Yesterday was stressful for me as I was out of control for my van repair, a working van was a requirement for the second task of driving 12 miles up canyon to score a campsite @ Cave springs USFS XG w/ no cell or land line contact. I scheduled in doing my wash b4 repair, van repaired then head up canyon. Steroids lessen my sleep. Up early w/ wash done. Phone rings, it is the garage and the part order was less than correct causing the part to not arrive till Mon. My van has the power of an air cooled rear engine VW bus and i need to drive 12 miles up canyon on a no shoulder road, no cell phone coverage driving a van that isn’t happy. I called the SPokane first wave saying I couldn’t support, I wouldn’t drive up. This ate @ me that caused a reversal of not going to going.  Made it.

Cave springs campground, USFS , privatized. Laid out my cards for 2 spokane rigs, 5 people and my rig. Solution was me pay for 2 days and put Tom’s name as 2nd vehicle who is to arrive mid afternoon sat. Found a choice camp spot.

I used the campground day as a rest day. I attached the saddle brackets to hold the shrunken bike stand to the Jobox. Next I attached my bike to it. Vise post is very tight fight in saddles which is great because the bike won’t move around. Today I was going to retire the second to last original piece of bike build up. Last piece is the Chris King Headset on it’s 5th bike. I had accumulated needed parts, I just needed the time and resolve the grief of trashing something b4 it is broken or really worn out. Oh, that was just on the crank arms. Scored a shimano XTR cluster for $90 in Hurkin and a chain. The crankset came from a Shimano screaming deal pro card discount. Successfully assembled the parts.

As day wore on the campground filled. It is situated on an ancient flood plain of Oak creek @ 5500′. Deep into steep canyon. 89A was just across the creek. Campers built fires from bought wood bundles. Smoke lay trapped in down canyon air currents. No cell phone coverage.

This AM I revisited w/ the XG people that Tom would arrive probably b4 I return and that I had to spend tonight there to hold the spot. OK another drive up canyon and staying in the XG. I was on my way to breakfast @ the Wildflower w/ Danny then go for a ride.

Danny and I pulled off a 11:30 to 1:30PM ride. Heat crept up. I accidentally detached part of my hydration bladder bite valve allowing my sustenance to pour out on the ground. Might be trouble, got to know where your h2o sources are out in the desert. Danny shared the h2o that he carries for dog Pepper who wasn’t along because it was too hot for her. Fixed the valve and drank deeply. We rode out Earl’s cabin like my Thurs ride. I made the ramp up I previously walked. Followed Danny. Out to Mescal I walked the 3 places as b4. One is a complex slick rock problem w/ a serious consequence of failure. I made a nasty loose hill climb and passed Danny  walking. I impressed him. Technically he is a better rider. He said i should lead because I got ahead of him. I did while he gave navigation directions until I told him to go ahead. He was right on my wheel and I felt like I was holding him back which made me push harder that caused him to ride faster to keep up. My breathing was not as purely practiced as on my solo ride. I push a bit harder to stay w/ a rabbit.

Drove back to his house. For 2 beers Danny let me have a shower.

My fridge is not cooling. Found a Norcold service center in Cottonwood.

Tom & Kelle are settled into the campsite. Danny & I went to a late afternoon mexican dinner. Tom & Kelle are just getting into Sedona and going to find a ride. I decided that I was not going back to the XG and to leave negotiation w/ XG manager on getting Randy in who is arriving early evening. Me being there would be 3 rigs on site, an overflow.

Hot evening, 71 degrees @ 8:45 PM under a cloudless some kind of full  moon w/ no wind. Getting hot for a few days then back into 70s next week.

Tomorrow is MBH ride. Hook up w/ Spokane folks.

My thread on MTBR. com has generated 4777 views and 131 comments. Visits to this website have increased also because I provided a link.

This weekend is Sedona’s first mtn bike festival. I need to finish up my map.

Last night this camp spot was a hotspot as is tonight. My favorite spot is populated by horse campers. Don’t bid the devil good day until you meet him but I sure hope they clean up.

Lower parking lot is cleared of most of the big rigs that camped there for many days. Big plush pushers. Can’t drive them to the grocery store.

Limped into town to Dave’s arriving b4 he opened for my appointment for him to bleed my Reverb seat dropper Dave is pretty sharp as he engaged me and wore me out in several how we can be better discussions. I learned a bit. Great stuff to add to the hopper, let it steep, then find it for recall. He replaced the hydraulic tubing that was incorrectly installed @ the factory then bleed the air out. Took it for a parking lot spin. The post rises so fast to jeopardize the jewels. Great working seat dropper.

Van limps along. I called the garage asking that if the part came in today could they put it on today. UPS didn’t deliver. Delivery promise was if ordered by a time it would arrive Thurs. Not so. Friday install after UPS delivery.

