tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78146336857496463382024-03-18T20:50:34.267-07:00Hardtales from the trailsHardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-74255416799177047012015-02-17T18:49:00.001-08:002015-02-17T19:51:52.577-08:00Multi ride catch up...Been a bit busy to keep up with the ride logs so this is a very brief round up since the Blowhard ride to get back up to date. From memory the next ride was with Keil, Mike and their mates doing shuttle runs.. First run down through Vic park, via seesaw and Sesame Street, then gazza's Shazza's or Dazza's or something then New Bridges. Next run was Flying Nun and round 3 was the same again on my own. <br />
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Next ride Rich and I did 3 or 4 laps out at Living Springs. <br />
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Last night I rode laps of the Farside (lower Worsleys Spur) with the PFMTBC boys - Steve, Pete, Warren, Andrew, Wayne, Tony and Robyn. I arrived earlier and had 4 laps done before they got there and did a further 8 laps with the others. About 1km per lap with 55m of altitude per lap.<br />
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Good rides, nuff said.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-44141545320030662962015-02-01T19:59:00.000-08:002015-02-01T19:59:22.825-08:00Blowhard BlastCraig turned up at my place at 9am and we loaded up into my car and headed to the top end of Maori Reserve Road. Parked up under a nice shady tree and headed up the steep grunty 4wd start track. This was Craigs first time up here so he was keeping an easy pace which actually made the ride faster by keeping progress steady and not blowing up and having to stop. The 4wd track had very recently been graded making it loose but smooth. I found it much easier than the old ruts due to not having to balance so carefully on the edge of the deep ruts. The usual puddles where it flattens out for a bit were still there, with plenty of mud which I walked around. The big puddle at the end of the 4wd section was dry for the first time I can remember though. Craig tried the first steep climb until he ran out of traction then had to push. I pushed from lower down, trying not to get too much into oxygen debt. After that Craig started to do the same but was able to ride a couple of sections that I didn't try. The air in the forest was still as and very muggy making the sweat pour off us. I had to change my top at the summit as it was soaked. We pushed and ground our way to the ridgeline before taking a break and having a snack. The ridgeline trail was dry and fast making the climbs a little easier and we got up to the open section in pretty good time. Craig was pretty impressed with the view. Nice blast from here down the scree and further along the ridge, making good progress, passing a walker somewhere along the way. We rode some good technical climbs and pushed up some too steep stuff and made the turn to the very top having made more than I have before. The dryed out mud sections making it much easier. The swamp at the top was also dry so made for a fun section without cloging up the drive train. We hit the top and had a rest up in a nice balmy 23 degress or so with no wind at all. 15 minutes of admiring the view and resting up was enough and we headed back down. Across the root fest, the old dry swamp, the scree slopes the forest sections etc, there is so much variety coming at you every few minutes. We blasted down to the steep scree climb, pushed up that then manage to grind up the other longer climbs before the nice long decents. At the top of the steep rock garden I warned Craig and headed in slowly. Before long the speeds increased and control was lost at certain times before being reined in again, but I got down in 1 shot. Craig also got down but managed to bounce off the track twice on the way. Swooping fast sections and some tight corners before a couple more nearly out of control steep sections before we got to the bottom. Sweet ride in 2 hours 45 mins. Craig continuing another 3 hours back home on the road!!!Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-12200280218826946842015-02-01T15:42:00.002-08:002015-02-01T15:42:48.226-08:00Vic Park old Loop.Drove via a web of roadworks and traffic jams to the lower end of Bowenvale ave and parked under the trees on the south side of the river to get changed/ready. Saw Craig head up the Ave time trialing it to our meeting point, he didn't hear my whistle due to the traffic noise. I quickly got organised and took off in the same direction. <br />
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We met up at the carpark where the usual types on big bikes were milling around. We headed up the valley and into the start of Old Skool and the bright sun/heat. I seemed to be struggling more than the last ride up here, mucking up a few corners that I had cleaned up no problems before. We got to the top of the single track and had a quick breather, feeling pretty smashed already with the heat, then headed back down. As usual a nice run down but not pushing too hard. Craig had switched to some new ultra thick tubes due to punctures recently and decided the huge extra mass was really slowing him down, but he still managed to keep pretty close to me all the way down. <br />
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We then headed up the lower valley track and up passed the 'hospital corner' further into the valley. At the first bridge we headed right (left is the exit of Lava Flow) and over another bridge. This is an old trail we used to do regularly years ago and is a sweet old style cross country loop. We kept heading up the valley, further than I remembered until the track crosses to the opposite side and meets another trail heading back along towards the vic park trees. Nice little traverse, slightly downhill to the top of Bridges where we took the usual switchback trail down into the valley before heading up the Hidden Link trail, Craig nailing the top steep section leaving me in the dust. Then down Old Skool again to Bowenvale and back to the car. About a 1 hour ride total.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-68307127674229110542015-01-28T19:08:00.003-08:002015-01-28T19:08:56.794-08:00Far Side Lap DogsTuesday evening managed to leave just before the worst traffic and back roads it with Rich on board over to Worsleys Road. Parking just past the first hairpin we decided to take off minus our normal gear seeing as we were doing short loops no more than a few minutes from the car. This made climbing a little easier. <br />
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The first climb we took was up the rutted single track adjacent to the road. Lots of gorse encroaching too, so high risk of punctures. We made it without any issues though and headed down the first trail to the left Valhalla. Nice 'n' techy but not overly hard. Lots of fun. As with all of these trails they seem to go on a lot longer than you expect.<br />
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Lap 2 and we rode up the tarseal from then on. Next track (second left) was 1 Trick Lucy, and another more or less carbon copy of the first trail. Plenty fun again, lots of tight squeezes between trees and off camber corners.<br />
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Lap 3 (missing Far Side as we have ridden this several times) into Utopia and again another similar track. Super cool and faster lower half. <br />
