August 26th, 2010
The King bottom bracket on my bike makes creaking sounds. Mark @ Powerhouse told me to see him @ shop opening of 12:00 yesterday and he would check my bike.
Tues night I hung in Hailey, first for bad Mexican dinner then over to the Powerhouse hoping to visit w/ Chopper after his Bike Oregon adventure @ Oakridge. I parked my van right @ their door step. Being a bike shop / restaurant it and me became sources of conversation. I am doing what I want while others are wanting to do it.
Chopper did arrive almost @ my departure time. He remembered me and gave me some more ride ideas, one of which I rode the next day.
Drove out Deer Creek road for night. 3.2 miles of sometimes wash board gravel road to campsite 2. FS controls camping to created sites which concentrates the degradation to small specific areas. Somewhere a full moon lit up the landscape.
Yesterday AM woke up again to almost freezing temp. Turned on heater, valve worked. Enjoyed the heat ubtil sun crested ridge warming me up. The van metal expands as it warms making small popping sounds.
Drove into Hailey. Visited w/ Chip. Learned details for Thurs shop ride.
Turned me & bike over to Mark @ Powerhouse. Bike shop is a former room in a house converted to a restaurant. A bike stand is hung from the ceiling. A couch is in 1 end. Bike parts hang from hooks along the walls. In the bar the bar has a bike parts display case built in under the glass top. Mark went thru the BB. I followed his defect detection & resolution process w/ what i would do. Ended up w/ a new King BB because first one was installed incorrectly w/ an extra spacer. As a result the crank arm needed to be reefed onto the axle. This side loaded the bearing which toasted it. New BB rides sweetly as in my bike is quiet again.
Kyle called to invite me on a Cameron’s b-day ride up Prairie lake for 5:00 meet time in Ketchum. I’m in. This is also a Chopper suggestion. Meeting place is Ketchum pump track. Drive way out of town towards Galena Summit lodge. Rec map shows the trails as black dashed lines which means they are not recommended for bikers. the up was a single black and the down from Miner is double black. I get freaky when trail difficulty becomes a black. We started out riding up2.6 miles of gravel road to actual ST TH. Good to warm up. Again, I am last. I can’t kep up w/ these youngsters, for that matter most anyone my age. Most number of riders I have encountered on a trail here, and they were almost all women.
Made the Prairie Lake just after 8:00. I was concerned out making it out w/ enough light. I was told downhill was right here except for a climb, no, maybe 2, we were @ the top. Dropped down, someplace weird babyheads, then steep fall line loose, some w/ that plus loose rock. I walked some of the steep loose stuff again because of brake drag dragging earth downhill. Challenging ride. I am better than I give myself credit for.
Made road as light failed. Road was almost all downhill. Mtn bike tires can stir up dust clouds.
Drove Kyle back to his house then drove downtown to Wise Guys Pizza where rest of group riders were debriefing after ride. Eating pizza and drinking tap beer at outside table right on sidewalk till we broke up towards 11:00. Cameron turned 30.
Nick is from Spokane & living here for just a year. He took up mtn biking here first. He asked me about Spokane riding, he might be in Spokane while I am there. We might hook up then I can be the local guide.
Drove out to Corral Creek rode outside Sun Valley for primitive spot. 1st 4 spots were occupied. i drove 1 spot further up the creek for an open spot.
Slept till after 8:00, partially waiting for sun’s warmth, mostly because of 12:00 sleep time.
Visited w/ Kyle @ The Perch in Ketchum then drove down to Hailey. Bought propane.
Tonight’s Chip’s shop ride is out Warrior creek.
How I spend my day is dependent upon who I get involved w/. When i ride by myself I am usually done by midafternoon even riding in the heat. Then I take a shower, buy groceries, fix dinner, work on internet, then bed around 10:00. After work rides rearranges my norm and revises my living tasks, usually no shower, eat prepared food, drink more beer.
Rant: Bike riders behavior on streets: Bikes are a street legal vehicle. They are accorded the same rules and responsibilities as vehicles. rant is riders disregard rules to their benefit then piss when vehicles don’t respect them. Riders who become pedestrian to walk their bikes at a cross walk, sometimes causing traffic to yield because they are in a cross walk. Legally, they are to cross intersection as a vehicle would. Or blow off stop signs and / or lights.
Parked in a piece of shade right off Main street in Hailey. Red flag warning for most of southern Idaho.
Planning on meeting a group of Spokane folks @ Bozeman for Labor Day.
Done for now.
August 23rd, 2010
Back in Ketchum and cell phone land. Time moved on w/ me in it but not captured here. Loose ramble of days & events to follow.
Friday I drove out to greenhorn gulch for a ride. I took off but just lacked the desire & snap so i gave up and dropped back to the trail head. I took a solar shower in the parking lot.
