sifter wrote:

mudlover/hater wrote:Yeah, I have heard bad things about knee deterioration so I'll have to investigate maybe going to the next biggest cog to save my already gammy knees...

I'll have to take a spin up Transient this week to check out the armouring one night.. too bad the weather's gonna crap out again tomorrow...

I recommend knee-warmers in these colder months too

Cheers Sifty, will do.... I've got some Daddy Long Legs around here somewhere....

fun little sift out at woodhill with bri today, been 3 weeks since we've ridden mtb's!!!!

Had a nice social ride of the Mikimiki track out at Kiriwhakapapa on Saturday. I think Noah was preparing to load the Ark due to the abundance of rain over the weekend. Great track in native NZ bush. A new nana track bypasses most of the river crossings which was a good thing judging by the level of the river we did cross.

Kirwhakapapa is a cool ride.

We did it a few years ago and turned back at the first stream crossing.

the stream looked something like this..

WTP on Saturday. 491 not so much fun without a rear brake

Makara Peak on Sunday. My 'get me home if it gets dark' light had a flat battery so switched to Lazy Fern for the last of the decent. Even that was a tad difficult in the dark

Fun tmies in the mud though

a loop from top of Aro st - Makara pk - Wrights hill - carparts extn - transient... minta!

had a bash at logging it on mapmyrun.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/34465782/

Hmm, that link seems to have held up, handy site, but didn't sign up so stuck with ads.
Nice to get distance and elevation for a ride.

Took the wombatessa out to WTP to preride the W6W course. Did a recce lap while it was light, then a race pace lap as night fell. I haven't ridden out there for a couple of years, so Wetlands loop and Snails were a brand new experience for me - they are fantastic tracks, big applause to the WTP workers!

I had an awkward moment with one tonight actually - the first time round, Snails seemed like a perfect, finished track; second time down there (in the dark), I came round a switchback to see a huge hound charging up the hill at me with what looked like its owner riding up Snails behind it, and a huge pile of freshly dug clay. It turned out to be a WTP guy re-digging one of the Snails switchbacks - I thought I must have taken a wrong turn onto a different track!

Tracks are all in really good condition except for lots of slushy bits on lower Beeline (does that ever dry out? Do the College boys keep it wet to add to the challenge?)

Long way home last night.

Transient, Carparts Extension, down and up to Salvation (was riding a bit wooden on the hardtail - didn't want to muppet down Deliverance), Koru, SWIGG and Starfish.

Then around the back roads home.

mudlover/hater wrote:Shite, I've ridden it quite a bit in last few months and it never occurred to me (the rooty as downhill from 100m up Roller Coaster is so much fun ).... My bad, Oli . So it's either back along HiBro or up the slog that is Roller Coaster? Or.. down... the... road....

Hi, I'm relatively new to Wellington MTB after taking a break from it after moving here from Rotorua. I've been a lurker on this site for a bit, but had to join to ask about this track as I had been riding it a lot also. Can anyone shed some light on why Squatters is foot-only? From the looks of the ruts on it it gets ridden a lot, and I've never seen any foot traffic on it?

Like mudlover asked, are there any alternative routes other than Highbury/Transient? I normally head up the hill that way on the way to Makara from town, then back down Squatters for a change and to avoid the others coming up Transient. Without Planet Ride open to bikes it seems we are fairly limited for choice coming back down to town?

Also does anyone know of a public-use hose that could be used for bike cleaning somewhere near the CBD? Surely there must be some other apartment dwellers on here that need to clean their bikes somewhere other than Makara?

Hey TheyLookLikeUs,

I'm pretty sure the reason for building Transient was as a legal way for riders to get to and from Hi-Bro. The fact that it's being made by hand over the course of 2-3 years hard yakka (they dig often if you wanna help...) is pretty much the reason why there isn't an alternative exit track and the bottom of Roller Coaster so I think you can either knowingly break the rules (and jeopardise our access altogether) or suck it up and ride back the the way you came or down the road (yeah, right).

One thing to note, however, it says on Track.org that it's foot only but the signs by the park don't specifically say NO BIKES. Or am I just being difficult?

I was riding said track on saturday morning when karma dealt me a decent kicking to the ribs so I won't there again for a while (except maybe MAYBE at night )...

On the subject of cleaning your bike, if I can't clean it, I just make sure the bulk of the crap's off the drivetrain before giving it a quick lube then wait for the mud to dry and brush it off... Looks cooler with chunks of dirt anyway

Just be aware that WCC representatives, as well as others with a vested interest in halting people riding on illegal trails, read these threads.

With all the hard work being put into legal trails it seems stupid to jeopardise access by poaching the illegal ones, but even stupider to advertise the fact publicly.

I spy with my little eye...
Makara, I'm off for a ride, not sure how far but it will be good as always (most of the time)

mudlover/hater wrote:I'm pretty sure the reason for building Transient was as a legal way for riders to get to and from Hi-Bro. The fact that it's being made by hand over the course of 2-3 years hard yakka (they dig often if you wanna help...) is pretty much the reason why there isn't an alternative exit track and the bottom of Roller Coaster so I think you can either knowingly break the rules (and jeopardise our access altogether) or suck it up and ride back the the way you came or down the road (yeah, right).

One thing to note, however, it says on Track.org that it's foot only but the signs by the park don't specifically say NO BIKES. Or am I just being difficult?

I was riding said track on saturday morning when karma dealt me a decent kicking to the ribs so I won't there again for a while (except maybe MAYBE at night )...

On the subject of cleaning your bike, if I can't clean it, I just make sure the bulk of the crap's off the drivetrain before giving it a quick lube then wait for the mud to dry and brush it off... Looks cooler with chunks of dirt anyway

Oli wrote:Just be aware that WCC representatives, as well as others with a vested interest in halting people riding on illegal trails, read these threads.

With all the hard work being put into legal trails it seems stupid to jeopardise access by poaching the illegal ones, but even stupider to advertise the fact publicly.

Don't get me wrong, I'm hugely appreciative of the folks building Transient and the massive amount of work thats gone into it; and all the other tracks around the city as well. I was just looking for a possible exlplaination as to why Squatters is foot only, for example is it on private land? I will of course stop riding it if it is likely to cause problems for others.

I'd love to get out and help with a dig but I can't do lunch times and I haven't got an adequate light to be out in the winter evenings. I have ordered some parts to build one though so shouldn't be long...

Problem with leaving the dirt to dry on my bike means it all flakes off in my apartment; and when you combine mine and my flatmates bikes that makes for a lot of mud in the lounge..

To theylooklikeus, welcome in from the lurking. As far as I know Squatters is still a no bike zone, it has always been one in the past. Squatters is not really a priority for the WCC at the moment. The map I've got doesn't show any private land ownership but there is off course a process to go through including talking to adjacent land owners, who would use the track, what type of track is best, does it need to be fixed , who would do maintenance etc. With its current design it is very steep (perhaps unsustainable from a maintenance point of view for MTBing) so perhaps a two way track would be off benefit but this would mean doubling the length.

I'm personally quite keen to build/extend a track there that fitted into the vision of WCC but it will be a few years away as we are building windmill next in that area and WCC wouldn't like two jobs in one place.

But if you wish to get the ball rolling or ask questions, email Dave Halliday at WCC, tracks ranger and a damn fine asset for MTBers in Wellington.

Until then please keep away as the locals definitely know it's a no bike zone and at least one is allegedly already against mtbers. Don't want to give them further cause to be upset.