Sunday when I steeled myself to leave the warmth of all my blankets around 8:00AM it was 50 degrees inside with visible breath; outside it was 16 degrees. My heater was on low setting. Monday it was 14 outside. Today was a heat wave just below freezing. Around 3:30AM today i woke to the smell of propane and the sound of the frig going thru it’s lighting cycle. The frige didn’t catch fire as I suspected it would not which now explained the small of propane. I ran out! The last of the propane went to the heater and when the tank ran dry the residual fuel, not enough to burn seeped into the van. Shit. Choices: I could sleep until the cold forced me to get up and drive to find fuel which meant a later bfast and possible thawed berries. i could have put the berries in the “outside” freezer and dressed in the cold and maybe bought bfast. Or, I could get out of bed, dress, put my bed away and rig the van for travel, drive searching for fuel, buy it, drive back to Bill’s, & have frozen berries, my bfast and a warm get up. I chose the later choice and drove down to I-90 and the Broadway exit to Flying J for fuel. Tank took 5.5 gals, engineering value is 5.8 gals. I got caught short. Cold temp consumption.
Sunday temps warmed to just tights, long underwear top, & long fingered gloves for a 3 hour ride @ Riverside, total ride time was 19 mins longer. Great pedal in park & environs.
Chiropractor is having success using active release to free up my hip and eliminate my pain. I have 1 more appointment this Thurs. and I am done hopefully pain free. And then on to my odyssey leaving this northern cold temps.
IMBA has recognized 41 rides as epic ( definition not understood), I have ridden 35 over my life. 5 new ones were just added, I have 3 new ones to pick up. New ones are Pinhoti trails in Dalton, GA, home of the Snake Creek gap Challenge. I met Rick a bike club officer and on the race committee. He let me sweep the course, 33 miles as a volunteer. He told me to always ride to the beer. At the race I scored local moonshine and met Grace from Huntsville. The other ride is Plains of Abrahams on MT ST Helens which I rode on this trip and once previously. Thanks to the locals in creating & maintaining their trails and sharing them w/ the riding public as an IMBA epic.
Mountain Biking new issue has a short blurb about Fuzzy, a guy who lives in a van w/ his wife & kid during the summer and travels to rides. He has never cut his beard. Me? I get my beard & hair trimmed about every 2 months and I am a full time traveler w/o a family.
Forecast is for precipitation through out the week here in Spokane. I will be leaving soon I hope. I am comfortable staying here, so far i have not been uninvited, there are more invites than i have responded to. I like visiting w/ old friends & buddies & I have met a few new people. I know the rides locally except for hidden gems that somebody shared w/ me. I have no research to perform. i just decide where & when I want to ride. traveling adds back in the road trip thing of where to ride, how to get there, where to stay, where to score a shower, and where to go next. Staying here requires less effort and uncertainties. I am not antsy to leave but I want to move on. I have 2 new pairs of brake pads and a full bottle of Hammer gel, no shopping uncertainties there.