Ever since the Expedition Pass ride I’ve been looking forward to exploring the trails around nearby Chinamans Point but one small problem – with the recent once in a decade storms they’ve  been under water!

With time off and a sunny day I couldn’t wait any longer and headed out to Chinamans Point, a bend in Forest Creek where during the gold rush in the 1800’s a substantial Chinese settlement developed.

I’ve been enjoying playing around on the 29’er at The Wormhole lately so took it along – figuring the extra clearance and speed should suit the trail plus the ideal of UPD’ing the 24 GUni into Forest Creek didn’t have much appeal. Must have had some idea of the fun ahead as I packed a set of spare clothes, something I usually don’t do.

The trails follow Forest Creek more or less, and it didn’t take long before I came across sections that were still very much a part of the creek, flooded under a good flow of water. Some were unrideable – better to wait until the water levels have dropped. Others not so bad – the question being how wet did I want to get? When your feet are dry you generally want them to stay that way, so I took off my shoes for the first flooded section and walked through. Too much hassle I thought, maybe I could just chug through the flooded sections on the uni.  So it wasn’t long before the inevitable UPD in the water, so with shoes now wet it became a lot more fun – riding through every flooded section no matter what.

It was all going swimmingly – just wet feet, soaking shoes and socks – until within a few minutes of the ride’s end crossing a flooded muddy section at speed I got off line and face planted into the water. Cold and hilarious.

Things from the KH24 GUni that I missed today:

• Handlebar
  Riding without a handlebar sure isn’t as comfortable. You really notice the change in weight distribution as well as the distorted posture holding the front bumper creates.
• 3.0 Duro
  The Stout is a good tire but the 3.0 Duro is much better wet often muddy conditions.

With the conditions and trail generally I didn’t miss the GUni’s high gear as it wouldn’t have been much use today.

Things I liked about the 29’er today over the 24 GUni:

• Extra speed in ‘low’ gear
• Smoother rolling through terrain
• Extra pedal clearance
• Light weight

Fun ride, really nice spot. Will head back there soon but maybe after the water has gone down some more.