Oh, but I rode Thurs night w/ Chip’s shop up here in Ketchum. Bunch of guys rode. I learned that this ride is a guy’s only ride, the first one I ever rode. We rode same trails that Kyle & I rode which is OK I still suffered on the climbs. One guy had 2 flats and another guy 1. Back @ TH the beer flowed; it was after sundown when we made the beer stop. Just a bunch of guys scratching, spitting, and drinking cheap beer. Mark organized a Sunday ride on the other side of Galena Summit. And I got invited.
Friday I did my wash & loaded up on supplies in Hailey which has an Albertsons, Ketchum has Atkinsons which has better but smaller selection of food stuffs. Visited w/ Chip then drove back to Ketchum where I have been camping out past Sun Valley on Corral road primitive camping sites.
Sat I drove towards Galena Summit stopping @ Galena lodge to meet Don Sheppler, one of the original Hugh Ass team riders from Shenandoah Bicycle Company in Harrisonburg, VA. Other members were owners Tim & Thomas. Jeremy joined later. The team’s idea was racing was too serious so they injected fun along w/ their excellent riding skills. Don told me that they found this pair of pants that somebody sewed additional padding on them to make huge ass. The shorts were exchanged to the next rider. Rode Galena Grinder trail. And that it is. Starts out on flat for maybe 3/4 mile then climbs up on loose wood dirt. Loose and it sucked the energy out of me. I walked a bunch of it. The trail crossed several avalanche gulleys that look like they run every winter. Snow was melted out eliminating an objective risk.
Continued my drive over Galena Summit. Camp spot is Decker Flats @ intersection of 4th of July road.
Drove a bit down stream on Salmon and stopped & Redfish Lake campground. Tom told me about the Sockeye salmon adults returning to Redfish lake, named because of adult males turn bright red before spawning after their 900 mile swim up the Columbia river drainage. This year the adult count is 682 as of Sat eve. I peered over the bridge railing on Redfish Lake creek for 45 mins looking for returning fish. No spot. Later I visited the fish hatchery where I read the placards. No human to ask further questions.
USFS camping facility @ Redfish Lake has $2.00 for 5 min showers. Scored.
Camped @ Decker flats. AM temp was 34 degrees on Sunday. Drove short distance to Williams Creek TH, the meeting place for 9:00AM ride start. 6 of us started out wearing extra clothes for warmth. At 4th of July road the sun had warmed us enough to slough off the layers. We rode 14 miles on pavement and gravel road to 4th July Lake TH where the ST took off 2154′ elevation gain.
Then the fun started. We shared the trail w/ hikers as we negotiated the tech features. A big hike a bike got us to a pass over looking Ants Basin and a full on view of the White Clouds:
And looked over Ants Basin:
Steep loose rocky trail switchbacked down to basin. Dropped down warm Springs creek to The Meadow then climbed up Williams creek. Much of the forest was burned back in like ’07. Lodgepole pine.
I rode in my customary last place spot, back where the dust had settled, the rocks quit moving, and the tree branches returned to natural position. Guys waited every now and then. they got a longer rest than me. I wasn’t far behind, they must pedal on downhills.
Turned up Williams Creek for a gentle but relenting climb to divide that dropped us for long last downhill back. Oh, there was a grunter uphill down towards bottom. Williams creek is part of famous Fisher creek ride. While the trail down warm springs was technically challenging, Williams down was smooth and fast. My bike just floated over the brake stutter bumps. Way fun. Excitement came from riding fast.
Mark, the leader, likes to finish a ride @ the TH instead of completing the car shuttle. We rode the 14 miles of road that a shuttle would have covered. Much Millers, Coors, & PBR were consumed while we recalled our ride. Ride data was 36 miles, 5 hr ride time, climbed 4774′ and per the Edge I burned 3244 calories.
Mark is from Raleigh area of NC and speaks w/ a slight accent.
Sat driving almost to Stanley i saw bilious clouds of forest fire smoke and it was blowing up big time. i learned that a lightning strike started it and the winds fanned it big time. Sun the wind blew the smoke away from us. Today much of the lower valley was smoke haze & fire smoke. It is N of hwy 21.
During last night the temp dropped, colder than my doubled down blanket could keep me warm. just b4 7 I crawled out as the sun was striking my van @ Decker flats right on the shore of Salmon river. Outside temp was 21, inside it was 34, just flat out cold for late August. Finally started the heater which needs a new control valve to replaced in Spokane. The valve has problems so I have not used it since Sedona. Chance paid off.
Drove back to ketchum seeking a parking space close to E perch for potential wrench help as I am replacing my chain, cluster, and jockey pulley on my derailleur. No place behind store so I scored a street side on the corner. I set up the bike stand, put my bike in it, and opened up the tool box. Intended to make it street art should anyone stop. If nobody stops is it still art?
Finished up and walked over to E perch to visit. John, the wrench, greeted me by name and reported on our Sunday ride. During the visit people walked in & out some visiting. Rebecca Rausch hangs out here. She just won the Leadville for the second straight time. The new issue of BikeMag had a 1 pager on her including her pic. I was about to ask John if she might be around when she walked in. Cool. I introduced myself and asked her to autograph her article. Score.
