On Friday night we had the last twilight ride for this season & as it had been dry the past week Henk was keen to take me to a trail I’d never ridden before. I’d heard all about it, how it was tight & had the hydroslide in it – something I wasn’t looking forward to, but keen to see what the heck the guys were talking about.
Henk had lost touch with what I’ve ridden & what I haven’t, so came to the bottom of a hill (which I love) & started to tell me how to go about riding it. I looked at him, looked around & said, this is the hill with the trees that are down that you have to go around. All he could remember was there were ruts to cross & when I told him where it came out, he was, no, that’s not it – you go ahead & that way I can make sure you’re okay. Where we were parked you couldn’t see around the corner, so he put doubt in my mind (I hadn’t approached it from that angle before and I know parts of the forest look similar to me anyway) and I tentatively headed off. As soon as I rounded the corner, looked at the tree roots I had to cross, I knew he was wrong & it was the hill that I enjoy. Once we came out to the top he looked at me & commented that I know the forest better than him in places ;) (and obviously have ridden more than he thought).
As I was riding like a bunny, I wanted him in front rather than me holding him up with my dumbass mistakes. We hit the trail I’d never ridden before & all the while I’m thinking, what the heck is this hydroslide thing I’ve been hearing about & will I even be able to get down. We got to the top, he headed down after telling me how to approach it, I eased over the top (mistake #5million by now), got positioned totally wrong on the bike, yelled at myself, couldn’t get off to even walk the bike down, so ended up dropping it & thereby managed to walk it down ;) Righto, I failed that test. - Now, trying to describe the hydroslide. It’s a short, sharp downhill which goes on forever (really steep to begin with, then the gradient lessens), full of bumps & tree roots. The one thing that put me off was the fact you couldn’t really see what was on the ground due to a couple of branches (I want to cut them). It was more the lack of vision that bugged me & the way it had been talked up & my lack of commitment at the top. No matter, there’ll be another day.
At the end of the trail (it was damn tight), Henk showed me that he’d broken the clutch cable (I thought this was a very good excuse to stop babysitting me & could imagine him getting out the plyers to break it while he was waiting for me – I thought it would’ve been easier to tell me he didn’t want to ride with me anymore) & so when we came to a road, he headed back & I carried on. I got back to base, talked to people for a while & then decided I did have enough light to go for another ride, but would avoid the bit Henk had taken me through, thereby shortening the ride & all would be well (I hoped).
I dropped the bike a couple of times (once I remember, but I also remember doing something dumb after that, I just can’t remember what) & thought I must be getting tired. I hadn’t really eaten for the past few days (had a tooth pulled out), so think maybe my body was protesting at that (I’ve got enough reserves thanks) or maybe I just lost concentration, I don’t know. After a few minutes I felt fine again & was really just enjoying the ride. Unfortunately it ended only too soon & I was back at base. One of my riding buddies was there & we were both gutted we hadn’t hooked up (her husband was sick of babysitting her too & she got told she was too slow to go out again – she hadn’t realised she could’ve gone out & missed out some of it & would’ve had enough time). She had also walked her bike down the hydroslide (made me feel much better), so we had a good giggle over that.
Anyway, it was a good evening’s ride & a nice way to finish a crap week.
Saturday night was the end of daylight savings, so I wasn’t too concerned about the late night (we didn’t have to leave till 7am which according to our body clocks was 8am) and managed to hit the road almost on time. We got to where we were having breakfast about 10 minutes late, phoned another friend to see where he was but he was just leaving home, so had breakfast & headed south.
In true NZ fashion, the road was nice & twisty, slippery, a bank on one side, a cliff on the other – wahoo, this is fun. We were parked in a valley on a lovely hot day (it looked like it was going to rain, but just didn’t eventuate, thankfully), so I opened the cooler & spotted the beers. Hmm, go riding or sit down & just drink, decisions, decisions. All I knew about where we were going riding was it was steep, rocky & clay. I just wasn’t sure about it at all. I decided I should go out so I could find out for myself what it was like, found out how long the loop was (I didn’t want to carry a camera & fire extinguisher forever, so left the camera behind), got told I should be okay on the A grade stuff, geared up & headed out.