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Lap 4 was Fluffy Sheep which we expected to be fairly average for some reason but was really cool, a good entry level trail but ride if faster to make it fun. Nice and swoopy.<br />
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Lap 5 we hit Far Side, the top being unexpectedly but not surprisingly rutted out by skidding riders. This almost caught both of us out but we got a handle on it before the corner at the bottom of the steep entry. From here on the trail was pretty much as per normal bar a little extra dust.<br />
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Lap 6, Rich in front we hit Valhalla again. The dust from behind was a problem causing a few moments along with the proximity of trees and off camberedness.<br />
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Lap 7 We decided on 1 Trick Lucy but I missed the start and Rich went ahead. This resolved the dust issue and the run went pretty well apart from a slight loss of control on one of the droppy straight sections that took a bit of gathering in. <br />
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At the bottom we quickly packed up, headed off for food from Noodle Canteen, Beers and PFMTBC meeting at Petes.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-89981749861820972232015-01-28T17:33:00.001-08:002015-01-28T17:33:33.159-08:00Bowenvale Loop SlogThursday evening ride with Craig. Drove to his place in Beckenham and cruised the roads towards Bowenvale ave from there. Up past the groms doing shuttles in the carpark and up the valley access track a little to the exit of Old Skool. Up this managing to make 99% of it apart from where I got stalled behind Craig on a rocky as section. He managed to ride about as much on his early '90's ridgid steel beast too. I had an acceptable pace up here but as soon as we hit the steeper 4wd section my legs blew out and I was crawling up the steep bits at best and riding as slow as on the short flatter sections. Luckily Craig was taking it easy too, so I was only about a minute behind him at the gate near the top. From there we rode together up to the start of the Traverse track below the road.<br />
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We randomly decided to climb up Mt Vernon which we used to do regularly. Great view at the top (managed to ride about half way up before hiking). Then I lead down, taking some pretty bad lines but managing to get safely down the rock sections then wafting along the lower half. Craig also made it down cleanly which was pretty impressive considering the rig he is running.<br />
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We continued along below the road onto the Traverse with Craig taking a sizeable lead pretty easily as my legs were shot. We caught some lone ranger who Craig passed on the midway 4wd section and I got stuck behind. In the end we pulled up just before Vic Park and he carried on oblivious. We took the Gums down to the skidder site, me via the SeeSaw and headed down one of the old worn trails (no idea which is which any more). Once below the bush section we took the switchback trail to the valley floor, Craig staying hard on my tail. Then up the Hidden trail to the Old Skool single track, and down, Craig had 1 off trail moment before we both had one similtaneously on different parts of the track. No crash just having to pull up off the side of the track. I was ahead and Craig thought I was waiting for him, so I could have gotten away with it...<br />
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Nice run from there to the bottom and I took the old well washed out exit and we cruised via the streets back to Craigs.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-29739931273965497042015-01-23T17:48:00.000-08:002015-01-23T17:48:33.643-08:00Summer Sumner loopAfter work ride with Rich back from holidays but still nursing a broken rib. I drove to his place and we slowly organised our bikes and ourselves before making our way by C'rona to Sumner. Parking on a side street to give a little warm up before climbing up Captain Thomas. I had a good clean run up the whole way, making several pinches I haven't managed for several years (although the track was closed for a few years due to rockfall danger post the 'quakes). At the road intersection we stopped to yabber for a few minutes before heading up into Godley nicely rested but given the steep sections right at the front this normally causes problems due to not having a good heart rate. I find it easier to go into this part with a good heart rate going from the start. I was surprised then, that I managed to clear both tricky steep bits perfectly before waiting for Rich at the top of them for a few seconds. At that stage the heart was pounding pretty much at it's max though. <br />
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Once underway again the top came up pretty quickly and riding was good over the rocky sections. The descent giving us a good rest before the next climb, which is also rocky and tecnical so quite an enjoyable challenge. Over the top and the next descent into the PFMTBC rock was good apart from a 2 wheel slide around a right hander sending me to the inside of the track where a large thistle had appeared. I could see my entire right leg was going to smash through it so unclipped and lifted it so to avoid this fate but unfortuantely I still wore the top of it just above the ankle. The feeling was probably like getting a tattoo, I would imagine, but I carried on to the road crossing anyway. After pulling out the copius prickles from my shin and deliberating about which way to go, we decided to take the high route above the road and follow the newer, narrow sheep trail which meant we didn't need to climb so far to take the route around the back of Godley head on the Lyttelton side.<br />
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This trail was really nice, if a little overgrown with grass etc, and being nice and dry the grip was much better than our last time around. Even the hidden rocks were pretty grippy. We stopped about 2/3s of the way around to rebuild a rock ramp we had worked on a few years ago as someone had recently decided to roll some of the rocks down the hill. We found those and quite a few more so had a really good ramp built at the end which I tested at speed several times. Works great. After climbing the fence at the bottom I needed a feed so we stopped for 5 minutes for a 1 square before heading down the Anaconda. Nice run as usual down here, catching another rider right at the bottom who diverted onto the walk track. I had a really good flow through the tail too. We climbed out from Taylors at a steady pace catching the other rider who was a Sumner local via the UK. Then we shot down through the park from the top and through the maze of old trials through the houses perched along the cliffs then back along the esplanade and to the car. About 2 hours all up ride time.<br />
