Friday night I found a spot at crowded Deer Pass flat spot. seems ethics are to leave everyone alone which is cool. Even that all of us are some type of dirtbag: free camping w/ no amenities. Someone even dropped a mobile home in the TH parking lot. I saw a red notice on the door which has been removed. Past knowledge is the notice is a get this illegal rig out of here. Still there tonight. watching to see how it plays out. Will the authorities pay to haul it away? Trailer is missing a front window covered w/ loose plastic sheet. Really it is trash, a step below dirtbag. Enough
Sat I drove out to Long Canyon for the trail work day. Perhaps close to 30 helping bodies built the 1/4 mile piece of new Oak trail: the trail to nowhere.I used a lopper to clear body pokers and sight line.
Next was my drive to Sunset Park for a ride. For a bunch of days I have had this fluttering over or under my heart, go to bed with it wake up with it. I dismissed heart problems as I haven’t killed myself. I said it was digestive. I changed into my riding gear. I decided to check my blood pressure with my take home unit. Shit: never seen those high of numbers, something is not right. I could do my ride and perhaps finally kill myself or seek medical advice. My desire to live and having adequate insurance caused me to change back into street clothes and drive to urgent care. Empty parking lot, I wondered if they were open. I walked in, empty of patients: good short wait. I know the nurse from mtn biking. Got in. Stethoscope heard healthy low bpm pulse. All the while this fluttering is going on. He ordered an ekg which said heart was fine but suspects a blood issue. I went for my ride.
I returned to the park and changed back into the same clothes and headed out. My route was Old Post, Skywalker, Scorpion, social trail, Ramshead, chavez road, Ridge, Sketch, Ridge back. I helped build trails on the first 3. New work is well ridden in. During the build I sought justification of a fill in a wash would hold up from a local builder. He said it will work and he was right:
From Scorpion formerly Special Ed
My first ride on each trail is to reacquaint myself with it and learn of how it has changed from what I remember. Scorpion has several basalt blobs that throw me off to walk mode. I picked up Ramshead pedaling over to Chavez ranch road then climbed up to Ridge intersection. The real grunt started climbing to Sketch. I still miss on a jumbled rock section. Sketch was worked on last year at the N end. The first part is really sketchy with exposure on narrow hand built trail. I still walk up the same 2 short steep sections but I did ride the other stuff better and stronger. I know the flat pedals and shoes are the difference. I ran into Danny, we chatted amiably.
Back at the van I drove to snap for a shower then down to VOC to watch the Seahawks and later the Zags. PJs is so good about turning on a TV for each game. The Seahawks won. The Zag game was to start, not so, read that it was postponed due to unsafe driving roads in Portland. I drove out to overlook for pavement parking. Prime spot was nabbed by another motorhome.
Today I slept in. I put up the windshield and driver window covers which blocked out morning sun. Today is a ride day on my own. Plan was to drive to Cultural Park to ride a dry creek loop. I drove thru Cornville then east on 89A which skirts and crosses Dry Creek. Water is running that I can make out. The route today dropped down drano right to the crossing of Dry Creek. My route needed to cross the creek here then a bunch more times returning on Girdner. I braked to a stop at flowing creek’s edge. Prolly bottom bracket deep with no rocks. It would be a wet feet pedal and water invasion or wet feet carry bike. Nah. I switched to alternate choice by picking up Red Rock loop above the highway. I connected to Herkinham down to Old Post out to Chavez. I rode down to Red Rock crossing which wasn’t happening either
I picked up Ridge at its start humping me and bike up steep nasty with short pedal sections. I broke out onto Secret Slickrock to a group of riders. One was friend Joe from Flag riding an RFX, a long visit cooled me off. Once pedaling again I rode Ridge etc essentially retracing yesterday’s ride. OK, good hump. Dry Creek needs way more sunny days for dry feet crossings and the creek resembling its namesake.
I drove to Oak Creek Brew pub for a beer and football. I nursed a beer till 3rd quarter then left for snap and a shower. Dinner was a grazing selection at Whole Foods salad bar. Dining room was back out at Deer Pass.
Forecast for tomorrow is rain. I will use the down day to install my new Praxis crank set. Switching to a 170mm crank arm length.
Blood draw after fasting bright and early tomorrow then a visit to a periodontist for gum recession. No insurance.
Temps are low enough at night to lower the turn on signal for the furnace. I turn it up before crawling out into the upper 50 degree chill.
Beautiful riding day. I ran into 4 riders and 2 IMBA bike patrollers… all day. On weekends preference is to avoid the heavy user places.
The new issue of Bike is the Bike Bible. The location was Arkansas. Kristen wrote, to me, a great article about the mountain biking scene. I felt the warmth of my time in state while reading her article. Just so cool. I did like my time spent there.