Sunday 7th February

Dozer came over and we headed off towards Sandals. Hot is the only way to describe it. Bloody hot and getting hotter. We crawled up Dyers to her house sweating profusely. We arrived and Te Rex was already there looking fresh as a daisy. Mellonfarmer arrived on his totally rigid single speed advising that Phatboy was not far behind. He has to go so much faster on the single speed cos it does not work if he goes slow. The six of us then headed off up towards Vic park in different clusters stopping for a group break at the skidder site. Well needed as it was boiling by now. We all did the short bit of single track on the way in. The steep climb was not looking good. Mellonfarmer was never going to do it on his rig and the rest of us decided to ride until we got really hot then push. That is exactly what we all did except Te Rex. He rode all the way then rode back down and did it again. Sicko!!!! We all got back on the bikes before the very top though and rode to the water stop by the big gum above the jumps area. Then up into the pines. Mellonfarmer and I took the knew uphill track which was sweet. Regrouped and then into the single track towards Rapaki. Went well through here although the big gully is different in reverse. Into Mt Vernon where I felt really good. Cleaned the lot. On my way down passed Mellonfarmer with the first flat that changed his name for the day and Phatboy who was helping. Regrouped at the top of Rapaki where the single track club was handing out drinks. Phew it was needed as it was hot and windy now. Waited for the others and then Mellonflat fixed another puncture then again and again. We had not even moved. Phatboy dropped down Rapaki as he needed to be home and Sandals and I decided to cruise around to Castle Rock. Cleaned Witch Hill better than ever before. Feeling good then we carried on around to castle. Te Rex and Dozer came up shortly after and then Mellonflat with a borrowed tube. Into the track we went. Just after the 2nd hairpin Mellonflat stopped to answer the phone and I carried on feeling good, loving the ride. Regrouped at the top of Bridal path and Sandals came in saying....Mellonflat has another loss of air pressure. He carried his bike in and we sat and watched him fix it again. Time to ride and as we were leaving we all heard the sound of air escaping from his tyre. He walked down Bridal Path while the last 4 carried on around to John Britain. Windy hot and now I was out of water. We headed down through the reserve. Easy run making fun out of the bumps and rocks as we went. Then down into McCormick's track. Nice fun ride down here even clearing the gnarly 2 hairpins in the middle. Stopped for cold drinks at WAC ( will never go there again) before riding home in the extreme heat. At least the wind at the top kept us a bit cooler but down on the flat it was rough. Even my seat felt hot to sit on after the stop. Maybe we should do flat rides around shady parks when it is going to be hot!!!! Still enjoyed the ride immensely.