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<br />Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-79178974255248407522015-01-13T19:28:00.001-08:002015-01-22T20:05:09.305-08:00Wharfedale Hut return tripI decided I needed to ride after the Christmas excess and having no takers to a ride decided to head to the Wharfedale on my own. It was a nice warm afternoon but the wind was threatening when I got to the View Hill carpark. I big group of walkers were sitting around when I was getting ready and they had been up Mt Oxford but had a hour or 2 to wait to get picked up. I took off up the trail going too fast to start realising that I wouldn't last long like that. I passed a few more walkers which were the last I would see on the whole ride. The trail was nice and dry and clear mostly and progress was faster than usual without having to stop to clear trees off the track as per usual. Most of the trail has been tidied up where trees have fallen or slips have taken out the trail. I made nice steady progress up until the last of the gorge creek crossings (the one with the steepest, longest climb out) where the track has been widened just before the hairpin that leads down into the creek itself. I tried to ride the corner as usual but the loose material from widening the track is all on the lower part of the corner creating a slick soft grip free zone which sent me out over the bank towards the stream bed. Luckily there was a small tree close enough to grab and it held my weight. I managed to extract myself and walk down to the stream where I had a break a feed and a dip of the head in the cool water. Refreshed somewhat I walked up the rock strewn climb out and up the the less steep part before heading up the last section towards the saddle. I was expenting/hoping the switchback near the top would have been tidied up to clear the water and puddles but it is still about the same, although the dryness made it much easier to negoitiate. I cleared it up the the second switchback where I lost balance on the steep pinch out of the corner. The last swampy bit right at the top was almost dry so no muck to deal with for a change. Quick break at the top and then the decent to the Wharfedale hut. I started pretty slowly with some of the old trick sections being washed out, 1 requiring a walk over a 150mm ledge after a slip had removed the track. After these the newly cleaned up track begins and the flow increases. The copius water bars making for tiring decending as you had to pop them to avoid slowing down too much or even launching off the track at speed. I got down pretty quickly, splashed through the river, pushed up the half washed out steep section then bounced down the other side to the empty hut. Again I was hoping this section might have been fixed up a little, although it is good to have some technical challenges along the way. Another short break, feed and visit to the river and I turned around and headed back up. Grinding at a steady pace I was surprised to be at the saddle again only 45mins after leaving. I was expecting an hour or more. The ride from the saddle back to view hill having the usual grunty climbs to contend with and long flowy sections but no major dramas. I got back with time to spare before the sun dissapeared. Total ride time of 3 hours 15 minutes.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-4335509707578041182014-12-29T02:47:00.000-08:002015-01-13T19:11:35.617-08:00Rumble on the Rameka Day 2 of the top of the south trip...Finally catching up with holiday ride logs...<br />
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After a night of warm muggy rain the day was started slowly to allow time for the cloud to lift and the trail to dry. So a coffee and feed in Motueka was followed by a fun drive up the Takaka Hill to the Canaan Downs turnoff and I parked in the cafe carpark and Rich disembarked from his car which was later driven down the other side to Takaka by Jo. We checked it was OK to leave my car there the night and headed up the hill. <br />
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We seemed to have a good pace going quickly which had me struggling to keep up but I eventally caught up to Rich. Quick snack break at the saddle and down the road until we got to the start of the downs loop on the left. I hadn't done this bit before but according to Steve it was sweet. Even though it was a bit soft and wet in places we had a good run but the grit was not good for the drive train so when we got to the Rameka track carpark I pulled of the chain and cleaned and lubed it and the rest of the gears. We opted out of the rest of the Canaan loop to avoid more of the same gritiness and headed up into the Rameka. <br />
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The wetness was less of a problem in the forest as the track doesn't have the same surface. I lead in and we had a nice comfortable pace going until I got a puncture which was fixed with a spare tube. Further in the signs of a big storm were obvious with lots of large trees down, but the track has been cleared nicely. Stopped for photos a few times and a robin with 1 leg hung around and even sat on my bike for a while. Once we got past the major storm damage we hit the first parts of the descent and more intense riding. We stopped near the top to eat and an older female rider appeared from the track above us. She was doing well riding alone at her own pace. We took off in front and hit the Rameka Project trails. These were awesome as usual, fast and flowing, except for a few granite rock sections that were slippery as. I lost the back end on one section and had a huge foot down slide to gather it back up again, knocking a big chunk off the side of the track in the process (sorry track builders). Everyone was having a good time until we hit the 3 jumps near the end, hearing a muffled sound on the last one then waiting where the track hit the road, waited for Rich to turn up. He came out 30 seconds or so later reporting the noise was him falling off on the second jump after landing wrong and somehow flying off the track. He had a big graze on the inside of his leg and a sore chest (this was actually a broken rib). At least he could still ride so we got through the sweet river/rock garden section to the end of the trail and burned off towards Pohara after giving directions to Takaka to the other female rider who had caught us when we were resting up. The road trip of 8 to 10 kms at good pace (taking turns on the front) was good to take the last energy from the legs. Not too long after we got there the rain started again. Good ride once again on a top 10 trail.<br />
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<br />Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-86928826999736274732014-12-21T19:47:00.002-08:002014-12-21T19:52:52.603-08:00Friday Night Escape from Jaws at KaiteriteriLeft home after much repair work/maintenance and organisation at about 11am en route to Motueka. At the Lake Daniels carpark Rich and his crew met up and we carried on through making Motueka at about 6pm or so. We quickly organised ourselves (me putting tent up) then Rich and I shot through to Kaiteriteri via the Hop Federation brewery. The wet weather was holding off and it was warm and muggy when we headed up into the <a href="http://www.kaiteriterimtbpark.org.nz/">bike park</a>. First up Easy Rider then Cruise Control, catching up to another rider here who followed behind us, Glade Runner, Revelation, Ziggy and into Corkscrew. We had set a pretty fierce pace to the base of Corkscrew enjoying the swooping trails but the long drive and lack of good food started to show so we had a feed and rest near the bottow before heading up with our tail end charlie now well ahead. No sign of him once we hit the skidder track at the top but the views were good.<br />