Bought some hardware to use to connect my bike stand to the jobox on back. Design is to cut off the post holding the jaws for gripping the bike from the rest of the stand then mount that piece to the box. Bob’s welding & fabrication cut the tube, drilled the mounting holes & welded a stop to hold the pipe from sliding out. Gave him the left over stand. Will work well in that I free up room in the box and putting it on  the box will be so much easier than wrestling w/ the stand fittings to set it up.

Plan is to ride mid afternoon to let the heat go away and the light change. All previous rides were done in AM except for winter rides from BnB. Sun is different now, higher in the sky. Shadows are different than AM. I viewed the humidity for yesterday: 69% @ 4:59 AM, 13% @ 7:57PM. Parked @ MBH then rode to Dry creek road via neighborhood streets. Jumped on first piece of dirt, a system trail, that provided some warm up tech features from loose sharp edged red rock to small step ups and roll overs. My new Monarch rt3 PUSH tuned shock makes the bike ride some much smoother allowing me to keep the rear wheel on the ground while I pedal. The ride going down is so smooth. The seat dropper worked its function. My body delivered. My breathing is still affected by suspect bronchitis. I stayed seated working on my spin to match my breathing. Worked pretty well. There was only 1 short climb I walked but the others with a spin and the bike’s handling I just “motored” up and down. Solo and saw no one. I rode more tech features than previous rides. Earl’s cabin is ride name. It is a mtn bike made trail that goes into the wilderness. Because it was an unofficial trail it was never mapped and bikers had been riding into the wilderness where bikes are not allowed. Here in Sedona an arbitrarily contour elevation of 4,500 feet was chosen as the boundary. FS  “discovered” the trail and then placed a wilderness boundary carsonite marker where the trail entered. I turned around & retraced my route going down the ups and up the downs. Trail is more tech and challenging and BETTER built than the system trails.

Late afternoon ride. Heat gone. Drove down to spa for quick shower. Fighting darkness and end of day & possible no sleep spots. Made the Deer pass rd site. same crowd. Nosed into patch of junipers separating me from another ride and then just 25′ off the road. This road dead ends down @ Dry Creek @ Angel ranch(?) site of sweat lodge ordeal that is blamed for deaths of 3 people. Ray is on trial.

Tomorrow is busy w/ do laundry & be @ garage by 11:00. As soon as they are done I dash up Canyon to Cave Springs XG to score a site for Spokane folks then spend the night there. May the van part arrive. If not, I don’t want to drive up canyon on my ill van.

Didn’t sleep well last night. No heat on nor was it needed. Finally slept till 7.

Today is 10:00 shop ride. Going on a group ride. How far back will I be? Will I be able to ride the tech stuff? Left shop riding uphill on View. Grade was 18% @ top. Mostly riders in their 60’s & fifties so maybe we don’t ride as fast. Rode Bandit up to airport mesa. The new shock really sucks up the nasty. I rode happily although I did walk a bit of the uphill thru the basalt rocks as did most others. Digging on new shock and seat dropper. Rode Sketch backwards. Did walk steep rollover on Ridge after secret slick rock. All is good. My shoulder is almost pain free and able to use my arm to ride. 9 weeks 4 days. drew blood on my arm that oozed creating a show. Clotted by itself.

My free wheel was not spinning backwards when i ratcheted pedaled. Not good. Chris King hub is noted for its quick engagement. Ratchet pedaling is back pedaling to allow cranks to clear an object then take a good forward spin to move ahead. My chain was hanging up & not rotating the cluster backwards for my pedal stroke. Previously i negotiated an appointment w/ Dave @ 2 to rework my seat post. I bailed on the ride to ride the road back to meet my schedule. I asked Dave to fix my hub and put off the seat post. He tore the hub apart and found a seized bearing that he was able to free. His guess is I rode in the wet or in hub deep h2o. Back in Jan I crossed pink feet crossing using my bike as a 3rd leg which submerged the hub in a pressure wash. Nipped the problem b4 it really became a problem

Hanging in Sedona has been great in that there are 2 bike shops that can fix things, Dave’s is the better mech shop. This allows me to have fixed things or upgrade that not all shops along the way have. Chris King hub tools and knowing how to use them. My Sprinter has found skilled hands in a literal shade tree mechanic shop. Good health care for eyes, teeth, and whatever else. Have an established health care provider. The emergency clinic knows me. I have a few good friends. I fit in. Going to miss it. I accept the excitement of the road in new experiences. Perhaps if I stayed longer at other places I might find the same thing. I observe tourons interacting w/ local shop personnel and I realize that I am just another non local walking in the door. Tomorrow I will be gone and they will still be there. Living in a tourist town. There is no normal work week. And I have just free time on my hands.

Tomorrow is back @ Dave’s for the seat post fix, later a ride followed by a spa shower, grocery shop, then drive out to desert for camp. Friday is tight in that I need to drive up to XG and score a campsite for the Spokane folks then spend the night. 12 miles driving each way. XG lacks cell phone coverage.

Sunny skies mid 70s. Dry.