Sunday 22 January – Mooney

Mooney is a just plain fantastic ride!

It was forecast to be 31°C on the day, and turned out to be at least that – but there was a little bit of shelter along the way, which helped immensely. The rocks were green and slippery from the previous rain, and all “do-able”. There were a variety of pre-prepared excuses (out until 3am the morning before, only just back from holidays, no exercise for months etc), which were all ignored (and forgotten) as soon as we got going.

Despite the heat and excuses, we were all riding pretty solidly – and probably put together one of the more ‘flowing’ rides for a while (our average speed may have climbed from 12kmh to 12.5kmh!). On the big climb from the creek crossing, past the little dam, all the way to the Crosslands turn off, we all had a big shot at making it without a touch. Doug was ‘nearest the pin’ with a single touch near the top, based on a momentary lapse of concentration (that’s why we love mountain bike riding, eh – it’s a harsh task master!).

Rees was clearly still in shock from Brian’s attempt at Rock Brian a couple of weeks before (see the video footage linked from Mooney on 8 January, below), and was riding unbelievably conservatively for most of the ride out…. However, that changed once he saw Brian re-conquer his new found adversary (Rock Brian). It’s worth noting that Brian refused to allow his attempt to come back down the rocks to be captured on film – he’s obviously aware of the impact of the digital camera stealing his spirit and causing him to become a “jumper”! In any case, Rees then decided that there was no longer any reason for caution and hammered all the way back down to the cars. Indeed, for a while there was a real risk that Doug (who continues to avoid any ‘stair’ higher than four centimetres, but can come downhill at a crazy man’s pace) was going to find his match – but Doug showed his true colours and left us in his wake…

Really, really good ride!

Too much riding for photos, although there are a couple at the top of the climb, and maps and things here.