Mike Hucking

No such thing as a warm up, we were soon sweating our way up the track on a perfectly warm and windless summer evening. Definitely a stark contrast to the Mt Grey gale we rode on Sunday! The track up follows a ridge and has endless steep pinches followed by rideable flat or slightly down sections. As you climb the steeps get steeper and rockier until you end up having to walk, but even these ups are interspaced with fun little downhills and plenty of riding up the hill.

Laurence Grinding

Once you get up to the ridge there are many open sections and again it steps up and down as you climb towards Mt Richardson. There were fantastic views out over the plains, Lees Valley and the other foothills. With the sun low in the sky we kept moving towards the top.

on the top ridge

A couple of hours and we were on the top watching the sun set over the Southern Alps. Food in mouths and lights were put on the bikes.

food at the top watching the sun set

Laurence, Cherie and Mike at the top

The trails on the way up look like plenty of fun going the other way and we were all keen to hit them up and have some fun! Along the top ridge there are some fast wide open sections interspaced with tight forest sections and rocky/rooty trails. We were soon zooming down the trails only really needing the lights for the forest sections. The tracks are super fun to descend with twisting chutes that act like berms to throw you around the corners.

Once we had traversed the top ridge and started dropping back down towards the van the fun started in earnest. The trail is chunky and rocky and has been water eroded over time leading to very amusing corners with chutes and lots of rocks and ledges to pop off. Further down the trail turns into a choss pile of steep rocky loose baby heads which had Laurence giggling uncontrollably at me managing to stay upright on a bike which was heading every which way and all over the trail underneath me. We made it down somehow managing to keep just within the limit of out of control and loving every second of it.

Some fast 4wd track sections soon had us back at the van finding the beer and food. Blowhard is a fantastically fun piece of trail that does not get ridden anywhere near as much as it should!

On another note, my new Mavic Alpine XLs have now been on a couple of rides and I am finding them good. Stiff on the bike and very comfortable to walk in. There is some pressure on the top of my foot just in front of the ankle from the metal buckle where the velcro strap folds back, but I think this is likely to disappear as the shoe wears in. I have only had short walks carrying the bike so far but I think they are feeling promising for a much longer walk. I will report back once I have done a carry of over an hour up a hill. At least the Blowhard track managed to get a bunch of mud and dirt on them. The white colour is on the way to being covered up!

I tried a pair of the Pearl Izumi X-Alps. They certainly look like they are built for what I want but I have been pretty disappointed with them. The upper fabric tears easily, the heel cup design gives me terrible blisters every time I walk up a hill and the soles are too flexy and give me sore feet on long downhills. Also having a ratchet on the side of the shoe is a silly idea if using the shoe for walking or blasting down technical trails. I hit the ratchet on a rock on about my 4th  ride and busted it off the side of the shoe. A bit of ingenuity had it reattached but things like slippery rocky river crossing bash the ratchets into the side of my foot.

I was looking at the Shimano MT71 shoes, or even the Shimano MT91 boots, but did not want something as big and clunky as a boot, and the shoe did not look aggressive enough for my taste.

I finally decided on getting a pair of the 2012 Mavic Alpine XL shoes. While they look a bit gay with all the white on them at least they have a decent amount of tread on the sole and look like they were designed to be good on the bike and walking up hills.

I have had them out for one decent ride, but have not yet walked up a hill carrying my bike. First impressions of them are good. The sole seems stiff when clipped into the pedals but comfortable walking around. The cleat is recessed enough that it does not touch the ground on the flat. The heel cup holds onto my heel very well and I am unable to get my heel to rise out of the cup which is great. There seems to be plenty of room to wiggle my toes in the toe box while the lace and strap system holds the shoe fast on my foot. My foot has no “float” inside the shoe unlike some other shoes I have.

I do intend to wander up a hill in them sometime soon and I will report back with my findings, but so far I am impressed with them!

Ok, first ride/walk impressions here http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/evening-blowhard/

Leaving the car at the Cass river there was a 30 min warmup on the road before the climbing began. Onto the track with lovely beech forest singletrack, a little pine forest and then out into the tussocks on the tops with fantastic views while trudging through bogs.

