So, what to do with the day after 'booking' it out with the family as ride time? Ride, of course!
All sensibility went out the window when I decided that an early start would be best, ensuring I could return to Hamilton by early afternoon and still make good use of the fine weather during the remainder of the day. So it was that I drove out of the driveway at 6am, into the Waikato fog.
Yep, that's 2 degrees on the dashboard temperature gauge. It was 1 degree in the carpark at Rotorua and undoubtedly colder in the forest - ice!
Warm orb in the sky.
The ground was frozen over at the Waipa carpark and parts of the ground had heaved, so parts of the gravel appeared to kind of float over the rest of the ground and a good covering of hoarfrost made the carpark look clean and fresh. I'd stowed my bike in the boot of the car and left the car outside at home to allow for a quick and quiet getaway that morning. I threw the wheels on the bike and checked the speedo. Nothing. The screen was dark grey, presumably too cold to work with the almost flat batteries.
Thankfully I had thought carefully about what to wear, expecting sub-zero temperatures - the same as the previous day. I wrapped my 2006 World MTB Champs Buff over my head and pulled it down to cover my ears. I remember riding in the forest one winter with tears streaming down my face because of the pain in my ears from the cold air.
A lightweight merino and short sleeved riding jersey would be all I'd need under my soft shell Blast pullover from Krank. I've had this thing for years and it has served me so well. Some of the seams are starting to come undone and the zip might be ready to tear out at the bottom (current model is a full-zip jacket, much easier to use/wear), but this thing is far from dead yet. And it is very warm. I actually don't wear it riding very often as I can get too hot in it. It works great as day-to-day wear with just a t-shirt underneath though.
My bottom half was cosy and warm inside my favourite Twin Six bib shorts, Sub Wear knee warmers, and the superb Nzo Scuffer shorts. Incidentally, we bumped into Gaz at the end of the ride and he mentioned that the new run of Scuffer shorts are on their way, so keep an eye out on the Nzo website: www.nzoactive.com
My feet were inside some Icebreaker merino socks, and my Pearl Izumi Select shoes. My toes definitely got cold, but wiggling them as I rode along minimised the freeze.
My hands were covered with the Ground Effect Chipolatas WindFoil gloves I had won about 3 years ago (and like the Blast, I hardly ever wear because they are usually overkill for the kind of weather I ride in). Leaving them on the roof of the car whilst I got the rest of my riding kit ready was a stupid idea. They were very cold when I put them on, so I still got frozen fingers until I had warmed up after about 20 minutes of riding. They worked really well after that, keeping my hands toasty warm. For a warm thick* glove, you still get reasonable bar feel, though I certainly noticed the improved feel when I switched to my regular riding gloves later on. (*That's thick compared to the very thin palmed minimalist POW glove, I usually wear).
We finally rolled out onto the trail and into Tahi. Our fingers were frozen before we reached the first clearing. After loads of rain recently, the frozen conditions were doing a great job of thickening up the mud and making the trail nice and grippy (where there was no ice!). We did the middle section of Creek track and rode out to Nursery Road. Next up was Mad If You Don't (and it was in great condition - some good work has been done to tidy things up after windfall and rain), then onto Puarenga, winding our way alongside the stream. I keep checking out this trail as a reminder of the skill level Oli needs to achieve to ride here - he needs to learn to ride straight and use the brakes, otherwise he'll end up in the stream! Out of Puarenga and into Yellow Brick Road - not as 'uphill' as I remember it. We ground our way up Sandy Skid Road and almost missed the entrance to Pondy New - things look a little different up there now. Pondy New and Rollercoaster were sweet - really good trails to get your groove on. They are enjoyable regardless of how fast or slow your ride.
At Ring Road there was a timber board lying across the entrance to the second part of Rollercoaster, so we shot down the road to Reservoir Road and I ducked into Chop Suey, avoiding the big climb at the start. Dropping off the shadow covered road, I was straight into dappled light on the trail (think strobe light at a disco) and could hardly see where I was going. Luckily I caught sight of a patch of roots in time to stop and assess my options. Walking was the preferred option for a couple of these spots and Chop Suey was over all too soon.
Next up was Spring Roll. By this time my legs were tired and I was starting to feel hungry again. (I'd already eaten a banana... on top of my breakfast bagel and apple scoffed in the car on the drive over!). Fuelled by my desire to reach the top and have something to eat, we rode the whole trail without stopping. I always forget that there are four sections to this trail - possibly a good thing seeing as how cooked my legs were feeling and how loud my tummy was rumbling. We popped out onto Red Tank Road in brilliant sunshine and no wind at all. It was a great spot to stop and refuel. I was surprised to see how close Tickler was, with the track being just 'over there' (points with outstretched arm) and seeming like it has gotten a lot closer. Be Rude Not To was looking pretty good, being in the full blast of the sun, but we decided to do Dragon's Tail instead. I got to shed my extra layers at this point, stuffing the Buff in my Camelbak and switching gloves for my usual trail gloves. My speedo sprang into life after warming up in the sun too, but I wasn't interested in it any more.
We flowed through Dragon's Tail and the bottom (old) section of Be Rude Not To, where I stopped to adjust my gears (new cable settling in). I rolled out onto The Wash with Megan nowhere to be seen. Assuming she had taken a different route through BRNT, I rode up to the clearing, just down from Nursery Road to wait for her. And wait. That was pretty strange. Maybe she had ridden along Nursery Road?? Finally a text message came (just as I was pulling out my phone to text her) and she had suffered some minor navigational difficulties and was about 200m up the road from me! Disaster averted, and reunited we rode down the road to meet Bri and Brad. We reached a consensus that we were both pretty knackered and that I had an extra excuse of a loose rear axle to look after. It seems that the service technician at Sheppards had not done it up properly and it was getting worse the more I rode. Not good and quite disappointing.
After a good chat with Bri and Brad we sent them on their way for their last day of riding before returning to Auckland. They'd done over 3 hours of riding in the forest the day before so were feeling pretty knackered too.
We rolled back to the car and out into the sunshine. The carpark had defrosted and was one massive slush puddle! We bid each other farewell (why does it have to end??) and headed home. I took a small detour and went via Erik's place to pick up the Giant Half-Wheeler bike he has generously offered to me. I'm hoping to get Oli out on it soon, and take him on some rides around the river paths and at Pukete (although he probably prefers riding his own bike there). I was back home just after 2pm, with plenty of time left in the day to get a few things done.
The early ride in Rotorua was a great substitute for the big Ngutunui ride I had planned to do. And even getting up early and riding in the cold wasn't so terrible - in fact, it was quite enjoyable. I could do that again, I reckon.
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