Rec ride at Richmond Brook

Recreation Ride report – ‘Richmond Brook’ Sunday June 29th 2014

‘The Dirty Half Dozen’ – a boy’s only event

Present – Kevin, Stephen, Eugan, Keith, Phillip & Andrew

Absent – you know who you are J

Despite the frosty start, sunshine was forecast, so away we all went after a brief muster at the Blenheim staging post. It was an all boy event, 6 in all, 3 each on 26er’s and 29er’s, with 3 die hards still mounted on hardtails.

We had a budding movie maker amongst us, kitted out with front and rear camera’s to capture every moment. Despite the bright sunshine that greeted us upon our arrival at Richmond Brook, the chill was still in the air and we wasted little time getting mobile. We set out from the woolshed on the old Seddon Lions MTB event trail; so it was a short uphill, a bit of down, some flats and then the start of the long uphill climb to the pass at about 500m.

After a quick stop for a photo session with Tapi as the back drop, it was down towards the Flaxbourne River. As always the downhill stages never last long enough and we soon started the westerly climb behind the hill with no name (not on the map I have anyway).

In the shadow of the hill it was still bloody cold with lots of frost still on the ground. After a warming climb up to the gate at the saddle, we had a quick smoko break up against the tussocks and out of the chilly breeze. Re energized we mounted up for a downhill run over the still frozen mud. It was then a gentle meander back into the sunshine before we emerged above the reservoir for our return run to the woolshed.

It was during this meander that the only mishap of the journey occurred, when Eugan ended up on his side after falling asleep at the handlebars, the result of being up all night watching World Cup matches. No harm done and no injuries sustained, just had to wake him up, get him upright and put him back on his bike.

A slight detour around the reservoir saw riders pick different routes before riding across the reservoir wall to re-join the main track. Homeward bound we were briefly terrorised by dirt bikers having drag races up the long straight. In no time at all we were back at the vehicles, all in one piece and appreciative of the Richmond family’s permission to ride the property, Kevin for his superlative organisational efforts and to the weather Gods for turning on a cracker morning.

Photos in the gallery

Soup and Bun #4 report

A mild moist morning greeted the 22 riders who set off on the two courses set out today by Peter and Kevin.  With steady rain at the start/finish area things got cooler and mistier up on the top.  The magnificent views were obscured for the day but rider feedback was still very positive and much fun was had by all.

There were a few navigational issues with some putting in extra metres and some of the times were adjusted to reflect different start times by some of the riders.  Finn McKenzie was one who started his lap after dad got back from his initial long lap and Glen started his lap after being relieved of child minding duties.

Ollie Radford scorched around the long course reporting the chilly temperatures aloft, he was not deterred from completing lap 2 though and was joined by Kiel in completing a second circuit. 

Riders reported lack of traction with mud clogging their tyres in some parts of the course.

Great to see the juniors out there escorted by mums and dads, don’t know who collected the most mud but all had fun and the soup at the end of the ride was great reward.

Thanks to Mike and Joan Watson for allowing us access to their very scenic property and to Kevin for his culinary skills in the soup kitchen.

Results

Photos

 Photos

Photos

Enduro #1

We had about 25 people turn up and all were very enthusiast and pumped at the prospect of a big day out. 

Unfortunately the wind soon put pay to the day for a lot. Reports of being blown into fences, off your bike and having to push up the hill and pedal down!!! Or getting lost, meant very few completed the three runs. As a result of the conditions there are not any results posted just a big pat on the back to all who gave it a go in such appalling conditions.

Now that we have given it a go and there was such a great response I will start to work on Enduro #2.

If anyone has suggestions to improve the format, ideas for runs or just wants to come out for a ride and log the runs give me a yell on 021344933 or timadams74@hotmail.com.

A big thanks to all who turned up, I hope the wind has not put you off and See you all( plus friends) at Unofficial Enduro #2 coming soon to a track near you.

Keep the rubber down,

Tim.

25 May - Medway rec ride

Cool Ride

The sports ride on Sunday 25th May headed into the tussock country between Medway and the Flaxbourne Valleys.

Nine riders fronted on a sharp clear morning with a cold nor west breeze – by Wellington standards.

