Re: cycling

Category: Ride

  • Back to the Meta HT

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    Today was the first ride on the Meta for three months. As much as I love the Kona and the advantages of a full squish, it felt insanely good to be back on a bike that fits me.

    It’s hard to quantify but the Meta is such a good climber, I did feel I was expending much less energy on the climbs. Oddly, the steepest parts of the Karepa Vomitron were perhaps more difficult on the HT.

    Downhill it feels intense and fast, it’s not, but every single sensation of the trail is heightened.

    Getting used to the brakes gave me the shits a few times, the Zeds really are superb completed to the Guides, that might be something I consider changing if I keep the bike in the long term.

    It is probably foolish to keep riding a hardtail, but today’s short visit to Waimapihi was a lot of fun.

  • Quarterly review

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    It’s been a little while between posts, here are a few reflections.

    • There’s been slightly better weather the last month so I’ve been able to get out a lot more, 10 rides in October, 2 in Setpember, and 9 in August. I want to be out there a lot more and aim for 15 in November if the weather allows it.
    • Getting a few days in at Mākara was fun, getting back to trails like Northface, Zacs and Upper Starfish (now renamed Ridgeline Extension) which was great fun. Ridgeline Extension is a fantastic trail.
    • The obvious truth that improved fitness results in improved technique and performance has been brought into sharp focus – it certainly gets easier the more frequently you do it.
    • Riding the full sus is much less fatiguing on the long downhills.
    • An inpromptu cornering wānanga on Northface meant for a few turns corning really fell into place. These lessons were soon forgotten, but I hope I’ll be able to reconnect with that feeling again soon.
    • A modest achievement in getting around the right hander that has always stuffed me up on Northface.

  • Full squish

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    I have been very fortunate to have the use of a full suspension bike for the last three weeks. It’s a great bike, and while it’s a size too big for me, it is still an amazing ride.

    Strava has not recorded fast times on it in Waimapihi, in fact it’s been pretty slow compared to my times on the Meta HT, but today it came alive on the bigger and wider trails at Mākara.

    Peak Flow was incredible. It took about a third of the trail to realise how much faster I could go. The first third felt slow as I adjusted, but the final half felt very quick despite the wet and slippery conditions.

    I happened upon a new grade 3 called Kārearea. I’d decided to go down Zac’s on a whim. I enjoy Zac’s, but finding a brand new trail at the end was a very happy moment.

    Kārearea is a stupid amount of fun, a proper smooth flow trail, and I cannot wait to get back there. It does have a few quite sharp corners, but the berms are still in good shape. Coupled with T4 from the Mākara saddle there is a new fun G3 loop that doesn’t require starting from the main carpark.

    This ride nearly didn’t happen at all, but I am so glad that I did manage to make it up the hill despite the missteps getting ready.

    Today was a truly wonderful ride, I was buzzing.

  • Notes on the last few months

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    Firstly, the bottom bracket is squeaking a lot less, the last few rides not at all in fact.

    I finally have some proper flat riding shoes. I can’t tell if they make any difference, but they seem absolutely fine so far.

    I had a three week hiatus from riding due to travel and unusually wet weather. I did notice my high screw adjustment was out, there was chatter in the mid range, and the chain came off the small gear while I was riding. I’ve tuned it up and hope for the best tomorrow.

    I have had an amazing few days of riding. Today was the fifth in a row. I’ve done a mix of Waimapihi and Mākara. Today was a so so run down Serendipity, and yesterday included an exhilarating attempt on Upper Starfish.

  • Upper Starfish #3

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    I had booked a day off work and managed to fit in a ride, I was very very keen to do Upper Starfish again. I almost cleaned it – I had to dab in one corner to make it around; and one rooty crest stopped me. Apart from that all the harder stuff that stopped me the previous two days I got through in the first attempt. I was absolutely rapt.

    To me it is one of those trails I need to ride a bit to really get the hang of it, but it does make me want to seek out more technical grade four trails. If I can get back to Mākara this week after work, and assuming it stays dry, I will attempt lower Starfish as well.

    For a short period I was the only person at the top, unlike Sunday where there were 12 to 15 riders when I arrived.

  • Mākara, Starfish

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    Fantastic ride at Mākara today.

    I started Peak Flow with the fork locked, and it was very jarring. It reminded me of riding it on the Roscoe. The Yari really is a huge improvement.

    Finding Smokin’ closed I ended up doing Upper Starfish quite reluctantly. But boy oh boy was it fun. I did have issues in a few places, but I’m keen to return tomorrow and have another turn.

  • November review

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    My two November goals were:

    1. Ride the Tip Track by the end of the month;
    2. Ride from the top of Brooklyn Hill to the bottom (ie Carparts to Ikigai to Serendipity) by the end of the month.

    If things go well I will attempt the tip track over the weekend.

    I achieved the top-to-bottom goal today in slightly wet track conditions. It was an incredible ride, Carparts was difficult as always, but I received some genuine encouragement from another rider that I found meaningful.

    Ikigai’s corners were a problematic as ever, but it was fun.

    Serendipity was quite damp and the roots were slick. I was over cautious and avoided taking on a couple of features, which I am very keen to clean next time.

    I rode on 15 days, and according to Strava, I rode the farthest in the month since April.

  • Harry’s first trail rides

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    Harry took the new-old Trek Precaliber 24 on his first two trail rides. We rode Highbury Fling, which was perfect for him.

    There was a huge difference between day one and day two, he rode the trail completely the second day. Just amazing.

  • Lunchtime ride improvements

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    After spending May focusing on climbing the Fenceline trail, my lunchtime ride since the end of June and into the start of July have been downhill focused.

    I figured it was possible to get an Ikigai loop coming back up Transient well within an hour, and even a second lap if I took a shortcut up the vomitron that is the Karepa Killah on the way home.

    Today I was able to get in the Ikigai – Serendipity – Transient loop in just over an hour. I did linger in a couple of spots, so I reckon it’s doable in 50-55 minutes.

    The times on Serendipity should improve by a few minutes once I can ride the damn thing without stopping.

    The Transient uphill from the bottom was apparently 28 minutes, which is not an athletes time, but I was pretty chuffed, and if I can shave a few minutes off over the next couple of months it all helps.

  • Serendipity

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    I finally rode Serendipity. While it was hairy, it was no where near as tough as I was expecting, even though there are a couple of segments that I cannot even attempt at the moment.

    The conditions were wet, slippery, and in places the mud was very thick. In the dry it would be considerably easier to ride.

    I need to trust myself to roll a couple of the features and trust the bike to manage – which of course it will, as long as I don’t misuse the brakes.

    Saturday’s ride was pretty big by my standards – two trips up and down Ikigai and Serendipity.