Many times I am asked what is my most favorite trail and I usually don’t have an answer for them. It’s all about riding whatever trail. I have ridden so many miles on so many trails, how do I pick? I like Bend for all its pedaling miles, Oakridge for its climbing and legacy single track. Seems like each ride puts a smile on my face. Which brings me to where I am now: Greater Big Woods River Valley, aka Sun Valley. Friend Steve has been sharing his rides w/ me. And do I have a smile on my face. The rides have been slightly different from deep forest cover into past burns, open steep sage covered hills, most trails are legacy and challenging. Lindarets company has a T short logo that reads: Keep Single Track Technical. That’s what yesterday’s ride was like starting and finishing out of Oregon Gulch. Steve created a loop of the 3 popular gulches: Oregon, Fox, and Chocolate. I really like riding my bike especially when gravity is the engine.

On Thursday we rode the mostly machine built Croy canyon trails. We rode over the ravages of large sheep herds. The Tumble Mustard plants are dead and dry and brittle and break off and populate the trail some pieces ended up fouling drive trains.

The Croy ride was 9.85 miles climbing 1494′. Steve was faster on the downhills at first as his familiarity of the trail helped and his confidence on the loose rock. Maybe his 29 inch wheels helped. I figured confidence for the next bunch of downhills and stayed pretty close to his wheel. Big bermed corners. I made much out of the pump bumps. I almost overcooked a berm which would have sent me for a short space flight but my brakes performed and I was able to square the turn out.

Friday’s ride was Steve’s trade route. He texted Oregon Gulch. I parked at Adams Gulch. He texted me from Oregon asking where I was. Opps. I speedily drove to Oregon. We started 30 minutes past our 1:30 start. We finished a little past 5PM in the shade. 12.47 miles climbing 2318′. I am parked in Ketchum now and the elevation is 5512′ I am rapidly acclimating to the elevation and can almost pedal on Steve’s wheel.

Joy of being able to ride whenever usually means uncrowded trails. We ride during the work week in the daylight.

After our ride I drove back into Ketchum to Sturdos to sign up for a shuttle ride on Osberg Ridge for today. Today not enough riders signed up for the shuttle. Darn. I drove out Warm Springs road to a hot springs for a soaking off of the ride grime. Chilly out of the water hot enough to raise a sweat bead on my upper lip. I finished the soak by splashing cold creek water. I couldn’t force myself to submerge. I was hot enough to be comfortable walking back to my van to change into dry clothes. I found a camp spot for the night. I hung my dripping wet liner shorts on the outside rearview mirror to drip. This AM they were frozen stiff.

No shuttle ride today which will allow me to make this a rest day. Steve and I are planning to ride Fisher Creek on Sunday which per the forecast appears to be the last day before possible snow. The ride is on the Salmon River side of Galena Summit. I might spend the night near Stanley. I’ll find this hot spring along the Salmon River that is a tub w/ the water plumbed in.

Don, a past team member of Hugh Ass race team and manager of Galena Lodge, told me they have approval for 30 miles of new trails. I learned that this past summer the existing trails drew a steady crowd.

Being greeted w/ a smile by people I have previously met puts such a smile on my face. I have met quite a few people.

Bentonville, AR will host the 2016 IMBA World Summit in November. Pretty cool.

Tuesday night I spent in Steve’s driveway.

Wed we went for a ride up Greenhorn Gulch around and up then down Imperial Gulch back to the TH.

Greenhorn is a gulch. The trail climbed up in the creek bottom. trail was rerouted after forest fire burn 2 years ago. I observed water damage to the trail because of design and execution. The build did not allow water and the sediment it carried to get off the trail quickly which as a result created an erosion gully. Trail left gulch climbing into open meadow mountain sides.

Steve rides a 29nr and is a stronger climber than me. When the trail points downward he lets me go first as I am faster than him. I just sit on my lowered seat surfing the corners and coasting. Our ride was only 10.34 miles but climbed 1872′ in 1 hr 34 mins. We stopped along the way vising. I pointed out trail pluses and minuses. The last piece of downhill back to the TH was on north facing slope where we encountered freeze thaw mud or still frozen. Trail side vegetation blocked site lines around the corners and I was freaked by possibility of slippery mud and a wipe out. This piece of trail was well built w/ outslope and grade dips to spill the water thus eliminating possibility of water ruts.

By the end of our ride the temp had warmed into the 70s and coupled w/ the sunshine it was quite pleasant hanging in the parking lot.

I drove back to Hailey to the library to do internet stuff till closing. Steve fixed a salmon dinner. I slept in the driveway again.

Which brings me to Thursday and I am outside the laundromat in Hailey waiting for my clean clothes to dry. Another picture perfect fall day. More in next posting. A partial idea is to road trip to Gallena lodge trails then over to Fischer creek the next day. Soak in a hot springs somewhere over the summit.

Early Monday morning I was treated by a WA Husky nurse who removed 4″ of packing in the cyst wound and replaced it w/ fresh 2″. Packing keeps the wound open for healing. Appears to have been a successful exorcism.

I drove east towards Sun Valley on roads I had not traveled. I keep a road atlas of the US and every road I have driven I highlight. I seek new roads. I say all roads and I did high light them. However, the first marker I used bled out leaving no record of the east etc. As good as crashing my hard drive for data retrieval.

I drove highway 20 into the depths of central Oregon to Burns Junction then turned onto rt 78. I stopped at Crane Hot Springs and soaked for an hour. Info stated chemical composition of the water and its healing effects. I gave it a whirl. I’m still nuts so I am not changed. Must not have been the water.

I drove a bit further to Rome, OR which is on the Owyhee river. A BLM launch site had 5 sort of free campsites. OI camped down by the river. Rained off and on.

Today I finished the drive to Hailey. A huge range land wildfire burned over st US 95. Just beyond massive amount of sage land burned. Windy.

First stop was Sun Summit South, Chip’s shop. There’s an earful. The White Cloud mountains are over Galena summit and were just made into a wilderness thus denying mtn bikes access. It could have gone a national monument which are created by presidents. Congress is so against Obama they denied a more biker friendly designation of Monument to keep his name off it and created wilderness. I rode it w/ a gang from Chip’s before it was closed. Spectacular.

I tried to get a cortisone shot before leaving Bend but no dice. My shoulder just hurts in addition to lack of range of motion. I now have to stay in a place long enough to get the Bend DR to speak w/ a to be found doc for the shot. I am hoping for relief. Ultimate pain relief will be a reverse shoulder someday, prolly performed in Bend.

In Mountain Daylight zone: turn the clock ahead.

I need to sit down w/ a calendar to plan out my travels. I figure here for a week then head to like Driggs then to Jackson, WY. I have an idea of my route, I need to put dates to make it all happen. Early snow in high country is the issue.

Going to the Powerhouse for a beer. Staying in Steve’s driveway and riding w/ him tomorrow.

Idaho still considers pot possession as a heart stopping crime. Back to paranoia.

backing up:

Sunday morning I rode a real fast loop at Phils before I participated at the COTA trail school. Rain had fallen overnight wetting the trails preventing dust making hero dirt. Great traction.

I joined the trail school project

We worked on Swampy Trail as our classroom. Incredible amount of thinking goes into making a trail. We worked on an existing trail learning how to move water off the trail, this trail location sucks because it is on flat land; w/o a slope there is no gravity hence water stays on the trail.