Massacree to Green Valley

Actually it is Mountain Meadows Massacre where the Mormon religion claimed the lives of 120 innocent souls. Massacree is from Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant song.

Today was a rest day. I slept out in Warner Valley outside ST George that positioned me closer to my 8:00AM eye DR visit. DR tested and examined my eyes, explained the findings and explained it all to me. Immediate problem is dry eyes that are solved by Systane drops and fish oil. Drops worked right away. Long term is cataract formation. Aging.

I ran a few errands while in ST George then headed back to Hurricane. Next chore is to defrost the fridge @ OTE to use their electricity for rapid cooling. I kept the heat off in the van while the fridge was cooling on AC. Learned that the guy who fell on Sunday, Jeff, took 12 stitches in his 2 arm cuts and 9 above his eye. Stayed in town behind the shop. Met Mike who owns the property and thanked him for allowing me to camp on his property. He is a road biker but didn’t hold that against me. Quentin & DeaJ’s neighbor heats w/ a wood fired air tight stove that he keeps dampened that puts out noxious fumes. Coupled w/ stagnant air and inversion makes for annoying night.

Dan called last night and made ride plans for Green Valley outside of ST George for today. Tae rode w/ us. Green Valley is also where the Zen trail takes off. there are lots of desert single tracks, washes, and jeep roads to connect to make a ride. Dan and Tae are familiar w/ the area that worked and pulled ride location and routes. Dan played out so he rode back to his truck. Tae and I continued on his knowledge. Didn’t get us lost. Bunch on tech stuff. I pedal wheelied up a ramp up. My inertia carried me up a ways. I pushed down on my right pedal to continue the climb but I was in top dead center and I couldn’t push the pedal down. I stalled then toppled over sideways and backwards onto the sand below. Whew. I scraped my left forearm on the way down. I walked down several short, steep, and bumpy rollovers.

Drove to rec center for shower then back to Hurricane. Quentin received the hub parts fromĀ  King. Tomorrow he and Bill replace the bushings in my Revelation fork using the tools from Zion Cycles, Dean’s old shop.

I contributed heavily to the purchase as a Christmas present of a longer handlebar for Dan. It came in today and he grabbed it on the way home. I know his riding will improve impressively moving to a 28″ bar from 24.5.

Back @ JEM for the night. Amazing. The moon cycle determines night light. The moon is waxing now making light occur later each night. I have also enjoyed the waxing.

I bought a pint of Haagen Daaz ice cream to test the freezer cooling. If it fails to freeze the cream I might eat the jug tonight. After dishes and some applesauce.

DR says it is nail fungus that is causing my left big toenail to press upward causing pain when touched. My riding shoes hit just right to feel that pain. He said medication that I refrained from w/o knowing what it is because Some meds are more harmful than the cure that doesn’t happen in enough cases to justify the ill effects, or to remove the nail. I need to follow up to learn more about my options.