Thurs drying line dried clothes I head to La Pine to check on my soon to own property. The sellers werre to mark the long time ago installed septic tank that I as the owner must decommission. It was  marked. Land is fenced on 4 sides capturing what an acre of land walks on. I walked around thinking about my house design and how I will use the land. Mostly Ponderosa pine w/ small lodgepole pines mixed in. Open ground.

I completed my drive to Oakridge which is 106 miles from S edge of Bend. I stopped and visited @ the Mercantile then up to the Pub for beer and dinner. Socializing.

Spent the night camped @ Dead Man’s TH.

Friday was an early start to drive to the ocean @ Reedsport. Twisty road winding thru the coast range. I bagged the backpack overnight but walked the route that could have been camped on. In the NRA land, Oregon Dunes, the plover is protected by closing the fore beaches to humans for their nesting time. Trails go out and back to the beach. Allowed to walk on the wet sand. Dunes. Before man planted grasses to stabilize the blowing sand the dunes would blow inland and cover forests.

I took off my shoes and socks and walked into the surf.

I drove a bit north on 101 till Siltcoos rec area and I picked Waxmyrtle XG back off the beach. I walked out and bared my feet again: just ocean.

Spent the night @ paid crowded XG.

One day at the shore satiated my ocean fix. I drove into Florenece hoping to find Dungeness crab store. Score. Cooked last night. I walked around downtown which is right on Siuslaw River. Short tourist visit. Drove East towards Eugene. Saturday: heavy traffic heading west to the ocean. Packed weekender crowd. I stopped at a closed weigh station to eat half of the crab. The other half is for a breakfast omelet. I picked ripe black berries. I found a Snap fitness in Eugene for a shower.

Back in Oakridge.

My back is still locked up but not as bad. Monday I have a massage to address my issue.

Yesterday I picked my bike up from Webcyclery who replaced my shifter cables and bled my Formula front brake. Kevin, the owner, told me about the Masten trail system outside Tumalo. He said it was not very technical and was flat. Sounded like the chances of me falling are not very high. The terrain is open and exposed to the sun, a place to ride in the shoulder seasons. The temp forecast was in upper 70s which would be bearable. I drove to the TH, I was the only rig in a nicely made BLM TH facility. I pulled up MTBProject which had the route in the database. This app is great because it uses GPS to locate you on the route which solves problems when there are unmarked or poorly marked routes, you can always find yourself. Trails were loose and patches of exposed basalt chunks. I walked several of the chunkier sections to reduce my falling potential. I learned that loose sand created soft berms and not to use them. Perhaps rain will stick the grains together. High dry country treed by juniper trees.

12 miles all on top of the rubber. My heart rate went way up in places reflecting my lack of conditioning. My crotch is saddle rubbed. My pedal stroke is toe down which makes for a smoother spin.

I drove back to town for a shower at Snap, refreshing beer at 10 Barrels, and dinner at Longboard Louies, then out to Phils for sleep.

At 10 Barrels w/ my preferentially poured beer I went outside. I sat in a chair beside a dog. I established rapport w/ him. His owner , Trevor, joined in conversation. I did not scratch him. He just relocated to Bend from Crystal ski area. We have experienced many same things from backcountry skiing to hiking the WA section of the PCT. He is working for a snowmobile company as an ambassador to teach riders about snow stability and etiquette. He is into snowmobile access to back country slopes. I likened what he is doing to E-assist bikes: if you have $ you can buy advantages. Never a conflict but maybe I planted a seed of awareness to us heart propelled recreators.

This AM it was 38 degrees. I turned on the furnace which performed as expected: it fired on the first spark and ran w/o previous rumbles. I am warm while waiting for the sun to warm me up from the outside.

Today is a busy day. I am driving over to the Oregon coast thru Oakridge. I have been searching for a backpacking trip on the shore but have come up short. Looks like just day hikes. I need to be back in Bend on Monday.

On Monday I have a massage to fix my back.

I found an interesting builder in La Pine who uses CAD for design. He returned my call yesterday while I was riding. We are meeting this Mon at the property for his viewing and helping to design the house. I am planning… but not building. Friend Bill in the Zunis has offered to help build. His work in Jack’s kitchen is what I want.

Off to complete tasks.

My back was so painful I needed a chiro adjustment. Derrick gave me a name of a mountain biker chiro. I called and scored an appointment on Wed. Drove 35 miles to nearest chiro ( strike against Oakridge). She gave me some relief.