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We headed back down the top section of Corkscrew and turned right into the new Jaws track. This was really sweet, lots of swoops and roller coasting along and some good jumps, nice berms and steep climbs into hairpin corners to reduce the braking required. Hopefully this will keep the damage to the track to a minimum. Jaws lead into Skulldugery where at the end of that we met up with the other rider again. He gave us some good advise about which trails to take and followed in behind again as we took Scoot, Swish and via Easy Rider and Half Pipe back to the Jump track at the start/end. Back out a few hundred metres to the car beside the beach. We were still pretty hot so stripped to our short liners and jumped into the sea. It was cool at first but nice and warm on top so I swam to the rocks and back (very slowly). A great way to refresh after and hot sticky fun ride. Also the beer at the end helped too.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-50887957079302260162014-12-16T14:04:00.001-08:002014-12-16T14:04:48.492-08:00Huntsbury Castle sprintLeft work last night a little early to beat the traffic and picked Rich up on the way to Huntsbury Ave. Parked at the top and got changed and going at about 5.30pm. Up the gravel road with a pretty strong easterly blowing accross the ridge. We kept a good pace up as we had to be at Wazza's at 7pm for the PFMTBC trip DVD premier. We got to the top in pretty good time and hit straight into Vernon for the decent to Rapaki. I stopped for a quick drink and to check out what a guy was up to on the road below. It turned out he was looking for a dog and yelling out it's name. We couldn't see anything from our higher view point. Rich took a good lead to start with and I tried to reel him in, making a little progress by the bottom. Nice and fast but easy going here. It seems that by making the trail so smooth the speed goes up and therefore the danger level has actually increased.<br />
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I took over the lead up Witch Hill and had a really good climb, which as I noticed at the top could have been to do with my fork being locked out. It probably was also locked out on the way down Vernon, but as it is so smooth I didn't notice. Out onto the road we battled up to Castle rock with some head winds on the lower section but a little more shelter on the top section of the road. We breifly stopped to talk to a young dude out running at the top of the trail. I lead in again but found the flow difficult due to grass hiding the trail and rocks. Still kept a reasonable speed on most of it until I punctured near the lowest part of the track. When I took the wheel out I found that the tip of the valve was bent over about 45 degrees so took out my mini pliers to straighten it so I could get air into it. When I put the pump on it thought it broke off so couldn't be repaired. It was only on its second ride. I put in my spare tube and we turned around for the climb back up. I quite like the challenge of this climb but still stuffed up the last pinch which Rich managed to clean. At the top we met a roadie sitting on the rocks sipping a Woodstock. Clearly not your average roadie. We talked with him for about 10 minutes as he was pretty interesting. Turned out he had been a pro in his earlier years and had also been a trail digger at Wairoa. <br />
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Rich lead off down the road and I pulled up to check out a possible line up the bank giving him a 300+ metre lead. The tail wind along the lower section of road gave us a super fast entry to the Witch Hill track again which I held all the way to the top and into the decent section. Nice flow down here for a change. Normally I seem to get hooked up on a few of the rocks somewhere along the way. We carried on straight up into Mt Vernon with a pretty good pace. By the top of the steeper lower section we caught up to a couple of others and sat behind them until they turned off towards Farmtrack. Made it up the next steep push and criused along the flatter section down to the road and into the Traverse. At the bottom of the rocks it was tempting to keep going but we turned around and headed back towards Huntsbury and out to the runway. We crossed the fence, noting that the wire has been tighted, and headed along the ridge where the strong easterly was making balancing difficult. I went around the big jump on this section as it was too windy but lower down we hit the next lot with no dramas as the wind wasn't too bad there. About 200m from the end I felt the rear tire go down and pulled up, Rich went on by and I walked back to the car. <br />
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Back to the car at about 6.50pm and to the super market at St Martins for some food and a beer then off to Wazzas for the DVD showing.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-70858909075534358802014-12-11T15:56:00.001-08:002014-12-11T15:56:10.075-08:00Worsley Nun Hang'n LooseRich met me at work just before 5pm so we were loaded up and ready to go right away, managing to get a bit of a head start on the traffic we got changed at the park next to Worsleys Road and moving around 5.40pm. Neither of us were feeling super fast to start with so a steady pace was held up the road, then below the 4wd track for a bit then back over the fence onto the now very washed out and rock 4wd track. The track was a little damp in places but mostly pretty grippy. I managed to get right up the Body Bag (first time up here for ages) and Rich most of it. We didn't wait at the top due to cold wind and a few spits of rain about. Up from here to the top of the Nun we pulled up for a snack at the top where we were sheltered from the wind a bit. <br />
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The rain was threatening more so we didn't hang around too long. I lead down the hill but didn't feel super quick, possibly due to the wind at the top and a few greasy patches on the track here and there. Rich was feeling about the same so I wasn't holding him up. Then he dropped his chain again so dropped back a bit. Half way down we passed the track builder digging up a section so slowed down and went around dirt heaps he had piled up. I had a good run down, despite not feeling fully confident but still haven't figured out how to make the last section flow properly yet.<br />
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Back out onto the road we headed back up to the top of Worsleys and back down the Body Bag, Rich on the right side and me on the left, both finding the line not very good, the centre line probably being the best. At the fence we turned right, back up into the forest and right again up to Tommys II and Hang Loose. I lead again into Hang Loose, very slowly as the track up here was still pretty greasy. As we got lower it was dryer though. Stopped at the start of Yoda and walked a little way down to check it out. Looks knarly but cool, might have a go at it in the dry soon. <br />
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Back riding again and apparently onto Goat track which then joins the other trails out at the logging track back up to Worsleys. I put some power on in the climb to see how I was compared to the Packhorse ride where I had no power at all. I got to the top of the steep section through the gorse and had to back of a little but didn't feel too bad, better than Tuesday anyway. We then headed back up the forestry track and got up to the clifftops before taking Waynes World down to Fight Club. Fight Club being nice and dry and super fun. Back to the log skidder track back up and I managed to power up the steep piece again feeling pretty good.<br />
