down towards the Sign of the Kiwi and I hit the first of the 3 jumps near the end, a little slower than normal due to the greasiness, and then the next I took off but got crossed up a little and the front wheel landed off to the left of the trail and the back wheel on the track. I couldn't get back on line and the front wheel washed into the grass throwing me off to the left also. I dived head first into the long grass and was thinking there better not be any rocks in there. Luckily there were none, but the grass caught on my light which pulled my head face down into the grass where I rammed into a big clump of grass like a tussock, which stopped my progress abruptly. I felt my head fold under me and my neck took the strain flexing quite a bit and making some unhealthy noises. I felt fine though and tried to get back up but my light was caught in the grass and it took a few seconds to extract it. Rich turned up then and asked if I was OK. I thought so, but tested my neck to be sure. It felt a little strained, but OK and no pain, so we carried on to the end the last 100m or so. On the road I had to re-straighten out my stem as the fall had knocked the bars to the left which doesn't feel good when you are riding, especially when you are thinking you may have taken a head knock or something serious.

We decided against doing another run down the Nun and rode up the Summit Road to the top of Worsleys again and dropped down the Body bag. This time it was pretty slick at the top so we were pretty slow until it levels out a little and we glided down to the old gateway. On crossing the swampy bit I lost balance and nearly fell into the deep muck puddle but manage to stick my foot down on the far side of it and straddle the water. Up to B'line again for some more of the same as earlier on, although this time it seemed even more slippery after a few riders with muddy tires and the surface being stirred up a little. At one stage in a fairly easy left hand bend I ended up sliding out completely and facing 90 degrees into the long grass again. I re-aligned with the track and tried to catch up to Rich. It took a while but eventually I got back on his tail just after the clifftop section. As there on down was dry I had no more problems and we had a sweet run down to the 4wd climb and into the lower section where we explored some of the myriad of lines in the trees and then made our way out to the main track and to the car. No sign of the others there and we cleaned the worst mud off our bikes before Coroning it to Noodle Canteen for some authentic oriental cuisine.

Last of the evening sunlight rides

Picked up Rich and we made our way across town in the 'rona and up to the top of Worsleys spur road. Parked up with several other cars and got the bikes out. Mine having 2 slow leaks needing pumping up. A rider passed as we were getting organised and I thought we might catch them on the way up. My tyre pumping etc gave them about 4 or 5 minutes start though. We started out steadily and I was feeling OK due to not having ridden up the road first. Once we got to the corner looking up to the Bodybag I finally made out the rider and a couple of others they had caught going over the top, so no chance of us catching them. I set the goal of riding the 'bag in middle ring which I was in since the bottom of the track. I was feeling a bit average at the bottom though and had to alternate between standing and sitting several times before even getting to the really steep part. Grunted up there and as usual the last bit at the top feels just as steep due to oxygen debt etc. Got to the road at the top and found nobody there but a cool easterly breeze and headed back down the track a bit to see where Rich was. He was a few metres from the top of the steepest stuff pushing and got on to finish the rest. He looked a lot fresher than I was feeling. We jumped back onto the trail up to the top of the Nun and parked at the entrance. Took off the sunnies as the sun was getting to low for them to help much anyway, then dropped in, me behind Rich as usual. I kept up until a bumpy bit caused me to loose my rhythm and balance and I dropped back about 5 seconds or so which is about where the gap stayed. I was managing the jumps OK but never got a great flow on. Remembered the first of the jumps we had previously checked out but that was just after the point I lost speed and I had to pedal hard out to get enough speed to clear it properly. I was also having trouble with the front gears and never seemed to be in the right gear, so that was causing issues as well. Got to the Kiwi and pulled out to the roadside and we decided to cruise the road back up for another run. On the way up I played around with the shift adjuster and seemed to get it much better. Not sure how it got so far out of adjustment though. This time I lead the way and Rich sat in behind me. The run started out better, being able to pedal and find the right gear every time and I felt much smoother. Hit the jumps better and held more speed through the rocky sections before the track opens up near the saddle/junction with the summit road. Rich was keeping close enough behind me but was flat out and not being held up, so I was pretty happy with that as I hadn't been down there much lately and not mistake free for a long time, although I got pretty sideways on one of the last high speed jumps. We pulled up to the road and rested out hands and arms before dropping back in and hitting the top (best) section of the Dyers Pass track. I was a bit tentative due to the rapidly diminishing light and could have gone faster, but still enjoyed the trail. We turned around at the beginning of the 4 by track and cruised back up. It is actually a pretty good climb until the last 100 m or so kicks your butt. Up the road again to the top of Worsleys Spur and we sorted the lights out to drop down the 'bag and to B line. I lead and was surprised at how hard it was to make out anything on the track due to it's uniform light grey colouring. Rich couldn't see due to dust. Hit the bottom and turned to the B line entry. Much better visibility in the trees twisting and turning beautifully. Lots of large mossies doing something on the ground everywhere, there would have been millions of them, luckily they weren't interested in eating us! Had a fun cruise down and passed a climber (lost?) and zigzagged our way back to the car. Home via a large feed at Ronnie Macs....

