Winter Riding in Queenstown

It takes a little longer than normal to gear up for night riding in the middle of a Queenstown winter.
First thing Tuesday morning I have to remember to put the batteries on to charge - Glowworms for me, then at 4 o’clock it’s time to stop work and grab a bit of fuel. 

My favourite at the moment are some Honey Stinger bars I picked up in Steamboat, but I think I finished them last week, so it will be back to the supermarket energy bars. (Honey Stinger's energy and protein bars, waffles, gels and chews are all-natural foods designed for athletes - non other then Armstrong) and great for anyone looking for a healthy snack. Honey Stinger is pure natural energy and of course is honey based).

That done it’s back to work for an hour and also check the outside temperature on the computer. It will help determine what number of under layers to put on i.e. the lakes calm today so no wind chill to take into account.

Last week with the outside temperature below freezing it takes a little while to get organised, so a couple base layers for me then the Endura winter riding jacket, Torpedo7 vest and a then a wind jacket on (I know it will be in the pack later)
Regular shorts with Ground Effect Beesknees tights, Castelli winter overboots, and ski gloves.  

Dressed phew - now I’m hot! But that changes when I step outside and start rolling down the hill towards Frankton. The wind chill is immediate.

The traffic on Frankton road is so heavy it’s hard to break across. I’ve learnt that if there is any gap, you have to take it and bunny hop up onto the walkway.  As I roll into the Frankton Beach I see that I am 5 mins early. A quick chance to snap a couple of evening shots.

The plan tonite is to climb - it’s to cold for going fast on the trails. (eventually of course you have to come down but  . . .. we will get to that part)  The first climb is up one of the new suburbs above Frankton, grit all over the road, and then higher, grit on ice, so it requires gentle application of power through the whole pedal stroke. High up the road turns to frozen gavel which is a bit easier, and then finally onto the power line road and now we are totally into the permafrost country. The road is rutted and totally frozen solid.

"Watch out for the black pieces’  We pass our exit and go looking for another, but turn back to take the first one after taking a few ‘frost photos’   The hoar frost is very impressive here.

Back down slowly - it’s cold and potentially very slippery as Martin finds out when one wheel drops onto a black patch. Frozen water ice in a rut sloping downhill.  Ouch - the right knee is first to touch down and I’m told it took a week to lose the colour.

Climb over a stone catch fence from the development and then down slippery gritted gravel roads to rejoin Frankton Road. 500 meters later we are off and up into the hill suburbs and looking for a marked walking access onto the Queenstown Hill (by the water tank)  A very steep climb takes us to a small col onto the powerline road. (the same one we had been on before)  From the col it descends rough 4* 4 dual track to eventually join the Qtn Hill Track.

In the dark with no one else around it is a wonderful climb (steady climbing with a couple pinches over 20%) The Basket of Dreams is the top for us tonight.  It certainly one way to warm up. Gloves are off by the top to try and keep the body temperature down.

Down slowly to avoid freezing although in the trees it’s not so cold.

A couple of suburban tracks, unknown to the others lead us down to the Frankton Road and then down again to the Frankton track for a steady ride back to Frankton.

The stats
1hr 58mins / 26.5kms / 876m elevation gain / 13.5kms average speed / Average temp is only minus .7 degrees )but this was modified by the temperature rising above freezing as we climbed - yes it was hotter at altitude than in the valley)