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Back down to the road end via a grassy exit track to the left. We cruised down the road taking the odd off road option and hit the top of Far Side. I lead in and had a really quick roller coaster run, a few close calls and almost turned left on a right hander. Big smiles at the bottom and we headed back up the steep section of road to the start of Far Side again for a repeat run. Waited at the top for some others to get ahead as they didn't look like being super quick. The second run was even faster in places although I managed to bollock myself with the seat on a big G out but didn't have to stop. Back out to the car by 8pm.<br />
<br />Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-45569418994166089432014-12-09T13:38:00.000-08:002014-12-09T13:38:36.856-08:00Packhorse BlastPicked up Craig from his place and headed up Hackthorne Road to Dyers Pass (lower section of Dyers is still closed) and over into Governors Bay then out to Teddington and up Gebbies. On the way up Gebbies Pass we could see a logging truck coming out of the road were the track starts. We figured this would probably mean the track was closed, but the signs all said track open at the top so we headed in. My cold had now enveloped my lungs so I was struggling right from the start to keep up with Craig as he has just come back from 300+Kms last week up in the North Island so was attacking the climbs at high velocity in the big chainring. I could only spin along and watch him dissapear. He filled in the time waiting for me by turning around and riding back to me then hooning off again. <br />
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The logging crews have been busy in here, but the track is still fine and the top section of forrest is still all standing. This section was fun, but with only half the normal lung capacity I was struggling. In the end on the steep switchback section half way up I got further than any other time due to the corners being wider, but blew up and had to walk for a while. Made it eventually to the top of the trees and then out into the open, less steep section. My legs had no strength left though, so I was spinning along slowly to the top. At the hut it was pretty windy so we only checked out the few for a minute or so then headed back down. I took the lead seeing as I had gravity helping and Craig was on a fully rigid bike. I had a blast finding some new lines and popping off some of the rocks, but had to be careful as some of the corners ar pretty tight and close to the edge. The drop off the side wouldn't be much fun if you went over it too. Craig was a few seconds back at the fence where the forest starts due to the lack of suspension on the rocks, but from there down was pretty close behind on the decents.<br />
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The forest section is much smoother and flowy so we had a sweet ride down with some really fast sections and fun swichbacks thrown in too. Had a few close calls with the long grass pulling on the bars on some narrow off camber sections and had to push off a tree that has now grown to big to get around on the track. There are 2 like that on the lower section and lines above them have started to form. We hit the logged area and I grovelled up the hill while Craig caned off again. Over the open farmland section I found some awesome lines giving a real roller coaster ride down to the fence crossing into the treeline. From here we cruised up and out to the logging road then found the trail just below the road which is now covered in grass but has a good line on it. I was expencting it to be pretty bad but it was actually quite fun and definately better than the road. Back at the car we loaded up and headed back the way we came. About 1hr 20 but it was a good tough workout with some awesome fun trails to keep the spirits up.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-555384173111715632014-12-09T13:00:00.001-08:002014-12-09T13:40:41.948-08:00Tuesday TootleThis ride was from 1 week ago....<br />
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Picked up <a href="http://swtchbckr.blogspot.co.nz/">Swtchbckr</a> from his place and headed up to Upper Major Hornbrook Road to meet up with the <a href="http://pfmtbc.blogspot.co.nz/">PFMTBC</a> boys. Only Warren, Robin and Andrew were in. We headed up Britten and left at the top to the end, then flicked left along the Summit Road, up Broadleaf to the top of Mt Pleasant. I was fighting a cold so wasn't able to push too hard but we made it up in decent time. Over the top we headed and I lead down to the top of Greenwood. A bit slow over the rocks at the top but getting a flow on along the lower section. A quick regroup and we headed into Greenwood. I wasn't feeling 100% energetic so cruised the easy bits and attacked more on the tecknical sections. I seemed to have a better run than last time. We all got down without any major dramas although Rich dropped his chain a couple of times. At road we decided to split as Rich and I went back up the track and the others took the newly re-surfaced road. <br />
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We stopped on the first big bend to check out the drop over the side and then yarned to a rider coming down. Off again we climbed steadily enjoying the tecknical challenges but not pushing on to hard. I big bunch of about 20 riders came by at the top, big range of abilities with the tail enders walking some of the rock gardens. We passed the ruins and headed into the old Greenwood entrance, the first time in ages I had been on it. A few rough patches have been improved and it was quite flowing for a change. Along the road for a few hundred metres and into Britten again, we had a fast run down with little wind to slow us and push you off balance.<br />
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Not a big ride but a good blast to keep fresh.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-73773823437675282912014-11-25T14:53:00.001-08:002014-11-25T14:53:39.626-08:00Worsleys WanderingsTuesday evening after work I headed over to Cashmere, fighting the usual traffic woes. Conditions had been wet earlier in the day but the warm breeze was drying things out quickly. The <a href="http://pfmtbc.blogspot.co.nz/">PFMTBC </a>ride plan was to meet at the top of Worsleys Road at 6.20. I was at the base of the hill by about 5.55pm so decided to park up, get changed and ride from there. That way I could catch the Far Side Tracks on the way down. Mark and Maree pulled up in the car beside me just as I was getting onto the flat after the steep first section of road and offered a lift. I decided to carry on riding as there was still plenty of time before the others were due. Lots of traffic was streaming past, almost all with bikes racked on the back. The fumes were pretty bad on the steep section too. Tony also went past but I didn't recognise the car until I saw his bike on the back. <br />
