12-6-07 TT 28.57. Splits 6.30, 13.47, junct 26.07. Southerly, cold. It was sunny with a mild southerly while I climbed, but the wind picked up and a front of cloud and drizzle came in as I reached the Golfball.

This was an odd ride because I rode the first quarter very fast (6.30) and then ran out of oomph. I think I was motivated by the previous ride and wanted to see if I could get under 28 mins. But I was perhaps riding a little too soon after it, not because I wasn’t recovered, but because of the boredom factor. The splits tell the tale – I had my 15 seconds in the first quarter, which meant all I had to do was maintain the pace, which I couldn’t do. By halfway I was a couple of seconds down on my previous time, and I actually dabbed (once on the left foot, probably only cost a couple of seconds) on the 3rd test, which indicates tiredness and lack of focus while recovering from the hard 2^nd test. By the junction I was 14 seconds down rather than 15 seconds up, which is still pretty good considering how crap the second half went, but, because I knew there was no way I’d get anywhere near going under 28 mins, I somehow suffered a major form slump. In the end I was lucky to make it under 29 mins, given I got stuck on the top barrier. My time from the junction (26.07) to the sealed road (28.57) was particularly disappointing – I should have been in at least 28.45, if not 28.30 if I’d really hammered it and done a clean gate.

Went up to the Golfball and was promptly engulfed in southerly cloud and drizzle, so headed north to the Sanctuary, then to the Turbine. There was another mt biker coming up the road who was heading down Car Parts, so I waited to let him go because I’m a slow downhiller, but he was stuffing around so I went up and chatted to him. He was heading down Car Parts and the Rollercoaster and I told him I was heading down the illegal Planet Track. I let him go first, then found him waiting for me at the turn-off to Pol Hill on the Rollercoaster. So I took him down the Planet Track, which he loved. It is a great single track because it’s not too hard but not easy either – especially in the wet (it was dry). We parted at the bottom and I headed home via Durham St and Happy Valley Road. Southerly strong, but those Ground Effect hats are great for cold weather riding.

This was one of the many days when I wished I lived nearer Makara Peak. I didn’t really need to go up the TT. In bad weather Makara Peak offers shelter and allows you to warm up before hitting the exposed bits. On the 5-6 it would also have been good to go up Makara Peak. You warm up, then can really attack Aratihi if you feel like it. And going down there are plenty of options for challenging single track. I sometimes find the TT too hard (remember I’m going as fast as possible – it’s not hard to just ride up) at the beginning when I’ve only been riding for 10 minutes on the road. It’s also exposed to any northerly wind. Then, once you’ve made the top, there isn’t a great choice of single track descents. You’ve either got Red Rocks, which is great on a good day, but just fast 4WD with only the last 100 metres providing any technical challenge. The Bunkers track is the same, with one very tough loose 4WD descent. The track south into Long Gully is easy 4WD. The best option is north to Car Parts and Planet. Or further over to the Scout Hall or Deliverance (which is too hard for me in the wet). There’s also the Bird Street Track further round the Sanctuary, but that’s largely an exercise in impossible switchbacks, which I know some people can do, but you need to have trials skills to get round them, and I don’t. And once you’re over into south Karori, you’ve got to get back, and ride can become more an exercise in time and endurance than descent practise.

I really like cleaning rides. I’m not a fast downhiller, but I don’t like dabbing, and there just aren’t enough technical single track options from the Golfball.

8-6-07 A first-time TT-Red Rocks no dabs!!! TT 28.15. Splits 6.45, 13.45, junct, 25.53. Steady NWer that increased with altitude so that it wasn’t a problem in the first half but hit in the second. Sunny. The best time I’ve done since the Tip Track race (14/4/07) when I probably went between 27 and 28 minutes. I wonder how I might have gone without a full load of water and with a favourable southerly wind?

I think part of the trick, apart from just feeling strong, is not to go out too hard at the beginning so that you can maintain your pace or get stronger. The first quarter is actually quite steep and it’s easy to go too hard and have to spend the next quarter recovering. I’d actually had a poor night’s sleep the night before, so felt a bit tired, but my head wasn’t full of to-dos. It also helps not to have done the TT for a week or more – too often and you become a bit bored.

