Events get away from me between postings.

Enjoyed JD’s conversation and he walked away w/ my insurance info to prepare a quote for me.

Thursday was a cluster of waiting and running. I met randy who told me about the Mtnrs Thurs night ride @ Esmerlda. Made the ride and met a few of the old time riders. The ride segregates by ability and cardio. Tonight the hard chargers weren’t there but the second wave put a beating on me. Randy suggested to buy chocolate for the after ride gathering, wasn’t consumed.

Drove out to Les’ house in Mica for the night. Les weakly greeted me on his porch saying he had something that should not be shared so I just slept in his driveway.

Friday was appointment day. Early on I met my $ man. I street side parked and fed the meter for only 56 mins. I set my stop watched and walked several blocks to my meeting. I watched my time and just at expiration I borrowed 50 cents and sprinted to my van. Only i ran East instead of South until I realized my mistake. I was up against my knee dr appointment causing me to shorten my $ appointment. I drove several blocks to dr office sweating getting there on time. I ended up several minutes late and then spent the next 40 mins in waiting room and then another 15 in the exam room. Cody wiggled and pulled on my knee and pronounced it sound and don’t cut on it. He said i have tight hips and that is the way my body is. My right hip is painfull after the massage but doesn’t affect my riding, just sleeping.

I met JD for his insurance info. Long wind but coverage is now a full time RVer eliminating my work around reneters insurance. He saved me about $600.

I was driving towards The Elk and a side trip over to Riverside SP XG to earn if there was a shower when the phone rang. It was Jennifer, my old neighbor, asking when i was coming over. I said I could do it now and navigated back roads to their house. I drove by my old house hoping to avoid the new owners and succeeded. Bill and Jenifer said that the new owners pretty much stay on their side of the road. Cool. We visited and ZDick showed up, another neighbor. We drank 2 beers and I affectionated their 2 labs and cat. They remembered me.

I drove into valley and towards Sunset to The Elk in Brown’s Addition where I used to haunt on Friday nights. Tonight was more of the same. Kyle & Derick were still there. Enjoyed dinner and 1 beer. Kyle comped my bill. I had parked several blocks away from Elk on a quiet side street. I was considering sleeping on the street. I studied the environment for several minutes and decided to sleep here. My hip bothers my sleeping and the 3 beers had me in a hangover around 4:15AM. I lay in the dark trying to sleep when the van started shaking. After several shakes I flashed that somebody was trying to take my bike off the rack. I bounded out of bed and threw open the door and screamed “Hey” and whoever it was ran down the street. He had yet to remove the cable lock and the rear wheel and remove the front wheel and attach it. The bike was save.

I never fell back to sleep and got up around 6:00 and drove to Rosauers for a jug of water and drove to Riverside Bowl & Pitcher for b-fast and my big ride. I rode 38 miles in the park in just over 4 hours reacquainting myself w’ old trails. The trails are hardly technical but allow for wonderful spinning. Just like old time rides. In 4 hours I saw maybe 10 riders.

Tonight I am sleeping in Bill & Jennifer’s driveway for quiet & no interruptions. I am tired from today’s ride.

Bill’s birthday is Monday and mine is Wed. Jennifer invited me to a shared bday celebration w/ Bill’s family. We have done this over the 16 years I used to live there when I was at home. Nice people.

Did it, carried my bike, have pictures of views. I spent Thurs night @ TH pondering the map and during s spell of internet access I read a local ride description: ride it clockwise. Popular TH and ride area for horses as 1 load came in after dark. Road climb is 3000′ and steep in places, imagine the size of the truck engine to pull a trailer w/ 4 horses in it. Way bigger than my Sprinter.

