I looked out my windows after I got out of bed after sunrise and saw 2 other campers, the most i have had at this spot this year.

I checked the tracking for my FedEx delivery of my new debit card and it is out for delivery. Cool. Life will be good after I validate the new number.

Today i decided to go long alone riding just b4 noon. I parked @ the library off Dry Creek rd. My route was: Dry creek rd, lower lizardhead, chuckwagon, gunslinger, mescal, deadmans, aeries, western civ, last frontier, ledge n’airy, pavement back to library, 22 miles in 3hrs, climbed 2584′. Big Sedona ride. Trails out of west Sedona are not as technical as trails down out of Bike and Bean. Another beautiful day down in the red dirt.

Suffered first Sedona fall on the last few feet of dirt ridden today. Just b4 the sidewalk the trail snakes thru tree brush. Hidden was a broken off juniper tree trunk. I missed seeing it although I knew it was there from riding in the opposite direction. Hardly walking speed my right grip found a strong perch that wrestled the handlebar out of both hands and slammed me onto the ground. I landed on previously cut dead brush that lessened the fall. I scored a 4″ gash on my left forearm. The bleeding stopped quickly. Back @ the library I cleaned up in the restroom digging the free flowing warm h2o.

Drove down to BnB. I picked up my new card. I used it @ a Chase bank paying $3.00 service fee just to learn if card would work b4 I used it @ grocery store. Card worked and groceries paid for I headed to Beaverhead for the night. Windy rocking my house.

Ah, Another Friday in Sedona under ideal riding conditions. Somewhere it is an inalienable right to ride in shorts in the desert in February, today validated that right.

Quiet night and day @ Beaverhead. Left for VOC for my 11:30 DR appointment. results are there is no external indication of my headaches. Next up is an MRI of my head. No comments needed here.

Over the Bike and Bean for 2:00 shop ride. Some of the same vacationers and local visitors and the locals. 18 riders. Rode Shades to Hiline connector up to Hiline dropping down Baldwin, up Templeton switchbacks, down to Sleezy breezy, to shades cutover, then down Shades back to BnB. Riding better but still leaving the same chunk on the table.

I carried my cell phone that rang 2X, one to schedule the MRI and the other from Absolute telling me my new shoes were in. I rode down to their shop across the street and put on my new shoes, same version, same design, same problem of failure. This failed pair lasted me from Sept in Spokane to Feb here in Sedona. A run on size 40 shoes.

Another pizza and beer night.

New issue of DirtRag mag was on the counter. I paged thru it and found an article written by Nate Shearer from the VA gang visiting here. I snagged his autograph.

Thursday I met Brandon Watts of Freehub mag who was down here experiencing Sedona for his mag. Today he added another ride. He told Jimmy he is coming back. That’s what Sedona does to people.

Back to Danny’s for the night preceded by a salad for dinner @ Pizapicaso(?) then a shower. Another night of city camping.

Today was ritual b-fast @ Wildflower. This after Rebecca and I will do this bike ride I have been wanting to do for weeks out in West Sedona.

The locals here are in the riding center, riders from all over visit for a short while and then leave. These people get to ride this stuff everyday. This is truly a place where one could say, “Why would I want to go anywhere else?” Yes, I am a visitor also but I stay longer than the short term visitors. Every week there is an influx of new riders. I have traveled the country meeting riders in their home turf. Jimmy stays here and he meets more riders than I did on my travels. But then some people I have met along the way come to visit and I get to be the local. It’s just cool.

Sat. Afternoon I picked up Rebecca @ their rental and drove out to the former Cultural Park in West Sedona. Danny joined us. Today is the big route I had been imagining. Mike from Jackson found us in the parking lot and joined. He is in better shape than us. So nice to have my front end being tight and having my Reverb seatdropper back on. Big ride: 17.8 miles in 2 hrs 35 min that climbed 1900′. Sedona riding lacks  long grinder hill climbs, all the elevation comes in short grunt climbs, it’s harder taking the punch of short climbs than being beaten by a huge climb. Huge climbs usually lead to a long descent. Here I pedal almost all the time. Our route was: ledge n’airy, last frontier, western civ, cockscomb, aeries, deadman’s. mescal reroute, canyon of fools, OK, AZ cypress, and girdner back to rigs. Mike played w/ us. Danny fought to stay ahead of me, & rebecca’s allergies hit affecting her breathing. Me. I was just my worn damaged self staying in the mix. Again, our ride was on a Sat afternoon under ideal outdoor conditions and we saw fewer than 10 people.

Rebecca invited Danny and me to dinner. That’s how I spent my evening. I drove back to Danny’s for a city camp. Danny, Rebecca and I were played out from our ride. I am not sleeping well because of my headaches which cheats me out of recovery rest after a hard ride.

My debit card should arrive on Tues and I can again gain control of my spending.

Whew, good news about my left knee except it is wearing out. Made a quick dash up canyon to Flag where snow was forecast. 2 ways to get to Flag: shortest is up Oak Creek Canyon but is a twisty broken pavement road that many logging roads would put to shame only a logging road would not have been built up canyon. The other  longer route is I-17. Both would be affected by snow. Shit, finally a winter storm and I need to drive in it. Flag is 28 miles from uptown, the GPS reported 59 min drive upcanyon.

I got on the road early today to do my wash and Dave @ Fat Tire to work on my bike. At the laundromat I looked up and saw Bruce Dickman standing there w/ a grin on his face. I met Bruce back in Dalton, GA where he announced the Snake Creek Gap race. He plugged my effort. He is here selling a line of bike chemicals, ProGold. He loaded me up w/ samples. He says his chain lube is better than Squirt. Plus he gave me cleaner for my bike. He’s kidding right? My unpainted frame was for a reason, it never looks clean when it is clean. All petroleum based.

Rolled into Fat Tire for Dave’s bike care. He installed my 4th Reverb, it has nut smacker speed on the return. Credit to SRAM for such rapid replacement, someday they will eliminate all the bugs. Today BikeMag and MBA are touting the seat dropper post. He replaced the broken spoke & nipple. He says Aluminum nipples are better than brass. My wheel is almost 2 years old on a Chris King hub. DT Swiss rim and spokes.

AT Fat Tire i looked out the shop window @ snow clouds up a lateral canyon. Forecast in Flag was 60% after 11:00. I arrived just after 2PM. I was out of the DR building @3PM. I drove down RT 66 into town. I checked out 4 outdoor gear shops looking for a new belt but didn’t buy. I whirl winded thru Absolute to say Hello. Snow was falling in town. I saw rigs w/ accumulated snow. I beat feet back to Sedona. I-17 was shrouded in snow w/ some sticking. I-17  is longer and stays @ elevation longer than Oak Creek. I dropped down Oak Creek where snow hadn’t stuck nor fallen. Made it back to Sedona to overcast skies and 40 degrees.

Jimmy @ Bike and Bean has asked me to share my mapping data w/ him and I agreed.  He will tell me the ride and direction then I will GPS it and load it onto my map. I have something that I can contribute.

Snow did fall in Village of Oak Creek after dark that didn’t stick and was of little amount.

Hanging here in a parking lot writing this while waiting for 9:00PM local start time of the Zags vs BYU game in Utah. Going down to PJ’s to watch it. Go Zags!

The main man behind the new bike mag, FreeHub, is in town for a Sedona adventure. He is from Bellingham, WA where predominant color is green. He changed to primary color red. And his skin is drying out.

Tomorrow is shop ride. I have a DR appointment concerning my headache.