I took Sat off by parking @ the cultural center and sitting in the sun. I let the world come to me, or at least a few mtn bikers stopped to chat. Josh Peterson, editor of Dirtrag stopped. He said they are still interested in my story but haven’t figured out how to use it. Sunburned my bald spot which is pretty well established, no thinning hair there.

For several days I have had a dry non productive cough that is bot annoying and disconcerting w/ my lung issues. I finally sacked it up and visited Insta Care. Lungs are clear as was the chest Xray. Apparently I am suffering from allergies perhaps to the juniper pollen. Never had an allergy in my life. Pharmicist Jay @ walgreens suggested a decongestant which I am using now, Still a cough but not as frequent. DR says he doubts I have temporal arteritis because the sedimentation rat5e of my blood was not of concern from last blood test. Steroid is just messing w/ my body. Today I started the taper off them in which the dosage drops 10 mg / day until middle of April.

Wil the publisher of Beartooth maps treated me to dinner @ beer @ Oak Creek brewery downtown Sat night.

Sunday’s plan is to drive down to Rock Springs to shuttle part of Black Canyon trail. I spent Sat night @ Beaverhead in spot choice number 3 because of the other campers. Busiest ever.

Sun I rolled down I-17 to BCT. On the road agin, albeit an out & back. Made the TH in plenty of time. Jason joined. We met last Fri @ BnB, he is from Boise on a short road trip. Shuttle showed up. Big van and big trailer. Cost $15 to shuttle to our stop. I pulled my bike off the trailer which carried the bikes front end way high. B4 the driver left I saddled up and noticed my rear brake lever was askew. Shit, the hinge bolt & nut were no longer there. No rear brake. I instantly bagged the ride and climbed back into the van. The bolt previously loosened but I caught it and tightened it  down. Must have been the 5 miles of wash board gravel road that shook it loose.

Plan was to do big ride then have pie @ the cafe and a shower @  KOA. I just had jack daniels pecan pie and vanilla ice cream. No calorie burn for calorie load. Skipped shower then drove back to Sedona. Social interaction @ BnB then drove out to Deer Pass for teh night. Windy and warm.

Tomorrow is to score a new bolt & nut to rescue the current brake or replace it w/ its’ worn predecesor and order the parts. Later I meet Wil for a ride. I’ll get one in.

Driving back up I-17 I came upon a ASP on the right shoulder w/ lights on. I slowed down and pulled to the left. He was just on the front side of a slight grade. When i crested it i saw a line of cars and rescue vehicles. No idea there would be a stop. I slowed in time. Pick up truck smashed into the left guard rail then blew across the road to hit the outside guard rail. Prolly the second accident  I have seen in all my travels. Seems the ASP should have put flares down for attention.

Still Singing Sedona

Still here, desert weather, on Wed actually a few splatters of grauppel fell.

I finished Fire Season by Phillip Connors about his summers spent as a fire lookout on Black mtn in the Gila NF in SW New Mexico. He wrote that any day spent as a lookout does not subtract from your total number of days. Fire is a natural resource necessary for healthy environment and grazing of cows needs to be abolished. My readings concur. I wanted to be a fire lookout in my youth. I have written about being one in this part of my life. He juiced up my thinking and planning for traveling to the Gila for some riding. I have been researching ride ideas. The area doesn’t pop up on a rider’s radar as a place to go; however, I have ridden worthy trails that lack the panache of popularity. To me, it is about riding to enjoy what the local riders have created. I plan on swinging down there in April.

I am still on 60mg of prednisone which just screws up my body w/ external stimulus elevating my heart rate and psyche. No good. receiving timely medical care is lacking. I have a primary care giver appointment this Thurs for an emergency room follow up 2 weeks after visit. She is prescribing the prednisone. I have a rheumatologist appointment in Flag last week of March. Yesterday I made an appointment w/ another DR here to pursue care, next appointment for new patients is April 25. I am on their cancellation list. The DR is a cyclist.

tried for a ride on Wed but my heart rate was too high to sustain although the heart rate data showed what I would expect for effort. Forecast was for snow which lessened my taste for riding. I changed out my wind jacket for a rain coat in my WingNut hydration pack. I watched snow clouds moving from the SW to me and past to Capital butte. A few splatters of grauppel fell that I rode thru w/o putting on my jacket.

While riding out of west Sedona I stay out @ Deer Pass rd parking in same spot where the Bikemag pic was taken. Big full moon light @ night lights the desert up. Wed Am it was 27 degrees requiring overnight heater use. Last night was only 40 degrees & just doubled up down blanket on clean flannel sheets and clean body just perfect for sleeping except the sleeping pills wore off @ 5 AM.

