Missing now are Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and today. Brain storm ahead, batten down the hatches.

Friday as I remember was the big Bike and Bean shop ride, final tally was biggest ride in Sedona to date. We left after 1:00 w/ small group of locals and 1 touron, Patrick Cale, an Irish  man, the new regional IMBA director. He just moved in from NH. We chatted about shared places back there. Common places reconnected me w/ them and it was something he, a touron, might like to help establish him locally. For me it was just something that he and I could talk about w/o being left out on the local history. Rode a hard tail and passed the Sedona entrance test w/ flying colors.

Our ride was adventurous and stretching. VOV  crossing Oak Creek climbing over Schuerman over by the high school and back. We chose Eazy Breezy for the downhill eliminating the Hiline climb. Somewhere down on Eazy Breezy there are (2) 5″dia Arizona Cypress trees that create a gateway such that 28″ bars can not be sluiced thru straight on, I come almost to a stop and snaggle a bar end between then the other to get thru. Poor twitching results in gouged knuckles. Someone cut out one of the trees. I rode thru where I thought the choke point was and I breezed thru. I experienced a mental flashback of smashed knuckles. Curses to the bloke that cut the tree. learn to ride it accepting it as a challenge to ride as opposed to a challenge to remove it. Riding down the wash is more fun than climbing it. We climbed out of the wash to Tempelton. Simon and Jimmy rode the tough right hand switchback that I and several others walked.  We dropped down to Red rock crossing i knicknamed pink feet because of teh cold h20 on bare feet. H2o was over the rocks. crossing now would mean wet feet for several hours. We elected to ride back thru the bankrupt failed development to cross a road bridge. This flowed onto Lower Red Rock rd  that we took to Cakewalk at the bottom of Pyramid. We climbed the system trail to the Pyramid saddle. Today we are riding the new CatWalk trail that I walked several days b4 leaving my knees creaking and wondering my riding success in the future. The trail did have unridden by me sections. Claim is it is a cleaned up old social trail. Maybe the first part but the part out of the wash to Shuerman trail junction was recently created. I backed into a prickly pear loading my left calf w/ spines, some made my leg others hung up in the stretch band holding my leg armor on. I pedaled on. We joined into the Schuerman mtn trail that is mostly all about bassalt rocks buffeted by prickly pear.  I stalled into the back wheel of the rider in front. My get off was left backwards onto a pear pad depositing spines that needed to be pulled. We all stopped up aways. I dug out my tweezers and asked Matt, a nurse, to pull the blond spines from among my thin blond leg hair. Some blood flowed. We dropped down the steep hiking trail to friendly Special ED back to the Pyramid saddle then onto to Witchdoctor, a nasty downhill, then skirts Pyramid back down to Cakewalk. We had a decision to make: the shorter route was wet feet or a longer dryer route was over the bridge then ride Verde Valley road back to the shop. Wet feet won out. We retraced our path up templeton switchbacks the up eazy breezy between the missing tree. Daylight was fading as was the strength of the riders. We made the highway back to BnB. The plan was to ride Shades back down. All bailed for the road but I chugged the sweet Shades downhill. Then beer and pizza at the Bean.

Friday night was city camping @ Danny’s. Got a shower b4 bedtime.

Sat Am was customary Wildflower breakfast. Back @ Danny’s we had a comfort chair sigh off. I just received my Strongback chair that Dave recommended. It is a folding camp chair with a shaped back frame that supports proper posture. Feels good. Danny’s was a slingback w/ head rest so that he sat leaning back. No winners, we each enjoyed our chair in the warming day. We debated a ride picking Soldier wash area. We rode from his house. Riding up 89A, the main 4 lane drag thru West Sedona, i caught sight of the back of the FS law enforcement truck. Sure enough he turned left @ the light and headed back to us. He pulled over, it was Mike. He wanted to socialize. He recognized my van and he knows my ride kit. Danny lead me on all kinds of rabbit warren trails. We noticed new FS wire rock cairns. We rode upon FS Jennifer who showed us a map of the area trails. great effort to inform recreaters where they were. We finished onto 89A just at dark. We ate dinner @ a Mexican diner. My appetite was suppressed. Gonzaga lost to lowly USF. City camp in Danny’s side yard, a shower, then bedtime.

