Paul Petch

One of those rides…

The mission was simple. Ride to Godley Head and beat the threat of an incoming cold front and sleet n’ snow. Yeah that’s right- 3rd October and snow. Anyhow- Brent pulled the pin due to being sick so Spencer and I headed upwards and over.

Things were sweet until the much dreaded and sadly anticipated flat on the Castle Rock track. Damn- how I hate pinch flats and so so over them on the Wolf. After attempting to bend the Syncros rim back and throwing in a new tube – off we went.

On the first rocky part of the Greenwood Track- another fu&*ing pinch flat! This time we opted for lunch as I patched the tube…..and Spencer commented that when we get to hell we will both be given the job of fixing inner tubes day in ….day out. Haha.

Things got better at this point, but it’s not not quite the same riding technical trails with a “paranoid” PSI in the back. Saying that, I had no issues what so ever climbing up the Godley Track and was pretty much in the zone all day- over cooking pretty much every part of the track which was super fast in parts and super dry too.

Sadly, we saw another heli-vac on route that seems to be a fairly regular sight in the hills. Apparently a rider had had an over the bars moment that ended in a fence post and face contact. OUCH. The medical team do a fantastic job here, and as much as I hate to see a rider down, it is good to know that that are just a quick flight away if it turns to shit.

By the time we hit the Anaconda it was seriously windy up there and Spencer recommended that we don’t launch of kickers on the way down. Of course I just launched off everything until one of them, with a huge sideward gust “flew me” at least 5 metres forward to bottom out the PIKES and slam me and the bike into the track ledge. The 661 pads saved my right knee today- and aside from a huge choco starfish moment- I walked away unhurt. One “side effect” of being a little fitter than I’m accustomed to of late is that I seem to be pushing my limits alot more than usual. Note to self- CHILL THE FU&K OUT :D

Onto Sumner we went for coffee and wedges- and tried best to avoid the hoards of mongs that seem to appear on que in Sumner when the sun is out. The headwind was brutal on the way back to the smoke and really added another level of quad burn to some already well used legs. Accompanying Spencer home, I then headed off to get fantastically lost and ended up somewhere in Christchurch that resembled a ghetto. Using the Porthills as a reference, I got even more lost…and before I knew it I was pedaling for about 2hrs by the time I rolled home. lol- I’m so terrible at navigating….anything. Luckily, I’m training at the moment for the Kepler, so the “extra yard” worked well- but I was pretty thirsty,  “sun baked”  and  close to broke after being in the saddle for 6 hours or so today. Damn….the head wind was brutal and of course from every direction- Christchurch style.

This week I’ll be sorting out the conversion of my current wheel set to tubeless, as well as swapping over some current kit for what I hope will work better. More about that later. One thing is for sure though, I’ve had enough of the Specialized Eskars- as the side walls are like paper. I’m keen for some Continental Rubber Queens now…..in 2.4 too…..so that should fix it!

Today I got a bit sun kissed and windswept, while tomorrow I’ll watch movies and warm myself next to an open fire while it snows……you have got to love Springtime in Christchurch!

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Related posts:

1. Wolf Ridge ride 4 & 5
2. Mountain biking weekend. Porthills & Mcleans Island
3. Mountain biking at Hamner Springs
4. Richard’s visit. Ride five. Port Hills to Taylors Mistake
5. Rapaki track in second ring *thumbs up*

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Bike Rides and tagged with port hills, spencer, Trails & Rides, weather. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.