Geared up and headed out just before 9:00. I exchanged greetings w/  the night arrived horse packer. I saw a mtn biker w/ dog @ TH and pedaled up to learn of his plans. He planned the same route and I tagged along. During the conversation I learned that his name was Gary and he is senior design engineer for 777 new wing @ Boeing. He had ridden several of the area rides but had never put this complete loop together and I was “eager” to help. The trail climbed up to Clooney lake and was an acceptable ride in spite of dirt bikes, horses, hikers, & mtn bikers chewing up the pumicey “soil”. Trail climbed again up into larch forest and opened up. Views are stellar. At Clooney lake the trail climbed as in “carry a bike” up to pass and views stretching across Lake Chelan that was hidden by foreshortening peaks. We saw Stuart, Glacier, Pyramid ( from 2 days before), very rugged peaks. Another hike a bike across a talus slope brought us to top of Angel’s Staircase which is a technical ST downhill switchbacking across mountain side dropping down into an alpine basin. Gary rides an older hard tail w/ 2″ travel fork and rim brakes. He can ride it pretty well. I passed him on downhills enjoying the plushness of my full suspension and disc brakes. My bike’s travel is 5.5″, i measured amount used after ride and found I still had 1.5″ available.

Ride was only 21 miles and about 4500′ vert but it was slow and took about 7 hours some of that time was spent gawking @ scenery. Prince Creek flows down to Lake Chelan, this was a creek I hiked up several times on backpacking trips.

Final climb up to Horsehead Pass and then almost all downhill on a way more dusty trail. Appears that most traffic travels this trail because of steepness of trail above Cooney Lake.

Back @ TH there were more rigs. One was from Spokane and their trail registration stated “loop” just like mine. I wrote a note on my card inviting them to visit me under their windshield wiper. They stiffed me. They might have finished their ride just before dark.

I spent the night @ the TH and shared Oregon ride info w/ Gary.

Last night forecast called for possibility of showers. B4 bed I covered the bikes. During the night I heard rain drops and smiled again in that i did not have to get outside to cover them up. Hardly any rain fell. People have said it has been a dry summer. Fire danger is very high and no fires or charcoal grills are allowed.

Today several more horse rigs arrived before i left. Glad I rode during the week than today.

I drove down and further up Methow to Winthrop to an outdoor shop for local ride info. I was shown a Falcon Press book, as a rule these books are just junk. She said falcon hired a local to write the guide, none other than Steve Barnett. We have some history but it has been resolved.

Winthrop is this funky old logging town on rt 20, the North Cascades highway. The engine quit years ago and it is now a small tourist town attracting tourist driving the Cascade Loop from the Puget Sound. The road thru the N Cascades is spectacular.

My plan is to do a ride near Loup Loup, Starvation Mtn & Lightning creek tomorrow and then drive over Sherman Pass, again on RT 20 and then on to Spokane early next week. I like being in familiar places.

Earlier this week a large outside pot grow operation was busted near Sun Mtn. Several helicopter flights were required to ferry all the evidence out to be burned @ an undisclosed location.

I am reading another Wendell Berry book, That Distant Land. It is a collection of writings arranged chronologically and many of his characters lives are carried forward over the years. I read one about Mat, 84 yo, too old to work his farm anymore. He grows a garden and spends time resting after his work. he is worked out. One day he determines that his fence line needs looking after and heads out on a walk longer and harder than he has done in several years. At first it is all downhill. He passes work that he did during his time and remembers the people long gone who helped him. He turned around and was faced w/ the daunting task for an old man to climb back up to his house. He struggles, several times he falls and wills his body to get up and keep climbing. While he is down he thinks that were he is is a pleasant spot and that he could stay there forever. Fortunately he is rescued by younger people in his life. That night in his hoes his wife finds him wandering around in the dark. He doesn’t know where he is. He is put to bed and the next morning his mind is gone. he remains in bed for days and suddenly his mind recovers and he is among the living. But he decides that he will never get out of bed. Slowly his body gives in and he dies of worn out old age. I thought about this writing during my carry a bike up this climbers way trail. I wonder when I will be faced w/ my help, I have fallen and can’t get up and then i do not want to get up anymore. I am just shy of 60 and someday i will be worn out and can’t play @ this lifestyle anymore. It is in my mind. Mtn biking is filled w/ pain and punishment and much joy. Elevated pulse and ragged breathing. It would be easier to ride the trails in the midwest that lack the  thousands of feet of climbing. Someday way off into the future. How do you face your own mortality? How do you accept that your body will not allow you the joys of physical exercise?

Off to more punishing rides and pushing out that day.