Quiet night @ Beaverhead. Forecast called for rain by 11:00. I made events complete to be able to leave B & B before the rain. Made it.

Ride plan is from B & B, up lower shady ( or some other name) to H…e, out baldwin, up Templeton, down Cathedral rock path to wash to HT and find equestrian bypass Gonzo showed me. Couldn’t find it. I was climbing up and Wes, Kenny, & Gayle zoomed down by me. They were going to ride what i just rode. I lacked the energy & desire to ride H…e again. Ran into then again while they were taking a break. Joshed around some more. Turned down second invite. Finished off w/ upper shady with it’s technical climb. Engine dipping into tapped out zone for riding but strong for hike a bike. Still can’t make the climbing to the left switchback that is armored w/ pieced in rock. Failure is an inside downhill fall onto pavers. And the clouds were clearing off. No rain. Great riding weather.

Hung @ B & B for awhile goofing.

groceries and drive out to deer pass and hope my spot is open and clean. It was, however they left a bed of coals burning under the ash.

Watched Gonzaga beat USF to win the WCC. Next stop is WCC tournament next weekend. Then the NCAA big dance. Some say Gonzaga could be seeded for Spokane venue.

Rain drops on the roof. Pitter patter and then silence….. more pitter patter… Forecast is for rain tonight & tomorrow.

I wonder if bad riding habits persist regardless of what bike enhancements are made. I noticed on the first several rides on the new bike it and I  opened some moves but a short while later I fell to same bad habits. Tubeless tires was next big change. Pumped success for several rides then bad stuff again. Maybe I get away w/ more mistakes that turn into success. I will learn to better ride my ride.

Yesterday dawned clear & warmed up. Today is a rest day and I have a list of tasks to accomplish. No rush to hit road. The dead battery halted the road. Used laptop & wireless internet card to find a roadside shop in Sedona. Called on cell phone. driver called to affirm location. Called AAA to rejoin. Eventually got back to Spokane where I previously belonged. They waived new member fee. I bought basic membership as greater roadside assistance is in my RV insurance. I have used my yearly limit but AAA is boundless. WA membership is cheaper than AZ fee. Service guy plugged in small battery onto mine and the engine started right away. Been doing a lot of short driving w/ no extended driving to really charge the battery. The camper batteries being charged from overflow to rig battery and the solar collector remain mostly fully charged. Today I used the Web again this time to find a service garage in Sedona to rewire the stereo to the camper batteries and then I can rock all night.

Bought propane now that temp is above freezing and their valve is unfrozen. Would have run out last night.

Push to get to Hilton for shower before my granter of special privilege goes off shift. Made it.

Back to B & B to install Maxxis Ardent & make it tubeless. Scored. Hung @ shop goofing & talking trail system issues. Big issue is publishing trail description on the web. Many of trails are not approved but many ride them. Calling attention to these trails might not be in best interest of local riders. Jimmie told me there are maybe 30 riders who live here, the rest are tourons riding trails they found on the web. Might not be here to see how it plays out.

Back down to Beaverhead flats camp. Beaver creek is still flowing w/ runoff. Pulled in to my spot I passed a pickup maybe 150′ away. I was putzing around inside my van and saw that I needed h2o that i forgot to get earlier. Drove out and pickup was almost in my camp. Was I being selected? Drove up to VOC. Chair massage was offered. I sprung for 20 mins w/ instructions to work on hurting lower back. Woman was weak on power massage. I felt like I was being caressed not stress relieved. She said that she detected no abnormalities from crash. Back out to camp. Truck was gone. Before dark several rigs cruised thru. None stopped.

This camp gets the sun earlier. Connected small solar collector to power the stereo. Rig started when I needed. Back up to VOC. Parked & dug into GPS manual to learn how to creak a track and to see how to retrace the route. Thinking is to load ride data in a GPS and rent it. user lets GPS guide the rider on prepared ride thus the rider never gets lost. Most of the mtn bikers are tourons and are lost. Having difficulty making the GPS follow the track back. Emailed Garmin seeking solution.

Made B & B for afternoon shop ride. Owner Jimmie,  wrenches Jason & Richard, and me headed out.  Rode hard, stopped several times but less than MBH rides. Enjoying 2.4 tubeless tires inflated to 23 psi. I have such a Sedona bike now and it is great. 3 hrs 21 mins for 14.42 miles and 1744′ vert. Rode neglected trail strewn w/ loose rock today better than I did on Tuesday w/ Jeff. Tires big difference. Ardent tires roll faster than Nevegals. Finished just before sundown. Bike is so much fun to ride, best bike ever.

back out to Beaverhead camp after dark. No rigs have passed thru.

Chris Lesser called for followup interview. Talked almost 2 hours.

Cloudy day and chilly.

Head back into MBH for shop ride. Left about 11:00 w/ Rama, Janet, & Doug. Picked up a sort of regular woman rider out on trail. After a short while she dropped out because of gear problems. Rama went with her. Doug, Janet, & I were on our own. Under the radar, over around Pyramid. Janet left. Doug had an itch to extend the ride. He wanted to add H… E to our route which meant crossing Oak Creek. Normal crossing is @ Red Rock xing but flow is too high and washed out the rock stepping stones. Doug thought that another crossing existed above Buddha beach. We hike a bike bush bashed searching for a crossing. Creek flow was too strong to wade as was it too cold. We found a potential crossing where someone had laid a like 2×14 over to a 4′ square island. From there it was a big step over to the base of a washed out tree. A single slender piece of tree trunk spanned to the shore. Doug crossed w/o his bike and set to work improving the last crossing. I worked the island. And then i handed his bike to him. We crossed w/ dry feet then bush based some more until we hit Templeton trail. Series of 4 switchbacks awaited. Years of lack of trail care made for vey difficult going. Traildoc worked & repaired the damage. To climb them is big boy stuff. Doug almost made them all. I chose to hike a bike. Interesting, Doug tackles & rides most of hard tech stuff. I walk some of it. At the end of 6 1/2 hr ride Doug was gassed. Rode trail where I fell on my back. Both of us walked it up. Back hurts after I am off the bike. Made the climb up to H…E & rode it. Some kind of a Sedona trail as it hugged the uphill face of a cliff band. Challenge. The drop off the high slick rock is a drop your seat and get behind it downhill. I don’t drop my seat and don’t ride that kind  of trail. I rode more of it today than i did back @ christmas. Back down @ Oak Creek. Bush bash and we found our crossing. We are at low point, we have to climb out of valley. Grunts. As we crested a hill we saw javelina crossing the road. Doug counted 18 as they scampered up the hill side. Climb we did on Sketch which hangs out in space. Pay attention to where your front wheel is and look @ the trail, forget the view down below. Made it back. Doug was beat and I was looking forward to a cold beer.

Last night my EDGE 305 bike computer quit working. I used  my Etrex GPS to record route. Batteries died.

Dashed back to deer pass to find my spot occupied. Picked another.

Tubeless front tire worked great, bit of air suspension. Tomorrow I buy a new rear tire and have it made tubeless.

Tomorrow might be rest day. Possible rain tomorrow and Friday is nice w/ rain over the weekend. Sedona is 3″ of rain ahead for year.