Sunday 9th June

What was predicted to be a drizzly start to the day turned out to be beautiful and sunny, albeit a little nippy. Dozer, SilverFox and I (Tinkerbell) met at Dot Com for a 9am start. We took off at quite a steady pace up Richmond Hill and by the first 'rest' point we lost a layer or two as it was already getting warm. After convincing ourselves that we should keep going and not go back down for coffee and a chat, we carried on up the hill . Surprisingly the 4WD track wasn't to greasy as we were expecting the tracks to be pretty slick. Once we got to the start of Greenwood, we soon realised we were in for some mud flinging fun. The muddy track and wet rocky sections made for some interesting and cautious riding, but we all managed to stay upright and on the bikes. The usual muddy spots were the worst we'd seen for a while and we were beginning to wonder if perhaps the tracks should have been closed (which the website said they were definitely open). We made it around and down Greenwood then headed up and along the Godleyhead track. This wasn't the greatest attempt to clear the tricky spots due to muddy tires and still more wet rocky sections, but we persevered and made it to the next 'rest' point. we decided to make our away down to the single track (that brings you out half way up Taylors Mistake Road), which turned out to be as fast as normal because it wasn't as slippery or wet as we'd expected. A quick grunt up Taylors Mistake Road and down into Sumner, tires shedding all the mud collected during the ride. Stopped at Dot Com for a refreshing coffee, nibble and a rest in the sun before heading home. Good timing in the end as the weather was changing and gloomy clouds covered Chch quite quickly - into which MellonFarmer and his doggy headed later on... Until next time :o)