Paul Petch

Craigieburn mountain biking with Mark & Ricco!

After a week up North, Richard and Mark went via Wellington to Nelson before arriving late Wednesday in Gotham (Christchurch). I chose a few rides my Aussie guests at Craigieburn and the Wharfedale to show them what the trails in Canterbury are like. If time was on our side I would have loved to have taken them up along the Port Hills but maybe next time!

Heading to Craigieburn the weather forecast was not to good at all with heavy rain and thunder storms greeting us on route. We all had a waterproof and were determined to ride it no matter what- but fortunately once we arrived the wind blew the sky clear and we were peeling off layers on the climb. Up we went….and up…and up. My pace was a bit labored as I knew what was coming and the legs were really sleepy too- meanwhile the guys had some good climbing legs. With some photo stops and a bit of mucking about we were at the scree traverse before we knew it. One minute it was icy cold and then humid warm…in typical Craigieburn fashion none of us knew what to wear!

Last time I rode this track was a few years ago (we often ride over the other scree side) and the first thing that stood out was how much longer the traverse trail actually is. Infact it even has a wee descent that i’d plain forgot about. With epic views and a true mountain track, Mark and Richard were just blown away :) As for the riding, it did catch them off guard with the track being absolutely soaking wet and so so greasy. Mid Summer and true Canterbury style though! The forecast has snow over the next few days…… hmmmm.

The climb to the saddle was so wet that the guys pushed up this section as they could not get any traction over and up the rooty step ups. I really love technical climbs- both wet and dry- so grinded up and cleared the whole climb. But what a ball breaker it was with the new tyres and sodden surface! Man it’s satisfying to clear such a technical section though! With some food and more bitching about poor tyre choice from Richard we then did something a bit different and pushed our steeds up to the Lyndon Saddle to take in the mind bending 360 degree views. Descending back down across the ridge line would also be a bonus!

With winds so strong that we could physically lean into them and not fall over we had a few minutes sight seeing and photo snapping before checking our bikes over and pointing them downwards. Hitting the scree was great fun and what a nice addition to the ride it was! We were down near the bottom before we knew it and the guys were stoked to have seen Craigieburn with such a clear sky after such a miserable start to the day. I really recommend this hike-a-bike if you ever ride at Cragieburn because you just don’t get these views other wise which is a shame when you have climbed 1200M! This is a walking track so we respected that :)

The guys were a tad nervous as we let go of the brakes and headed down “the luge” and in typical “Wolf” fashion I was at warp speed without even trying! Wet, greasy, soggy and sloppy would describe the Luge descent this time around and I was on the edge of my skills all the way down. The Rubber Queens were like I was cheating…and just stuck to everything! Dropping or launching off roots into root gardens were just a snack for the Rubber Queens and even braking into the wet loose stuff found them providing ooooodles of grip. Wow….what a set of tyres! I did come unstuck a few times though due to to much speed into turns and pumping off drops into what looked like solid ground to find soft and sinky earth….that was really hard to control!

With camera in hand I waited for the Aussies who in the challenging conditions and was not disappointed! I’m now really happy to catch by riding buds in action with such a smooth camera! I remember when I first moved to NZ from Australia where it is dry and a bit rocky,  so I can relate to how different the trails are here. Dry and rocky all equate to natural traction whereas wet roots, slippery mud and technical ledges are an acquired taste and take a completely different approach to staying upright. Saying that, the guys made it down in one piece so you can’t ask for more than that! Did they enjoy the technical down though? I’m not sure to be honest!

You have to love the Craigieburn! It’s gorgeous!

Heaps more images here at Flickr

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Related posts:

1. Last of the summer mountain biking – Craigieburn
2. Mountain Biking at Woodend & the You Yangs….
3. Mountain biking at Craigieburn
4. Richard’s visit. Ride four. Craigieburn (Photo rich!)
5. A sunny afternoon of Mountain Biking in the Port Hills

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at 9:28 am and is filed under Bike Rides and tagged with craigieburn, mark, richard, South Island, Trails & Rides. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.