Riding the Troll, I met Nelson at the usual Moorhouse carpark, him with the skinny-tyred machine in the back, cos with all the rain we knew we couldn't be mtnbiking. We headed to Woolston, parking by Holy Smoke and got changed then headed thru to the river, over the bridges and through the streets (stopping to look at all the classic cars next to the railway tracks) to Aynsley Tce and around to Rapaki.
Up, both climbing at a good clip - Nelson cos his bike's so light, and me cos my lowest gear on the Alfine is not as low as your average mtnbikes. As a result, it wasn't long before we were overtaking other bikers. No one commenting on our 'inappropriate' bikes but I swear some laughter was at my expense as I passed. Hard work, and Nelson jetting ahead, I just slogged it up. We regrouped on the flat, then he gapped me out again on the final climb. I was glad I managed to get all the way to the top - legs truly pumped.
From the top we headed left, around the road, following it all the way, under Witch, under the Tors, past Castlerock, fast descent no brakes over 60 down to Bridle, and around under the Gondola into the wind on the corner, climbing up through the cutting. A brief detour up Broadleaf Lane to the gate, just for the extra altitude and back, then the blast all the way down to Evans Pass, nice smooth rolling speed, over 50kph, then down into Sumner, blazing down through the red light and good high speeds over 60kph again down here.
Finally, taking a couple of turns slipstreaming each other around through Redcliffs and down the causeway clipping a nice 37 kph, then Ferry Rd back to the car. Beer and food at Twisted Hop, and home about 9pm.
Just under 30kms, and over 800m climbed...
Up, both climbing at a good clip - Nelson cos his bike's so light, and me cos my lowest gear on the Alfine is not as low as your average mtnbikes. As a result, it wasn't long before we were overtaking other bikers. No one commenting on our 'inappropriate' bikes but I swear some laughter was at my expense as I passed. Hard work, and Nelson jetting ahead, I just slogged it up. We regrouped on the flat, then he gapped me out again on the final climb. I was glad I managed to get all the way to the top - legs truly pumped.
From the top we headed left, around the road, following it all the way, under Witch, under the Tors, past Castlerock, fast descent no brakes over 60 down to Bridle, and around under the Gondola into the wind on the corner, climbing up through the cutting. A brief detour up Broadleaf Lane to the gate, just for the extra altitude and back, then the blast all the way down to Evans Pass, nice smooth rolling speed, over 50kph, then down into Sumner, blazing down through the red light and good high speeds over 60kph again down here.
Finally, taking a couple of turns slipstreaming each other around through Redcliffs and down the causeway clipping a nice 37 kph, then Ferry Rd back to the car. Beer and food at Twisted Hop, and home about 9pm.
Just under 30kms, and over 800m climbed...
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