Sunday 28 January 2007 - Tooling around Oxford Falls

Ah, about time we had a real disaster on our hands... Today was supposed to be a newbie day, and we had planned a relatively gentle local ride, with some exploration thrown in for good measure (in theory, finding the 'missing link' from the old Oxford Falls tracks just before Morgan Road, to the downhill track from the Bahai Temple).

Alas and alack, it was not to be. Our newbie turned out to need confirmation that the ride was on (oops, should have thought of that!), and so didn't turn up.

Doug, Brian, Rees, Joe, Ed and Stephe were starters (good to have both Joe and Ed back for a ride occasionally), and figured we'd press on with the original plan anyway, to try and find anything interesting...



Well, it turns out there *isn't* anything interesting down that set of trails. Some fairly dull fire trail that meanders down and around a creek at the bottom. The only interesting looking bit was a climb straight up the side of the valley which, after much consternation / discussion / mutiny proposals, we attempted to walk up... It was a long, slow, hot hike-a-bike section, and at the top was a boring section of 2km fire trail leading to Mona Vale Road.

By this time, Brian's bursitis had started giving him serious grief, Rees needed to be home, and generally, we wussed it - rode back along the tarmac to Morgan Road and prepared to go home.

An overview of the meander, and the profile:




To add insult to injury, Joe then decided we were such pea hearts that he shot off for a lap of the XC circuit around Oxford Falls on his own!!

The photo and plot are here...

Sunday 21 January 2007 - Redhill / Oxford Falls loop

For a ride that we do a lot, it's amazing just how much fun can be had at Redhill / Oxford Falls...

We were honoured with the company of Matt P. this morning, who met up with T-Bone, Whisperer and Stephe at 7am parked just outside the gates of the Sport & Rec centre, then joined by Doug and Rees (parking down at the Lake, so as to keep a low profile!).

Set off through Sport & Rec without incident, up the big climb into Redhill, and straight into silliness with a dash down Red Rock (whereupon it became clear that Matt was a competent rider, and all thought of us having a good time being mean to him fell to pieces). T-Bone was showing some early fine form, and must now be in competition with Richard for the "mountain bikers who are actually good but still need to get over it" hubris award (although, to be fair, T-Bone's much less painful than Richard ever was!).



Whisperer and Stephe tried to lead a mutiny - to take the longer route down behind the playground at Lady Penryhn Drive - but it was soon quashed, to be added to the trip some other day when everyone's not in such a rush... So, off we went down Whisperer's singles track...



and then out on to the famed Redhill technical section. Much fun had - T-Bone remaining the only one to wheelie drop the big drop at the end, but at least he had more company riding down the other various trick bits in that area.



Finally, after much general playing about - we headed down from Redhill to the pumping station on Wakehurst Parkway, across the road and up the hill into Oxford Falls. Some good technical work on the far side (climbing the single track to the fire trail was fun!), and then a quick break in the shade for apples and Nana's cornflake cookies...

The ride down the XC track was ultimately led by Matt, at the sort of pace one would expect from someone who wasn't aware that his companions were tired old men (T-Bone excepted!).



Tragically, that rush came to an abrupt end when Matt slid out at the bottom of the XC track on the nasty loose gravel - giving him a very attractive spurting red blood fountain where once his elbow had been. Following extensive consultation on the appropriate medical treatment (ranging from ignorant to dangerously incompetent!) we confirmed that three separate people had a medical kit but had chosen today not to bring it along... ah, sad cases indeed. [And, Doug - no photos!!!]

Despite the lack of decent care, Matt soldiered on and we had a great finish down the firetrail into Deep Creek (with Stephe executing a perfect 'over the handlebars' on wimp rock - burning it even more fiercely into his mind as a guaranteed loser - T-Bone, of course, nailed it).



Scooted along the singe track beside the creek, with much fun and the weather just beginning to warm up.

Pretty well everyone (well, excluding Matt, who just kept bleeding!) was in fine form by the time we got back to the cars - well early, and off to recover many brownie points from spouses and spouse equivalent units.



The full set of photos are to be found here...

Thursday 18 January 2007 - Two Creeks Track

A quick evening blast by T-Bone and Stephe, leaving Middle Cove around 5.00pm, and back not long after 6.30pm. Up the road to the top of the Roseville Bridge, down under the bridge, out to Lindfield along the Two Creeks Track, and then back again.