First lunch on Lagoon saddle in the sunshine while surveying the valley dropping towards Hamilton Hut and the fantastic vistas towards the main divide. The technical riding starts from the get go with a few board-walks into bogs leading into rooty challenging beech forest singletrack.

After a while the track pops out into river bed for short sections before diving back into the forest singletrack.

Almost 5 hours into the mission and we were relaxing in the luxurious Hamilton Hilton and eating 3rd lunch. A snooze in the sunshine seemed extraordinarily inviting but the lure of good singletrack got us back on the bikes and heading for Cass Saddle.

A couple of km of grassy flats in the sunshine before heading back into the forest. The singletrack here is mostly rideable as it slowly climbs towards the saddle.

Towards the saddle the track gets a lot steeper and it is a short sharp climb to get to the Cass saddle. Once on the saddle there are fantastic views down the Cass valley and sweet sweet singletrack beckoning.

I had too much fun riding the singletrack on the way out to take any photos. Any tiredness after 8 hours was soon forgotten as we swooped through flowing trails. There was some impressive avalanche damage on the way down the valley. Avalanches had flattened a few sections of forest and obliterated where the tracks were. 9 hours after starting we were back at the car with big grins on our faces. The loop is an outback technical singletrack fix that I have promised myself I will do at least once a year!

Food in and pads on it was time for the fun to begin. A nice steep lumpy rock garden to warm up on before diving into pure beech forest goodness. Getting down the hill takes almost as long as getting up, and the lovely techy trails seem to go on and on. The riding is too much fun to stop and take many photos, but it does look something like this

While Richard and Charlie could not keep from bubbling over about about how much they liked their new Marzocchi 55 RC3 Ti forks we were all happy to have some lovely singletrack under our belts we returned to Christchurch via the ice cream shop. Then it was off to vote and I was off to Pomeroys for the announcement of the SOBA New Zealand National Homebrew Competition which had a fantastic surprise for me.

Rameka is through a lovely piece of forest with technical roots and rocks. Pretty flat for quite a ways but it would be a great introduction to South Island forest riding.

Canan Downs loop. I only did the Northern half of the loop. Someone has put a lot of effort into building the track, and maybe I hit it at the wrong time, but to me it really seemed like a lot of effort for little reward. The soil where the track has been benched has eroded away leaving clumps of grass sticking up leading to a real speed sucking surface. In other areas the track has been graveled, but is not really burmed leading to a fast surface that you are unable to corner fast on, and they have put plenty of corners in the tracks!

Some photos of the track features I liked.

Nice rock bridging

No allowance for 710mm bars?

Cool elevated track through boggy section

On the Saturday Charlie, Dugall and I headed into Mt Starveall from the Aniseed Valley. The ride up to the Hackett Hut was well known to me and from there we kept going up the same stream. The track eventually reaches a ridge up on Mt Starveall at about 1300m or so. This took about 5 hours of bike carrying and pushing, mostly in the pouring rain. The track back down is fantastic. Many roots and rocks and good gradient for most of the way down. Many technical challenges as is to be expected with a rough track like this that was never designed for mountain biking… I took a couple of photos at the start of the day and then left my camera in a waterproof bag for the rest of the day. All my brand new Ground Effect kit was looking a bit more worn in and mud covered at the end of the day! I would like to go back one day, and perhaps get a helicopter drop at the top…

Slippery rocks heading up the river

Start of the climb

Sunday was a loop I had done before. We parked at the Maitai Dam and rode up the newly finished track that goes to Coppermine Saddle. There were heaps of people coming down the track, having climbed up the Dun Mountain Walkway to do the loop. People of all ages and abilities including one man who I would estimate at about 60 years old who was coming down the trail on an entry level hardtail with quite skinny slick tyres… Anyway, the new track is a good consistent climb and a great way to connect to Sunshine and then Peaking Ridge via Copppermine and Dun Mountain walkway. Sunshine and Peaking ridge were great fun as always. Super rooty and pumpy up on Sunshine with much more speed and flow on Peaking. They are great pieces of track to put a smile on your face!

