Tuesday 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 PFMTBC 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.
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.
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...
Took the drivers up in the car then returned to pick up the bike and gear about 8.45pm.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Macs Bay Mistakes
Thursday 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Old Skool Lappage II
Tuesday evening ride. With Swtchbckr away with work for a week I contacted the boys from PFMTBC 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.
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.
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.
Old Skool Lappage I
Finished work and headed over to Swtchbckrs 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.
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.
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.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Mission: 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.
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.
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.
Trans-Traverse Solo Mission
Has been a while since my last post, although most of my rides have been posted on the SWTCHBCKR 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.
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 Sign of the Kiwi 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.
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.
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 Sign of the Kiwi 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.
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.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Fun on the Slippery Nun
Tuesday 3 April. The plan was for the PFMTBC chaps to meet Rich and I at the top of Worsleys road and do a repeat of our last ride, only this time under lights more or less all the way. We managed to get across town about 25 minutes early and figured a quick loop up and back would be a goer with the remaining daylight left. We cruised up the 4wd track in good time noting the nice dry trail at the bottom. About half way up though it got damp and was reasonable wet at the top. We re-gathered ourselves at the top of B-Line and I lead in. The half light was pretty tricky and with lights on was not really any better, so we push on carefully. I rode over one of the rock piles and the front end slipped quite a bit with the greasy mud and the slippery rock not being the best combo. We came around a corner into a rocky section and noticed a couple of guys walking up. Once close enough I realised one of them was one of my friends' brother in law. He was doing some last minute training for a hunting expedition in Fiordland. We chatted a few minutes then continued down. After the clifftop section the track was dry again and the grip was fantastic. We took the line above the 4wd section this time and it was well worth the tiny climb to get onto it and it lead us out to the main track without having to climb back up. Rich quickly called Steve and the others and we discovered they were up ahead of us.
Up the track again a little slower this time and we came across the boys (Steve, Andrew, Tony and Maree with Warren up ahead) waiting with some young guys testing out their 4wd vehicles. I don't think they got very far past that point somehow. We all got past them and Rich and I went ahead and climbed the Bodybag section. I nearly made it, but was riding without my light on and didn't see a slight rut and lost traction on the steepest part. I pushed up about 10 metres and rode the rest. We watched from the top and saw the others pike and peel off into the B-Line instead. So we carried on over the top to the Nun. I lead off and was pretty tentative with the lights on and a decidedly slippery surface and greasy slick rocks, I wasn't keen to go for a skate. I dropped into the rock lined dipper and felt both tyres slide about badly, but I stayed well balanced and carried on. Rich pulled up and avoided the risky rocks. I waited a few seconds and we carried on. Felt pretty good, a little slower than usual, but not to bad. By the time we got to the saddle I was getting pretty confident with the grip. We had a good pace on down towards the Sign of the Kiwi and I hit the first of the 3 jumps near the end, a little slower than normal due to the greasiness, and then the next I took off but got crossed up a little and the front wheel landed off to the left of the trail and the back wheel on the track. I couldn't get back on line and the front wheel washed into the grass throwing me off to the left also. I dived head first into the long grass and was thinking there better not be any rocks in there. Luckily there were none, but the grass caught on my light which pulled my head face down into the grass where I rammed into a big clump of grass like a tussock, which stopped my progress abruptly. I felt my head fold under me and my neck took the strain flexing quite a bit and making some unhealthy noises. I felt fine though and tried to get back up but my light was caught in the grass and it took a few seconds to extract it. Rich turned up then and asked if I was OK. I thought so, but tested my neck to be sure. It felt a little strained, but OK and no pain, so we carried on to the end the last 100m or so. On the road I had to re-straighten out my stem as the fall had knocked the bars to the left which doesn't feel good when you are riding, especially when you are thinking you may have taken a head knock or something serious.