I have bad headaches that interfere w/ sleeping. Sun about 3:00 I woke up w/ a pounder and my hands and feet were tingling and felt useless. i was freaking. Can’t move. Bad head ache. I made myself get out of bed and pack up the van for driving to the emergency treatment center west of town. I questioned my ability to drive, I entertained dialing 911 for a ride. Made the center. I walked into the waiting room. I wrote down my symptoms as I could describe them. I was seen by the doctor I have seen in my 3 years here.  Nothing life threatening conditions with my vitals being strong. They tested blood and urine. All was good. He sent me home w/ vicadin and sleeping pills and scripts for more. I drove back to Danny’s where I took a pill of each and fell asleep. I slept till 10:00. I was wasted. I crushed his chair cushion for several hours.

I have now made the rounds of the medical caregivers.

Sunday I drove back to Deer Pass road sleep spot.

Monday I was examined and given a clean bill of eye health. My prescription remains unchanged. I see 20X20 w/o correction but my closeup is almost as strong as it can be. Cataract surgery is in the future.

Back @ Deer Pass for the night.

Tuesday is Bike and Bean shop ride Jason and I were the only riders and we enjoyed a non robust ride. i rode several other previously walked spots. Getting better w/ stepups.

New coumadin machine from Phillips arrived today. Their home monitoring is ppo and will cost me nothing. Saves $106 per month.

Back @ Beaverhead. A camper beat me to my spot.

Time to go.

I shut off my Facebook account because i don’t want to give free information about myself to be used w/o proper legal authority.

I wear a Wingnut hydration pack that carries its load on the hips. I have been wearing baggy over shorts. The hip belt pushes my pants down. Suspenders?

As emphatically written previously my computer sucked up so much wasted time. Tues. I turned it into the repair shop for make it better service. I just got it back. Might need a stop watch to ascertain the speed increase.

Winter hit Sedona w/ colder temps and a few splatters of wet snow then rain. I took Mon & Tues as rest days. The roof fan still leaks as was noticed Tues eve during the rocking storm. Rain dampened my carpet that has left a wet carpet smell that might go away after the temps climb higher. Today I borrowed a ladder from the Red Agave then climbed up on van roof and slathered RV sealant completely around the fan opening.

Yesterday i hiked the new trail, Catwalk, which is out near Pyramid. Sketchy. Connects Pyramid to Schurman mtn trail. Uphill most of way going out. Coming back it took 1 hr. My knees are so snackered as I really don’t hike. Today I recovered yet the pain remains. Count of spinning for relief.

The Zags beat ST Mary last Sat at the Kennel. Last night SMC got beat moving Zags to 1 game behind. Tonight I am at PJs in VOC to watch the Zags play.

AZ was last contiguous state to be admitted to the union. The wild west mentality still exists as state congress debates allowing concealed carry on college campuses.

Off to dinner salad. More along the way.

Today the forecast gave us rain on the Johnny’s garage ride after we were well underway. This AM I swapped out my wind jacket for my rain coat and was pleased w/ my decision. I also wore my Endura shorts that have a h20 repellant treatment. Rain started when we were @ the old homestead on Western Civ. The trails are just dust. The slight rain wetted the red dirt and made the rocks slippery. Wes and Jan joined me as we split for short way back to dryness as the others pressed on. I made it to my van before rain fell again. Later I grocery shopped and the rain really fell, my guess is that the riders that continued might have been drenched. Rode w/ Rhama and Alaska Doug among the Mtn Bike Heaven regulars. 2 tourons joined our group of 15. Talk about herding cats keeping the group together when there are several ways to get to where we were going made for splits. We were all together at the Western Civ / Ledge n’airy junction.

