Sunday 6th December

Just 4 wee fellas today, Phatboy, Mellonfarmer, Tinkerbell and I. Due to our boycott of Rapaki Super Highway we rode the valley track below. It is a track that has no bikes signs on it but we closed our eyes at these points. We chatted to runners and walkers and they were cool with us being here. The track is steep in spots, rutted and technical. It was a blast except for the mugginess. Could easily be formed into a good uphill. We rode, pushed, carried and dabbed our way up the valley. It was tough but for some obtuse reason I enjoyed it. About 3/4 of the way up I lent into the side of the hill, put my hand out and my thumb went crack. (off to get it checked today as it hurts and is a tad swollen) This made braking, changing gears and riding up a bit difficult but I got to the top. I took the road around to the traverse while the others went over Vernon. From here I took up the tail end charlie position and followed. Had to put it in an easy gear and leave it as impossible to change gear. We met up with the D/H boggin racers and decided to head down to the skidder site via the Gums. I decided that I could not handle the intense discomfort (it bloody hurt) of using my breaks on a downhill run so headed out via the road. Tinks came with me and we met up with the other 2 at the end of Bowenvale. Off for coffee before heading home.