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 Sunday, January 17, 2010
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Last week the stars were all in alignment, the track had enough time to dry out and the forecast was good so we headed off from Meade Rd bridge and up Bush Rd to the start of the Starveall Track.
An early start got us up to the bushline at the 920m mark before it got too hot. Into the bush the track undulates not unlike Black Diamond Ridge with a few technical sections and a bit of pushing. The track is in great condition after DoC went through and cleared windfalls and a few of us did a bit of manicuring a couple of months ago. There is a nice rocky descent near the end of the ridge to get the adrenalin going before you begin a 30 minute carry up to the 1100m level.
The descent begins with a small scree slide, which is a great warm up if you are into scree slides, then a narrow track through stunted scrub and tussocks that hides rocks waiting to send you over the bars. This is mineral belt stuff and there a few nice little rocky drops before the trail enters the bush. The trail clearing crew did a great job of clearing the debris and windfalls from the 2008 storm so there isn't too much pushing.
A snapped deraillieur hanger on my bike held us up for half an hour as the damaged one was warped so much it was difficult to get the screws out to fit a new one (pays to carry spares in this country).
There are a couple of steep descents in the bush that are a lot of fun, although not everyone's thing, although the roots on this track aren't as pronounced as Sunrise Ridge.
A few steep inclines are rideable but get the lungs going full blast. The last 400 metres of the ridge haven't been cleared yet so you have to be careful with your navigation as there aren't too many markers about. Just stay near the highest level of the ridge and you can't go far wrong.
From the trig at 822m we headed down narrow track to the rain gauge where the forest road starts for the 15km ride back to the start of Meade Rd.
See Starveall-Lee Valley Track on the "Long Rides" page for photos and a description of the ride.
This last week we did it again, the track was a bit wet from recent rain, just enough to grease up the rocks and roots. Rob and I took a few tosses on some of the trickier stuff, so if you are going to do this ride it helps to have had a few fine days before you go.
Hey, hasn't anyone else been doing any good rides that they want to tell us about?
Posted by Alan Eskrick on 17/ 1 / 10; 7:27:04 AM
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