I had decided before heading out that I’d stick to the B grade stuff as that way I was sure to get around & even have a fun ride, but when I got to the first diversion, a family was just heading up the A trail & shamed me into going too. We kept passing each other (I stopped to look at the awesome view at one point & then was happy just to ride with them). As I sat at the top of the hill, the mum & one daughter came through, so we had a bit of a chat & then a friend came past. I knew then I might as well wait for Henk who had a camera with him – he turned up just as the little one was heading down the hill so I told him & friend to stop & wait. Everyone then headed off & I thought I might as well go, too.
I caught up to mum & daughter & rode behind them for a bit. Mum told me to go past as they were holding me up, but I told her I was happy just cruising along & knowing me I’d hold them up. Of course, when I did go past them, I stuffed up a corner & just started laughing as they came up behind me. I was just out there to have fun & was enjoying riding with anyone. I’d help with the kids when needed, make sure everyone got through, had a lot of laughs, generally just had a good time.
At one point we stopped due to a downed rider & not knowing what way the ambulance was coming. We sat around & talked for ages, then decided we may as well go, but just watch out for the ambulance. We split up at this point as they were going the road way back (with some diversions) & I was having a ball on the A diversions. I was going up a hill at one point to see 3 guys coming back down it, so we all stopped & they figured out they were going the wrong way (they’d thought they’d been told to go that way due to the downed rider). Once back on the road again, I saw the dad & checked with him that I was okay to continue.
The forest was full of roots, ruts & rocks & just a heck of a lot of fun. At one point, we had to go over some rocks which had been polished & had no traction. Of course, I got stuck & tried again & again & again to get over them. In the end, I had to go back down to start over, but still got a bit stuck. A couple of guys helped me out here (thanks guys) – I couldn’t be bothered getting off the bike to sort my life out, so a lot of it was my own fault. We had to cross some fjords & a creek & I don’t know what else, it was just a busy ride.
By the time I got back, Henk & friends were out & I realised I didn’t have enough time to go out again, so I might as well load up (okay, the beers were just too tempting). I was also aware I hadn’t eaten since breakfast & would probably lose energy too quickly (hey, I know, I’m good at excuses).
When they came back, we sat around for a while then headed home. Remember how I said the road in was slippery? Henk took a corner a bit quicker than it should’ve been taken, the van slid onto the other side of the road, with a lovely wall facing us. I just kept looking for oncoming traffic (no visibility) & was relieved when he got it under control again & on the right side of the road. I was also relieved when I saw the car coming toward us about 30 seconds later – it could’ve been really messy. The main thing was the slippery road, the van just had no traction for that crucial second. Ah well, all’s well that ends well – nice way to finish the day.
I just had such a fun ride, but there was so much happening that a lot of it is a blur, except the pure pleasure had. Definitely a great weekend and much needed. It’s times like that, that all the struggling beforehand is worthwhile and I remember why I persevere with it all.
The funny thing about the ride is that I’ve been having trouble explaining to Henk what riding in Oregon & Washington is like & now he understands why I loved it so much. It’s almost like having found the shortcut there, just unfortunately you guys weren’t there :(. It was a mixture of the two states – I guess I’ve found a slice of heaven but stuffed if I want to ride there in the wet ;)
Attached are the two photos Henk took. The clay downhill past where we were sitting dropped off a bit further onto a gravel road (I think, it's a bit hazey), but this meant we couldn't see where the little girl was & just wanted them to give her a bit of space.