The ride started with a modest uphill and then then more up, as you do in this class of country. A few “undulations” were followed by a sequence of two longer, more serious climbs and down-hills. The second climb had most riders pushing the bike for a while. Meantime the “breeze" had strengthened sufficient to tip Eugan into the tussock while he struggled with a steep uphill and a headwind.

Alana ran in her new bike with some stream crossings and mud. She studiously avoided large brown heaps but didn’t get disengaged from the drive train quick enough at a stop and  completed the run in with an involuntary dismount into a patch of mud!

It was a cool ride. Great variation in the landscape on a circuit that provided a good work-out on a Sunday morning in great company.

Thanks to the Alan family for access. Next Sports ride is on Sunday 29 June.

Check out some photos in the gallery.

Kevin Wilson

11 May - Soup and Bun #3

Gourmet Soup and Bun

Our luck held out once more with perfect riding weather for the third in the Soup and Bun series held at the Landsdowne Forest.  Thanks to the Hamilton family and Nelson Forests Ltd for access. This is another fantastic area for riding.
 
Three courses were on offer ranging from a kids fun loop through to a trip up to a steep saddle for those bordering on expert.  The object was to have fun and find where your best option was so, some chose to try all three courses during the hour long time span.
 
Thirty two riders crossed the start line with Sarnim carrying a very young passenger in the baby seat all decked out in cycle helmet.  Nothing like introducing the sport at an early age.  There was a nappy change stop at the end of lap two and the vote from the back-seat driver was to call it quits right there.
 
It was obvious from comments that there was navigational confusion out there on the track despite many arrows being placed for guidance.  Lap times are attached but should not be taken too seriously as only the riders know which track they used.  Has there ever been a MTB navigational course held by the club?  Maybe it could be an option for a rainy night at Fairweathers !
 
Great to welcome some new faces. Dennis Parsons joined us for the first time.  Dennis looks after many of the forestry blocks in the area and rides at his own speed in most of them.  He was impressed by the speed and ability of the better riders.
 
We may be hearing more of Aaron Bleakley who has just joined Ray at Cycle World as the new mechanic.  Aaron has ridden at the top flight for many years and will be challenging our best. He has just moved up from Dunedin and is originally from Auckland.
 
Jeremy McKenzie fitted in a ride from his busy schedule and was in fine form despite still being in recovery mode from his epic Kaikoura 4 day adventure.  Jason and Kiel had a great tussle with contrasting riding styles.  It was like watching a jockey and a rodeo rider, Jason needs to tame that wild thing.
 
There were a few younger riders but they chose to ride the grown-ups course with mum or dad in tow.  For mother’s day Cheryl produced a gourmet pot of yummy pumpkin soup and a giant chocolate cake. We hope the kids were good to her after she rode the 40ish Km home from our event.
 
Doesn’t get much better than this so hope to see you all at the next S & B on 8th June at “Stirling Brook”. Spread the word.  Thanks to Kevin and Peter as usual for setting out the courses.  We are looking at some Braille arrows for the confused for the next one.

Results

Pics (Only 2)

28 Apr - Rec Ride Report

Seven turned out for the Plan B sports/recreation ride in the Landsdowne Forest on Sunday 27th April. The ride started on a tar sealed flat road (usually straight into an off-road climb) and headed up a valley at a modest pace.

The second gate looked fearsome with lots of barb wire. Team leader set the example by lifting his bike over the gate and setting about climbing an equally difficult fence when somebody just undid the chain gate latch and opened the gate. Too easy.

The gradient got gradually steeper with a long but quite rideable climb on a wide and well surfaced forestry road to the ridge line. Then it was more up with only one short “pushing the bike” section to gain maximum altitude at around 750m asl. Too easy.

The climb was undone with a steep, but surprisingly dry downhill and finished off with a 3 k doddle back to the cars. Too easy – well at least that’s what newcomer Tristan decided so he rode the 30 odd k back to Blenheim. Thanks to Nelson Forests for access.

Plan A for the day was the Wakamarina Track but postponed due to uncertainty over the condition of the track. That ride will be re-scheduled - sometime.

The next scheduled sports/rec Ride is Sunday 25 May. Venue TBA.

