Monday night Godley 'Conda, out and back Solo Loop

Only opportunity to ride this week so parked up Evans and headed out the Godley. Fun techy rocky start, I kept my own good pace and cleaned everything after a couple of breathers retrieving my gasp back after the cold start on the steep.  Gorgeous evening and good rolling around the top and down, smooth blasting down to Livingston Col.  Momentarily contemplated hanging a right, around the 360/Crater Rim, but played nice and headed onwards on the legal trail and thru to Breeze Col.  A ship was heading out below me in the harbour, but lost sight of it as I got to the Col, so I popped across to see it but it had moved on.  Headed up the wee climb above the road, and onto the narrow trail which was totally overgrown so I took it very easy, wary of subsumption holes.  Rode across to the start of the Breeze Bay track, but then from here bombed down to the carpark to look at the backpackers.

Returning, I got onto the original trail below the road - meeting my first 'other person' here. Then down Anaconda, meeting my second person here.  Many blown out dusty corners lower down, and horrific traction on most corners, in the slick dust. Down the Tail, wary, as it's been a while, then straight up the road, and left onto the walking track above Joy's, cleaning this all the way up to where you're riding along the deer fence near the top (meeting my third and final person here). Finally at this point was where I was starting to get tired. Watched a parasailor take off and seemingly plummet, then headed up the gravel to the road, around the corner and up the paddock onto the Godley back to Evans. Careful too, cos it was overgrown and I was heading straight into the sun.  At the end, I took the walking track bit for the final drop down to the finish.

14kms with 578m climbed

Sunday Arvo Jet Spin

Like a week or so ago, took Jet across to Bowenvale Ave and headed up Major Aitken again. Huntsbury up onto the singletrack, then up the landing strip and on up the gravel to the top.  Bit of a rest and a stretch here, then onto the Traverse to just through the first cattlestop, before the Lavaflow, and down the new fun ridge track, jumps fun, and then for the first time in ages, down the old skool entrance to Old Skool.  Further and faster than I remembered to the first gate, where another rider rocked up and it was Matt (Tom's brother).  We caught up chatted a bit and then I led off down the zig zags, looking at, but not exploring all the old singletrack shortcut lines (grass waaay too overgrown).  Jet was a bit slow down here, so needed to wait for him, so when we got down to the pylon I sent Matt off on his way.  Didn't see him again.

Good run down Old Skool.  It's running really fun at the moment, with all the new air and rearranged rocks.  Jet plodded along at a good pace behind and I'd stop at the odd corner for him to catch up.  I's pretty concerned for his over-heating, so I was giving him plenty of drinks from my camelback too.  Into the bottom of the valley and back down the road to the car.

Looks like stupid Map My Ride fucked up again.  Must struggle to get a good signal in Bowenvale Valley and then not kick in until up the hill, cos looks like it only found me at 179m altitude, roughly where it found me last time.  And also there's lots of jumps/steps - gps failures.  So according to it, 8.2 kms, and 235m gained, but considering it started me at 179m, i'm calling it more like 420m, and closer to 10kms.

Friday night shorty with O and Tane

Parked at the Richmond Hill pines and with O, his mate Tane, and Jet, and we rode up the singletrack from that entrance, to the original Greenwood entrance.  Along this back to the ruins and then we dropped in.  I led the way, popping and weaving and grooving and cruising, while they battled their ways down behind me.  Jet just cruised with me - SO well behaved ignoring the sheep completely.  The boys enjoyed the challenge of the trail, and did really well.  We took our time, I'd stop and wait til they came into view then bomb off again ahead.  At the bottom, I sent the two boys off down Captain Thomas whilst Jet and me headed back up the road to the car.  He trotted along, panting away, and I was surprised at how slow this was, cos normally I'm chuffing to keep Nelson's pace, but with Jet I was barely raising my heartrate.  Got the the car and drove down to Slumnervale to pick them up.

7 and a half kms for me, with 240 m gained.  A bunch more descent for them.

Saturday View Hill Rd fatty downhill with the boy

At the bach for the long weekend.  On Saturday, T drove O and me to the top of the road and we cruised along the Summit towards Okains and hit the paper road across the ridge towards View Hill.  Bit of riding, bit of pushing.  I was on the Fatty.  Around the flanks and onto the proper trail.  Fun blast down to the gate, then we were technically no longer 'trespassing' and off we shot down View Hill Rd, absolutely bombing down to the gravel, then I shot further ahead for the blast down this to Chorlton.  Then it was down the tar seal back into the bay to the bach, tires screaming all the way.

