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.

Yesterday I drove down to Moab from Fruita. Very windy  driving W on I-70 then going down the CO River on rt 128. Dancing van. Campgrounds along the river were vacant. First stop in town was PO where mail had not arrived. Was told mail will be  sorted by 10: and open until 2. Then grocery shop @ City Market. Next was Chile Pepper bike shop. Said Hi. I parked the van near grocery stop then embarked on a main street tour. I made Subway for lunch. I looked out the window into a raging rain storm. I lingered long enough for the storm to blow thru then continued my walk to N end of town. Beth is not working @ Poison Spider. Drank a beer @ Moab Brewery where if the customer sits in the bar he/she does not need to buy food. Haven’t learned if the beer is normal high alcohol or is diluted to 3.2. Kristi of Coyote Shuttles pulled into bike shop parking lot. I asked about a Porcupine shuttle on Sun. She said call Sat night. I parked next to a Sportsmobile converted Sprinter @ the brewery. I walked inside and sat at the bar near a single guy. I didn’t recognize him. He left his seat for a short time. When he returned he called me by name. He has the other Sprinter. We met this last winter in Sedona. I remembered talking w/ him once he started talking.

My plan was to camp out @ Sand Flats then ride Slick Rock trail on Sat. I scored the camp site I favor. Very windy, glad to be inside. Velocity rocked the van. Next site over was a trailer w/ a tent pitched on top of it. The wind was just snapping their tent around. I did not know if anyone tried to sleep in it. At least w/ mountaineering tents there are tie outs that would have lessened the snapping. I doubt the campers knew of sleeping w/ ear plugs in to  deaden the noise. Rain fell. Snug as a bug in a rug.

Woke this AM it clear skies but a stiff breeze. I decided it was too windy to ride the exposed Slick Rock trail and headed into Chile Pepper to learn of rides in protected locations. A rider from Big Al’s in Crested Butte said he remembered my visit back in 2010. Picked up my mail.

40 degrees and strong winds. I decided to ride Pipe Dream which is right near the shop. Knickers & knee socks, long underwear top and jersey. This trail is built on the hill side just under the vertical sandstone cliffs. It undulates up and down in and out of shallow washes bench cut into the steep hillside. You need a tolerance to exposure. The tread is very heavily armored to prevent erosion. Pavers sort of. Keep pedaling and looking where I was going to go. Heads up riding.  A father, mother, and 2 young boys approached from the S. I was huffing and puffing, they were smiling. Great to see a family riding together. I rode to the S end and turned around. The trail  going back N climbs less. The family approached again, this time I was smiling and they were working.

Next was a shower. This Fitness program is thru Blue Cross Blue Shield, Silver Slippers. The Aquatic center is a participating member: Free shower.

Weather is getting rawer. I was sitting in my van when a guy came up and  asked to shake my hand as he had read about me. He gave me ride info around DC. I mentioned Harrisonburg, VA. He knows knows the Shenandoah Bike company crowd. He told me about the HugeAss race team @ the 24 hours on Canaan, the first 24 hour race. He knew them better than I but we shared knowing about them. Wild crowd.

Back to Brewery for a beer and maybe some college football. Outside the temp was dropping as was graupel snow buffeted by wind. I left the pub and drove back to Sand Flats as night fell along w/ snow. Night fell and the snow stopped. Same camp spot.

No Porcupine shuttle tomorrow.

I checked the forecast for Cortez and Durango where it appears that winter has settled in. Snow and below freezing temps @ night w/ perhaps freeze melt dirt during the day. Here in Moab it is cold w/ no snow on the ground. Might end up hanging here until just b4 T-Day @ Hurricane. The heater is on high.

 

 

I made yesterday a rest day to “recover” from Tues ride. I spent the day wandering around Fruita, not much there, however there are fewer empty store fronts than last year. I moved my first beer to it must be 5:00 somewhere and the Hot Tomato poured it for me. I drove west of town to camp spot above Rabbit Valley.

Weather had been pleasant w/ sunny mid 60s in the heat of the day. This AM my windshield looked into the sun ride that was “red sky @ morning, sailors take warning. I did my wash in Fruita then headed back into Grand Junction for Lunch Loop trails, during my ride clouds started moving in validating the sunrise.

Lunch Loop in Grand Junction. More tech trails. I ran into Max and George from OTE who helped me get my route straight, I mean headed in the direction I wanted to go. No substitute for cooperative local info.Lot more tech features than Fruita.  I am strong but lack the wind to pull off the next big move. I watched other riders ride what i stalled on. When I was their age, but some of them are younger than when I started.

Somewhere I was swarmed by a large group of men riders approaching me.  Back in the parking lot several stopped by to visit, they were from Quick Stop bike shop in Marquette, MI that I met this summer.

Shower @ Golds and drove into the sunset to Fruita. A beer @ the Tomato. Bid good bye to folks @ OTE then headed out to above Rabbit Valley. Weather forecast is calling for precip and lower temps in both Fruita & Moab although Moab’s weather appears to be more hospitable which is where I am heading tomorrow.

I am parked on an exposed rock shelf just 1.5 miles from UT border on I-70. My van must be parked cross ways to the wind gusts as I am rocking. During the search for my van rolling I tried to get a suspension bounce by bouncing on the bumper that the van didn’t respond to. Now during the wind gusts the van rocks.