One thing I've noted (thanks to someone who shall remain anonymous unless he wants to pipe up) is the reason for my handcramps has been found (finally). I couldn't understand why I didn't always get them & sometimes felt it coming on only to have it disappear not long after - if I hit tight trails first off, I'm hanging on too tight, if I have a bit of a gravel bash first, I'm loosened up & it's fine - so I guess I've just got to gravel bash/wide open stuff first off (bummer, I don't even like it). What was confusing me was on farmland (wide open) I get them, but that now makes sense - I know our farmland has all sorts of holes & stuff on it & so don't relax initially. Ah well, I'm now consciously telling myself to relax more, so hopefully the tips given to me will help (it's cool to ride with someone different who actually picks up on things I'm doing wrong) ;)
Henk had lost touch with what I’ve ridden & what I haven’t, so came to the bottom of a hill (which I love) & started to tell me how to go about riding it. I looked at him, looked around & said, this is the hill with the trees that are down that you have to go around. All he could remember was there were ruts to cross & when I told him where it came out, he was, no, that’s not it – you go ahead & that way I can make sure you’re okay. Where we were parked you couldn’t see around the corner, so he put doubt in my mind (I hadn’t approached it from that angle before and I know parts of the forest look similar to me anyway) and I tentatively headed off. As soon as I rounded the corner, looked at the tree roots I had to cross, I knew he was wrong & it was the hill that I enjoy. Once we came out to the top he looked at me & commented that I know the forest better than him in places ;) (and obviously have ridden more than he thought).
As I was riding like a bunny, I wanted him in front rather than me holding him up with my dumbass mistakes. We hit the trail I’d never ridden before & all the while I’m thinking, what the heck is this hydroslide thing I’ve been hearing about & will I even be able to get down. We got to the top, he headed down after telling me how to approach it, I eased over the top (mistake #5million by now), got positioned totally wrong on the bike, yelled at myself, couldn’t get off to even walk the bike down, so ended up dropping it & thereby managed to walk it down ;) Righto, I failed that test. - Now, trying to describe the hydroslide. It’s a short, sharp downhill which goes on forever (really steep to begin with, then the gradient lessens), full of bumps & tree roots. The one thing that put me off was the fact you couldn’t really see what was on the ground due to a couple of branches (I want to cut them). It was more the lack of vision that bugged me & the way it had been talked up & my lack of commitment at the top. No matter, there’ll be another day.
At the end of the trail (it was damn tight), Henk showed me that he’d broken the clutch cable (I thought this was a very good excuse to stop babysitting me & could imagine him getting out the plyers to break it while he was waiting for me – I thought it would’ve been easier to tell me he didn’t want to ride with me anymore) & so when we came to a road, he headed back & I carried on. I got back to base, talked to people for a while & then decided I did have enough light to go for another ride, but would avoid the bit Henk had taken me through, thereby shortening the ride & all would be well (I hoped).
I dropped the bike a couple of times (once I remember, but I also remember doing something dumb after that, I just can’t remember what) & thought I must be getting tired. I hadn’t really eaten for the past few days (had a tooth pulled out), so think maybe my body was protesting at that (I’ve got enough reserves thanks) or maybe I just lost concentration, I don’t know. After a few minutes I felt fine again & was really just enjoying the ride. Unfortunately it ended only too soon & I was back at base. One of my riding buddies was there & we were both gutted we hadn’t hooked up (her husband was sick of babysitting her too & she got told she was too slow to go out again – she hadn’t realised she could’ve gone out & missed out some of it & would’ve had enough time). She had also walked her bike down the hydroslide (made me feel much better), so we had a good giggle over that.
Anyway, it was a good evening’s ride & a nice way to finish a crap week.
Saturday night was the end of daylight savings, so I wasn’t too concerned about the late night (we didn’t have to leave till 7am which according to our body clocks was 8am) and managed to hit the road almost on time. We got to where we were having breakfast about 10 minutes late, phoned another friend to see where he was but he was just leaving home, so had breakfast & headed south.
In true NZ fashion, the road was nice & twisty, slippery, a bank on one side, a cliff on the other – wahoo, this is fun. We were parked in a valley on a lovely hot day (it looked like it was going to rain, but just didn’t eventuate, thankfully), so I opened the cooler & spotted the beers. Hmm, go riding or sit down & just drink, decisions, decisions. All I knew about where we were going riding was it was steep, rocky & clay. I just wasn’t sure about it at all. I decided I should go out so I could find out for myself what it was like, found out how long the loop was (I didn’t want to carry a camera & fire extinguisher forever, so left the camera behind), got told I should be okay on the A grade stuff, geared up & headed out.
