Another heater night. Nice to have the ride come to me. Luxurated. Made pancakes for Bfast. Prepped the bike. Joe rode up @ 9:00 on his Turner Spot. Coil over shock. He’s a big guy.

Rode right from campspot. Again enjoying the leading of a local and sleeping thru the navigation instructions. Some of the trails were new and well done in open P-pine forest. Several I rode last time here. Joe knows the trails and is faster, also he is 49. Trails are dusty. On the downhills I let him stay well ahead of me to allow the dust to settle. I am enjoying the downhills at a slower rate of speed. i for the most part coast and judiciously apply my brakes. Joe is an interesting person. I enjoyed his company. He knows a bit of the Sedona scene.

Terrain is open Ponderosa forest thinned long ago. No organic material to hold the decomposing rock together. Drains well after rain and probably rides real well then also. Well designed trails allowing flow. Sustainable. Only a few short steep climbs.

Wind came up during our ride and continued the rest of the day. Velocity picked up rocking the van parked sideways to the blows. P-pines have been previously tested and swayed greatly. Amazing to watch the tree trunks  @ breast height move. Green trees.

Joe rode off. Greased the bushings on my bike. The Monarch shock literally squeezes in under the top tube. I have to let the air out of the shock to gain slight clearance to swing out of the way of a grease zerk.

Drove to a Safeway on outskirts of my side of town. Didn’t outfit myself correctly to last 2 days here. Really ran out of coffee. Drive back up the 1.3 miles of dirt took me 8 mins.

Tomorrow Jimmy and gang said they would be up here for a ride. I will go in for my blood draw b4 bfast. Elevation affects my performance, camping just under 8,000′ and riding to below 9,000.

Chilly afternoon w/ wind.

Found a spot for the drill motor in the shoe locker under the fridge.

Spell check failed

1.3 miles of a rough mountain gravel road from hard road to where I am camping. Like 2 to 15 mph surface. P-pine forest. Smelled like Spokane.

Yesterday drove into town to neurologist appointment. India Indian woman DR. I interpret what is up w/ you, you needed know about it. No patient participation in my health care. She wants  blood work and an MRI. Successfully scheduled everything for next week.

Putzed around afterwards. Did my laundry on Beaver st downtown next to Macy’s restaurant where I ate a soup and half sandwich. Just down the road from NAU. Lots of students walking around. Youth. I vaguely remember being there, they no clue to what their life will bring.

Checked out local  scene mag and read about a trail project on Sat. Great, a chance to contribute to local cause.

Stopped @ Absolute Bikes. I learned that they have the Chris King bottom bracket grease tool. They squeezed in a grease job. A man stops me in the parking lot and calls me by name. He saw my van in Sedona several times but never found me. He contributed to the MTBR thread which, incidentally, is closed for an unknown reason after garnering around 8200 viewers. He introduced himself.  Made plans for a ride.

Drove back out to camp spot. Pleasant afternoon. Used the heater again last night.

Today after bfast, clean up, and squaring away the van I drove out to the meeting place for the trail work. USFS sponsored event, us volunteers were grunt labor. Built more than 1/4 mile of trail over a sloping rocky slope. Met Anthony who is manager of the AZ Absolute Bikes. We spent a bit of time exploring  causes and solutions to various land use issues.  Wind came up, so strong that I chose not to ride. My shoulder didn’t protest enough to quit.

Stopped @ Aquatics center for a shower to wash off the dust.

The latch on my extra clothes drawer failed due to lack of craftsmanship installation. This allowed the drawer to open and close during driving. I needed to fix it today. I used my smart phone to find a Home depot. My fix required hardware and drilling holes. I could buy the hardware but I was stymied by how to affordably drill the holes. A salesman joined my solution by walking me into the tools section and talked w/ his tool buddy who dropped $10 off a less expensive cordless drill motor. I bought a drill bit kit and I was set to drill holes in my van. I have needed a drill several times, now I have one and I need to find storage room.

My hands are fatigued from wielding a straight handle McCloud. And i am eating pistachios.

Called Joe for ride date. He will meet me where I am camped. A local to show me his trails.

Jimmy and Scott form BnB and maybe Zack are coming up here to ride on Monday.

I check my BP before bed and in AM while still in bed. 106over  61, no high BP here.

Mosquitoes here which are acceptable to the cedar gnats down in Sedona.

Quiet night. Thing about living in my van is that it is a mobile living room. I spend a bit of time on line. When the temps are chilly the door is shut. Van is comfortable to hang in and still get things done. Couldn’t see living in a tent as a way of life.

Drove a short way to a roadside parking area for trail 396 that was recommended by bike shop. Ride it as o & b. Have trail to myself for most of way out. Trail really well laid out flowing in & out of ridge snouts & gullies thru open P-pine forest w/ less visible signs of logging altho it was thinned back in 2006 to reduce fuels & contend w/ pine beetle. Mix of deciduous trees that have not leafed. Feels like spring. Rolled around a blind ridge snout. Uphill to my left I saw a black animal snapping branches as it fought its way onto the trail. Distance was too short to stop, fortunately my heart didn’t. Just ahead I saw a woman who was calling for her dog. A dog! Whew. Reminds me of a ride down near Moscow, ID during huckleberry picking season. I was riding a trail when something big and black was crashing thru the berry bushes. Thought for sure it was a black bear from how big it was and it made sense that it would have been feeding on the berries like us humans. Big black dog.

Rode to end and turned around for return leg. Suspected that the ride out was more downhill than the back part. I punched the lap button on the Garmin at the turn around. Post ride investigation supported my supposition. Short ride. Well made trail.

packed up then drove into Prescott to their New Frontiers Natural foods store, chain store. Today I drove the main roads on a go around Mingus mtn on the way to Flag which sits @ 7000′ up on Mogollon rim, in the world’s largest P-pine forest. Drove up I-17 instead of up Oak Creek. Picked up old RT 66 heading east to the aquatics center for a $5.00 shower. Cleaned up I visited Absolute bikes on rt 66. Learned that the trails on Mt Elden were dried out. I saw that on my drive into town, all the snow is melted out. P-pine forest is open. Factor in 11% humidity.

Drove up Shultz pass rd, found the same spot where i stayed 2 years ago. Camped @ 7600′. Sedona was 4500. Thinner air here.

Tomorrow is DR visit then laundry. Out on the road again. Stay here over the weekend.

Walking into a new shop as a touron lacks the familiarity I enjoyed in Sedona. So be it.

Right shoulder is not happy. I have quite a tan on my arms where my jersey doesn’t cover;  above that I look like I just escaped from the snow country. My beard is bleached out as are then ends of my hair.