Half way to full ghetto

Skies cleared last night and the mercury dropped freezing up the wet. Cloudless day and the sun warmed things back up.

Stopped @ USFS visitor center tracking javalina scat. A physical specimen was displayed under glass. Scat is the final product of javalina’s diet. This time of year they are eating mostly prickly pear. Still no source of what is excreting manzanita berries  in their poop. I did get the biologist’s name & number to call next week. Older woman in USFS uniform  in the center enjoined my curiosity.

At B & B Gonzo converted my front tire to ghetto tubeless. For the rear I need to buy a new tire before converting. The Kendal tires have weak sidewalls and the bead surface has all these tiny ridges that will prevent them from sealing against the rim. Must be mfg design to prevent running tires tubeless. Front tire has 23 psi making a slightly squishy feeling. Running less than recommended pressure of 35 psi stresses the tire side walls plus the bead is not as well defined to seat into rim.

Jeff called for 1:00 ride. Bit chilly. Jeff is in final stages of being a Sedona ambassador bestowed upon him by Traildoc. Talked to him about a Sedona trail confab. Rode new trail @ VOC. My Edge died tonight before downloading the ride info. Front tire stays on the ground more. We rode down a wash w/ puddles, and in the deep shade there was still ice.

Killing time before ride I walked down a store front row looking @ businesses. I saw a hair / nail salon w/ a sign in the window stating: Walkins are welcomed. I entered and tested their sign. For a negotiated fee of $23 the sole man employee would trim me up. He is bald. I told him that his fee was a good starting point and it should go down as I had half a head of hair to trim as I removed my hat for the first time. Chuckles were heard and smiles seen.

Finally, my replacement shoes arrived. I stopped @ the store asking about them. They said that they would call. Almost 3 weeks later I am wondering. The guy suddenly awakes and dives into an unopened shipping container. How many days they were there is their knowledge. The new shoes seemed to have eliminated the unreenforced piece of fabric which was the defect issue. My toe was almost out of mine. 3rd pair of replacement shoes since March purchase. Great shoes incorporating a footbed that properly aligns the knee to ankle which protects the knee from side to side deviation during pedal stroke.

Wore out my short finger gloves, again from Specialized. Picked up a new pair, blue. My pedals are blue, my glasses and lenses are light red, my helmet is white. And my jerseys are either red or blue, shorts are black spandez. Socks are many choices.

Back @ Deer Creek camp. Same spot. Tracks indicate someone stayed here last night, drove over vegetation.

Tomorrow is a MBH shop ride. Forecast is  1 day sunny, 1 day % probability scattered showers, 1 day sunny, etc.

Back still hurts