Friday, December 15, 2006

The Epic

It was meant to be an epic ride, but something happened and it kind of whimpered out. I set off with hopes of finding a route from home to Makara Peak. I had maps and books and a vague idea of where I was going. I managed to make it through the city and up Aro Gorge to Denton Park. This is where I was meant to leave the city streets and head off on a dirt track following the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary fenceline.

The track went up hill, then up some more, then down a little, then ridiculously up. There was supposed to be some scary downhill somewhere, but I must have missed it. I remembered reading about a fire road to the left and when one came up I followed it. I finally ended up on top of a hill and I was pretty sure it was the wrong one. I spent about 1o minutes studying the book and trying to sort out where I was. I finally figured out that I was on the correct hill and even managed to figure where to go from there.

By the time I made it to the park I was exhausted and realized I didn't bring enough food. I decided I was best off just doing a short loop in the park and heading home. I rode the way we usually drive and made it home pretty quickly.

Next time I will take a slightly different route that will hopefully cut out some of the stupidly steep climbing along the way.

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