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I met the others at the carpark and Maree and Mark carried on up at a nice leisurely pace and planned to meet at the bottom of the forestry. I went back down to where Tony had parked (150m below the carpark as it was full) and waited for the others. Andrew quickly arrived also by bike and then Warren and Wayne and Stevie with Robyn. We got organised and rode up to meet the others at the forest and decided to ride up the forestry track to take the original line down from the cliffs. Wayne having a good fast climb up at the front and Tony riding the whole thing non stop for the first time. I followed Andrew down and we took a few wrong turns here and there as the trails criss cross everywhere now. We all seemed to agree this is a real problem. Then we accidentally took the new retarded shortcut that avoids the first awesome section of fight club and regrouped at the bottom of that. That piece of track would have to be the most pointless in all of the port hills. We carried on with me in front but having problems on the fast corners as my tyres were too soft and were rolling on the rims a little. Not a nice feeling at speed on off camber tracks. I stopped at the bottom and put more air in both before catching the others on the climb out. We headed back up the same way to the cliffs with everyone climbing pretty well. Regrouped and decided to head further up as most of the crew hadn't gone up from there before. They found the going pretty good with a few of us having enough energy to have a few go's at getting up a steep rocky section (but nobody quite making it). Also a few being surprised at how quickly we got to the intersection at the top. From there we went further up towards Tommy's II etc but turned off into the link to Debbies. We stopped at the first ruins to show the guys, as nobody else had seen them. We deduced that it was build by the Chinese more the 2000 years ago. We headed onwards with the intention of turning back up to the left to do Fight Club again but missed the turn off and went straight into Alices Restaurant. This got pretty steep and technical in places before we regrouped on a flat after the first wood bridge. Everyone seemed to love it though, so we carried on down. From there it got really steep but Mark and I managed to ride it all and the others walking a few particularly steep bits below the rock outcrop. Below these sections we got a really good flow on and shot out to the 4wd exit track in no time. A big group of riders from several groups assembling at the same place. We all took off up at the same time and I decided to see how far I could get up at near full noise. I got in front and put the foot down on the steeper section and made it to the last corner before having to back off a little. I waited for the others for a minute or 2 and we headed down to the cars.<br />
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I figured if anyone was keen we could all ride down via the Far Side to my car and I could ferry the drivers back up. Had a few takers (Mark, Marree and Warren) with Andrew riding anyway and Robyn being picked up at the bottom by Steve. We had a great run, getting in just in front of another large group. Everyone came out with big grins. The track is really flowy even though it is pretty confined and twisty. Good work trail builders...<br />
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Took the drivers up in the car then returned to pick up the bike and gear about 8.45pm.<br />
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<br />Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-87556460115864799482014-11-20T20:24:00.004-08:002014-11-24T17:42:49.180-08:00Macs Bay MistakesThursday evening ride. This time on my own. After battling traffic I managed to get out to McCormacks Bay and park up next to the football field. I cruised off up Glenstrae Road and onto the trail making sure I didn't push to hard early as the incline ramps up as you go meaning you need to keep the legs fresh for the really steep sections. As seemed to be the order of the day I was riding nicely on most of the track but complete shagged up bits I normally clear easily. So the switchback corners up the top were a real mixed bag. On reflection I am thinking the rear tire needs to be swapped as it is rounding off on the edges making traction a problem on the hard pack. I felt good still after the grunt up to the road and criused up the road and into the new subdivision where I got out of the seat to push up the steep section. Then I took the 4wd trail now formed beyond the lower section of road to where it meets the next subdivision and then onto Britten. Nice climb up here enjoying the warmer than expected temperature and lack of wind. Near the top I took the right hand, struggling to see for grass though, and carried on along below the road right to the end of the original John Britten track. At the road I flicked left and went back to Broadleaf lane. I chased a bunch of roadies up Broadleaf who turned back and headed down again at the first gateway and begrudgingly said 'hi' as they passed by. Typical angry roadies, I guess they are punishing their depressed selves by riding skinny tyred bone shakers all the time. Past the first gate the road has been worked on, 100m of river run gravel and then graded flat from there. Not to bad to ride. but a bit soft still. Got to the top and climbed up to the very top of the hill for a look over to the harbour. Great view on a perfect evening.<br />
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I headed down towards Greenwood, with the usual issues with not being able to see the trail due to grass growth but got better towards the bottom. Grip was excellent so I was really railing the corners. I hooked onto Greenwood and immediately ran off the track on the first jump. Had to go back and do it again properly, then a minute later as I ran past the ruins into the rocks I lost balance off the big rock in the track and crashed off into more rocks. Not to much harm done but I was not well pleased with my riding. Again I back-tracked and hit it again properly. I seemed to ride better from there, great run through the rocky sections and cornering well until just before gloomy gulch I picked up a snakebite. Stopped and decided to remove what I suspected was the offending rock from the track, which required the use of a large boulder to smash down onto it. This took about 10 minutes, then another 10 mins to fix the flat. A group of 7 or 8 riders passed going up as I moved off. This was about the only people I saw from then on. From here down the run went well apart from going too fast into the first rock climb and missing the easy line causing me to stall out on the rough ground.<br />
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Headed into Godley without stopping and felt much better on the first climb due to having a good heart rate to start with. Cleaned the first section but just slipped up on the second tricky bit. Went well from there and had good pace, not in granny gear for a change. 3/4 of the way up on one of the tricky rocky bits I managed to get up over a high spot going faster than normal, then dropped both wheels into holes which stopped my momentum instantly. This threw me into the bars and picked up the back wheel. It happened so fast I didn't even stop pedaling, doing 2 complete cranks with the wheel in the air, going nowhere. Luckily I didn't go OTB and just dropped back down with no damage done. Got moving again making the top and decent down to the water tank without any further drama. Hit the next climb without stopping for a rest and had a clean run through the technical rock sections and headed down to the top of Anaconda. Big group of cars with bike racks parked in the way at the top which made me wonder if there might be some traffic coming up but in the end didn't see anyone (must have been the group I saw heading up Greenwood). I took off down the hill and about 30 seconds in decided I was feeling a bit buggered so stopped for a feed. Was a nice spot sitting on the side of the hill with a great view and no wind. Got moving again after 5 and had a pretty good run down the gully and out the tail, managing to hold good pace through the rock sections to Taylors Mistake. <br />
