I left JEM to drive down canyon to Hurricane for some errands and wait for Dan for out Rim ride. Filled propane tank, bought some screws and a counter sink to screw back together my galley panel that is separating.

Met Dan. He is having a bad health day causing him to bail on our ride. Nice day. I am OK w/ not riding. I wave at a rig w/ bikes hanging on back. No idea who they were but they had bikes on board and were heading up canyon. Shortly the rig drove up to OTE driven by Bill carrying wife Katie. They asked me to join them on a Gooseberry ride. I hemmed and hawed. Bill was geared to ride some tough stuff. Dan worked on them, maybe just Bill, because Dan told me later that Katie requested riding Gander that I wanted to ride. Bill took off his knee pads thus agreeing on Gander. I was in. Just a beautiful day: clear blue skies, low 50s, & no wind. The road up to Gooseberry is lumpy bumpy. We were the only rigs on the mesa. We parked out @ the wind mill where the Gander takes off. This trail hugs the edge of the northern side of the mesa looking out and down to the Virgin river and the highway leading into Zion.

Great trail that offered cardio and a bunch of lower ability level tech features that challenged me yet I rode them all. Last night laying in bed I replayed how to climb a roll up and focused on second part of the move which is to pedal. I got it right almost every time today. We rode out and  back: out w/ the sun @ our back, on the return the sun was lower in the sky and right in my eyes. We finished just after 5. Sundown is like 5:18. Computer ate the other pics. Enjoyable ride.

Bill and Katie are the Idititrod mtn bike race promoters and guide in Alaska during the summer.

Sun leaves the sky and the temp drops. I was very chilly back in Hurricane. I drove back up canyon to JEM for the night.

Dan told me about a chiro he likes in ST George. I followed his advice and called him and scored an appointment for tomorrow to work on my painful SI joint.

2 more night here and then I will be sleeping in Sedona. Time passes towards new adventures. I am quite comfortable here.

Today is the 19th making tomorrow the start of month 42 of my Mountain Biking the States. What a gorgeous day it was.

I left JEM TH and traveled to ST George for my (:00 AM appointment w/ AAMCO to check out the transmission. The manager took my case. He drove my van w/ me as a passenger. He hooked up his hardware to my electrical port and searched for computer called out errors. His driving and the software said the transmission is sound. The report was free as they were offering free diagnostic. May his advice be better than what I paid for. He drove it differently than me in a good way that didn’t send the shift jolt I experience. I drove it and the jump comes out. How do I drive an automatic?

I dropped off the prescription refill paper work @ the pulmonologist in the hospital. Next was eye DR visit to request chart notes. Bringham Young’s house is just a few doors away. I bought a 5# bag of tree ripened oranges @ same location in Santa Clara. This guy pulls a large gooseneck horse trailer to some orchard in CA to but these fresh oranges, the way they should be. Joy in tree ripened fruit.

The meat of the day was my ride out Santa Clara way on Rim Reaper and Barrelroll trails that I have ridden numerous times. All by myself in a blue bird day. This desert is so colorful from the multi colored rocks.

Check out the comment from Rockman, fan life line degreed geologist, setting Kevin straight about the fossilized volcanic ash. Rockman says they are just rocks.

Stopped @ Rec center for shower. helped Quentin put the bikes away then drove up to windy JEM TH. Winds abated after dinner.

Tomorrow Dan and I will ride the 25 mile version of Hurricane Rim if conditions agree w/ Dan.

Saturday Quentin lead the shop ride @ Gooseberry. Crowds are thinning as only Tae and I showed up. Gooseberry mesa is right above where I camp @ upper JEM TH, the drive to get to the ride is like the Maine saying, “You can’t get there from here.” OK, it is a long drive around. The road up to the mesa is too rough for the van even though I managed to get it up and over the rough stuff back in ’09 during this odyssey.  The ride is famous for its technical challenge w/o any downhills over 20 feet of descent. Kevin says the rock is fossilized volcanic ash. Morgan Harris and his brother created present trail system. Trick to riding on these mesas is avoiding traps that you can’t ride down or climb out of. Quentin and Tae rode everything until the Purple trail that is just absurdly tech. They were kind and waited for me as I walked a bunch. I just run out of gas right b4 the step up and bail on the questionable roll overs. And Sedona is next, riding doesn’t get any easier.

Patches of snow in the shade, breezy, sunny, warming to 54 degrees. December 17.

Back in Hurricane i hustled to sports bar to catch the end of the Zags game, customers in the 4 cars in the lot were watching football bowl games. I caught the end on my Android as I drove to Washington for a shower @ the rec center. Zags beat Arizona.

Sat is OTES 4 birthday and Q and DJ threw a party @ their house which is right next door to the shop. First off was a bike polo session on a darkened former school yard. I had sense to refrain from entering to eliminate my risk of hurting myself. I cheered as the only spectator watching 8 riders commanding their bikes towards the rolling whiffle ball then take a whack at it w/ a mallet. I made signature Waldorf salad.

Spent the night @ JEM TH. Woke up @ 3:30 just b4 graupel hit the van. I pulled on my wool poncho and a rain hat and stepped into the cold to put the rain cover over the bikes. False alarm as nothing else fell.

I felt beat from the tech rides and decided to take a day off and rested. I spent the day inside my home moving pictures from my laptop memory to a CD. Very time consuming. Another splendid sunset.

Tomorrow I have a morning appointment w/ AAMCO transmission to address shifting issues. The shift from 1st to 2nd is abrupt.