February 4th, 2012
Ah, Another Friday in Sedona under ideal riding conditions. Somewhere it is an inalienable right to ride in shorts in the desert in February, today validated that right.
Quiet night and day @ Beaverhead. Left for VOC for my 11:30 DR appointment. results are there is no external indication of my headaches. Next up is an MRI of my head. No comments needed here.
Over the Bike and Bean for 2:00 shop ride. Some of the same vacationers and local visitors and the locals. 18 riders. Rode Shades to Hiline connector up to Hiline dropping down Baldwin, up Templeton switchbacks, down to Sleezy breezy, to shades cutover, then down Shades back to BnB. Riding better but still leaving the same chunk on the table.
Slickrock on Hiline, find rider dead center
Joey rolling down into Sleezy Breezy
I carried my cell phone that rang 2X, one to schedule the MRI and the other from Absolute telling me my new shoes were in. I rode down to their shop across the street and put on my new shoes, same version, same design, same problem of failure. This failed pair lasted me from Sept in Spokane to Feb here in Sedona. A run on size 40 shoes.
Another pizza and beer night.
New issue of DirtRag mag was on the counter. I paged thru it and found an article written by Nate Shearer from the VA gang visiting here. I snagged his autograph.
Thursday I met Brandon Watts of Freehub mag who was down here experiencing Sedona for his mag. Today he added another ride. He told Jimmy he is coming back. That’s what Sedona does to people.
Back to Danny’s for the night preceded by a salad for dinner @ Pizapicaso(?) then a shower. Another night of city camping.
Today was ritual b-fast @ Wildflower. This after Rebecca and I will do this bike ride I have been wanting to do for weeks out in West Sedona.
The locals here are in the riding center, riders from all over visit for a short while and then leave. These people get to ride this stuff everyday. This is truly a place where one could say, “Why would I want to go anywhere else?” Yes, I am a visitor also but I stay longer than the short term visitors. Every week there is an influx of new riders. I have traveled the country meeting riders in their home turf. Jimmy stays here and he meets more riders than I did on my travels. But then some people I have met along the way come to visit and I get to be the local. It’s just cool.
February 2nd, 2012
Whew, good news about my left knee except it is wearing out. Made a quick dash up canyon to Flag where snow was forecast. 2 ways to get to Flag: shortest is up Oak Creek Canyon but is a twisty broken pavement road that many logging roads would put to shame only a logging road would not have been built up canyon. The other longer route is I-17. Both would be affected by snow. Shit, finally a winter storm and I need to drive in it. Flag is 28 miles from uptown, the GPS reported 59 min drive upcanyon.
I got on the road early today to do my wash and Dave @ Fat Tire to work on my bike. At the laundromat I looked up and saw Bruce Dickman standing there w/ a grin on his face. I met Bruce back in Dalton, GA where he announced the Snake Creek Gap race. He plugged my effort. He is here selling a line of bike chemicals, ProGold. He loaded me up w/ samples. He says his chain lube is better than Squirt. Plus he gave me cleaner for my bike. He’s kidding right? My unpainted frame was for a reason, it never looks clean when it is clean. All petroleum based.
Rolled into Fat Tire for Dave’s bike care. He installed my 4th Reverb, it has nut smacker speed on the return. Credit to SRAM for such rapid replacement, someday they will eliminate all the bugs. Today BikeMag and MBA are touting the seat dropper post. He replaced the broken spoke & nipple. He says Aluminum nipples are better than brass. My wheel is almost 2 years old on a Chris King hub. DT Swiss rim and spokes.
AT Fat Tire i looked out the shop window @ snow clouds up a lateral canyon. Forecast in Flag was 60% after 11:00. I arrived just after 2PM. I was out of the DR building @3PM. I drove down RT 66 into town. I checked out 4 outdoor gear shops looking for a new belt but didn’t buy. I whirl winded thru Absolute to say Hello. Snow was falling in town. I saw rigs w/ accumulated snow. I beat feet back to Sedona. I-17 was shrouded in snow w/ some sticking. I-17 is longer and stays @ elevation longer than Oak Creek. I dropped down Oak Creek where snow hadn’t stuck nor fallen. Made it back to Sedona to overcast skies and 40 degrees.