Sunday Packhorse Jaunt...

Met up at Rich's at 9am Sunday morning. Rich was nearly ready and I got a few bits sorted and then Rich's friend Becs arrived. We loaded up the rack and headed to the top of Gebbies Pass. Becs' friends where meant to meet us there too, but were running late. We arrived at the Pass to find a newly formed parking area and a nicely groomed road to the start of the track proper. We bombed down into the old trees and climbed over the fence at the bottom all warmed up. Lost 2 layers and climbed up the paddock to the next section. This seemed to be a lot faster and shorter than last time. Maybe I am getting fitter....

Dropped down the road in the trees and this time remembered the turn off to the single track. I was feeling quite pleased that I had decided to take off the sunnies earlier as it was dark as in the first section. Enjoyed the first climb, going around several trees that had fallen over the trail, and felt like I was making more of the tricky climbs, or at least close to it, on a couple of occasions. Went off for the top half of the tree section and looked back after a couple of minutes to see nobody there. Waited for a couple more minutes before bombing the super smooth trail back down. Found Rich coming up a few hundred metres down who informed me the hold up was only a phone call from the others who were late and would be coming up behind us. Off up again and I noticed I still had 2 more gears to go down if required (last time I was in the lowest gear I had) and I was finding it OK. Pushed on and passed a couple of walkers and grunted up the last straight before the fence and the open track. A group of about 6 walkers watched and probably thought we were mad. We regrouped and had a good long rest enjoying the sun and the view before pushing on to the top. This time I was keen to see how much I could ride after struggling on the rocks a bit last time. I managed to clean it all at a good steady pace. Had a few near dabs but made a much better fist of it this time. Went back down to the others and rode back up again. Another rest, feed and admiring of views and then down again. Took it steady on the way down due to the narrow track, rocks and exposure but had a really nice flow. Clean again on the way down this time too, so was pretty happy with that. Entered the trees and felt fantastic on the magic carpet ride descent. Nice grip and sweet trail. Passed walkers at convenient times and then met up with Bec's mates coming up. We had a chat for 10 minutes then carried on down. It would have been worth going back up if we had time. Bombed down but nearly went over the bars trying to cross one of the downed trees near the bottom. The others had a good laugh at my expense, but no harm done luckily. I lead out and up the 4 by track to the paddock. Met a couple of bikers going up. Caned the next section avoiding the cow poo for the most part and really had a good flow. It felt like I was dancing all the way down it and Rich said the same. Passed the walkers again and rode up the fenceline nearly making the super steep zigzags up to the logged area. Down the road for a bit and then dropped into the new bike track below the road. This is a wide but rough track formed by a digger. There is no line and the surface is crusty and rough, but it is still pretty fun. I almost lost the front end at one point and had to put the foot out to stop myself going into the bank. Hopefully enough people ride it and a nice line will form. I managed to collect a large number of thistle spines in my left arm which I picked out at the gate. It looked like I had been shooting up after though. Rich and I shot down the road towards the Teddington Pub and got picked up at the bottom. Back at Rich's about 1.30pm.