Been hanging @ street side parking for internet access.
Tomorrow I will drive down to Hailey to Chip’s where he will rebuild my Time pedals.
Today was a rest day after yesterday’s hard ride. My heart rate maxed out @ 148 bpm, I spent 51 mins anaerobic which really taxed my body. Last night I had a sharp pain in my right upper chest. I feared that I might have damaged my heart. I diagnosed it as heart burn which causes the same pain and ate antacids. This AM when i woke I was cured.
My right hip pains me less and my shoulder just hurts now and then. I am more able to sleep on my right side.
So, over Labor Day some Spokane buddies are riding Curley Lake near Bozeman, MT. I might make the detour East to ride w/ them and then ride several spots as I make my way West on I-90 to Spokane for my 9/13 dental appointment.
Sawtooth mtns are pretty spectacular, quite a relief.
Caught up w/ Grace during our weekly telecon. We made an appointment for an in depth conversation. She earned the finisher award for finishing the leadville but missed her buckle.
Fri I met the honeymooning young couple w/ the sick VW camper. Today I met them by chance @ this great bakery restaurant in Stanley. They live in Bend, OR.
August 17th, 2010
Late night now after socializing in Ketchum.
Yesterday AM was single down blanket and bike hat cold. Savored the warmth vs the known sudden cold to get moving.
Today’s ride is up Wolf Tone and down Curran creek to Deer to road i was parked on. Headed out & up. Non maintained road but ridable shape. Trail was cut thru tree debris that i immediately recognized as avalanche debris. The debris is insulating the snow underneath from melting. Left creek basin climbing out thru open slopes. I hiked up a knoll to a vista. Big sky. Sawtooths appear to be 1 peak wide or perhaps the said peaks are blocking the depth of the range? Carried cell phone hoping for reception to make my weekly Monday call to Grace. Made my call. She raced Leadville Sat and want to hear her story. Trail wqas above tree line for several miles surfing 1 side then thru a gap in the ridge to traverse that side. Alpine views of everything. Mtns are not jagged and appear to be hikeable from the sides I saw. What is special is bike riding in alpine zone which doesn’t happen often.
Trail dropped off ridge down Curran creek drainage. Back into Doug fir forest w/ creek on my right. Mellow trail, horse riders made it smooth over time. Joined Deer creek where I rode last Sat. W/ Sean & Paul. Finished w/ 3 mile spin down creek to van.
Before ride start I filled the solar shower from the creek and hung it on sunny side of van. Back @ van after ride the sun angle changed lessening it’s heating power. I moved it. The upwind sky I saw on my ride said t-storms. I got off ridge in time and made the van. I set a time table to meet to be inside b4 storm hit. 4:00 was shower time. Ah, just right. Outside tasks completed, sky darkening, and I was on the road heading down stream to campsites closer to the hard road. Storm stalled up @ Ketchum I learned today.
This AM it was 37 degrees. I stayed under the covers until 8:00. Today I ride out of Ketchum w/ Kyle @ 2:00.
Time to visit Chip @ Sun sport(?) South in Hailey. Chip knows Dave Turner thru competitive mogul skiing. Dave said he was pack filler, Chip said he was top 5 good. He has a shop ride on Thurs. I will ride on.
Drove to Ketchum & Elephant’s Perch to see if my maxel part was in. Yes it was and it no longer requires the quick release lever to hold it in. Fewer parts and it appears to hold the whel just right.
And my frige reimbursement moves on. Frige cost &750 plus 1 hour labor. Norcold said they would have sent just the replacement cooling coils for $759 plus 2 hours of labor. That’s 1 side.
Rode from Y parking lot w/ Kyle going up river missing the big hill I rode up. Rained heavily in yesterday’s storm firming up the dirt. Trails were just splendid for traction and no dust. Trail went into 2007 burn, varying degrees of burn from nothing to slightly burned just on ground to small stands of dead trees. FS posts danger signs @ ea TH apprising users the risks of falling trees. Successful ride. Kyle raced the Cream Puff the last 2 years, is 42, & rode a single speed hardtail. Of course he was ahead of me. Kyle is net working for me.
Shower @ Y & into the Perch. Caught the closing of like an open air market. I bough a jar of local honey. Sherry @ her name sake cookie stand seduced me w/ toffee cookies. W/i smelling distance was a barbeque cooker where a trout fillet made it onto my plate. I was reminded of music in the park, Ketch ‘em Alive was going on. I walked the 6 or blocks to the park. My right hip still pains me when i walk, ridding I might suppress any pain. Met Kyle & his wife there. Kyle introduced me to Mark who does these big rides and I am hoping is the big one Chopper told me about: 4th of July, Climb over int Ants Basin and then drop down to Salmon. Bug placed in his ear and he said Saturday. We will ride Chip’s shop ride on Thurs an Will know what.
I have ridden 14 of 17 days of August to date
Sleeping behind the Perch tonight. 92 degrees at ride’s end.
Tomorrow I am on my own for what I have not planned.
