One of my very first rides took me to the Skyline track in the hills above Wellington, where I found myself immediately out of my depth.
I returned there on Saturday, and got the familiar feeling of being outmatched by its steep and in places slippery inclines and narrow trails. However, I spent about an hour on the bike and overall it was enjoyable, even if that was down to the wonderful weather.
I needed to time box the ride, and will return soon to see how much further I can get, as I’m sure I can:
It was great to leave work a little early and head to the trail for the second Friday in a row.
For me at the moment there is no such thing as a bad ride. But tonight was challenging. The way up was good, and almost the fastest time. But I lost my nerve on the way down, and had several controlled dismounts on the switchbacks.
My left hand index finger got pretty cold and numb, I was worried I’d struggle to brake.
It felt like my progress plateaued, which instinct tells me is a good thing.
I was overall unfocused and undisciplined, and need to do better tomorrow.
It was a beautiful morning for a quick ride down the hill. For the first time I was confident enough to ride down in my normal clothes.
I used the new Cateye Quick speedometer for the first time. Coming down the hill it was too dark to see anything. Once I was in the city and passing under street lights it was super easy to read.
When I started out the track was muddy from some reasonably heavy rain in the night. The carpark was also busier than I’d seen it before. It threw me a little and I had a couple of dismounts really early on, and in awkward places. I regained my composure a little, and also had the idea to lock the shocks back in once I got to the top of the first climb, as I presumed this had contributed to my difficulties the day before.
Being a little short on time, I headed back down Lazy Fern almost immediately. It felt much better for having the shocks locked on, and was (I recall) pretty uneventful, but good fun. My speed control is getting better on what is now becoming a familiar trail. There were a few times where the mud was so thick it felt like I had minimal control over the bike, which was both fun and a little freaky.
It turned out that was my fastest run up Koru (by a bit) and down Lazy Fern (only just).
I headed straight back up, and was VERY surprised to pass a couple of pairs of riders. I got chatting to one pair at the top, and I was incredibly inspired by them. One was from Sri Lanka, and had been cycling for about 3 months. He tried to get to Makara most weekends, and I was incredibly impressed at the tracks he’d taken and his overall attitude to giving it a go. It really inspired me that I need to learn and ride in my way and in my own time, I found speaking with him powerful validation.
I was so inspired, in fact, that I decided to ride down SWIGG. Now that was an adventure, as within the first 100 metres or so I was forced to stop four times as the going was rough and really muddy. I was pretty nervous and really wondering if it was the right thing for me to continue – I figured I’d walk if it got too hairy.
Well it improved pretty quickly – holy moly that is a FUN trail to ride. The switchbacks had lovely big berms that helped give me a little more confidence on some of them.
There was very little time to think as for me the trail came on twisty and fast. I recall using a little too much rear brake on one section where it suddenly got quite steep (and narrow, and rocky), but I was able to recover and continue.
I think I used my weight a little better and was getting my butt back over the rear axle a lot more than usual, which I found seemed to help in the switchbacks and on the steep stuff.
While it was far from a perfect run, or even a half decent run, I felt pretty stoked to have had a go at another track, especially one that was much more challenging.
The bike was pretty dirty before this ride, but was really filthy afterwards. I gave it a clean before heading home, and a second, longer clean once I got home. It was still a little dirty after that!
Got up to the carpark very early and hit the trails. It was a nice day, just cruising around the green trails. I realised that my shocks were locked out, so I loosened them for the first ride down. I really struggled, and had a couple of “semi-controlled dismounts”, shall we say, on the switchbacks.
It was pretty fun though, and I am still at the stage where I am so bad at this every little thing feels like a big improvement.
Due to all sorts of car related shenanigans I did not ride Tuesday through to Thursday. Friday was a welcome relief as I had the opportunity for a superb ride at the Makara Peak park after work. I ended up leaving work a little later than anticipated, but still managed a good 40 minute ride, as the light began to fail, especially under the canopy of the Makara bush.
