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.
