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!!!

Craigieburn Lung shredder!

Note: Photos from previous visit to Craigieburn.

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



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





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



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

Mt Grey on a sunny day...

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



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




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