hawkeye's blog

The cloud cover stayed all day and the forecast 29 degrees never arrived.

Well done to everyone who raced. It was quite a pedally course and the promised dusty and loose conditions were accurately predicted.

An interesting and thought provoking piece on singletracks.com.

Lots of long-term access is being lost in the US, arguably because of dominant trail user groups such as horse-riders and hikers simply not liking mountain bikes because they're "not like us" rather than because of any evidence-based reasoning. And our experience here has been much the same.

Trail braiding at the southern entrance to Bewildered Possum. This photo is taken facing back down towards the trail entrance (opposite to primary direction of travel for riders).

Notice the trail being beaten down to the left of the photo, avoiding the rocky area.

After riding 5 days out of 6 I think I found the young blokes limits today. Considering he's done very little riding recently he certainly exceeded my expectations. Ah, to be 18 again!

After a couple of passes around The Dipper, and a run down The Challenge that was blocked off during logging earlier in the week, and The Roadside Challenge it was enough. Time to head back for dinner.

He was still smiling though. His verdict on the week: "tough but fun" and keen to come back. "Dad, can you buy me a Cannondale Trigger? "

After a rest day yesterday where we just pootled around town, we caught the shuttle up to ride Corners back down the mountain again.

The second time around it seemed like it flowed much better and I was picking the lines more cleanly, but I was just as buggered by the time I got to the bottom. The quads and glutes were not burning so much but the hands were starting to let me know they being worked hard keeping me connected to the bars.

On today's menu was a couple of laps of The Dipper, Pig Track, Red Tank Rd, Bunny Jugs 1 and 2 (more fun and less scary second time around), then took the shuttle up to the top.

Today we learned I spoke too soon about the hills. But more on that in a moment.

On the way climb up Nursery Rd after the hikers' car park, we noticed an area blocked off with "construction zone" tape and warning signs. As part of the Crankworks early next year they are building a massive dual slalom track that looks like a cross between a two-lane luge and a dirt jump park among the massive redwoods. Amazing stuff. Will be one to watch on redbull.tv.

Just wanted to say thanks to kittheknightrider for his tips on where to stay in Rotorua. The Alpin is excellent. Close to the trails, a functional kitchen, free wifi, a bike wash, and very comfortable. Our suite has separate bedrooms for a very reasonable rate. A bike mounted atop the sign is a good clue they welcome mountain bikers.

We arrived yesterday and hit the trails for the first time today.

Highlights of todays riding were The Dipper, A Trail, Tickler, B Rude Not 2 and Mad If You Don't.

Just doing a bit of show-and-tell as I thought people might be interested in a lower-cost option than Enve and the other name brands.

I had these built up by Adrian Band at Belrose Bicycles from parts I supplied. Very pleased with the build quality.

Rims:
Light Bicycles bead-hookless 27mm wide tubeless carbon XC, UD matte finish 28H

Hubs:
Hope Pro II Evo 28H 40 engagement points rear 142x12
Lefty 28H front

Spokes and Nipples:
Sapim CX-Ray and Sapim Polyax black brass 14mm, laced 2-cross.

Total wheel weight excluding discs, cassette, rim tape and valves was 1445g.

I rocked up an hour late this morning due to a need to reschedule an appointment with the real estate agent, but that turned out well.

I arrived about the same time as a bunch of guys from Parkes who know their way around.

So while I didn't quite get the kilometres in I was hoping for (only 17) I had a great time following the wheels of some guys who knew their way around instead of having to fluff around with a map and a compass.