Ah, the joy of waking up @ the trail head for the day’s ride. Forecast called for 30% showers. I was awakened by rain drops hitting the roof. Got up & put on my had and wool poncho then stepped into a light rain to put the rain cover over the bikes. Crawled back into bed and shortly after the rain quit. Skies looked more might fall. I dragged my feet heading out to see if rain or sucker hole. Sucker hole. I was a good way up Dry Gulch which has a strong stream flowing down it when sprinkles fell. Warm enough to not put on my rain jacket. A rider heading down stopped and chatted. He said hello to me earlier in the parking lot. Larry, another local, who knows all the guys I met yesterday.

Pedaled up out of Dry Gulch onto Rockstar up on the flat. Plan is to find Smitty 2 to head back downhill. Found the trail that dropped down a jeep road then picked up a cow path down the creek. remarkable. This place is soooo huge. Thinking about how big it is is that this is all sage brush and you can see for literally for miles. In a forest the trees shorten the sight distance so it seems that I am always way out there. This place is big. Rain clouds cleared

Most of the trails are marked by splashes of white paint. Back on Smity small pieces of orange tape sporadically tied to sage bushes. Faint bike tire tracks. Navigation was challenging. Trail was a cow path that dropped down stream. Nothing for tech challenge but fun to surf the twists. Drop my saddle a little w/ the Reverb lowers my center of gravity.

I encountered cows on the way up Dry Gulch and negotiated numerous nasty splatters. I carried my bike over several of them. Chopper said if you are not willing to take a hot steamer to the chops you are not a mountain biker. OK I confess, I won’t take a steamer. Back at the van I saw manure splatter on my saddle.

Back @ my van I wound down after my ride. Next up is a drive to a campground for a shower and grocery shopping. The skies took on an ominous look for more rain. I put the rain cover over the bikes in case. As I drove out of dirt road the wind hit blowing hard rain. Wow, I was inside dry, I could ahve been caught in it and it would not have been fun.

Got a $5 shower then headed into Twin Falls for groceries. Then my return trip back to Indian Springs TH for the night.

Plan tomorrow is drive to Sun Valley area. Snow is still low. Riding here will be the low trails.

Sundown is 9:25 local time. I usually go to bed @ 10:00. Chilly sleep night.

Just goes to show if it ain’t one thing it is another.

Fri AM I left the camp spot on the bluff above Rabbit Valley and I-70 early bound for my 8:30 appointment w/Dave of a mobile RV repair service to install a cooling fan for my fridge. He beat me there.The deal is to install a pulling fan in the upper fridge vent to pull lower cooler air over the cooling coils thermostatically controlled and he installed a manual switch. Temp in the 80s and then turned on fan went right to work, unfortunately the temp did not drop much lower than w/o. But it’s in.

Next was my appointment w/ the endocrinologist, DR Wellstein formerly of Germany.  Purpose is to understand the thyroid condition and what is causing it to produce borderline high output. He ordered another blood draw. Body chemistry will give up its secrets.

On way out of GJ I stopped @ an office supply store to print the Good Water trail info. In color.

Back in Fruita I did my wash @ local laundromat that uses plastic like credit cards instead of change. Bought my card way back when @ an earlier visit & have kept it all along. Means something.

Stopped @ Hot Tomato for a last beer and bid adieu. Anne & Jen lost their house sitting place in Sedona leaving them residenceless for visit this winter.

Plan is to drive to outside Price, a place off the highway i found years ago. Found it. This time I drove further out away from the hwy. Out in the open but further away from the traffic noise.

Sat I finished the drive to Price and to Fuzzy’s Bicycle Works shop. Just an empty bay in the strip mall. Gone bust. I planned on learning from Fuzzy about Good Water. Bummer for him.

Drove out to The Wedge above the San Rafael river. I stopped @ an information kiosk and read a closure bulletin stating that if a trail or road was not signed it was closed and a $1,000 fine for those who did not comply. I walked out to overlook then out the double track looking for trail signs. Didn’t see any or tracks leading off double track. Forgot to take the info w/ me on my walk. Place has been abused by motorized users. Back @ van I reread the info that said 2/3 mile on double track. I didn’t walk far enough.

The juniper gnat bites on Sat were really bothering me, painful and itching.