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Not many surfers about today. I headed straight up the road to Scarborough. The 1 square I ate taking affect with plenty of energy being burned all the way up but no blowout, in fact each time I flicked up a gear going over the top it seem nice and easy to accelerate away to the next gear. I dropped down into the park at the top of the hill and followed the route Rich and I found a month or 2 back which was quite cool with some hairy bits to negotiate in the middle. From the bottom I cruised along the Sumner beach front and then gound my way below the cliffs to Redcliffs and through to the start of the causeway and back to the car. About 2 1/2 hours ride time all up.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-91701897137643688272014-11-20T19:08:00.000-08:002014-11-20T19:08:04.109-08:00Old Skool Lappage IITuesday evening ride. With <a href="http://swtchbckr.blogspot.co.nz/">Swtchbckr</a> away with work for a week I contacted the boys from <a href="http://pfmtbc.blogspot.co.nz/">PFMTBC</a> to see if they were riding and if so could I tag along. They were and as it happens, had planned to do a carbon copy of my last ride. I picked up Phatboy (who kindly gave me a yummo feed first) and we loaded up the 'Rona and met the others at the end of Bowenvale ave. This time I had 3 clean climbs up to the top, bar stopping at the creek crossing to watch the others attempt to ride it. There were a mix of successes and failures but everyone gave it a go. I also had 1 dab when following Helmut up to the second hairpin where I was too close and got stalled in the rutty bit. This time it was pretty windy up the hill so it was a bit tricky on the narrow trail at speed. I felt pretty good though and had a good run on all 3 laps but did manage to go way off the trail half way down after a jump from one of the rocks on the trail. <br />
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After so many laps in a row I was feeling pretty dialled in to the track and despite the wind the last lap would definately have been my fastest run. I seemed to be able to rail the corners and maintain my balance/line pretty well all the way down. We caught a few riders on the way down giving 1 a bit of a fright and causing him to bail off the track in a panic to get out of the way. After the 3rd lap we cruised back to the car and headed home. Helmut impressing us by cleaning the super dodgy exit trail to the right at the bottom of old skool. Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-56705883568964078182014-11-20T14:57:00.000-08:002014-11-20T14:57:04.412-08:00Old Skool Lappage IFinished work and headed over to <a href="http://swtchbckr.blogspot.co.nz/">Swtchbckrs</a> where nobody was home yet so did some overdue bike maintenance on the footpath. Eventually everyone arrived home and Rich fixed a front puncture before we headed off for Bowenvale ave. Parked up at the end of road carpark and rode up the gravel track into the valley at a steady pace. Having not been on the bike at all last week or more I was feeling a little taxed by the time we topped out at the turnoff to the hidden valley link track but headed up without stopping. For the first time in forever I cleaned the creek crossing and grunty climb to the first hairpin. Someone has moved some of the rocks around so they don't roll around any more making the crossing pretty good. I actually managed to make the climb to the fence crossing without dabbing, which was pretty good considering I was a bit tired already. <br />
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I led off down old skool and had a reasonable run down, no major dramas, feeling pretty good, Rich sitting in the slipstream with no problems. At the bottom we turned left back up the valley for lap 2. This time I gimped up on the first dry creek crossing to the cattle stop on the 4 by track but cleaned everything else. Rich lead down this time and I kept his wheel pretty well to the bottom but we were moving along a little faster this time. It was good to see the different lines he was taking. Again at the bottom we turned left. Mucked up the first hairpin on the link track this time but cleaned the rest. I led off again this time and we had the throttle well opened this time, having memorised most of the track and studied each others lines once each. I had a bit of a moment trying to pop off a rock about 2/3rds of the way down when my foot came out of the pedal causing a major loss of balance on landing. Managed to gather it up before going too far off course and carried on though. This time we turned right at the bottom and headed out to the exit and carpark. Had a yarn to some young guys before it started to pour down forcing us to quickly load up the car and take cover. A good ride on a day the weather wasn't meant to cooperate but allowed us to fit in an hour and a half or so, was fun too.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-41271566768185164332014-08-21T03:45:00.000-07:002014-08-21T03:45:04.589-07:00Mission: Day 2 After the efforts of the night before I was expecting to take the usual gentle 7.5km ride to work as usual. However upon noticing a flat rear tire on the car in the morning and also realising that both front tires were well passed their used by dates I pumped up the flat with the floor pump. It was audibly leaking but not super fast, so I drove to the Cust garage and put more air in there before driving to my usual tire shop in sunny Kaiapoi. As I had no appointment booked they couldn't do anything right away and had to get my tyres in anyway. So I got the bike out and rode from there. It took 45 minutes to do the 20km or so into a 40 to 50 km/h head wind which was also whipping up a lot of dust. I had my fingers crossed the wind would remain until I came back. <br />
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After work I got back on the bike and noticed the wind had died considerably. Luckily there was some good gusts along the way though and I was able to ride most of the way in second from top gear. This time it took around half an hour and I was a lot less buggered at the end. Still a lot more riding than I had bargained for when I got up this morning, but good training when added to last nights jaunt.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-64272404947899106382014-08-21T03:26:00.000-07:002014-08-21T03:31:25.005-07:00Trans-Traverse Solo MissionHas been a while since my last post, although most of my rides have been posted on the <a href="http://swtchbckr.blogspot.co.nz/">SWTCHBCKR</a> blog for anyone interested. Anyway with last week being more or less washed out and time being short over the weekend I hadn't been on the bike for nearly 2 weeks. Coupled with a wet winter limiting riding opportunities the fitness levels were well below par on my last ride. I figured with Rich away I had better just get my A into G and go out on my own seeing as there were no other takers of a ride around. To avoid the worst of the wet mucky areas and to get a good high intensity aerobic ride in I figured parking half way up Dyers Pass and riding the Old Dyers Track would be a good option. So after dealing with a drunken vagrant invading the store after closing and having to wait 20 minutes on the phone while talking to the Police Comms centre before they arrived to collect him from the street outside, I arrived at the parking spot at about 6pm and got changed.<br />
