Sharon and Emily had a skills session with MTBSkills in Hobart at Tolosa Mountain Bike Park. Sharon had been trying to get on the course for ages but cancellations and wrong days etc etc had thwarted all attempts lately. Finally she had got linked up with Sue but we had to travel to Hobart, no big deal driving a measly 200Km after all the driving we have done on our recent holiday.

Tolosa Park is the bottom of the North South Track so Dan (Emily’s other half) and I decided to ride up and back down the North South Track while they had their skills session with Sue Sprott. There was some snow up on top of Mt Wellington as we drove in. Just after we started a downhill rider turned up who had just riden down. He told us there was quite a bit of snow on the upper track near the springs and it was very slippery. He gave us some helpful directions but it turned out the whole track was very well sign posted except for one crossing that was obvious anyway.

Driving into Hobart

We slogged it up to Junction cabin with a few stops to adjust cleats and adjust our breathing. A few downhill riders passed coming down. The first section is probably the steepest and when you get to the Junction cabin turn off the grade is much easier and you can flow along in a higher gear. Once we reached Junction Cabin it started to rain quite heavily. We had on and off rain all the way up but this was much heavier.

The weather had closed in and the thought of riding in the snow and getting completely saturated did not appeal too much so we decided to head back down from here. It was great fun coming down. Two section in particular flowed very nicely and it was heaps of fun. Some care was needed due to the slippery rocks and roots and we both had a coupe of moments on the way down.

I look drunk, Junction Cabin

We eventually passed the girls doing some skills on the XC trail at the top of the park so we took a different route and followed that. We then had a play on the downhill track and quickly realised neither of us were cut out for that both having big moments at the top of one rather large jump!

Back at the car for awesome muffins Sharon had cooked up and we rinsed some mud off the bikes and ourselves with the 20L water drum on the back of the truck. Us and our bikes were covered in mud. The girls bikes did not look to bad really.

Back at the car

After the first rinse

The North South Track is a great piece of single track. I only wish it was easier to ride without a car shuffle as that hill gets your quads working for a while on the way up. Will have to come back and try it in the dry some time. Sharon and Emily learnt heaps apparently and we are off to practice some of it tomorrow at Trevallyn.