No Good Water, next stop is Twin Falls, ID, actually Kimberly, to ride the Indian Springs trails that I was weathered out of last fall. Poked thru Salt Lake City megalopolis traffic. I passed Tremonton, UT looking @ the fuel stations. My fuel gauge showed 1/2 tank but the odometer showed like 400 miles. I am thinking the fuel gauge is wrong. I start to sweat a long stretch of empty interstate. Made Snowden just outside ID. Took 16 galls, on a 25 gal empty tank the gauge was close enough. Mileage worked out to 29 mpg and the tank overfilled.

Pulled off in ID on a ranch exit where I previously stopped. Last time I drove up a farm road above the traffic noise. The “road” was a challenge. This year rain  had rutted it and traffic was on it when it was wet. I started up it when caution stopped me. I walked up it checking it out. I decided I could make it up. However I noticed sticking mud to my tires and abandoned my plan. I found a suitable spot off the on ramp. Shortly after stopping rain fell w/ gusto. Whew, safer spot to be in. The drive down the steep would have been an uncontrolled slide.

On the other side of the interstate was a frontage road populated by lots of beef cows on the loose. I watched an ID state trooper drive thru the mix w/ his flashers on. Cows didn’t pull over.

Chilly comfortable night under the down blanket and the bites healed. early this AM ranchers were out rounding up the breakouts. Rained for short while after getting up then quit.

Plan today is to drive to Kimberly to ride the Indian Springs trails. Checked the weather forecast on the smart phone (how convenient), favorable for a ride. Found TH location on the GPS and followed its directions right to parking lot. This part of ID is all about agriculture w/ green fields some irrigated. It si so spring here. Trails are just so ripe & weather is biking perfect.

I tried following a route laid out last year. I climbed up the well designed & constructed ST riding everything just spinning. Challenging climb just the same but a trail built for mtn biking is the cat’s pajamas. Saw this feature on the side of the trail b4 I ran over it:

Wonderful trail system built by mtn bikers sometimes incorporating cow paths. Spun up everything. Sure have a good handling bike to enhance my performance. I missed a turn then ended up riding part of my laid out ride backwards. The lupine smell. Syringa, the ID state flower perfumed the air. Sweet green smell of spring sage. Just wonderful nose hits.

Encountered about 8 other riders enjoy the beautiful day & trails.

Hung @ the TH as i am spending the night here and riding here again tomorrow. It was great! 4 locals stopped for a visit. 3 of them are name saked trails for their effort. Jim Brennan is 74. BLM is the land manager. I learned that the upper power in local BLM hired IMBA Trail Solutions to lay out more trails. The BLM guy is a mtn biker. He is envisioning a 3,200 acre mtn bike park. May it come to be. Great potential. Riding in the sage.

So, tonight is a cool sleep w/ no biting things. I have the van shut up because of the chill.

Another fitful sleep night because of the heat. I cover the open driver’s window and slider door w/ mosquito netting which blocks some of the air flow to chill the van. It is what it is. Heading north to the chill or will the heat precede me?

Today a short drive to Kokopelli trails just off I-70 and out to cliff edges above the Colorado river. Maybe 5 rigs in the parking lot. Headed up road cresting the ridge then dropped down to trails. Climbed up Marys. My chain was trying to skip on the lower gears today, a contrast to yesterday’s problem, Tightened down the quick release and the attempting skipping confined to just the 2nd largest gear. Bummer. Worked w/ little ambition out to where Marys touches Moorefun and turned around. Chain never jumped, I eliminated that gear from my choices. Missed it though.

At the bottom of the drop in to Horsethief bench I spotted this guy. The rigosity in the dirt is from mtn bike tires.

Back @ TH I was the only rig.  Drove into OTE and laid my shifting problem on Pete’s work stand. Final result was installing a brand new never installed derailleur hanger as the one on the bike was slightly bent and would not straighten out. Whatever, but the shifting is now spot on. Next ride will test. Funny, the old pulleys were showing wear from the existing adjustments. Newer pulleys moved the chain to a new place.

I fed a new generation of Juniper gnats during the ride & out @ camp. Really looking forward to leaving them. I hope they don’t emerge later in the spring as the temps rise going north. The bites really itch and are annoying.

Tomorrow is DR appointment and the install of the refridge fan. Might ride Lunch Loop trails in GJ in the afternoon. Plan on heading to Price, UT and Good Water rim on Sat.