BurbleChaz

Coolish today, with grey skies and, critically, no surf. Since one case of advanced hypothermia is quite sufficient for a weekend, snorkelling is not an option. To the bicycle, then, and off to see what we can find. I took the back roads to Mosman Junction, then hammered down Spit Road with some enthusiasm. Across the bridge and up. And up some more. The climb to Seaforth is steep. Half way up, a roadie caught me, passed me, and dropped me in a wheezing heap. Grind grind grind, I went No hope of catching him. Must get fitter. I stopped at the top to grab this shot. Not because I needed a break. Because I didn't. I was fine. Raring to go, in fact. I only stopped for the picture. To entertain you. Stop snickering.

View across the harbour.

My not-really-a-target (to preserve ego in the case of wussing out) was Manly Dam, where there are rumours of singletrack. I stopped again to consult my utterly spiffy Nokia N95, with built-in GPS. Suck it, iPhoners. In moments I had a detailed map of the rest of the route. Beyond cool. I headed off as directed, pleased to note an increasing number of mountain bikers. It's another climb (of course), but after a couple of kms, there it was: singletrack.

Most of it is actually very, very technical.

I happily hacked along some utterly lovely singletrack, mostly climbing. There is some very technical stuff. Get-off-and-push technical. My skills need an upgrade. There are some fast forest traverses. There is lots of climbing. It's close to perfect. After about half an hour, I decided to call it a day, in the knowledge that I still had at least one big climb. The GPS showed me the way, and I bailed off the singletrack and headed home. Spit Bridge hill climbed in 4'30. Getting faster. Much beer earned.

The view from the top.