Single track pleasure

The sun is just about to rise over the horizon and the birds are singing like there’s no tomorrow. For the first 3 minutes, I’m the only person at the end of Days Road waiting for our run and I’m simply absorbed by the sound of the birds.

My friends arrived and we set off on our trot. The single track felt so good beneath my feet as I took up my place at the rear of our little foursome. We wound our way through the grass and ferns of the lowlands before contouring around a big hill. The trail became rockier and exposed roots tried to trip us as we climbed. But we stayed the course and reached the top of a saddle where we turned off onto a downhill trail.

Young shoots of bright green grass form a strong contrast to blackened tree trunks. The bush along some sections of winding single track are coming alive with regrowth after last season’s fuel reduction burns. It’s a magical juxtaposition: destruction next to new life. With the undergrowth burned back we can see the trail twist and turn ahead of us. It’s been cut for mountain bike riders but it’s also fun to run switch backs and berms.

We run 4.5km on single track before returning to the fire trail to head back to the cars. Two of our group have to get their kids off to school; so they leave us here. My friend R and I decide to do a second loop. We both want to run 10km and have enjoyed the 5km loop enough to repeat it together. Only this time we take another single track back to the cars instead of following the fire trail.

It’s a brilliant way to start the day.

Total: 10.1km @ 7:59 pace. Average temperature: 16.1’C. Elevation gain: 240m.