Drove back to Oakridge. So hot. I sat out at the park on the Salt Creek sitting in the shade reading. The creek was colder than even the hot temp wanted me to immerse myself. Reading ” Go Set a Watchman” Harper Lee’s other novel. Women head trips. I hung at Brewer’s Union in old town, a replica of an English Pub. Social gathering spot for the hand crafted beer crowd. I sleep out at the bottom of Dead Man’s up Salmon Creek from Main st. No internet.

I helped Derrick one morning marking the Cream Puff race course. My effort could easily been covered by just Derrick but it gave us a chance to visit. Long time driving logging roads to get to the course road crossings. My job was to tie pink flagging where the course didn’t go. I got a shower at MBO Randy’s shop.

At the pub I conversed w/ 2 guys who are attached to a helicopter, turns out it is a Sikorsky, America’s heaviest lift copter. They are prepostioned for future fire at the Oakridge airport. I drove up and visited and viewed the copter up close

Woman pilot is sitting in the chair. Max lift weight is 20,000. The number “742” is on a modular water container. Water is released out bomb bay door. I can hover over a water source and suck a load thru the white hose. Takes 2 pilots to fly it on fire missions.

Thurs night I sat outside and was joined by 3 others: a 15 yo and (2) 60 yos. Us 60yos were each recovering from rotator cuff repairs.

My back was barking again on Friday. I scored a return visit to same chiro, another 35 miles in and out. She freed my back up some more. I drove back to Oakridge.

Friday night before the Cream Puff. My help spot was at aid station 3, the furthest away, right at Kate’s cut in. I drove up and camped at the spot. Derrick and I cut in the trail in a long morning before the last cream puff that I helped at. (Grammer). My role was to assure that the racers turned in the race course direction at the joint of Kate’s and Alpine. The 100 mile racers went thru me 4 times, the 50 milers which was just one lap saw me only 2X. I was at mile 21. I thought out a marking scheme to keep track of data. I stopped each racer to mark on their number plate and goof w/ them. All but 3 people were engaging w/ me. Everybody else interacted and expressed their thanks for my effort. A guy joined me. Matt turns out to be the NW regional director for IMBA. We talked out concerns. I believe it was after 5 when i drove back down mountain to Redfir red bridge. Comp dinner and 2 beers. I drove straight to my camp spot. about 12 degrees warmer than up high. Hot sleep night.

Monday was a PT session. I decided to drive towards Bend on Sunday. I stopped at Lava Lakes on Cascade Lakes Highway to hike some of the Metolius-Windigo trail breaking in my boots w/o a pack. Left boot has the carbon fiber footbed made the boot even stiffer. My healthy toes started complaining. I stopped and removed the footbed that made the healthy toes happy but kept the bad big toe quiet. Have a solution. The boots were less painful. However my lower back was still “frozen”. Beaver have settled in on Little Lava Lake. They are feeding on lodgepole. I wonder how they get the pine pitch off their teeth. They left some amazing high stumps that had to have been cut on deep snow.

I found a wide spot on a logging road for the night. More lodgepole forest selectively cut by mechanical means. I showered underneath a new solar shower. New and improved.

Today I drove to Bend catching some sprinkles that just made the dust streaked.

On Thurs I  drive back to Oakridge on the way to the coast for an overnight back pack and whatever. I did some on line researching backpacking on the dunes. I decided I needed a hiker’s guide which I bought at REI. Years ago I did an overnight in the dunes but lost the memory chip. I bought compression leggings to deal w/ my legs swelling. Leggings are cool because my socks will not be affected for boot fit.

At PT Dave checked my strength and range of motion. range isn’t quite 100%. Strength is sub par because it takes time to wake the brain up to fire the muscles and for the muscles to meet the load. He advised me on the lack of sustaining joint health from Chiro. I am aware of their short comings and use them when believe I will be helped. My back issue is caused by my posture and also doing back exercises. He corrected my posture which brought about more relief. Now I can almost walk regular.

I drove out to SNAP west side location and parked my van. I shower here after my ride. Today I rode out to Shevlin Park and rode miles of dirt. Skillfully fully engaged and focused. I bail before the features that have spilling potential.

Back at SNAP I was approached by a young woman who asked if the green van was me. Yes. She said she works for a local TV station and would like to interview me. We agreed on tomorrow. I will show her my sign and will wave the telling story fee.

I’m back out at my spot past Phils. TH. Red Flag warning. Potential dry lightning strikes. Just so dry and hot.