Old timers B&W photo (camera settings changed in my bag)

Getting near to Coppermine Saddle

Start of Sunshine Ridge on the way to Peaking Ridge

There was plenty of snow this winter, including a couple of decent snowfalls that blanketed Christchurch. The snow might have been late, but there was plenty of it! As usual we got up for a few days skiing at the local fields. It is always nice to get up in the mountains and find some speed on the way back down the slopes! The snow is now dissappearing from the foothills, which means it is time to be out on the fabulous beech forest trails by bike again. I had the first trip of the season in the North Canterbury foothills on Saturday and it was fantastic to be back out on real challenging singletrack! I am really looking forward to being back out on the bike in the mountains after a few months off.

I have started brewing my own beer, and this has taken a fair wack of my time over winter. I am getting some good tasting brews as I refine my recipes and the amount of beer evaluation I have done over winter means it is high time I was back out on the bike and burning some winter padding off. The first few times back up the hill are always the worst, and I have started suffering my penance already!

I have started a blog of brewing over here http://inzanebrew.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/its-alive-where-it-all-started/

In other news, the Kennet Brothers have picked up a couple of the photos from my mountain bike blog for the latest version of their guide book “The eighth edition of Classic New Zealand Mountain Bike Rides”. Being an iconic book I am very happy to have some of my photos selected for use!

Anyway, all going to plan there should soon be more biking blogs with photos up here very soon! Happy trails!

We set off up the hill. Weather at the bottom was very balmy for mid may and I was dripping with sweat on the way up the first part of the hill in shorts and a T-shirt.

Breakfast of Champions - not quite sure what this photo is doing here?

Charlie

Neil

Rik

Mark

As always the first half hour or so is rideable on and off. The lower part of the track was quite boggy, but once into the beech forest it was quite nice and there was plenty of traction. As you climb it gets a whole lot steeper and before long the easiest way up the hill is to put your bike on your back.

carrying through the trees

A little over an hour after starting you usually pop out of the trees and into the scrub. The views over the plains and foothills of Canterbury are superb. Once out of the trees it was not so warm and there was a fair bit of wind gusting. Layers and hats started appearing on the boys!

Just above the tree line

views over the plains and foothills

Off into the sunset

Near the top. Sun still shining in Christchurch, but not where we are!

Pads and extra layers were put on at the top. The wind was howling and it was freezing. We decided that hanging around on the top was a very silly idea and bolted off down the hill towards the forested ridge!

The top. It aint warm!

Heading down.

Battling howling side winds on the ridge

By the time I was halfway down the ridge my hands were frozen (I grabbed the wrong gloves by accident) and braking felt like trying to operate a couple of blocks of ice against my brake levers. Trying to stay upright against the blustery cross wind made it extremely difficult to stay on the narrow piece of track and a number of off-piste excursions were taken! I was extremely glad to get into the forest and the shelter of the trees. This is also where the track starts to get really fun, ducking and diving between trees, over rooty and loamy soil. I was even glad to see the first uphill, as trudging up this with my bike on my shoulder bought a whole lot of warmth back to my body!

One fun (but quite wet this trip) flowing downhill section, and another sharp up, and then we were on our way down through the trees illuminating our own little world of track. If anything the night lights make the trail look smoother, and I was easily able to see everything I needed to be able to ride it well. A little bit of moisture made the surface unpredictable in places, but it was super fun. Every time we stopped there were huge stupid grins on all our faces. We could easily see the lights of Oxford and Christchurch twinkling through the trees and the moon at about 3/4ers was a constant companion above us.

Into the welcome shelter and darkness of the beech forest!

Night carving?

Night gas bagging

Once off the ridge there was a bit of a mud plug to get back to the van. Plenty of slippery mucky goodness, along with a few mishaps including a full body mud splat! Back in the van and quickly home to food and beer. Damn fine way to spend a Saturday evening!!

Arriving at the start of the ride and it was quite breezy. A quick look at the cloud formations and I was pretty sure it was going to be blowing pretty hard up the top, but that is nothing new for New Zealand mountains!

We set off at midday on a beautiful sunny day. It definitely felt good to be out of town and letting our tensions ease away into the great outdoors. The track climbs up a ridge and soon had the sweat pouring off me. In the shelter of the trees we could hear the wind roaring through the branches above us. About half the way up the hill we popped out of the forest and into the tussocks and scrub and got the full force of the wind! It was hard to stand in places and I kept missing foot holds as I was blown off course.