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Within about 50 metres of entering the 4wd track I had hit a muck patch with was across the whole track. Seeing as I had spent about half an hour the night before meticulously cleaning the chain this was particularly annoying. I pressed on through a number of similar patches until entering the single track itself. This was wet too, but more tacky and not so likely to get into the gearing. Still I took note to come back down pretty carefully as there were plenty of slick ruts and holes to get through. Once I hit the steeper section things really improved, firstly due to the better runoff and secondly due to the well formed trail and drainage systems where the trail is now well groomed. I really enjoy climbing this section as it has a good flow. This time though I was too unfit to really enjoy it much. I had to just keep plugging on to keep the momentum going. I got to the top just above the Sign of the Kiwi in what felt like a reasonable time though and kept going up the road. All I could manage though was a steady pace and no more. At the top of Worsleys Spur I turned up all lighting, unlocked the front fork and headed straight into the Nun. Being on my own and not having seen a single mountain biker out as yet I carried on cautiously rather than at full pace. Half way down where it gets fairly rocky I could hear/feel the back wheel pinging on rocks because the tire was too soft. I was sure this would result in a flat so pulled up at the road saddle and checked. No hissing was heard and the pressure was still OKish so I carried on. The pinging continued further down though so when I got out of the track back at the <a href="http://www.futurechristchurch.co.nz/facilities-rebuild/sign-of-the-kiwi">Sign of the Kiwi</a> and part way up the road to Thompsons track I pulled over to put some more air in and have a banana. I boy racers' ute slowed up and a dreadlocked teenage checked if I was 'all good' as he hung part way out the window. I replied 'yeah bro good as'. Then headed up the 2 Thomsons sections. A group of about 6 riders passed by as I was exiting the nasty ramp at the end of the first section. No greetings, just a check to see if there were more riders behind me as they whizzed past. On up and into the Traverse and the legs still had a good amount of energy but not much left after kicking up the little steep sections. Still, good enough pace around to Vernon. Across the road and up the first rocky section then a nice flow around and down to the top of Rapaki. Had to pull up a few times as more and more riders began to emerge. Passed Rapaki and into the newly re-opened (was it ever really closed???) Witch Hill section. The newly paved in grit section at the start now sucks and then enters the good natural techyness. I cleaned all but 1 little dab which was much better than my last gimpy effort. Seemed to have more power now up to the top and was able to keep plenty of speed up over the little rock steep bits. At the high point I stopped and had a breather.<br />
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As I sat about 10 lights appeared on the road below coming from Castle Rock. I watched as the snaked along thinking they were roadies. But as they got near the entrance to Witch Hill I could hear the sound of disk brakes being applied as they entered. Why you would do that I don't know, as the more speed you can carry in from there the easier it is if you ask me. I decided to wait until the nearest riders were only a few seconds behind me before heading back the way I had come. I took off and managed to flow nicely down most of the track bar a couple of small mistakes. When I got back to Rapaki the first riders of the group behind were about 100m back, apart from 1 who had gone around the road and was 50m up Mt Vernon ahead of me. I caught him pretty soon and he pulled over right away. The legs were now starting to slow up so I paced myself around to the top before getting a small rest on the last little decent over the rocks where I took a pretty average line. Back across the Traverse I passed a few more oncoming riders and saw a light ahead as I got to the halfway mark. I waited for him to come past and he stopped for a chat for a minute. Got going again for the last section pushing hard before grovelling up the last little climb before dropping back into Thompsons. Missed/dabbed the first hairpin due to high entry speed and to high a gear. Got the second easy though. Back to the Kiwi and into Old Dyers. The top section flowed like mermaids hair, it felt like a roller coaster but was over way to soon. Now that the slippery grit has bedded in or washed off it is awesome. I thought that is the type of trail that would be great switch backing across the slope from the top of Blowhard. From there down though it was just a matter of slowly tip toeing back to the car at the road. Back there at 8pm. Picked up a feed from Burger Wisconsin, which for $15 was pretty ordinary tasting although fairly large, and headed home.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-87939599951045477562012-04-06T18:04:00.002-07:002012-04-06T18:57:08.369-07:00Fun on the Slippery NunTuesday 3 April. The plan was for the <a href="http://pfmtbc.blogspot.co.nz/">PFMTBC</a> 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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-4562354425146579442012-03-30T21:41:00.003-07:002012-03-30T22:28:13.408-07:00Last of the evening sunlight ridesPicked 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....Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-52686112186665882102012-03-25T00:13:00.002-07:002012-03-25T00:53:55.623-07:00Sunday 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....<br /><br />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.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-54488215410174554202012-03-24T23:38:00.002-07:002012-03-25T00:13:16.140-07:00Godaconda 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.Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-85256503473008589052012-03-18T21:26:00.004-07:002012-03-18T22:19:40.874-07:00Mt Richardson SoloAfter 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.<br /><br />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....Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814633685749646338.post-68705373722645986662012-03-18T21:10:00.003-07:002012-03-18T21:25:08.129-07:00Bottle 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 <a href="http://swtchbckr.blogspot.com/">SWTCHBCKR</a> so are documented there. <br />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. <br /><br />Good advert for biking eh!!!<br /><br /> <br /> <span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"></span></span>Hardtaleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691380103198321645noreply@blogger.com0