AlpinePossum
19th September 2009, 20:47
Some day I'll get my act together sufficient to arrange a ride, or go on an arranged ride.... but today is not that day.
I've been eyeing that chunk of hills between Waipara and the Sea for awhile so I took a rather chilly ride out that way this morning.
http://tinyurl.com/mtcassrd
http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=-43.084561,172.820263&spn=0.065695,0.132351&z=13
It starts off with a brilliant better than route 1 grade of road...
Why?
Where is this thing going to?
The mega-big cruisers would love this road...
First rate quality, wide, twisty and crazy steep.
Why is the Good Road going down a "Private Road", what wildly valuable stuff is been protected by Security Cameras and the like?
Oh.
Kate Valley landfill.
Whoopsy, turn around and head off down the dirt track. Lots of loose stuff and the odd bit of slippery mud courtesy of yesterdays rain.
Some nice walking tracks up there, closed for the lambing season... I'll come back for a walk some other day.
4x4 comes up behind me too fast so I pull off on to the side... BUGGGER! DEEP Slippery mud! After a bit of wobbling around and the knobblies flinging brown stuff for miles.. I recover and off I go again. Whew!
Nice steep twisty interesting road... Ends in a bunch of baches and farmhouses. I suspect there is a path down to the sea somewhere, but the farmers certainly haven't put out the welcome mat.
All in all, interesting area... but the road is a bit of a road to nowhere.
Sigh! I plundered the 4wd track book... and between abusing a 2wd car and the dirt biking I've been doing. I've done most of the interesting paper roads within a days drive of Chch. Definitely time I got my gear sorted for an overnighter.
I've been eyeing that chunk of hills between Waipara and the Sea for awhile so I took a rather chilly ride out that way this morning.
http://tinyurl.com/mtcassrd
http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=-43.084561,172.820263&spn=0.065695,0.132351&z=13
It starts off with a brilliant better than route 1 grade of road...
Why?
Where is this thing going to?
The mega-big cruisers would love this road...
First rate quality, wide, twisty and crazy steep.
Why is the Good Road going down a "Private Road", what wildly valuable stuff is been protected by Security Cameras and the like?
Oh.
Kate Valley landfill.
Whoopsy, turn around and head off down the dirt track. Lots of loose stuff and the odd bit of slippery mud courtesy of yesterdays rain.
Some nice walking tracks up there, closed for the lambing season... I'll come back for a walk some other day.
4x4 comes up behind me too fast so I pull off on to the side... BUGGGER! DEEP Slippery mud! After a bit of wobbling around and the knobblies flinging brown stuff for miles.. I recover and off I go again. Whew!
Nice steep twisty interesting road... Ends in a bunch of baches and farmhouses. I suspect there is a path down to the sea somewhere, but the farmers certainly haven't put out the welcome mat.
All in all, interesting area... but the road is a bit of a road to nowhere.
Sigh! I plundered the 4wd track book... and between abusing a 2wd car and the dirt biking I've been doing. I've done most of the interesting paper roads within a days drive of Chch. Definitely time I got my gear sorted for an overnighter.