Godaconda evening blast...

Tuesday evening ride with the boys. Met up at Rich's place, got there early so caught z's for a few minutes, then a pit stop and we rode off to Pete's at 6pm. Loaded up the 8, us and Pete and his son Alistair who was on a single speed dirt jumper. Headed out to Taylors to meet up with the rest of the crew for one of the last evening rides in daylight before daylight savings ends. The crew turned out to be us, Steve, Matt, Wayne, Dallas, Tony and Warren, so 10 in all. We headed up the still closed but well ridden crocs tail, which is a great little sidle/climb and regrouped at the bottom of the 'Conda itself. Rich lead off, but had a small mechanical issue after a few hundred metres so I inherited the lead and pushed on. Was feeling OK considering the big effort on Sunday up Richardson. Kept a steady pace up to the Godley Head road and waited for the others again. Rich only about 15 to 20 seconds back, but then big gaps to the others. Was good to have a rest as the legs are still building up after being off the bike until fairly recently. Steve suggested taking the road around to the Evans Pass end of Godley to save time and ensure good light for the end of our ride. It was the first time I have ever ridden into the entry of Godley at speed. Flew into the first few corners then settled in to grind up the first steep section. I was informed there had been some work done on the top part of the first grunt up and I almost made it up. Next time I will try more entry speed. The old route was to rough to go up fast on a hard tail, so relied on great balance, power and line picking, making it very difficult, although I did manage it a few times. Everyone had a go and then we tried our luck on the next section. I tried the high line, but ran out of power and dabbed. Everyone else went low and seemed to do better, although only 1 or 2 made it all the way. I led off again, but got caught on a rock and Rich went past. Sat in behind him and we cruised the rest of the way up. Regrouped just before the top out of the worst of the cool wind and then headed over. Was a good bomb down and I managed to stay close to Rich, just dropping some time on the Teddington chip section I hate. Another regroup and we climbed again, this time I lead and cleaned the whole section before letting Rich go in front for the descent. Good ride down and I rode the PFMTBC rock tabletop for the first time. Quick regroup at the top of the 'Conda and down before dark. Had good speed, but no flow at all. Was about 3 or 4 seconds behind Rich all the way, but couldn't hit many jumps properly and felt off balance most of the time. I guess that's what happens when you don't ride it for ages. Another regroup and off out the Tail back to the carpark. Rode back to Rich's in the dark on back streets and then had awesome home made soup, bread and a Guinness to finish.

Mt Richardson Solo

After the last debacle of a ride at Bottle, I dragged the old bike out of the shed and thought I had better take a look and see if I can figure out the problem with the shifting (or automatic shifting) that I was still getting. I guessed it could be either a worn out derailleur or a bent hanger. I checked out both and lubed the jockey wheels on the derailleur as well. There was a bit of movement in the mechanism so figured that could be it. The hanged looked straight enough, but when I pulled on it there was a lot of movement. I got the right hex key and tightened up both bolts as they were loose as. If the quick release wasn't in the way normally they would have fallen out! On testing after that the problems vanished. So I guess the derailleur is still good for a while yet.