I trundled straight on up to the Golfball, but didn’t stop, as it was too windy at the top, and just carried on back down to the top barrier intending to put on my polypro there. But on the way down it occurred to me that I hadn’t actually put me feet down and that this gave me the opportunity to do something I’ve always been meaning to do: go up the Tip Track and down to Red Rocks without dabbing. Now, I’ve done both many times, but have always stopped at the Golfball or had to dab at the top barrier because you haven’t always been able to squeeze past it on your bike. I’ve always been meaning to turn left at the Junction and not go right to the top, but because I time myself from the bottom barrier to the sealed road, and I always time myself, by the time I reach the Junction I just want to get to the sealed road. But now, here I was, wiggling past the top barrier and heading down without dabbing. I made the first short climb easily, then the steep climb easily, then hopped right onto the grass verge past the gorse bush on the third climb, and, concentrating hard, got down the final descent without incident. So – no dabs from the bottom TT gate until my front wheel hit the barrier at the bottom of Red Rocks – including visiting the Golfball in between. Back round the coast home - well pleased. The whole ride took about an hour and a half.

5-6-07 Went up Happy Valley Rd, this time avoiding the TT because of the poor ascent on 30-5-07, when I went up when I only half felt like it. Also there was a gale NWer, which I was carefully avoiding. Up through Brooklyn and onto the Rollercoaster to the Turbine (the Rollercoaster hurt), round the Sanctuary to Wrights Hill, then down the Scout Track (very smoothly, no dabs), through Karori and up St Albans Ave into Makara Peak and down SWIGG/Starfish. I wasn’t sure about the time and had to be back by 3 for the kids, so this was just a quickest way I could think of to throw some single track downhill into the ride. Ate a sandwich at Makara Peak car park, then whizzed up Redemption (funny how it seems to take me a while to warm up, and now I was in the zone), round the Sanctuary and hopped onto the road out of Long Gully due to gorse cutter on the Sanctuary fence-line. Up the road, taking full advantage of the gale force NWer, and down TT and home via hill rather than coast (quicker). Whole ride took 2 ¾ hours and was much more fun in the second half.

30-5-07 TT 29.51. Splits 6.58, 14.12, junction 27.19. Warm. Steady NWer. May has been incredibly mild and warm.

This was an odd climb because I actually came off twice, once just after the tough 2^nd test and once on the corner leading into the 4^th test where I was blown off earlier this year. But neither off this time was because of wind: I just wasn’t concentrating, my wheel slipped and I didn’t have the legs to recover. Odd that even with these two offs (I got on again immediately) I still made the sealed road in under 30 mins. Normally when things start going badly I slack off and finish with a time far worse than I would have got if I’d kept up the pace.

The thing that redeemed this ride was the descent to Red Rocks – no dabs from the Golfball (you can easily get round the gate at the top of the Tip Track) until my front wheel hit the gate at the bottom. Not that this is too much to skite about, but usually I dab somewhere – most recently I’ve had to repeat one of the climbs. I keep meaning to take a saw to that sodding gorse bush on the right at the start of the third climb, but if you can get up enough momentum to scoot across the loose stuff onto the grass verge on the right after it, you’re on firmer ground. That is, until it rains and the grass becomes wet. The final descent is always a little sketchy and this time I did snake about a bit during the last 20 metres, but managed to hold it together. So it was hardly a fast or immaculate descent, but no dabs is no dabs.

Went round the coast to watch Anna in the cross-country southern zone at Houghton Bay. She’d come 3^rd in her year at the Island Bay School cross-country. Today she came 11^th – same as last year. You need to get in the top 10 to progress to the inter-zone, so I think she was a bit disappointed. But I thought she did well, because she was in the last third to begin with but hauled everyone in on the climb! She doesn’t have a sprint, so gradually hauling people in is her strength and she just ran out of course in which to do it.

29-5-07 Picked up bike from Seatoun and road home via the south coast.

28-5-07 Biked round the Mirimar Peninsular to Seatoun after work to the Hill’s for dinner. A beautiful night – mild southerly. Got to test my new light properly. The flash mode is rather slow, but having it on permanently uses much more power. I can see the fun of night riding – the atmosphere is great – but really good lights would be necessary off-road.

25-5-07 TT 30.30. Splits 7.10, 15.00, junct 27.30. Huh, a bad one. It hurt. I was tired and biking round to see Jonty at Revolution Cycles to pay him for the rigid forks I’ve been using on my commute bike for 6 months now. So I was nearly just going to bike up Happy Valley, but felt guilty about passing up the climb, so up I went when I knew my heart wasn’t in it. The weather was perfect, but far too hot. At the beginning of the 2^nd half of the climb I got within 20 metres of a guy walking briskly, but as the tests hit I couldn’t haul him in. He got to the road about 20 metres ahead of me – which indicates how badly I was going.

