VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part IV - Eagle vs Shark

I first rode Eagle vs Shark on day 2, it was wet and my headset was making some god awful noise.  I don’t know if those two things put me in the wrong headspace but when I got to the bottom of EvS I wondered what all the fuss was about. It didn’t hit any great heights with me and worse the climb back out via Hill Rd, Lentil Link, Sidewinder and Direct Rd was torturous not to mention the valuable time lost climbing out that could have been better spent .. well riding Split Enz for example.

But on Day 7 I had some time late in the day and decided to give it another go. Boy did my appreciation of the trail change. I had the BEST fun tearing through the opening sections of the trail, getting a little light in the rear on many occasions and railing a few turns. I was far more comfortable in the cleared section and flew through the bottom section with conviction.

This video features footage of Day 7 but the cleared area is Day 9 (the last run of my holiday that went all the way back to the carpark via Pipeline/Red Tank Rd, Be Rude Not To 2 and Mad If You Don’t).

EvS has a similar feel to parts of Split Enz and Corners but it’s SO MUCH FASTER. Some sections require pretty heavy braking even on some of the long flowy traverses.

About midway through the ride the trail runs through a cleared section before diving back into the trees for the final stretch. Despite looking and feeling quite flat it was easy to generate some serious speed and some of the corners required good reflexes.

This episode also features some other outside-of-the-box bits of trail.

Red Tank Rd / Pipeline Rd – was in fact the easiest of the 3 different ways I rode back to the main trails.  I desperately wanted to ride down that valley after seeing it from the top of Katore Rd, however as you can see from the video I was motoring down that forestry road and didn’t take any time to look at the view.

Twilight ride on Corners – I managed to make the last shuttle on Day 6 (Thursday night) and as I was about to set off a guy asked to borrow my multi-tool. By the time I got everything packed away and was ready to ride I realised I was the only one left at the drop off zone. The sun was setting and it had been a long day of XC in the morning and shuttling in the evening. I was tired. I decided to take it easy, brake well in advance of each corner and really concentrate on flowing through the turns smoothly and safely. It turned out, despite barely being able to see, I set a PR that I didn’t beat for the remainder of the trip.

Pondy DH – That section of Pondy DH is FAST. Ridiculously fast! In some respects it’s actually harder to ride slow because the brakes are burning by this point. Thankfully riding fast on trails with loose rocks like the lower end of Pondy DH is something I’m fairly accustomed to so I didn’t hesitate to let her rip. This was Day 9 the first and only time I managed to change down enough gears and still keep some momentum up into Pondy New. 

Fact 1: About two weeks before I left for Rotorua I decided to watch Eagle vs Shark and find a song from the movie that I could use in this episode. The Stone Roses’ “This is the one” is one of my favourite songs of all time.  I was especially excited by the way they remixed and extended the song in the movie so I went about doing it myself.  In fact I created a version that runs for over 10 mins .. that version will feature in another Rotorua video soon.

Fact 2: I really wanted to throw in the famous quote from movie. For 11 days I looked for my opportunity to capture it on video with no success .. until .. at the shuttle pickup, on the last run, of the last day – there it was .. the only horse I saw all trip. “Horse. Yes!”

Coming soon – my follow up article about travelling to Rotorua and the full length feature of Return to the Redwoods including some additional credits footage.

Click on the photos to see full size images

The trail is so new they don't even have official signs yet

Amazing view over the farms around Lynmore from the clearing about half way along Eagle vs Shark

The pannorama shot

Some very thick forest at the bottom of Eagle vs Shark at the intersection of Hill Rd and Red Tank/Pipeline Rd

Day 2 - This is the view from Katore Rd looking down on Red Tank/Pipeline Rd coming through the valley. What you can see from the far end is the downhill run which starts to climb at about the tree clearing.

Day 9 - View looking up toward Katore Rd from Red Tank/Pipeline Rd on my last run of the holiday.

After descending Eagle vs Shark for the first time I had a breather on Sidewinder. It wasn't the only one, I walked pretty much the whole way. Until they built Eagle vs Shark this trail was a down trail, now its a rediculously steep and muddy up trail. It needs some work!

I spotted this little guy (a hedgehog) on the side of Hill Rd on my second trip back from Eagle vs Shark. He was very tame.

MTB-TV'S ROTORUA REDWOODS FEATURE VIDEOS

Return to the Redwoods Full Feature (Parts I, II, III & IV)	Whak-en Outrageous My Last day in the Redwoods
Return to the Redwoods - Part I WE'RE GOING TO THE REDWOODS	Return to the Redwoods - Part II HEAVILY ROOTED
Return to the Redwoods - Part III XC LOWER MOUNTAIN PEDALLY DAYS	Return to the Redwoods - Part IV EAGLE VS SHARK

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