We decided against doing another run down the Nun and rode up the Summit Road to the top of Worsleys again and dropped down the Body bag. This time it was pretty slick at the top so we were pretty slow until it levels out a little and we glided down to the old gateway. On crossing the swampy bit I lost balance and nearly fell into the deep muck puddle but manage to stick my foot down on the far side of it and straddle the water. Up to B'line again for some more of the same as earlier on, although this time it seemed even more slippery after a few riders with muddy tires and the surface being stirred up a little. At one stage in a fairly easy left hand bend I ended up sliding out completely and facing 90 degrees into the long grass again. I re-aligned with the track and tried to catch up to Rich. It took a while but eventually I got back on his tail just after the clifftop section. As there on down was dry I had no more problems and we had a sweet run down to the 4wd climb and into the lower section where we explored some of the myriad of lines in the trees and then made our way out to the main track and to the car. No sign of the others there and we cleaned the worst mud off our bikes before Coroning it to Noodle Canteen for some authentic oriental cuisine.
Up the track again a little slower this time and we came across the boys (Steve, Andrew, Tony and Maree with Warren up ahead) waiting with some young guys testing out their 4wd vehicles. I don't think they got very far past that point somehow. We all got past them and Rich and I went ahead and climbed the Bodybag section. I nearly made it, but was riding without my light on and didn't see a slight rut and lost traction on the steepest part. I pushed up about 10 metres and rode the rest. We watched from the top and saw the others pike and peel off into the B-Line instead. So we carried on over the top to the Nun. I lead off and was pretty tentative with the lights on and a decidedly slippery surface and greasy slick rocks, I wasn't keen to go for a skate. I dropped into the rock lined dipper and felt both tyres slide about badly, but I stayed well balanced and carried on. Rich pulled up and avoided the risky rocks. I waited a few seconds and we carried on. Felt pretty good, a little slower than usual, but not to bad. By the time we got to the saddle I was getting pretty confident with the grip. We had a good pace on down towards the Sign of the Kiwi and I hit the first of the 3 jumps near the end, a little slower than normal due to the greasiness, and then the next I took off but got crossed up a little and the front wheel landed off to the left of the trail and the back wheel on the track. I couldn't get back on line and the front wheel washed into the grass throwing me off to the left also. I dived head first into the long grass and was thinking there better not be any rocks in there. Luckily there were none, but the grass caught on my light which pulled my head face down into the grass where I rammed into a big clump of grass like a tussock, which stopped my progress abruptly. I felt my head fold under me and my neck took the strain flexing quite a bit and making some unhealthy noises. I felt fine though and tried to get back up but my light was caught in the grass and it took a few seconds to extract it. Rich turned up then and asked if I was OK. I thought so, but tested my neck to be sure. It felt a little strained, but OK and no pain, so we carried on to the end the last 100m or so. On the road I had to re-straighten out my stem as the fall had knocked the bars to the left which doesn't feel good when you are riding, especially when you are thinking you may have taken a head knock or something serious.
We decided against doing another run down the Nun and rode up the Summit Road to the top of Worsleys again and dropped down the Body bag. This time it was pretty slick at the top so we were pretty slow until it levels out a little and we glided down to the old gateway. On crossing the swampy bit I lost balance and nearly fell into the deep muck puddle but manage to stick my foot down on the far side of it and straddle the water. Up to B'line again for some more of the same as earlier on, although this time it seemed even more slippery after a few riders with muddy tires and the surface being stirred up a little. At one stage in a fairly easy left hand bend I ended up sliding out completely and facing 90 degrees into the long grass again. I re-aligned with the track and tried to catch up to Rich. It took a while but eventually I got back on his tail just after the clifftop section. As there on down was dry I had no more problems and we had a sweet run down to the 4wd climb and into the lower section where we explored some of the myriad of lines in the trees and then made our way out to the main track and to the car. No sign of the others there and we cleaned the worst mud off our bikes before Coroning it to Noodle Canteen for some authentic oriental cuisine.
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