Christmas and New Years is always a challenging time to train. I kept my routine strong right up to the 28th of December. I conveniently took an easy week over new years. The final day before I headed away I was staying in Hahei. Definitely in the top 3 for summer spots in New Zealand. This time I had my mountain bike with me for the first time and took the chance to explore a little. Plantation pine forest as well as some rural gravel roads cover the surrounding area. On one of my rides I set off to explore a forest I had always looked at and wondered “what’s over that hill?”.
After turning off the highway I was met with an ominous sign:
A fitting warning
They weren’t joking. I enjoyed the pain as I rapidly ascended a steep gravel road. My Geax AKA’s hooked up and I kept grip right up the climb. I had a loose idea of where to go through the forest, courtesy of a 1991 topo map. I was optimistic that it wouldn’t be too out of date. I was very wrong. I quickly had to switch into follow my nose mode as I tried multiple trails, searching for a loop route. In the process I found some awesome rocky 4WD tracks. I sent the Superfly up and down the steep slopes multiple times, loving the dry, dusty coromandel clay base. Eventually daylight started to fail me. I turned downhill a final time. I attacked one last 4WD track and after a short bush bash I was on the road back to Hahei. A classic explore to round out my mountain bike rides for 2011.
Looking across some young pines towards the Coromandel Ranges.
A big thanks to Cyco for getting my forks all up and running for my time away.