Thurs. afternoon I rode w/ Danny out on Dry creek rd. Trails there are mostly pedaling w/ little chunk. I still walk or avoid some of the more challenging stuff.

Wed I bought a new stem w/ a 5 degree rise and 60mm reach. My desire is to shorten length and lower my handle bar below my saddle height. My former stem config was just a bit larger on both dims. I rode Thurs w/ the new stem and have big smiles about improved performance as in quicker handling. My saddle is just above the handlebar so to lower it further will require a new flat bar. Better Ride set up is worthy.

Today is another bluebird day w/ some wind. Bike and Bean shop ride this afternoon.

Approaching 44 months on this odyssey. A way of life.

I have 7X24 mostly to myself, I can be where I want to be when I want doing what I want. At bedtime I fall asleep wondering what i will do the next day. OK, so it will be Sedona and will involve a mtn bike somehow, perhaps riding or hanging w/ the mtn bike community. I miss a connection to the community.

I have been doing some riding in wonderful conditions of sunshine and not too sweaty hot. The trails are dry.

Thurs I rode from the library on Dry Creek rd. I know the trail turns and most of the tech sections to allow concentration on the bike handling effort. To me going slow is to enjoy the trail being one w/ it allowing it to challenge me w/ subtleties. My bike and setup is super and i am understanding more what both my bike and me are able to do. Years ago telemarking in powder I taught myself to sit back on the back ski and sort of walk down the slope. Larry taught me the joy of turning in powder to float and fall. My bike riding is like powder. Mtn biking is a mental game of physics should I plot vectors and the like. How much and when do I pedal wheelie to loft up  a stepup?

So, Thurs’ ride it was the road to lower lizardhead to chuckwagon to gunslinger where a slightly tricky off camber root had been chopped out of the trail, gunsmoke to mescal dropping down deadman’s, to cockscomb then to aeries to western civ, last frontier, then last of ledge n’airy back to road. I saw several groups of pleasant hikers, no bikers. Great ride, I knocked 13 mins off 2 previous times. My purpose for the ride was to work it but enjoy it, I didn’t hammer, I just  rode w/ more power.  During the climb up last frontier from dry creek I started leg cramping.

Friday was Bike and Bean’s shop ride. Bunch of riders along. We rode hiline and back easy breezy. Today we rode the way lower portion of easy breezy wash to back of beyond trailhead. I rode customary last. Young  Johnny just ahead of me in the wash just b4 the 3 strand barb wire fence broke his chain. Bummer. I crossed the fence onto public property. Johnny had the misfortune of being the last of our group and a property owner took the opportunity to excoriate him for trespassing. Verbal shouting match. Beer and pizza @ the Bean.

Aaron and Ruth are passing thru for a short visit. Aaron just bought a Sprinter and wanted to talk to me about my conversion. Danny and I joined them for dinner @ Piccazos. I chose to drive to deer pas to sleep in the desert rather than city camp.

Sat was bfast @ Wildflower w/ Danny. Later we roped Aaron in for a ride. Danny planned a loop to ride sloppy biscuit. Just gobs of Sedona tech trail mileage. We wore 36 yo Aaron out.

We rode Coffepot trail until we hit the sloppy biscuit social trail.

Back @ Danny’s for a shower. We took Aaron to dinner.

Sat night Gonzaga played BYU in the WCC semifinal conference championship. Televised on ESPN2. I walked up to Olde Sedona, a restaurant / bar to watch it. The zags just hammered BYU. I left @ halftime @ 10:30PM. I camped back @ Deer Pass.

Sunday was the old mtn bike heaven group ride from Johnny’s garage. I showed up. I said I was going back down the road to a flat spot to get ready. I pedaled up to the shop and whoever showed was gone. Dropped @ the trailhead. I rode by myself pleasantly on bike path, special ed, witch doctor, cakewalk, ramshead, ridge, sketch, ridge, and back to TH. No bikes did I run into. Something about Sedona trails and user density. Lots of miles but few sharing @ same time. beautiful day albeit it getting hot just into 70s.

On way out of town back to deer pass, 89B road, i stopped @ farmers’ market for a look see. I learned about knives and sharpening from a guy who is a professional sharpener traveling in a Westie. Next conversation was w/ a soap maker. Then out to Deer pass to share w/ 3 other campers.

Tomorrow is another chiro visit and a rest day.

Today’s ride was 1 hr 36 mins long. The effort is wracking my muscles w/ cramps.