Sat night I camped out @ Sand Flats again, same spot. Just the motorized crowd nearby, they took down the tent on top of the trailer even thought the wind had significantly abated.
Sunshine, no clouds but still below 40 degrees. I was just a short spin from the Slick Rock trail but I had no desire to ride it, it has lost its appeal. Instead I hiked the fossilized sand dunes enjoying a different mode of locomotion and looking at views.
3 Sprinters in the lot, 1 home conversion, one a work in progress and one factory conversion costing prolly as much as the first 2 plus a year’s worth of beer thrown in. Mid afternoon crowd braving the cold to ride during their free time.
Then looking to the right:
I drove back into town. I filled the propane tank to be prepared for cold. I have been running the heater now almost 24/7 . I filled the h2o tank. I drank a beer @ brewery and watched some football. I bought a salad @ City Market. I visited @ Chile Pepper. I bought another John Grisham novel for escape reading. Tonight I camp out @ Willow Springs rd that leads out to Sovereign trail. I found the same spot open where I have camped b4 on the slick rock. Good to go.
Today I will ride some of the Bar M trails back closer to town. Presently I am waiting for the sun to warm things up. I slept cold last night. 17 degrees outside created a strong frost line on the inside of the windshield. As the radiant heat of the sun warmed the van drops of h2o fell from the dome light onto the floor. Water vapor from the heater found its way into the light fixture and froze then melted when sufficiently warmed.
No rain forecast and the temps are to warm throughout the week. Porcupine shuttles are on hold now because of snow up high and possibly done for the year. Cortez and Durango are colder and clear but have snow on the ground ( I think). This makes Moab the place to be this far north and west. Next stop is prolly Hurricane.
Off to dress warmly and ride the Bar M trails, drive into town for a shower and visiting, then back out to same place to stage for tomorrow’s ride on Baby Steps. I searched garmin Connect and found a GPS track of a ride that I down loaded to my edge 305 to follow as navigation on slick rock can be hard to connect the trail.
Hello Monday readers.
The rest of my day:
I drove to the bar M TH. The temp was 34 degrees under cloudless skies. I wore over booties and insulated long finger gloves. Chilly. Deadman and Long Branch trails were sim to nearby Sovereign trail built by dirt bikers but these were purpose built for bikes only. Different kind of tech challenges. I walked several that I just wouldn’t commit to. The Circle O is 3 miles long following a painted line on the slick rock where I got a better idea of what my front wheel will roll thru. I liked the trails enough to want to ride again.12.47 miles in 2 hrs climbing 1519 feet.
Pretty view of the La Sals:
I drove down into town for a shower and groceries then drove back out to Willow Springs for the night
Forecast is for 24 degrees tonight.
Good life here: challenging trails to ride, free shower, good bike shop, good grocery store, but restrictive alcohol laws.
WA and CO legalized recreational use of pot. If I stay in those 2 states I will not be a criminal. I wonder if the paranoia will go away. Hey, we can come out of the closet. How will companies treat legal pot smokers? One less item employers can use to hold their foot on the neck of their workers.