Sedona trails soaked up the melting snow creating mud. No riding until today @ Dead Horse SP in Cottonwood.
Did my wash on Thurs. per usual. Just hung out @ BnB and Fat Tire.
Sat AM I attended the IMBA trail care crew session. I greeted Jesse and Lori, the crew, whom I met back last summer in Duluth, MN. Lecture was same material. Maybe 18 attendees. I answered a pop quiz question and won another pair of IMBA socks. I won a pair @ last class in McCall back in 9/11 on same question. Their employment is to drive in an IMBA stenciled Subaru which provides the car and a stipend to the crew. They give the same lecture almost every weekend but in another location and different attendees.
My shoulder was really hurting so that I did not attend the trail building session. I drove out to Deer Pass spot then bushwacked over the desert on broken basalt. I finished by hiking up a wash. I hiked this same route 2 years ago. Today there were no fresh javalina tracks. I wore my midweight leather hiking boots for cactus protection.
Today I drove back to Cottonwood to join IMBA visit. Lars lead us on the trails in Dead Horse SP and adjoining USFS where new trail is being built. Different desert than Sedona. Soft rock.
Windy and chilly. Tough ride: uphill into the wind. Virgin piece of trail completed yesterday. Trails here were dried out. I did spot several tiny patches of snow up on top.Horse damage on trails inside SP. Several real good grunt climbs not ridden since Hurricane Rim. Rode 17.48 miles climbing 1765′.
Post ride was where we started @ RIOT establishment. Chilled beer in a sun warmed front room out of the wind. Much discussion about possible cross country travel by mtn bikes only in the red rock. VVCC and the FS are still swapping ideas. The mtn bike community provided the FS a map of trails we ride. The hiking and horse crowd have not supplied their trail data. I heard that there are more miles of hiker trails than bike.
A short drive to a Snap center in Cottonwood for a shower. A windy drive back to Deer Pass.
Wind really moves my van around. Not as bad as a VW bus. I do have to stay on top of it.
Dave gave me the Bro deal for the bearings service. I gave him my POC helmet. Clean and happy bearings increased my pedaling efficiency. I am still riding in the middle ring. The smooth bearings allowed me to go faster for the past same effort.