Today's little bike ride became a gruelling slog when the surface of the Pipeline Track turned into deep sand that I foolishly thought would soon turn back into solid ground.

It didn't.

I eventually managed to exit to Rama Road and go home on the road.

At least at one part there were good views.

@Miraz my legs ache at the thought. And then there’s the problem of keeping balanced

@rpmik It was a disaster. I wobbled, I slewed, I managed less than 1 turn of the cranks at a time, I put my foot down. I ended up pushing the bike for several chunks. Won’t be riding that part of the trail again, that’s for sure.

@crossingthethreshold To be sure. One part of the track is a perfectly OK surface and I could ride that bit again but definitely not the soft sand. What I was doing there couldn’t even be called ‘riding’. 😆

@Miraz Nothing like a strenuous workout to start your day!

@cherizilla I realised that biking on difficult terrain really works out abs and other related muscles in a way that riding on a road or footpath just doesn’t. 😀

@AlexWolfe I’ve been learning lately about maximum heart rate which for me is about 149 beats per minute. On the hardest stretches mine was up around 169! 😳

@Miraz Yikes, that sounds a lot but, I guess, it's all relative.