But first there was more of the Womble, all of Ben Bergen and Devils Den.
Riding from my bedroom is soo cool. Having a chilled recovery drink in the kitchen upon return is a suitable conclusion.
Today I headed west towards that end of the Womble. All by myself. Brisk day, strong winds moving the trees which kept ahold of the nasty big stuff but let go falling leaf storms.
Actually I drove into MT Ida before ride start to grocery shop and wait for sun to warm things up. I did return to same start spot.
I stopped at last road crossing before the lake then retraced my path. What was down was now up and vice versa.15.9 miles climbing 2054′ needing 2 hrs 21 mins of pedaling. In and out of drainages, no sustained climbs to settle into.
Back at the van and out of the damp riding clothes I headed North towards FT Smith. Plan was to find FS ranger station to find a primitive sleep spot as close to said city. GPS did not recognize east or west of the hwy. I called the RS and asked for directions. Between our knowledge we found a common way to get me to the RS. She gave me a map and pointed out Poteau Mtn. I still can not pronounce the mtn. I found a short pull out way back the road and hunkered down for the night.
Clear skies only sometimes bothered by military aircraft.
Yesterday I completed the drive into FT Smith and the Ben Geren mtn bike trail system. Again wonderful letting MTBP be my guide putting a ride together. Small area with lots of trails. At one point I glimpsed a rider thru the trees pretty close to me. I paid sharp attention to the corners and bends I rode expecting to encounter the rider head on. Never did meet that rider. However, I did meet 4 of these critters, this one was completely fearless of me as it almost rooted up my leg.
11.32 miles climbing 673′ making it one of my flatter rides. It is what it was. A place to ride a mtn bike close in to the city w/ military aircraft flying overhead, mostly C130s’.
My inverter said I am out of here and I needed to replace it. I picked Best Buy. Big shopping center, big box stores. A Verizon store was in the complex. I visited and bought additional memory for my phone. Best Buy had a lesser powerful inverter but it does charge my stuff. Thursday being laundry day I did Google research mated to my road map to select a laundromat on my travel path. I have clean clothes and out of the way miles.
Next was a night time drive down to Devil’s Den state park for the night and another from the bedroom ride. Came upon only my second accident of my travels. I picked rt 74 to the park. Nasty switchbacks that made me use bike riding english to make the turns. I stopped at the visitor center to register as the sign said. Closed. A ranger drove up. He said he would stop by later and write me a registration slip to make me legal. He sent me to area A which was barren of the RV amenities and RVS. I fixed a late dinner then walked to the restroom for a hot shower in a heated building. Chilly night. I turned the furnace thermostat way down low and pulled the doubled down blanket up to my chin. The furnace ran all night. 29 degrees this AM. Battery power held.
This morning I rode the Devil’s Den loop. Beautiful clear blue sky. Again. all by myself. I stopped one place and just listened to no sound. I did see a pileated woodpecker and several raptors. Many places the tread had been turned up reshuffling the leaves hiding what nasties underneath.
The other side.
Short ride. Another shower. Pay the $10 camp fee then took a more manageable road back to the interstate to drive to Bentonville.
rain is forecast this weekend. I will prolly leave mid week heading west. Need to pay attention to weather now as snow might be the reality. Report is no snow at Hurricane.
I can watch football here and enjoy beer here better than Hurricane, UT Mormon rules. Here in B-ville the Baptists finally lost their control of others’ desire for alcohol.
I think if I can connect chain to the hitch carrier to a stationary object I can drive forward to pull the carrier towards where it belongs. Just a chain, no whips.
I will be staying in town at Loren’s big city lot. I can stay out late knowing that I have a saved sleep spot.