13 Apr - Soup n Bun # 2

There was some doubt during the week as to whether the weather would allow this ride to go ahead.  Come Sunday morning though there were dry roads and a drying breeze.  All we needed now were riders, and boy did we get riders, 38 all up with 32 starting the longer ride and 6 on the shorter lap.  Great reward for the organisers with Peter marking out the short lap at 7:00 am this morning before heading off to work, and Justin doing the honours for the longer ride following Kevin's instructions (almost).

It wasn't long into the ride before Chad returned to base with a broken frame.  His elder son Jack carried on to uphold family honours on the long lap and the younger Liam was racing round the short loop 5 times.  There was a definate family theme going on with Darlene and Crichton Purdie guiding there three around the short lap.  Cheryl accompanied Josh and Tyler representing the Blacks, Rachel joined Jason and Joel in the Madsen Petersen Clark camp and Kathryn and Craig waved the Richards flag.

It was great entertainment watching the next generation on and around the short lap, there were some great skills on display and not a lot of fear.
Glen was quickest on the long lap and Jason would have been next if he hadn't switched off his ears at race brief time.  This resulted in a MH320 type diversion towards the end of the first lap adding several minutes to his schedule.
A new name to us, Kyle Fearn was second across the line with a close run thing between Kiel and Kris for the next two slots.
Plenty of ladies too with Kathryn showing her endurance legs to complete two laps.
With 38 riders the soup supplies were stretched but Alana did a great job of trying to feed the five thousand.
All in all a very enjoyable morning and we look forward to even bigger numbers at our Soup n Bun #3.

6th Apr - Short Taylor Pass Rec Ride

The “Short Notice” sports ride on Sunday was short – we made it home in advance of scheduled time but with a bit more time on public roads than usual for these rides. Five riders left the Taylor Pass mountain bike car park and did a loop through Graham Cooper’s farm, John Meek’s forest and back down Taylor Pass Road. There were a couple of stiff climbs added to by a navigation error. We had been warned about the steep downhill in the forest but it still produced an “Oh sh*t “ moment. Thanks to Graham and John for access.

23 Mar - Soup n Bun # 1 - REPORT

Weather was great if a little fresh first up, but if we get this sort of stuff for the series we will be very happy.

A good number of juniors turned out and they worked really hard and enjoyed their day, except perhaps for Bryn who sustained an injury early on lap 1.

Sarnim put on a demonstration reeling off laps like a well oiled machine.  Just a slight glitch with a stop at the end of lap 2 to remove debris from his bike.

The old stagers were next with Andrew aging like a good Marlborough vintage, and Eugan close behind.

The ladies were also well represented with Kathryn and Alana in close contention until Alana decided 2 laps was enough.  Ceridwen was guiding juniors and opted for the short course.

There were plenty of comments on the beauty of the surrounding so a big thanks to the land owners and to Kevin for setting a demanding and enjoyable course.

Hope to see you all at Homebrook for the next event in the series with a few more to join the fun.

Lap Times

 

20 Mar - Summer Night Race - Taylors Pass - REPORT

What a shame that the summer evenings are drawing to a close.  With numbers rising each week it will be sad to end these fun Thursday evenings.
A strong wind arrived just in time for the ride but enthusiasm was not lacking.  Plenty of juniors this evening and parents acting as guides help introduce the next generation of riders.  The young ones all seemed to be having fun which augers well.
There was the usual confusion on which tracks to take, the supply of arrows being commandeered for Sunday's Waihopai Valley ride.  Most however found their way and apart from a deviation by Todd allowing Matt to get ahead for a lap, the outcome was not really affected.
The podium had Justin at the top with Todd and Matt on the next steps.  A good solid track enjoyed by all, so thanks again to Peter for setting out the course.

Lap times

8th-9th Mar, Club Ride, St James - REPORT

Record Blitzed...
The team of Stephen Bradley, Eugen Stark and Kevin Wilson plus guest Johnny McMillan set a new record for the St James Cycle Way last weekend in a time of 8 hours 42 minutes. This time eclipsed the previous record of 9 hours set about six weeks earlier by the team of Justin Kenward, Sarnim Dean and Sven Herselman. The new record was set in ideal weather and dry under-wheel conditions. It included a side trip to the Ann Hut and heavy traffic on the last 20 k created by 94 students from the University of Canterbury.