My confidence was up, and while the tracks were pretty muddy, it was pretty good overall.
It was my fastest time up Koru so far. I had a way better time on the way down on the switchbacks, which helped my confidence no end.
Today was my third consecutive day at Makara Peak. I did the three trails I’m familiar with and also cruised up the 4WD track to see what was a little further up the hill. I came back via Big Tom’s Wheelie which had a couple of fun features on it.
Going up was pretty straightforward, despite the track being very wet. I don’t think I stopped at all.
My time on the Magic Carpet Ride was a lot better than yesterday, although still above the average reported on Trailforks.
The thought of coming down Lazy Fern in the wet freaked me out, but it went pretty well. The straightish downhills were really fun, and the Roscoe was extremely forgiving. The switchbacks were much easier today, I was generally far more in control than the previous two days. If anything I was too slow, but that’s what I need to learn to do if I’m going to take on SWIGG. The technique I used on some of the switchbacks (that is when I was together enough to think) was to feather the rear brake in the turn, I think it made a huge difference in terms of speed and control.
When I got back to the car park and was considering going up again, I found myself thinking “that was AWESOME”!
After the ride I fitted the Cateye Quick Wireless Computer, aka a speedometre, which was a bit of a faff. I gave it a quick test and it seemed to work and be consistent with Strava. It’s cleverly designed, simple, provides just what I need, appears to be easy to read, and looks great too.
A wet and dirty Trek Roscoe 7 prior to cleaning, and a blackbird.
Wow another fun morning ride on the green trails. I discovered the Magic Carpet Ride which was well within my limited skill set and great fun.
It was also the seventh day in a row I’ve ridden, which for me felt significant.
I had a couple of issues on the switchbacks coming down Lazy Fern, and came off the bike very awkwardly (at very low speed) on one of them. I need to work on my speed and timing entering and leaving the corners. Ironically, despite that incident I felt that my technique was better than yesterday and that I was in more control in the switchbacks.
I was avoiding using the front brake and feathering the rear brake as needed, which did seem to give a lot more control. I was not hanging on for dear life like yesterday.
The other indicator that I’d marginally improved was the considerably faster time down to the carpark.
Fantastic ride and first experience at the Makara Bike Park. It’s a fantastic initiative and I loved the green trails I rode on. Here are a few thoughts and lessons from the ride:
As I got fatigued, my head dropped and I didn’t look far enough ahead – I have to practice staying focused.
I stopped to eat about half way through my hour there, it made a huge difference once it kicked in. This is something I need to keep doing.
I also rested a few times, more for a mental break than anything else.
The switchbacks, which were described as easy, were fine on the way up, challenging on the way down. I learned to look through them as much as possible, which made it easier. The second time down I completed them all and coped with all but two reasonably well, I noticed how tense I was, really gripping the handlebars. I need to loosen up.
The second time on the Lazy Fern was FUN. I can’t wait to get back there.
The facilities at Makara are amazing, and I can’t wait to explore it more.
I also need to stop worrying about people behind me, they’ll make themselves known if they need to pass
I also wore the Fox Enduro Pro knee and shin pads I’d got at Burkes for the first time. I thought they’d be really uncomfortable, but in fact they were so comfy I forgot I had them on.
I’ve ridden 5 days in a row, which I’m pretty stoked about. I was on annual leave and in between the things I’d planned to do I also wanted to get a ride in, which once again was down the south coast.
The sand was everywhere and was very soft for much of the trail, but I rode far more this time than last month when I walked quite some distance. I was getting the hang of the soft stuff following advice from a gentleman who said to keep my weight back and on the seat, stay in a big gear, and hold the handlebars lightly. Heading back from Sinclair Head I was much more efficient on the sand.
I got to use the gloves I bought yesterday, the Raceface Ruxton. Fortunately I only needed them to protect me from the cold, but they’ll be more important for singletrack adventures.
