post Quake Monday 629 to Peaking

Staying in Nelson with family as refugees of the 6.3 quake that's basically bollocksed Christchurch for good.

Hooked up with Ian(Iain?) via a Peaking Ridge thread on Vorb, and we trundled up the Maitai in his wagon, parking up before the locked gate below the dam. rode under the gate and up to the bridge, over the river and up onto the benched trail, round to Bob Taylor Rd. Steady steep up up up, a breather at the hives with a bit of a look over to the dam, then on up steeper still to a left onto a narrower track that led round (and up) through the pines to "the fire break"...

think of your steepest trail. think of it times three (or four). i managed a good portion of the first steep, then we walked a whole heap more of it. it was steep, making the Body Bag look like a pissant walk in the park. up up up we went, to a top, followed by a nice quick blast down then up a last bit to the top top. had a nice breather on a board seat with lots of wasps and two options at our fingertips - the 629 proper, which Ian had warned me (priorly via txt) required armour and fullface, or our option, a ridge track up to the end of Sunshine and the top of Peaking.

Started off pretty cool, straight into the wicked single rooty rocky goodness that this area is so renowned for with all that windthrow from the 2008 big blow. started out with the wickedest steepest little mother. very cool. juuust on the verge of what i'm comfortable with cleaning. cleaned it - sweet. then across the ridge up up up we went, walking some, but riding heaps. sometimes windthrow sometimes nice bush.

at the top of Peaking Ridge we headed down. this too starts off with a steep ass chute, rutty and rooty and off camber. i bailed part way in and walked, whereas Ian had cleaned it. from there tho, all was mostly rideable. a mint trail, so much fun and such a long downhill. we stopped probably 2/3rds the way down for a bit of a break, and then hit up the last third, into the manuka and more descending, twisty, tight, rooty excellence.

much enjoyed. hit the bottom before i was expecting it, and then we swooped back down past the bottom of Bob Taylor and on back to the vehicle. all in all, nearly 3 hours out. choice.!