The ride was the March outing for the sports riders from the Marlborough Mountain Bike Club. We left Blenheim early Saturday morning, travelled to the Lake Tennyson entrance to the ride via the Rainbow and started riding at 9.45am. Unfortunately two other guests from Christchurch were last minute withdrawals. Maling Pass was gained with relative ease on a four wheel drive track followed by a long downhill which was a bit loose and lumpy in places. The big vista was amazing with tawny browns of the pasture and green beech bush contrasting with the blue sky and snow on the tops.

A side trip was made to Lake Guyon where the reflections were tremendous as were the sandflies. The track then proceeds further down the Waiau Valley on a sprayed out grass track interspersed with some purpose built single track and more four wheel drive tracks. This was to be the case for the rest of the ride.  Legs were getting a bit tired by the time we had climbed from the Waiau River up to the Ann Hut at the 41 k mark and where refreshments were taken.

After a spell it was onwards. A short climb over Spur Saddle was followed by a long down-hill stretch on the river terraces. Charlie’s Saddle required a period of pushing the bike after which it was steady but quite rideable trip up the Edwards River to Peter’s Pass. A bit more pushing was followed by a 7k down- hill session on a smooth purpose built track to the St James Homestead and car park.

What else can I say! I could say the rest at the Ann Hut was overnight and we arrived at the St James Homestead at 1.30pm on Sunday but that would spoil the story. The actual ride time for the 80k trip is factual and the total time on the trail was 11 hours. A great back country mountain bike trip, with a few challenges but is recommended.
 

6th Mar - Summer Night Race - Condors - REPORT

Peter came up with the idea of a teams race as an alternative to the usual individual race/ride.  Josh and Leighton, two of the younger fraternity were made team captains and chose their riders.  The total number of laps ridden by team members would decide the winners.

Jason was soon in difficulty with a broken chain on lap one so that was a potential 4 laps lost.  It was going to be hard to recover from this but Justin and Sven played their part and completed four laps each.  Josh himself put in a great effort to finish three laps along with Sharn.


On Leighton's team Aaron Kris and Andrew B. all managed four laps with good backup from Eugan, Andrew G. Peter and Warren completing 3 laps each.  Leighton himself managed to find a short cut so his laps were adjusted to compensate.

All in all a fun night.
Lap times 

20 Feb - Summer Night Race - Taylor Pass - REPORT

Not the advertised 30 degrees, in fact spectators and marshalls used most of their wardrobes to ward off the cool breeze.  Then as racing drew to a close the fog rolled back in.  Despite all this we had a real family affair going with five Blakes,  four Blacks and a couple of McKendries either contesting or guiding.  All the kids got around at least one lap then it was play time and boy did they have fun.  It was a surprise to have 22 riders considering the busy weekend of mountain biking ahead.

We had a guest appearance from Han de Lange who was just passing through and managed to find time to join us for the ride.  There were also a couple of other new faces and we hope that they had enough fun to want to come back.

Justin and Sarnim got away to a good start and were never threatened for the top two podium slots.  Jason got tangled up with another rider and lost his way so decided to have a fun night fitting in a few casual laps.

Good luck to Kevin and his crew of helpers on Sunday, hope all the hard work and preparation reap some reward and that all the riders have a ball.

Results

 

9th Feb - Club Champs - REPORT

The new format for club champs this year seemed to work quite well after a few minor adjustments to the original plans.  Thirty nine riders were scheduled to start but there were three no shows leaving thirty six to contest the time trial.
We then had three riders join in just for the race so the original number was restored.

The time trial produced some very tight results, and was contested on a relatively flat course.  It was noted that corners were cut by some but no official complaints have been received thus far.  The police were off duty for this one.
Just a few withdrawals during the race with two broken chains, a severe bout of flu and other breathing difficulties by a couple of other riders.

The course was challenging with big climbs and some technical descents so it was a true cross country test.  As expected Sarnim (open men) was the winner with Dylan (J19) next best.  A new name to us, Luke Macann took the third step of the podium.
Alana managed to hold out Kathryn for overall ladies prize with Emma also completing two challenging laps, a good effort for one so new to the sport.  Joel followed up his impressive time trial with a good solid race to take out the under 16 category.
The Vet 2 class were to complete 2 laps so those who did an extra lap had there efforts ignored in the results.  The times are included for info only. 
Thanks to BikeFit for supporting the event and to Peter Webster and John Pickering for their hard work planning and setting out the courses.

Photos