Slept behind OTE last night. Forecast was for 8 degrees but I saw 21 when I got up. It was still chilly in my van w/ the heater on high.
Plan today is to ride Hurricane Rim trail above town as far out as I could before the dirt turned to freeze thaw glop. Then have Thanksgiving feast @ Baristas in Hurricane. If I would have started riding early i could have gotten further on trail b4 freeze thaw but I stayed warm while waiting for the sun to crest the ridge above town. I called my dad back in Ohio.
Drove up to TH. I wore long finger gloves, helmet hat, tights, shorts, heavy wool socks, long underwear wool jersey, & long sleeve jersey. I packed booties and real warm gloves. Beautiful day. The early part of the trail was somewhat in the shade and rock so it was firm pedaling. As I approached the 6 mile marker the tread became more dirt that went freeze thaw. If I would have continued I would have ridden deeper into mud land and for the return would have been dragging the bike thru the desert not the trail. saw a few adventurous cholla cactus.
2:00 dinner @ Baristas. All scratch made. At 6:15 I am nodding off @ the upper GEM TH.
Yesterday was a rest day and I hung in town. OTE is dead quiet but I kept Fixie Dave occupied. The store has several old issues of Bike Mag that I looked thru searching for articles written by Chris Lesser. Read what i found, he was normally a once an issue contributor. Funny rereading the issues years after i originally read them. The mag has changed w/ new editor who is more into downhill.
Mon I rode w/ Dan down @ ST George in Green Valley aka race course area. Numerous jeep roads and twisty roky single track. Dan figured a ride out & I just followed his wheel.
Liking the Reverb. I lower it just a bit and I sit down on the down hills while steering the line. On steeper tread i drop it all the way down and crouch over the pedals lowering my center of gravity as low as it is going to get. So there is a weight penalty but the pleasure quotient offsets the extra uphill work.
Tomorrow Dan has another ride cooked up down out of Green Valley which about 1500′ lower than where I am camped. It will be warmed, drier, and normally less windy. Its just a 50 mile round trip from Hurricane.
Fixie dave created a stickie: ” WD 40 is not a lubricant”.