On the way back, we checked out the alternate route (avoiding riding down the road to Roseville Bridge - always a good idea!), which was via Echo Point Park. A good safe alternative for when we try to do the track with some young 'uns...

Stephe was very excited to ride from Middle Cove to the gates at the back of Tryon Road without a single foot dab... The climb up the loose rock section was a monster, and the drop down the final section to the fire trail managed to scare the daylights out of almost everyone in the region (including a poor cyclist trying to walk his bike up at the time). Both Stephe and T-Bone managed to do the return journey with just a walk up the stairs, and a single dab while climbing the section immediately afterward - a very satisfying way to end the day!

Sunday 14 January 2007 - Coba Point

Although it wasn't quite the old saying "you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone" (they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot), it was still good to be back to Coba Point to see what we'd been missing all this time (primarily, because we followed Doug's negative reviews of the place!).

In short, it's a hoot - and should be one of our regular rides. Lots of loose rocky bits make the technical sections challenging (up *and* down), there's quite a bit of just riding on good quality single track, and a good selection of up hill and back again to keep everyone guessing. Add to this, the fantastic drop which is Smuggler's Ridge, and you've got a seriously good ride...

However, as Doug, Brian, Rees and Stephe found out (and only them, given that a bunch of folk who had asked for directions never quite made it... (Justin??)), Coba Point is *not* for the faint-hearted when the sun comes out! Particularly not with the hills at the end - check out this profile:



All the photos, profile, track etc (221 of them!) are to be found here, some samples in the following notes:

We kicked off around 7.30am, from the 'not really a car park' at the end of the road, and headed off out along the 'out and back' ride to Coba Point itself. An excellent warm up, with the odd bit of technical fun thrown in for amusement (although Doug was not amused).



At the Coba Point end, a local property owner had put in place ever more extreme obstructions to try to slow down motorbikes, so we actually pulled the pin about 500m before the Point and headed back. By the time we came back past the cars, it was clear that it was getting hot, and there was some element of trepidation about the next bit...

The ride along Smugglers Ridge is initially a firetrail, merging into single track at the end with plenty of speed and smooth enough riding. But the fun started with the drop down into the valley below, with lots of spectating and some interesting opportunites:



Tragically, though - it wasn't long before that behaviour, turned into this:



Which ultimately, of course, led to this - the single most spectacular mountain bike 'off' we've seen in recent times (yet another Brian special, again with no real negative outcome!):



(did we look appropriately concerned?).

In any case, we made it to the bottom in essentially one piece (albeit with a few bruises, and battered bits), cruised out to the Orchard to show Rees - and then started the hill climb out (remember the profile?!). Stephe made the first water bar on the first hill, and then walked the rest, Rees did marginally better, Doug had a good shot as well, and Brian probably rode about 30% of the first hill. After that, Brian pretty well rode the balance of the hills, Doug did a similar job, Rees was a legend, and Stephe kept walking.

We'd all finished our water by the time we started the hills, the temperature had hit 35°C with the sun blasting off the white gravel, and we were knackered:



But - we made it out, we drank a lot, and a few days later - we were happy! If you haven't done this ride: do yourself a favour!

All the photos, profile, track etc (221 of them!) are to be found here.

Sunday 7 January 2007 - Mooney (debacle!)

Ah, 'tis sad how badly Mooney treats you when it wants to. Today was a classic example, not of Brian's exultation "Mooney, how we luv ya", but much more of a "Oh, Mooney, please don't treat me so bad...".

The day started well, with overcast skies and a bit of rain taking the place of the 35°C forecast - almost perfect conditions in fact. Unfortunately, most of the crew (Doug, Richard, Rees, T-Bone and Stephe) were suffering from post New Year's day malaise... (well, except T-Bone, who appears to never suffer any sort of malaise - other than at the 30km mark of a good ride!).



Stephe felt somewhat vindicated when he made the first little hill climb (before the serious stuff), without any serious attempt from anyone else. But it was short lived - arriving at the Creek Crossing to many chants of "well, Brian can do it, don't see why you can't", he bit the dust (or, in this case, slippery dangerous nasty rock!) very quickly...