So I was keen to get out and organised a ride up the Blowhard for a change. Hadn't been up there since about October last year. Rich and a mate of his both pulled out, due to various reasons, so I sat about until 11am or so and decided I should go anyway. Drove to the start and arranged my gear (I decided to lug my army folding shovel to do some maintenance work if required) and then took off. Into Granny right from the bottom, but felt pretty good for about half of the first grunt to the ridgeline. Then I ran low on energy despite a good breakfast and powder stuff in my drink bottle. I grovelled on and tried to ignore my stomach. Got to the ridge in about 50 mins or so. The flatter parts at the top were pretty slow due to extra soft ground and some mud patches. Grip was good but the softness was sucking up lots of extra energy. I made the clearing and got blasted by a good nor-west wind and carried on down the scree into the bush again. Pretty sketchy in there due to loose material, which made me think the main decent was going to be super dodgy. (When isn't it?) I cruised on up and stopped a couple of times to look around and then found a good spot for lunch. Had a 1 Square and moved on. Near the turn off to the summit I came across one of the worst mud patches. It looks like there is a spring coming out right on the track as it seemed dry enough not to far above it. If I had a saw or small axe I could have cut in a little diversion track. But it looked like the water could be drained, so I spent about 20 mins or so with the shovel and cut some drains to release the water and muck. It will be interesting to see if it is better there next time. After the turn off I was expecting the last section to be muddy as, but it was pretty good. A few patches, but not as bad as last time. Made it to the top in about 2 hours 45 mins (including lunch and track repairs) and checked out the view. It was pretty windy, so didn't stay there long. Felt much better on the way down the first section than last time, mainly due to being able to pull my feet from the pedals confidently as last time they were sticking badly. Really enjoyed the ride down the ridgeline as usual. It is one of the most variable and interesting descents around. Got back into the bush and felt pretty good on the climbs. The soft ground was still pretty grippy and I was avoiding most of the mud puddles. As I approached the drop off from the ridge I made sure I wasn't going to fast. I went in under control and looked for the line I checked out on the way up. There is a washed out piece that has a nasty rut as one line in the middle, an off camber slippery line to the right and a nice line with a trick access on the left. I was going for the left line, but saw it a little late and had to change at the last minute. Went to change direction to the left and let the brakes go and I stopped. Up came the rear wheel and I hung there for a second or 2 before coming back down. A small rock had stopped the front wheel, and as I was going so slow at the time there wasn't enough momentum to get over it. I got off and climbed back up about 10 to 15 metres to somewhere I could start again not to steep. I got it right the second time. Then, not to much further down I was in one of the rut avoiding elbows in the track and a rock was on the line in the middle so I had to stay out to the right, but I clipped a tree and had to stop again. I restarted and was lining up another tricky drop and the back end suddenly locked up on loose gravel and I ended up facing side on to the line I wanted. Again I had to go back to the same spot and try again. Got it this time no problems. I was a little frustrated, but at least I didn't fall off on the way down this section. High tailed it down the rest of the track having a great time, had to remind myself I was on my own so don't go too silly though. Got down the last section of 4 by track, carefully avoiding the growing ruts snaking along the steeper sections. Got home at and had a big rest....

Bottle Lake test blat...

Short and sweet first entry into the blog for donkeys. Been slack but have done a few rides since the last entry. Most with SWTCHBCKR so are documented there.
Prior to this ride I had done an epic in the wet with Rich up Coopers Creek track to the Wharfedale saddle and back, which chewed up the rest of my brake pads and my drive train, as I had problems with both on the next ride or 2 after that. So I replaced the pads and my chain, middle ring and rear cassette. I figured all would be good for a hill ride, but Rich pulled out so I though a Bottle Lake ride would suffice to test things out. As it turned out that was lucky because I was still having problems with the chain jumping gears under load on its own. This is very annoying and dangerous if it happens at the wrong time, especially when you get the feeling all this new gear is chewing itself to bits already. Anyway I found that if I left it in one gear it was OK, so found a tallish ratio and rode it like a single speed, which I would far more prefer in there anyway to be honest. The track was bumpy and slow with a fair amount of water about so the ride was pretty crap. It was good training, but not much fun. I did one large lap and left. I won't be back for a while.

Good advert for biking eh!!!