A few of these have fallen out of order, sure you'll forgive us!
Back in the saddle and headin' for Buller.
River crossing, and I think we all managed to ride this one!
Atop the hill, caffiene back coursing through our brains and bodies, ready for more!
The road to Buller, sometimes she ain't an easy one...!
Inviting isn't it...
Meeting the girls up there, in the swirling fog and driving rain, we elected not to filthy the Cattlemans Bar in which they were waiting (and had been for some hours now!), instead we sullied the public shelter with our mud.
Warm water on hands and faces was a welcome change, and whilst feeding our faces with fresh rolls and fruit, a large bowl of hot chips turned up as well! As is usual for cyclists, we all confused confidence with ability and rolled our sick bellies out the door and into the weather once more. A quick photo op down some surprisingly steep stairs (sorry MtBuller) and we were back into climbing mode in the rain.
Up past ABOM and out to HorseHillChair we climbed and arrived to get some exact directions from a liftie who didn’t quite believe what we had done in the morning… Still, to her credit, she pointed 5 bedraggled and muddy skinny blokes off to their impending death with a smile, and we bombed off down the hill to the top of Klingsporn Trail. There is a certain mythology to Klingsporn, and its all deserved. Originally a horse trail to access the high country for the cattlemen, it has a wonderful reputation for descending and in the rain, its even more dicey. Slabs of rock, boulder fields, slippery roots and some off camber sections make it a pizza with the lot. Due care is necessary along here, as falling off the track can result in a long slide down to the main road. The XT brakes on the Virtue 1’s were flawless, even with the resin based pads, although the howling from my set was a little off-putting. Mine were the only set to do it, so it sounds like a setup issue. Pads were a disposable item today as well, with most people going though close to a full set in one day!! Joel had a bit of a bobble with his eyes caked full of mud, and rode off the trail and Bellie ended up following him, giggling like a schoolgirl with the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Pouring rain, freezing cold on the mountain and having a ball! Thankfully that was all the moments we really had, as skinny XC boys don’t seem to bounce that well, and we were spat out at the end to find Gez getting ready for a little nap in the drivers seat at Mirrimbah. Not expecting us for a while, he was pillowed up and ready to snooze, but that all changed as we were ejected onto the paddock from the trail.
And the final installment shall follow shortly. Unsurprisingly there are no photos that I have of Klingsporn, something to do with it pouring rain, and our hands being cramped into fists on the brakes. Plus we thought it was time for a reward! So get out there yourself and experience it!
Thanks for reading thus far,
Ash and JAson,
Felt Epix
2 comments:
No piccies from Klingsporn! We can't ride vicariously through you if you don't take the photos.
Well at least you didn't make the same mistake as me a few years ago. I carried a video camera and bits for a helmet-cam all the way around Stirling and over to Buller with the intent of putting the helmet-cam on for the Klingsporn descent. Only to find out at the top of Klingsporn when I went to put it on that I'd left a vital cable plugged into the back of the TV in the motel in Mansfield :(
pictures . pictures ... get a waterproof (mudproof) camera and share !
great days like these need documentation for all the ages :)
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