A taste of St James & Molesworth | Time Out 2021-22 Hanmer Springs
Today's ride means I can, technically, add the Saint James and Molesworth Cycle Trails to my ride list but it would be cheating. Both are near to Hanmer Springs with the St James Trail heading towards St Arnaud (Nelson Lakes) and Molesworth towards Blenheim. Flood damage on both mean you currently can't ride either fully but that didn't impact my ride to explore a bit of both.
It was overcast but warm enough, 10-15 °C, to be fine for riding.
From Hanmer Springs headed up Clarence Valley Road for Jacks Pass. I rode for about 50 minutes up to Jack's Pass ridge; only saw two vehicles (one coming down & the other going up) the whole time but, of course, they both met at me!
Clarence Valley Road views and En-Trance (Giant Trance MTB) rocks!
En-Trance (Giant Trance MTB) in day ride mode:
- Aeroe Front Spider and 8L Orange Dry Bag with tools, warm layers, wet/cold weather gloves and rain-shell, Emergency Locator Beacon, and food.
- Two 'feed/bottle bags' on the bars to bring the water capacity up to ~1.8 litres as hate riding with a backpack bladder. I squeeze a large bottle in the side open frame bottle cage on longer rides, the shorter normal ones fit better for short rides.
- The saddle bag has extra tubeless tyre sealant, CO2 canisters and adaptor (to 'pop' the tyre bead if must remount), and a tube if the first two don't work! It also has a quad mount for my Cycliq Fly 6 rear camera/light but not seen here as was dead, not just resting. :(
Jacks Pass ridge, a fun short descent into the valley as an immediate reward for the climb.
The elevation profile shows the true nature of this ride; a plateau valley high above Hanmer Springs.
100km/h? On this road, really? Would later see why perhaps not so wise.
Left for St James and beyond, or right for Acheron & Molesworth?
Left it was...
It's a flat riverside road ride up to St James Station.
St James Station
St James Station is a former 78,196 hectare (193,230 acre) high-country sheep and cattle station, in 2008 it was purchased by the government to form the St James Conservation Area. The station farm buildings look little changed.
A bit of St James Cycle Trail
Recent flooding had taken out a bridge, so the St James Cycle Trail was closed as a through ride. I just explored a few kilometres past the station before returning to continue my road ride.
Riding solo into the mountain wilderness, perhaps not the best podcast to be listening too...
True | EP 82 Freak Accidents
There are accidents and then there are freak accidents. The difference is that when it comes to freak accidents, the victim will never see it coming. Whether you’re lying in bed, eating a carrot, sitting on the toilet, or out for a quiet day of fishing, it doesn’t matter how many safety precautions are taken or how simple the activity. In the end, there’s no way to predict when or how it will happen...
Back towards Molesworth
Back towards the Molesworth/St James intersection
No escaping civilisation... the national grid heads North
These roads demand respect, I hope they weren't doing 100km/h...
I was heading towards Acheron, the start of the Molesworth Station ride.
Towards Acheron House & Molesworth Station
The road heads down the valley towards Acheron & Molesworth.
Heading down knowing I'd be coming back up...
The mist covered mountains...
It was cloudy all day, down to the tops at times, but never rained. Although more autumnal temperatures today, 10-17°C instead of in the 20s, no wind made for pleasant cycling conditions.
Clarence River
The road follows Clarence River, this bridge crosses it towards Acheron Accommodation House and Molesworth Station.
Love these tortured rock riverbanks.
Acheron Accommodation House
Acheron Accommodation House is a cobb building from 1863. Was once used as an overnight carriage stop, still a DOC Campsite today. Just after I took this photo a farm ute arrived at the road gate, so I opened/closed it for them. They stopped for a chat and said appreciated me riding all the way in save them getting out!
I suspect the optical fibre is more recent than 1863. I wonder what they would have made of the Internet back then?
Heading back to Hanmer Springs
Headed back up the same road towards Hanmer Springs but would turn off for a different route over the hill.
There was closed gate, to control cattle, across the road midway and as I approached it another ute appeared from nowhere! Repeated my gate opening/closing duties for them with similar thanks!
Funny to be riding through this colour palette learning how we see, and don't see, colour and why there is no such thing as brown...
The Colour Conundrum | The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry Series 19
Rutherford and Fry set out to understand the fascinating processes and peculiarities of colour perception, from light-sensitive cells to complex brain mechanisms.
Jollies Pass
There's a bit of a climb up Jollies Pass, the alternative road back Hanmer Springs. Not that steep but the surface is rugged to start with, gets smoother the higher you go.
This podcast went places I didn't expect, as hadn't read the blub before hearing. 'Wrist' starts with anatomy but then gets into an interesting look at the ethics of fitness trackers/watches: design flaws, data use/misuse, and potential security implications.
Wrist | Made of Stronger Stuff
Psychologist Kimberley Wilson and Dr Xand van Tulleken take a journey around the human body, to find out what it can tell us about our innate capacity for change. This time, they examine the wrist, and its role as the hub where technology meets the body.
Kimberley and Xand meet a man whose life was saved by his smartwatch, examine the potential pitfalls of devices that don't work for everyone equally, and learn how much data our wrists can truly give away.
Last look back towards Molesworth before down to Hanmer Springs.
Hanmer Springs in the distance, this was an awesome downhill run.
Ending up on Jollies Road meant I could visit the Forest MTB Park washstand and give the bike a good clean. It is good to give it plenty of time to dry off before packing into the car.
And...
And again, Hanmer Springs ride end gelato rewards! Might do a road ride tomorrow, but F1 overnight again could mean a later than usual start...
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