Doug and T-Bone then did the big climb, albeit with a number of touches - while Richard and Stephe went back to rescue Rees with a broken derailleur hanger (and no spare). Richard tried converting the bike to a single speed (with much breaking and re-joining of the chain), all to no avail, and Rees started the long walk out after insisting that the rest of the crew push on at least to the top of the hill. Just before we finished, Doug and T-Bone had worked out we were missing (it was only 3o minutes later - quick thinking boys!).

The hill climb was long and hard (worse for for Doug and T-Bone doing it again) and Richard managed to go over the bars at the top - told you it was one of those days.

We stopped briefly, and then turned around for the blast down the hill - with T-Bone travelling well beyond the posted speed limit and scaring everyone behind him witless (not sure what his mental state was!). Richard then managed a front flat on the way down the hill, and it wasn't until much later that T-Bone worked out we weren't all still behind him (see a pattern emerging here?).

All in all, it was a good ride to get the cobwebs out - but not one of our more memorable journeys...

Doug has some photos (including the embarrassing GPS plot - 17kms in total) - the full set is here, some samples below.

Thursday 28 December 2006 - Redhill via Bahai Temple (The Missing Link)

Updated: Report from Whisperer on "The Missing Link"

Doug, T-Bone, Brian and Whisperer met at sport and rec for the regular loop of Red Hill, Aerodrome and Deep Creek.

It started out with a quick scoot across the sport and rec driveways and up the hill (along the way, it appears that we missed our chance to chat to one of the local management as we climbed to the top of the hill and through the gate, given our intense focus on the task at hand!).

We continued onward, had the regular attempts at the ledges on the way down, with some brave attempts at launching off the rocks rather than rolling through.

T-Bone is starting to grow wings, and without wanting to encourage him further, did get some impressive air.

The ride continued uneventfully down to deep creek, where while tooling around watching Brian in one of his do-or-die attempts to get up and over a sizable rock, we noticed a track veering off and heading north. This was a fresh single track and excellent fun. We wound through the single track in a blissful state savoring every twist and turn, just hoping it would never end. But alas, all good things do end and we were faced with a long steep climb. Too steep to ride, but it seemed at first that it couldn’t be that far. Whisperer forged ahead, and the crew vainly followed, just hoping the next crest would be the top.

After an interminable climb it leveled out, and onto a rock platform. We continued along a fire trail curious to find where it all began. Doug consulted the GPS and soon we found ourselves on Mona Vale rd just below the Bahai Temple. At long last after many previous expeditions we had found the way through!

At this point Brian was in dire need to get home and meet a critical deadline (we had strayed far from the original plan).

Fortunately the return journey was predominantly downhill, and an absolute blast. The uphill walking section was over in a flash, grins all round, as we rolled over boulders, north shore ladders, planks over creeks and back through the magic single track. We made it to the car with 10 minutes for Brian to get home, (and apparently with Doug driving, he made it in time!).

All in all an excellent adventure, but we’ll need to come in from the top next time to miss the long slog up the hill. That’ll probably require some tricky car logistics but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Pictures here, including GPS and a bunch of short video extracts, mainly of the technical redhill ledge section... Some samples below.

Also, for those that want it, here's the GPS details of the trail (should be called 20061228-RedHill.gpx, if it comes down as an .xml file, save it and rename it!).

Saturday 23 December 2006 - Redhill

A couple of hardy souls braved the cold and slightly wet weather (Doug, Brian, Rees and Stephe) and went out for what turned out to be a *very* short ride...

We dropped into the new bit of single track behind the playground at Redhill, meandered down to the unit blocks at the bottom (passing quite a bit of amusing jump work along the way), and then wound our way back up the hill to the 'standard' Redhill track.

Stephe managed to bend a brake disc on the journey (ah, the joys of explaining the cost / benefit analysis of mountain bike riding to the CFO!).

Doug took some photos, which are here. There is also a profile (which is appropriately labelled "pathetic profile").

Friday 22 December 2006 - Lindfield track

A short ride proving that life is good, and that you can have fun even if you only ride for under two hours!

Paul Jenzen brought along his mate Mark, who turned out to be a very good mountain bike rider indeed... Stephe made up the numbers, and kept the average talent pool at the appropriate level.

We met at the tennis courts at Tryon Road, and scooted out to Roseville Bridge, chatted for a while, then turned around and headed back.

No track, no gps, no photos - sorry!