I had decided before heading out that I’d stick to the B grade stuff as that way I was sure to get around & even have a fun ride, but when I got to the first diversion, a family was just heading up the A trail & shamed me into going too. We kept passing each other (I stopped to look at the awesome view at one point & then was happy just to ride with them). As I sat at the top of the hill, the mum & one daughter came through, so we had a bit of a chat & then a friend came past. I knew then I might as well wait for Henk who had a camera with him – he turned up just as the little one was heading down the hill so I told him & friend to stop & wait. Everyone then headed off & I thought I might as well go, too.
I caught up to mum & daughter & rode behind them for a bit. Mum told me to go past as they were holding me up, but I told her I was happy just cruising along & knowing me I’d hold them up. Of course, when I did go past them, I stuffed up a corner & just started laughing as they came up behind me. I was just out there to have fun & was enjoying riding with anyone. I’d help with the kids when needed, make sure everyone got through, had a lot of laughs, generally just had a good time.
At one point we stopped due to a downed rider & not knowing what way the ambulance was coming. We sat around & talked for ages, then decided we may as well go, but just watch out for the ambulance. We split up at this point as they were going the road way back (with some diversions) & I was having a ball on the A diversions. I was going up a hill at one point to see 3 guys coming back down it, so we all stopped & they figured out they were going the wrong way (they’d thought they’d been told to go that way due to the downed rider). Once back on the road again, I saw the dad & checked with him that I was okay to continue.
The forest was full of roots, ruts & rocks & just a heck of a lot of fun. At one point, we had to go over some rocks which had been polished & had no traction. Of course, I got stuck & tried again & again & again to get over them. In the end, I had to go back down to start over, but still got a bit stuck. A couple of guys helped me out here (thanks guys) – I couldn’t be bothered getting off the bike to sort my life out, so a lot of it was my own fault. We had to cross some fjords & a creek & I don’t know what else, it was just a busy ride.
By the time I got back, Henk & friends were out & I realised I didn’t have enough time to go out again, so I might as well load up (okay, the beers were just too tempting). I was also aware I hadn’t eaten since breakfast & would probably lose energy too quickly (hey, I know, I’m good at excuses).
When they came back, we sat around for a while then headed home. Remember how I said the road in was slippery? Henk took a corner a bit quicker than it should’ve been taken, the van slid onto the other side of the road, with a lovely wall facing us. I just kept looking for oncoming traffic (no visibility) & was relieved when he got it under control again & on the right side of the road. I was also relieved when I saw the car coming toward us about 30 seconds later – it could’ve been really messy. The main thing was the slippery road, the van just had no traction for that crucial second. Ah well, all’s well that ends well – nice way to finish the day.
I just had such a fun ride, but there was so much happening that a lot of it is a blur, except the pure pleasure had. Definitely a great weekend and much needed. It’s times like that, that all the struggling beforehand is worthwhile and I remember why I persevere with it all.
The funny thing about the ride is that I’ve been having trouble explaining to Henk what riding in Oregon & Washington is like & now he understands why I loved it so much. It’s almost like having found the shortcut there, just unfortunately you guys weren’t there :(. It was a mixture of the two states – I guess I’ve found a slice of heaven but stuffed if I want to ride there in the wet ;)
Attached are the two photos Henk took. The clay downhill past where we were sitting dropped off a bit further onto a gravel road (I think, it's a bit hazey), but this meant we couldn't see where the little girl was & just wanted them to give her a bit of space.
One thing I've noted (thanks to someone who shall remain anonymous unless he wants to pipe up) is the reason for my handcramps has been found (finally). I couldn't understand why I didn't always get them & sometimes felt it coming on only to have it disappear not long after - if I hit tight trails first off, I'm hanging on too tight, if I have a bit of a gravel bash first, I'm loosened up & it's fine - so I guess I've just got to gravel bash/wide open stuff first off (bummer, I don't even like it). What was confusing me was on farmland (wide open) I get them, but that now makes sense - I know our farmland has all sorts of holes & stuff on it & so don't relax initially. Ah well, I'm now consciously telling myself to relax more, so hopefully the tips given to me will help (it's cool to ride with someone different who actually picks up on things I'm doing wrong) ;)
