During the night a violent T-storm struck: big rain, lightening close by, not much thunder. Left weather radio turned on set to alarm. Woke to alarm noise announcing tornado warning but not for Lincoln parish. Listened to rain pound on roof. And then it quit.

Hard rain means trails will be closed. Forecast calls for more T-storms with drying on Sunday.

Setting up appointment @ Sportsmobile in Austin for this Tuesday for battery install. Planning around the date. I have ride possibilities on way or @ Austin. Still cogitating.

Beth Thames article printed in the Huntsville paper:

http://www.al.com/living/huntsvilletimes/bthames.ssf?/base/living/1237713384176150.xml&coll=1#continue

Visited w/ James Ramsaur, park director, trail builder, mtn bike promoter, growing the pie person. His Lincoln Parish trail has been written up several times in MBA, one time as the best trail in the state. Great guy  & interesting.

More later.

Later:

As I remember the flutterings I felt in my chest that I freaked on occured right after for me a brutal ride @ Monte Sano with Freddy and Chad. They were pedaling along talking but I was really pushing it to just see them. No warm up, just drop the gears & hammer. I figured that my heart didn’t eplode or seize up that these flutters would go away. Last night they were the strongest yet so I resigned myself to finally learn the mediacl reason and hope, just hope that the heart wasn’t the problem. I was directed to a private practice DR. I told his nurse that I saw an armadillo and she said she shot one last night. I asked w/ what and she said 12 guage that is kept in a cabinet by front door. She hunts geese w/ it. And then she shaved patches on my chest for the ekg stickies. The young DR read the graph and said my heart is right down the middle. His answer: acid reflux causing the esophagus to spasm and is felt right at the heart. I am back on proton pump inhibitors for 2 weeks to calm the reflux.

Sunny day and h2o evaporated but not fast or complete enough for the trails to be opened. James let me stay a second night for yesterday’s work. Clouds dropped late in afternoon and after dark another t-storm. Darn. Trails can be closed after rain.

Park has small lake in it. Today there were several fisherman tempting the fish. I visited w/ a maybe teenager spin casting for large mouth bass. He called me Sir frequently. Well mannered & I learned about fishing and crayfish burrows that can show up above h2o line.

Bought a pound of boiled crayfish. No big deal just like baby lobster: you break the tail from the body, break the shell away from the tail, & squeeze the meat from the tail. Like shrimp. Could eat pounds of them.

Spoke w/ Sportsmobile about my battery addition & learned way lot about batteries. Solar power charger means almost always having a complete charge on the battery. Might be something to step up to.

dateline: Ruston, LA

I was unmolested last night in the mall parking lot. Before I went to bed I saw a security vehicle in the parking lot on the other side of perhaps a city street dividing the mall lot and he wasn’t contracted to my side. Good sleep.

Up & @ it driving interstate as it has usurped the parallel 2 lane. Hit Ruston under lowering skies, warm & getting a humidity sweat coming on. Stopped @ Turbo Goat LBS for ride info. Brad told me if I see a guy driving a white park vehicle in the park it might be James, the trail builder & a park official of higher standing: Park Director. I paid the $1.50 entrance fee and instructions to the bike parking lot. Forecast is for t-storms throughout the day. it is almost rain.

I find a level place to park & frantically gear up. I take off looking for the advanced color brown marked. i see only begineer sign. Another fine howdy doo: can’t find start of trail. Climb biggest hill on park about 50′ but pretty steep. Decided I was going wrong way & rode back down & followed signs for beginer loop and shortly found brown signs. Sweeping among trees. fairly flat but those constant 15′ vert climbs. Rode 20.36 miles & climbed 2058’vert per the garmin.

Part way thru the trail stumped me and I was riding confused. I saw a white park truck coming my way. I flagged him down 7 asked if he was James. He said Yes, he asked if I am Craig as he read my LOCO forum posting last night. He asked if he could ride w/ me. Sure. He drove to shop to get geared up. He built the trails back in ’92 and they are the same. SWell built & have ridden well. he armored parts w/ red clay that when cured almost beads up the rain which I would soon learn. Home trail & he smoked riding a gary fisher 29r suspended. He was a former motocrosser and suffered thru 2 back surgeries because. We rode the brown trail 2x. Pleasant ride enough that 2nd lap seemed like new.

James negotiated w/ me for a trade work camp site. He offered me the role of XG host as they haven’t had one for 7 years. We settled on me cutting out roots on a section of trail and cutting overhangs. I preferred to add something to the trails. Just after I started it poured down rain, big drops falling w/ great speed & saturation. I worked on cutting using a curved cutting blade attached to a long ax handle. Some roots cut easily but for every gimme there was one that made for multiple cuts. My hands & forearms are fatigued making typing gross motor skills. Worked for several hours sometimes in rain. I removed my tshirt and tied a bandana around my forehead to keep sweat from my glasses that became rain streaked & essentially useless for vision correction. Chopped some roots. Rain settled pollen leaving film on puddle remanants. Drained quickly. packed red clay remained firm.

Camped in a site in xg w/ electric hook up. I am plugged in. Severe weather warning James told me when he visited later. He is concerned that a tornado might happen and to be aware. Weather radio picks up a fuzzy station.

Leg is responding to Naproxen.

Forecast is for possible heavy t-storms on my travel path.

Shooting for Fruita April 23 for their Mtn bike festival. Next state is big ol’ Texas.

dateline: Monroe, LA

Slept well @ TH of MT Zion trails. Used bug netting to keep the noisey fliers out. Might have been a mosquito or 2 but I didn’t count or scratch. I culled my winter riding gear from my current clothing to join my Pisgah Works wool jersey.

Plan is to drive up to Jackson & seek medical advice on my leg. I made the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, made contact w/ the admitting person and was out the door @ 12:35 w/ a clean bill of no additional clot. Couldn’t explain source of pain but gave me a script for Naproxen. The Ultra sound woman said it was a knot. The Dr didn’t comprehend the folk definition. The waiting room was filled when I left. The DR suggested I take it easy for several days. OK, SO I rested today and drove West to LA.

Crossed the Mississippi River, back west after 6 months absence. Soon I will see the Rockies.

Picked Monroe, LA as my stopping place because it is a larger town w/ internet access. Mall parking lot.

Forecast is for T-storms rest of week. I hope to ride Lincoln Parish park that is reviewed highly before it rains.

Land is flat & wet, lots of agriculture.

Stopped @ XG E. of Vicksburg. It saw Civil war action w/ Sherman’s troops working their way to Vicksburg. Older people developed XG & sold it to their son. She said that there has been a memeber of their family on the land since 1833.

Purple fowers are whisteria and smell so sweet.