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.

Fantastic ride down the hill, I again had a clear run with no vehicles behind me. I was able to get a good line the whole way down, completing the descent in less than 2 minutes. The wind was behind me which also helped. According to Strava I clocked 60km/hr.

But it was coooooold, I was gloveless and my thumbs in particular were numb by the time I got to the office.

The ride up was OK, the wind was weird and I was buffeted a few times which I don’t recall having happened before.

Fantastic ride down the hill, I managed to sneak in front of a bus which held back the traffic and gave me the chance for a fast run. My confidence had increased and I’m far more comfortable zipping down the hill, and am nowhere near as reliant on my brakes.

I would have gone under 2 minutes except for a car that was blocking the road toward the bottom of the run with an awkward 3 point turn, it killed my momentum.

I also did pretty well with red lights and had one of my faster trips to the office

The ride up was coooooold, and reasonably uneventful.

Even though it was wet I managed to top 55km/hr on the way down the hill (if Strava is to believed).

The way up felt a little harder than usual, but was reasonably uneventful.

I was unwell for much of last week so avoided riding. Even though the road was wet (and it’s reasonable dark at 7ish in the morning). It was fun to be on the bike and an exhilarating ride down.

The ride up was quieter than usual, possibly because it was the school holidays. I made a point of riding pretty slowly, but somehow made one of my fastest ascents.

Nice enough ride down today, the road was wet at my place but dried out as I headed down the hill. I may have held up a car on the way down, but I was doing around 50km/hr for the half a kilometre that it was behind me, so I doubt it would have tried to pass.

The way up felt like hard work. The traffic is pretty steady again, and riding in rain has so far been pleasant enough, it is not so nice with traffic. I think my confidence is still recovering a little from the last two rides and the close calls.

A quick zip down the hill in the wet with a lot of traffic. To complicate things there were some pretty decent wind gusts. I was super careful until the traffic cleared about half way down the hill when I found I could sit in the middle of the lane and avoid slippery street markings. Nice ride overall, and once I was off the main street there was little traffic to contend with.

The ride up was a little wet also, but the rain had stopped. I went a little mad and decided to ride up the through one of the bush tracks through Central Park. It was much better than last time I tried in January, but I was forced to stop twice and walk.

The track was wet, with a few roots that I could feel my rear wheel slipping over, and the track was soft with mud and saturated leaf litter.

Traction was fine, but I was careful to apply low power as much as possible in a low gear. But the incline was too steep in places and forced me to stop. I’m determined to get up that track at some point, but even a seasoned mountain biker said that route was a tough one.

It’s another new challenge for me as I am determined to ride up it without stopping.