Jimmy @ Bike and Bean has asked me to share my mapping data w/ him and I agreed. He will tell me the ride and direction then I will GPS it and load it onto my map. I have something that I can contribute.
Snow did fall in Village of Oak Creek after dark that didn’t stick and was of little amount.
Hanging here in a parking lot writing this while waiting for 9:00PM local start time of the Zags vs BYU game in Utah. Going down to PJ’s to watch it. Go Zags!
The main man behind the new bike mag, FreeHub, is in town for a Sedona adventure. He is from Bellingham, WA where predominant color is green. He changed to primary color red. And his skin is drying out.
Tomorrow is shop ride. I have a DR appointment concerning my headache.
February 1st, 2012
Tuesday was a rest day w/ a PT appointment @ 3:30 in the middle of the shop ride. The therapist wiggled my hurting left knee that performed pain free meaning no indication of damage. Still, I have my ortho DR appointment on Thurs.
Hung out @ BnB for post ride gathering. Beer loosens tongues and voices. So much enjoyment being part of a community.
Ate dinner @ PJs, another grilled chicken salad w/ veggies, fruit, nuts, and meat. Major food groups.
Drove out to Beaverhead flats for the night.
Enjoying the new heater. On low I am quite toasty for the mid 30 degree nights. Wonder if the heater is too large for my small space? I believe the new heater puts out more heat than the replaced one. So I am toasty in warmer temps but I will be comfy in colder temps.
As I was putting the van contents into travel mode I looked outside across the road to the shooting pit. Sheriff cars, inmates in orange clothes joined by sheriff’s helicopter. They stayed over there. Never found out what was up.
Drove to Cottonwood for credit union $ acquisition and a trip to Walmart. Cash in hand into Walmart I strode. Mission was Soni-care toothbrushes and an electrical inverter to better power my pain reliever machine. I scored my major objectives. I found an under the counter 6 LED battery powered light to put under my upper storage cabinet to shine down on my key board. It works and is way better than the unfocused incandescent light.
Back in Sedona I parked @ Danny’s house for my ride. I geared up. First ride on new lowers w/ no hub / fork leg slop. I dropped the fork legs onto the hub and slipped the maxxle thru and tightened it down. Viola! no slop! Bike will not feel like a cracked bat. I rode Airport, Bandit, Carrol Canyon, Bike Path, Special Ed, Pyramid, something to Ramshead, Ridge, Sketch, Ridge, back to Shelby rd then pavement back. Trails are very rough w/ loose rock that made the climbs brutal. I rode by myself. I saw 3 hikers that were near town for my entire 1 hr 52 min ride. Rode well. Got my HR up. I am riding w/ a rigid seatpost. I missed my seat dropper on the downhills. On Bike Path in a wash I cut a bend high going into the scrub oak. I felt a tug than heard a smish sound from the rear wheel. I found a stiff dead branch in the oak that jammed into my wheel breaking a spoke off @ the nipple. Bummer. I bent the spoke around a nearby spoke and kept riding.
Finished @ Danny’s then called first aider Dave alerting him to an incoming injured player. He said my seatpost is in and he will install that tomorrow and repair the spoke. remarkable: Dave called Rockshox on Monday asking for a warranty post and it arrived today.
Shower @ Danny’s, groceries, then drive out to Deer Pass. A camper rental picked my favorite spot.
New inverter handles the vaporizer quite well.
Tomorrow is early laundry then up to Flag. I heard Flag’s city snow is all but gone. Dry spring so far.
I picked up my new Sedona ride map saved as a TIFF file that has greater resolution. Everything is in focus and larger than on my laptop screen. Cool.
Steve from Sun Valley area shared a video of me riding down the stairway i feared.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqC-SSArFjw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL