As was this AM, it was 41 outside & 53 inside @ wake up time. Fixed a cup of coffee from the concentrate made using a Todd’s Tody. Simply steep for 10 hrs the correct mixture of h2o and coffee then allow liquid to pass thru a filter. Yield is a concentrate of smooth coffee flavor. Heat (hot h2o) releases oils & acids. Cold steeping solves the essence of the beans w/ less acid. Mix 1 part  concentrate to 3 parts h2o. I have a clear plastic insulated cup that I drew marker lines connoting amounts.

Left in time for Danny’s ritual just b4 8:00 Am bfast @ Wildflower. Chilly drive in, turned on the heater. Bfast catch up w/ Danny. Made plans to ride together. I concocted a really big loop, case of eyes are bigger than body can support. Meeting time and location established. We both made it.

Danny’s healer type dog Pepper, joined us. Danny carries an additional 50 to 60 ozs of h2o for her. Route became the Highline loop. Return to site of my fall 11 weeks prior. I walked the same stuff but rode what i did w/ more confidence. Balance and pedal.  Trail on Baldwin drop in is dry and loose. I walked more this time going down because of the conditions.  Danny rode the early part until he wiped off somehow while smacking his unit. Down in the wash I rode over the rocks getting closer to where I fell. No grip, calmness. I easily rode the location of the fall. Pure brain fart fall.  Trail joins Baldwin, a system trail, to take us down to Oak creek. Pepper literally jumped for joy to be wet and cool in the flowing creek. Lots of hikers and a few bikers went by during our lunch break. Pepper spent our rest time running around. Figured that would come back to hunt her later in the ride. Well it did but she added a torn pad on each from foot which was the real speed killer. Danny got her back to BnB.

Catch this photo, enlarge it.

Finished the ride, hung & BnB for a beer. I left for my last membership shower @ the spa. At the spa I asked the attendant if I could get a shower on Sunday after the MBH ride. She said yes and gave me a guest pass.

Out to Deer pass camp spot. Forecast low of 36. I am wearing my sweater and I have closed all the side vent windows. Double over down blanket night.

Tonight I looked @ Prescott, Flag, and Gallup’s weather forecasts.  Still below freezing temps @ night.

Tomorrow is my last MBH ride. Need to stop @ Danny’s to retrieve my road bike and put it back on the rack.

I check my BP several times a day, interesting data. In the morning b4 I get out of bed:  110/ 64 HR of 56 bpm, after bfast 122 / 70 60 bpm.

Hedgehog blossoms

Windy night @ Deer pass camp, in this case I was still in bed and the van was rocking, come on in.

Drove into west sedona to laundromat for last wash. Bid owner George farewell. When i add my riding clothes to my regular week’s worth of clothes I step up to the big $5.00 washers. I hang my Pearl Izumi shorts on my clothes line stretched across the width of the van back up against the far end. I delicate temp dry most jerseys and wool socks. I final dry them on the same clothes line. For a day or 2 i have drying clothes hanging. AZ like 12% humidity & upper 70s baking temps finally evaporate all the moisture.

Drove down to VOC. I made an appointment w/ an acupuncturist for Mon AM to fix my tingling feet.

Geared up and rode to BnB. Craig… was sitting @ the counter. We previously met and chatted @ the shop. He is repping Caffe Latex , another tire sealant compound. Previously he gave some to teh shop to try. Previously I read less than glowing reviews on MTBR. Today he asked me when i was going to put the stuff in my tires. I told him of the negative reviews. he said the mix has been improved. I said give me the stuff and I will try it. He put up. Tomorrow I will empty the Stan’s then put his stuff in. Stan’s leaked. Jimmy’s tire still holds air after he put sand in the Stan’s in his tire.

Jimmy, Jason, and I headed out for the Hogs out near Chicken Point. Beautiful day, windy, dry, and not too hot. The Hogs is a lesser known area and has its technical hike a bike pieces for me. Exposure, slick rock, consequences for failures.

Got lots of sun for 14.9 miles in 2 hrs 21 mins of riding. Big elevation of 1849′. I rode up my 2 nemisi in the wash. There are moves on the Hogs that are above my skill level. The consequences of failure are too great to risk riding. To that end I am sensible. My seat dropper lowers fairly quickly and dependably and the return speed is nut smacker. I use it quite a lot. Benefit is that it lowers the seat out of the way so that I can squat down on the pedals thus lowering my center of gravity on downhills. I have used it on slight uphill tech sections and it works real well in the rocky washes. Once you become comfortable w/ a dropper, you won’t go back to fixed.

Late afternoon @ BnB this guy pulls in driving this. He said it cost $150,000 to build. He bought it from the owner for less than half price. 10 mpg diesel until he spent $6,000 revising the engine to get 22 mpg. This is the kind of rig Jimmy wants to own.

Dashed off up canyon to the spa for a shower. Dinner @ Mexican restaurant. Ordered Mole for 3rd time, every time the Mole is a bit different.

Out to Deer Pass camp.

8,177 MTBR readers have opened my post, “My life is better than your vacation”

Time gets away from me.

Tuesday I joined a ride lead by Jan. Several tourons joined, Bruce from PIE that I met @ Hot Tomato is Fruita, and Grant and his wife.We rode a new trail named New Frontier out off Dry Creek rd. It is just a pedaling trail w/ a few tech challenges. Jimmy pointed out that it lacks the Sedona chunky ride ion that it lacks pieces of slick rock. Might be because location lacks such. Pedal pedal pedal.

When somebody says lets go for a ride it is not like going for a drive in a car or skiing down a run. This mtn biking takes effort. Just saying lets go for a ride is not harmless.

Ride was over around noon. Showered @ spa then drove down to BnB for hang time. Sometimes hanging @ the shop is also w/ effort as in drinking great tasting tequila and tap beer. Time passes w/ no timely dinner. I limit my consumption to a shot and a beer to remain consistent for my coumadin dosage.

Drove out to Beaverhead flats and scored my spot. After dark a white car drove around near me that freaked me out such that I retrieved my pepper spray and kept it in my hand. I locked my doors. Nothing happened, never found out what the guy was up to.

Yesterday was my chiro appointment. I had hopes that an adjustment would eliminate my tingling hands and feet. The chiro has not been receiving insurance payments. She believes the insurance and government is out to put chiros out of business. She enlisted me in her fight. I spent phone time speaking w/ my insurance carrier and learned that the billing codes this year are different from last year which is why payments are not being made. The chiro spent more time being paranoid trying to figure out the insurance issues than working on me. I almost left the office. She was not professional.  In the end my tingling remains.

I bought a home blood pressure device. Several tests reveal my BP & pulse are where they should be. This AM while still in bed it was 112/67 w/ 62 bpm. High hr was reflective of last night’s ride.

Yesterday Jimmy said that he was riding after work. Good plan for me.

Spent more time w/ insurance co learning how to acquire a home test device to measure my blood clotting. I qualify per the plan. The DR needs to submit paper work for authorizing. Having the unit will free me from finding labs for the tests. This device requires just a finger prick and a drop of blood. Labs draw iv blood.

Made BnB ride. We left just after 5 PM. The light and scenery are just spectacular. The temps are lower and chilling as the ride goes on. Normally I ride mid morning / mid afternoon when the sun is high and the crowds are out. Last night we saw less than 5 people. My breathing prevents me from riding near the front. Breathing is known and when my age is factored in against their youth I am OK. I am giving up 15 to 20 years. Our route took us up Sleezey breezey. On a short tech climb I stalled out when my front wheel ran against a small rock because I lacked the mo to roll over it. I fell onto my right side uphill into some rocks. I was trapped in my pedals; I had to wrestle my bike away from me to clip out of my left pedal to get out from under my bike. When i stood up there was blood streaming down my forearm. Great: a bleeder and a fall on my healing collar bone.  The cut bled freely for awhile. I washed it out w/ h2o from my hydration pack then pulled out my first aid kit to staunch the flow. The adhesive tape didn’t stick to my hairy arms. The bleeding stopped allowing me to finish the ride. And my shoulder just hurt more but I still had proper movement and the bone ends were stable. All was good. At the shop I washed the cut in the sink and looked @ it. More show than damage such that I didn’t even bandage it. A taste of smooth tequila lessened my pain.

Jimmy flatted after hitting a sharp rock @ speed. Stan’s wouldn’t seal it. Some claim is tghat new version of Stan’s does not seal very well. He pumped the tire up several times that should have pushed the sealant into the hole to seal it. He finally removed the bead from the rim and put a handfull of fine sand into the tire. The sand leaked out and plugged the hole. I use the same Stan’s.

Late night shower @ the spa. Bought a sandwich @ New Frontiers zas they were closing then drove out to Deer Pass camp.

Insurance co. called back and told me the chiro’s lack of payment problems are caused by her billing company. The codes were revised and she was sent the notice. The billing company dropped the soap. I was told that once she straightens out the codes she will receive payment per the contract she signed. I wonder how she will man up to her mistake, where will she place her paranoia?

Today is a rest day.

Jimmy is hosting a last night dinner party at his house this Monday. My plans are to leave Sedona Tues Am for Prescott. I will ride there several days then move on to Flag for the neurologist visit. Ride several days in Flag then move east to NM. I looked @ Gallup, NM weather forecast recently which was forecasting temps in the 20s @ night. Chilly willy.

I have a pretty good tan on my lower arms. Above my bike shirt sleeves I am pretty white.