Went down via the Sanctuary and Rollercoaster to Revolution Cycles, then back via the road and Happy Valley. Bought a better front light off Jonty because commuting at night is getting scary.

24-5-07 In to work over Mt Albert and Mt Vic. Fuck the traffic in Newtown. There I am talking an extra 10 min and going up two unnecessary hills to avoid the main roads, but my life is still endangered by twits in vehicles. New Zealand drivers are the worst in the world.

22-5-07 TT 28.51. Splits 6.48, 14.08, junct 26.30. Steady northerly but not gusty or strong. A good climb – had the stamina to keep up the pace. Felt good to get in under 29 mins – a clean final gate helped. Down Sanctuary, Car Parts, Planet (cleaned). Chatted to girl on a Mt Biker at the windmill who was heading for Red Rocks and asked me the way. Half thought about going back and showing her, but since she was pushing her bike up the road I figured she’d find it tough going and I’d have been waiting for her all the time. Also, I got the vague vibe that she would have been more than happy to team up, so I gave her directions and wished her well.

Went home via the road and Durham St – supposedly a quiet Brooklyn back road, but just when I’m on it clogged by oafs in trucks and vans. One just about backed into me.

13-5-07 Anna’s birthday. Mum was here with her car so got to go for a quick ride away from the TT. Left the car at Karori Park and went up Wahine onto the Skyline track to Mt Kaukau. Trundled along but had to turn back at the bottom of the final climb up to Mt Kaukau due to time constraints. A bit frustrating, but still a good ride. I monstered most of the climbs, only slipping off on one steep wet grassy bit (I recall it being a nemesis before) and a part where I missed that the bike track went left and followed the walking track up a rocky, grassy vertical bit. Amazingly, I got up and only came off where the track levelled and I couldn’t make the turn. There was one bit of a descent I bailed on – again this was on the walking track while the bike track went off round the side. I seem to recall balking at it once before, too.

The weather was overcast with a slight breeze – a great day to do this track. I turned back about one and half hours into the ride: Karori Park to Kaukau is further than you think. It took about an hour and a quarter to get back.

6-5-07 Round south coast and up Long Gully climb. Couldn’t get over Hell’s gate. Tried 10 times! Couldn’t generate enough momentum so was relying on grip and balance, both of which deserted me. Frustrating. Found the Long Gully climb long and hard. A steady NWer head wind, but not gusty. A dog came up behind me and barked at the farm as I was starting the climb from the farm up to Te Kopu, which has never happened to me before. That climb is steep and I found it very hard going. I’m not as fit as I was. Still, I made it (using bottom gear) and then made the Te Kopu trig using the grass between the wheel ruts. I was in cloud and drizzle by now. Surprised five horses on the road to the Golfball. Spooky.

Headed down Red Rocks, as was feeling better. Cleaned hard climb first pop by fluke – my front wheel went onto a bad line at the top and lifted but somehow the back gripped and I got over the lip. By rights I should have come off. Sometimes luck does play a part in Mt Biking – it’s not always ability. The 3^rd climb took two goes because of that sodding gorse bush on the right near the bottom. It’s right in the line and trying to go up on the gravel is risky because it’s so loose. Cleaned the descent to the gate – I love the sound of my front wheel hitting the gate! Home round the coast. The whole ride took about two and half hours, which feels long because I recall in the good old days going up the TT down to RR then round the coast and up LG-Te Kopu-Golfball and down the TT in about 3 hours – so I’m really slowing up.

4-5-07 TT 32.04. Splits 7.00, 15.00. Perfect weather – sunny, still – but no breeze so too hot. Blew out. No energy so gave up. Put my hand in a gorse bush at the top gate so made a has of it and came off 3 times after the gate!

Down Sanctuary, Car Parts, Planet (cleaned). Wet and slippery. Back via Happy Valley Road. Cars and trucks managed to spoil it.

1-5-07 Road ride round Mirimar Peninsular via Ben Wilde’s to repay him for paying my medical expenses after I crashed at Makara Peak and smashed my helmet.

30-4-07 Bike in via Mt Albert and Mt Vic. Cold and dark and rain coming home.