Just above the treeline

View of the Canterbury plains

Having a bike on your back that acts as a sail definitely did not help!! I had to put a jacket and hat on as the wind chill was cooling me much quicker than the physical exertion was warming me, which is unusual for me as I usually survive most rides in just 1 riding top.

Me

It took a bunch more effort than usual to gain the summit and Mike and I were very glad to be able to shelter behind one of the rock walls that previous wind buffeted people had built on the summit.

Photo of the trig at the top of Oxford from the rock shelter

From the summit we were heading straight into the teeth of the wind down a ridge. Being steep it was easy enough to gain speed, but the strength of the wind made it pretty hard to stay on line and on track. Once you get off line however you soon realise that the riding on and off track is not very different. It is all steep and rocky with random tussocks and drops and is more a matter of picking good line that goes vaguely in the direction you want!

Downhill into the wind

Might be breezy out, but is still a very nice place to be!

Along the open ridge we started to get side on to the wind, which was even worse. Trying to stay on the narrow piece of hardpack track so we could pedal was almost impossible with the gusts of wind first pushing you off the track one way and then easing right off so that you over compensate to the other side. Repeat this process over and over! It was great to get a bit more speed as the track steepened and be able to stay on line better.

View of the track back to the trig at the top

View of the forested ridge we descend

Cross winds

The track soon drops through some scrub and rocky outcrops before dropping into the forest. It was so nice to drop into the trees and be sheltered. The first tree section is also great fun with much switching of direction through tight trees over steep masses of roots. Too quickly we were at the bog which signals the first of the climbs on the way back down. Bike back on shoulder and my legs are starting to complain that they have done enough walking up hills today. Another fun downhill section from the top of the walk which once again heads up steeply. From the top of this climb we were away down the trail for good. Bombing the straights and pumping the corners. Lofting over root masses and drops, and carefully picking lines down the challenging sections.

Descending - I am glad this photo turned out because I got stung by a wasp taking it!

Fun trails

There is a rock bluff about three quarters of the way down the hill which we do not ride. This bluff signals the start of my favorite section of this ride. From here the ridge goes from super steep to a gradient that is just perfect for fun biking and the trail switches from one side of the ridge to the other very quickly leading to a downhill pump track. Pump the corner then unweight and pump into the next corner. Add in tree roots, trees, rocks and nice roll over lumps in the track and you  have one seriously fun piece of track! There is one tricky section to give you a bit more of an adrenaline blast before pumping your way off down the track again.

Very suddenly you pop out onto the main Wharfedale track and there is a sense of disappointment that the track was over so quickly… although it has taken almost an hour to get down from the top! Time really flies when you are having fun!!

From here it is part pedal and part fun downhill trails for the best bit of an hour to get out. Still good fun biking, but it pales in comparison to the descent from the top. Back to the van and we are soon at the Oxford pub with a jug of cold and very refreshing beer! Beer always tastes soo much better after a good mission on the bike!

Along the ridge and into the forest. Having ridden out near here on Saturday with very dry tracks I had thought this track would be dry and have lots of traction, but I had somehow forgotten about the 2 days of rain that came through!! The track was very skaty, and I was wishing I had lugged the super tacky tires up instead of the normal trail tyres. There are a few undulations in the forest to get over to a ridge that heads down into the valley, and the track starts out with some reasonably fast and flowy sections and gets steeper and more technical as you head on down.

Basically the grin factor is good at the start and keeps getting better on the way down. Skating around on the rocks and roots was good fun and we still managed to ride all but one uber steep chute. We eventually popped out into the creek at the bottom. The boys doing their “hard done by old miners pose”

From here the track sidles above the creek for a couple of km. There are some interesting bits to ride and quite a bit of carry/pushing up bits. The track climbs quite high above the creek with a steep drop off the side of the narrow trails, leading to someone naming this bit of track “The Suicidal Sidle”. It was getting pretty dim by the time we scooted off the sidle and the last 10 min of riding through the forest it was getting hard to pick out trail features but we made it through without needing lights which was great!

A very fun evening of bike riding!