I think it’s fair to say we got lucky with the weather today. Only 3 of us set off, with Chris and son absent due to late Friday night “pre ride maintenance”. Pushing and carrying up almost immediately, and stopping plenty to admire the views (and try and work out if we would be able to ride any of this on the way back down) , we eventually reached the plateau where some pedalling was possible.
Once on the plateau, the peak was in sight and surprisingly soon we were carrying up the final stretch to the summit, where we stopped for a bite to eat, phone calls to loved ones we feared we wouldn’t see again*, pictures of Jung to prove to his mates he had got up on a Saturday morning, and to admire the views all around us.
Saddles dropped, pads on for the two of us that had them, and it was time to see what the trail really would be like to ride. It turned out to be surprisingly rideable going down, with only the odd wrong line choice and one instance of chickening out robbing me of full man points, but the descent was making the carry completely worthwhile, and putting smiles on faces all around – including all but one of the walkers, who were treating us with the kind of respect and kindness normally reserved for escapees from institutions for the criminally insane.
Just before the plateau, a taste of things to come started, when the first puncture occured, my friend Paul being the victim. This was followed by a puncture for Jung, 2 broken valves attempting to replace one punctured tube, another puncture (Jung I think!) and finally having to resort to patches around halfway down the descent. Nearing the bottom, Jung had a final puncture, but to cries of “leave the weak”, he decided to just walk back to the car. I was glad (some might say “overly smug” I’d put my dual ply tyres on last night, despite the extra weight to carry up.
We again found ourselves having to walk (and pass bikes down the slope) at Granny Catcher, but managed to ride the rest of the lower section with man points intact, making it back to the car closely followed by Jung.
*may be an embellishment