Around 150 climbed, and over 670 descended in 11kms.

Wednesday Windy Windy Ridge Ride

That's both pronunciations of windy...

A week out in the bush, walking 10-15 kms each day off-track through usually wet forest.  Nice to get out and ride again, and all that walking seemed to helped my stamina, or something.

After work last night, Nelsie picked me up usual Countdown Carpark and we headed and parked at top of Huntsbury, Headed up, and hung a left, over Vernon, through the clusterfuck that is Rapaki-top, around Witch Hill, onto the walking track above the road (they cant actually put No Bikes on that, cos it's in the Public Road Reserve...  Up to Castle Rock and a good run down this, me in the lead, then from Bridle Path top took the singletrack climb up around the knoll, then down to the saddle and up around to the Tors track.  Bombed down this and cleaned all the droppy bits but not the up-and-over bits, then back onto the walking track above the road, excellent cruise down this and back onto Witch Hill.  Tiresome climb, good bomb down.  Straight through Rapaki-top again, no stopping, and into the Vernon climb which hurt.  Then across Traverse and into the new descender down to Old Skool 4wd start, across landing strip, over fence, down jumpy Huntsbry and back to the car...

15 or so kms with 620 m of gain

Sunday Jet Loop

Jet and me parked in Bowenvale Ave, headed down to Major Aitken and upwards... I only remembered MMR halfway up and then it didnt actually kick in until I was much further up so its altitude and distance are a wonk - add a couple hundred metres and a couple kms..

Hot day so was a tough climb, but got up and around the summit and Jet was a bit of a slow poke around the Traverse, holding up one tosser of a rider...  Further around near the pond, he was in one guy's way for a few metres, then he jumped in and had a good swim and big drink, and from there on he was fast.  Cautious on the cattlestops.  Into the top of Vic and down to the Rabbit paddock, then into the gums, nice blast down through my favourite (i notice a new trail off the left of it at the start), then through skidder and into Spazzer's, deviating some shortcuts and then into Sneaky Forest, fun drop down through this and onto Bridges etc.

Bottom of NuBridges, I hung a right and clambered up the steps onto the sidling walking track across to Hidden Valley Link, up this, huffing and chuffing, then into the Old Skool for a great blast down and then a long slow cruise with Jet along the footpath back to the car.

So,'d be 13 kms and ~461 m climbed.

Off to Lake Poteriteri on Tuesday for a week, so the Turner and the Troll's back wheel have gone in for some fettling with Josh, and there'll be no riding for me for a whiles.

Wednesday Evening Mt Grey(tness)

Knocked off work early and met Nelson at Sefton at 4.30.  Transferred to his car and headed around and up the hill.  Got riding at 5, up the steep bastard singletrack that climbs up the front. Not quite so bad once you've pushed up the steepest bit, it starts to do these biiig long zigs and zags, progressively shorter til we hit the Lookout tower.  Then I pushed and he rode about half of the singletrack up from here to the road, and then we were onto the singletrack that sidles along the eastern side around and up to the summit.  Awesome techy interesting hard and fun climb.  Took about an hour to the top where we had a rest facing the sun out of the wind (once we'd cooled down a bit) - and noticing a stickiness collected on our left arms from the broom on the way up.  This way up is only 4.3 kms, whereas the usual way

Into the down, brakes honking(!) to start with. Trail basically dry, but some deep ruts, and the usual wet bits were sloppy.  Awesome riding, down through the few switchbacks on this open section, then into the bush, and Switchback-City.  Native Clematis was in flower the upper switchback section, with sprays of it visible in the canopy of the forest - quite beautiful.  Cleaned a some switchbacks, and getting well practiced in the foot-down,-nose-pivot,-swing,-roll-on- ones we weren't cleaning.  The open boggy section was still pretty boggy, but starting to dry a bit, and the forest below this also had a lot of soggy wet bits, but also starting to harden up.  Lots of fun tho, techy rootsville.  Finally out the bottom, before 7.

And the climb began back up the road to the car, which I reached about 7.10pm. Nice 2 and half hours spent damned well.

13.8 Kms, 679m climbed, mostly steeply.