Forecast for the week is wet w/ some snow mixed in with temps several days just below freezing.

Saturday I made ride arrangements w/ Bill from Tomechi cycles in Gunnison. I met Bill and wife Susan somewhere before I entered their shop summer of ’10. I visited w/ them this last fall for 2 days of riding. First was ritual breakfast @ Wildflower w/ Danny. Our ride was a repeat of an earlier solo ride of mine. We started from the library on Dry Creek, road rode to lower lizzard head to chuckwagon, onto to Gunslinger to gunsmoke to mescal reroute down to deadmans, aeries to western civ joining last frontier, then climbing out drano across dry creek wash. We made it by the juniper that threw me to the ground previously. We coasted down the sidewalk back to library. We rode against the traffic. Bill said we rode all that challenging single track and our greatest danger were the cars hurtling towards us. I drove Bill back to their VOC hotel room. I enjoyed a shower then Bill and Susan and their 2 young boys for an American Italian restaurant. Later the Virginia group roled in for dinner. I heard that they rode 25 days out of their 30 day stay really tearing up almost every mile of trail here. Their group and Bill and Susan both left early Sunday for their homes. I spent the night @ Beaverhead.

Friday was Bike and Bean shop ride. 23 riders included the VA group and Susan of Tomechi. We rode out Big Park to Old Mans wash, Ians to ridge down to jacks canyon TH. Somewhere the trail became Hot Loop that took us down to USFS ranger station. The tread on Hot loop is basalt chunks.

At the RS Jimmy offered a longer ride to any takers including me. We rode down hwy 170 to almost Beaverhead intersection. Fun began when we pedaled up the loose rock double track. At a high point a boulder all by itself w/ ancients’ petroglyphs.

The ride finished on neighorhood roads keeping us off hwy 179. I added new ride data on my overflowing TOPO map.

The after ride shop gathering was crowded and loud. Fun. All about riding. Pizza and beer. Danny and I split for Picazzos for a salad. We ran into Fat Tire Dave and his wife and engaged in a probably too loud conversations for the restaurant. Back @ Danny’s for a shower and city camp.

Susan and Tim from SMC were friends in college. They got to visit.

Thurs was my MRI down in Cottonwood. I suspect I will receive a DR followup appointment to discuss the findings. I feel that my lungs are not functioning correctly so I visited the Instant care in Sedona. The DR remebered me from 2 years ago as he sewed 8 stitches into my arm. He said no pneumonia which was my real concern. Danny turned me onto Clear Lungs that has helped clear up the junk in my lungs.

I have horrible thrush from the Advair so he gave me an antibiotic script to clear it up. The advair I think is making me extremely hoarse. i called the pulmonologist in ST George and asked if I could quit the med. She said yes, no tapering off required. My ride w/ Bill on Sat was a duplicate of one when I was on Advair. My time was 1 minute faster w/o.

Bill and Susan brought 29er single speed hardtails. Bill really hammered on Sat. I pushed to keep him in sight. Single speeders have a tough go; they have to make speed when they can to make climbs.

SO, I am back at Deer Pass rd. Just at sundown a rain squall splattered down. I have a good life snug in my heated dry van.

Tomorrow is a rest day.

I bought a pair of Pearl Izumi X-Alp Elite shoes for Sedona riding. The shoes’ strength is for hike a bike sections. The shoes have an unshanked forefore that allows bending when walking. The shoe fits like a sneaker. It hikes as described. I prefer the rigid Specialized shoes for pedaling.

On today’s ride a rider stopped and called me by name. He was a Mike from Twin Falls bike shop. He had been reading my blog.

Bill also has been reading my blog that made our conversation connected as he knew what i have been up to.

Enough! This fucking computer is pissing me off. not even spell checking it.

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