Several days ago on a trail near B & B I shared a tight piece of trail w/ a couple. That night I received a Facebook notice to add this guy as a friend. I did. He answered back that he met me on the trail and wanted to say hello. I told him I might be down in Oak Creek on Friday and if he wanted we could do a ride. And that was it.
Thurs was a rest day. My foot still hurts but my shoulder is less painfull. Visited w/ Rama @ his shop. i had both skiddish shop cats in one chair stroking both of them. Impressed Rama. I like cats. Visited w/ B & B down canyon.
Drove back to deer pass and watched the Zags game against Portland whom they beat by 3 points @ Portland several weeks ago. Sat the Zags were beaten by 1-4 in conference San Fran. Thurs the Zags literally destroyed Portland. Zags seem to play @ opposing team level except for Thurs. Way to go.
Friday I got rolling to make B & B for 9:00 AM ride w/ this guy, Dave and his wife. In West Sedona Dean flagged me down & invited me to go build USFS trail. Darn, but I made a ride date and they got preference. I was ready to ride & @ the Bean for 9;00AM. I waited 15 mins & decided he was a no show. I rode off riding again the loop Gonzo took me on, again I couldn’t replicate it all. Heading back almost @ end but whom do i encounter but Dave & his wife Rebeca. I was just about done and they were starting. I said I needed to be gone by 12:30 for a shower. They said come shower @ their rental house. They are from Green Bay, WI here on a 4 week vaca and they rented a house in Oak Creek. I said I will take you on a ride and follow them to their house. Great, more hours outside w/ a shower, and visit w/ some nice people. Rebeca was a pro mtn bike racer. Pro means that you are in highest class of racers. She raced Leadville this last year. I asked if they saw Grace in Race Across the Sky and they said Yes. Grace gets 2 credits for being known by WI folks visiting here and will return to WI taking their knowledge. Dave found my web site last fall back in his shop. He saw my van and started making connections. He found me in Facebook.
Finished the ride. They gave me driving directions and they rode off on their bikes for home. I made it. They have 2 German shorthairs, one older and the other a 5 month pup. We hit it off, both dogs & People. They own a bike shop in GB. We visited, drank some beer, had dinner, had a shower, visted some more, and then I slept in my van in the driveway. We gen’d up a ride idea for Sat and I said that i would make my scratch pancakes w/ huckleberries for Bfast.
Forecast for Sat was wet. No rain fell @ bfast. I made the pancake batter and cooked them on the electric range. Damn electric: I burned the first batch. I should have used my propane stove.
Still no rain, critical mass was reached and out the door I went. @ B & B I installed a new slime tube as the current one leaked. The slime didn’t seal. I thought the valve was defective. After the flat tube was removed I spun the inside of the tire around on my fingers feeling for whatever sticking thru. Found a prickly pear thorn. The slime couldn’t seal because the cause of the hole was still in the hole. I pumped the tube up and spun it around for the slime to find the hole. The leak sealed. I put in the new tube.
Our ride is out N of West Sedona, out Dry Creek road. At the parking lot the front tire was soft. I removed the tube and again searched for thorns. Nothing. Reinstalled & pumped back up. Problem appears to be the valve that won’t completely seal. Made it seal and we were off. Rebeca is the guide using her past ride experience. She brought the map and successfully navigated us back to the rigs. Social easy ride enjoying their company. Riding here is not like home.
We made plans to connect on Tues. I have an invite.
I drove to laundromat to do wash. I wore 6 days of my riding clothes. Today i wore the holey shorts torn in my fall. Pretty drafty.
Started raining before I finished my wash.
Drove out to Deer Pass camp going into the prevailing weather. Drove out of rain. May tomorrow be dry. Later rain fell in earnest.
Sold my shock.
Thurs @ the Bean a Service Master rig was carpet cleaning upstairs. I asked the guy if I could hire him to clean my carpet. $25 adn at least the dirt is shampooed out of carpet, some stains remain.
I introduced myself to Joe Murray form early mtn biking fame from late 80s. Gave him a van tour. He was @ B & B.