Tires rock on rock? I suppose. The real difference is during turning: Minnion DHF 2.5WT tires were designed for the wide Ibis rims which configured the side lugs profile to be square on the outside edges of the tire. This allows the side lugs to be fully engaged with terra firma. They turn like shaped skis: angulate the bike and body, the tires hook up, carve the turn. Big meat. There is a weight penalty and perhaps rolling resistance drag but they sure make the bike more fun.
On Tuesday I rode Old Post, Skywalker, Scorpion, Ramshead, Ridge, Sketch, Ridge back to pavement. Dirt is hero dirt still oin that the sand grains are still held together by moisture. On Scorpion I learned about paying attention and maybe tire affect when I botched a turn oversteering to the outslope and the front tire caught traction and stuffed forward progress. I landed pretty hard on my right side forearm down. Then my head, enclosed in my helmet, met earth finding a rock projection. Bamm. Head smack. No concussion protocol was evoked. The rock made 2 depressions in my helmet. Point contact, I accept the helmet is still safe. My right upper chest smarts from smack down. I finished my ride. My shoulder still works. Learning tire performance and how I take advantage of them.
The FS closed off all the little turnouts at Deer Pass camp spots. Advantage of these spots and the road is it is hard packed rock which remains firm when wet. Bummer. The TH is still open; however it is often crowded and populated by people that I perceive lifestyle differences,
The check engine control warning light acted up. I tuned my van over to a service garage to diagnose and fix and to repair the brake pad light. I rode from the garage. The bill for the service addressed the above concerns in addition to an oil change and check up. They deleted the bill for the oil change. I change the fuel filter at the same time as the oil. I need to re sequence the 2. The error codes pointed to the glow plug control module which receives info from the glow plugs. Gut told me these should have been replaced at 100,000 miles; however there is no mention in the service intervals. Said that removing the glow plugs is touchy and require lots of time to soak the plugs. I asked to have the work done next week. I might have to find different living arrangement.
A shower then drive back down to VOC. Spent the night out at Beaverhead.
Wed I rode what I call Llama loop. The tread here is either red hard or soft or black basalt. Sandstone provides great grip when clean. Because the sand is grippy some sticks to the tires which are carried then deposited on the rock. Traction is compromised.
Hung at the Bean. Kelly Emmett drove in. She retired from enduro racing last year. She remembered me. I remembered her as I caught a glimpse of a driver in a pickup truck as it drove by me. I retrieved a Bike Mag artiocle about her and asked for her autograph which she gave. Cool connection.
Thurs I drove up to west Sedona to do laundry. I learned about new trail construction happening out on Teacup. Dave from Fat Tire investigated and mapped out a sustainable build solution to the existing fall line problems. We started work at 3PM. Our work created the trail corridor as we lopped (me) and dug out manzanita bushes. A purpose built trail and it will be cool. Right now it will be a 2 directional multi use trail. recognized user conflict as the trail will be like a flow trail. Downhill gapping a tabletop encounters a hiker on the downslope or a rider pedaling up. Dave has plan B should the FS approve. We hiked out in alpine glow
Drove back down the PJs to watch the Zags cream Santa Clara by 58 points.
Friday bright and early I had a PT appointment w/ Eric back up in west Sedona. It took almost 30 mins to drive from Beaverhead camp spot to Dry Creek road which is on the far west end of west Sedona. And the Sedona film festival is underway drawing lots of non locals. knee pain is from tightened ilio tibial band. My right chest area is bruised. He helped my back pain realigning vertebrae. Temp was 25 degrees at wake up. Furnace ran all night.
I drove out Dry Creek road to parking spot right where Chuck Wagon crosses the road. Lots of non biker rigs crowded available parking spots. even a water puddle where I usually park. The trails were not over crowded but I shared the forest with others. Tires are fun. Dry Creek is back up. At the Chuck Wagon crossing was upstream stepping rocks were above the surface. Crossing on them required moves and a plan. I did well until I misjudged a stepping rock that when I stepped on it it rolled resulting in a wet right shoe. My route would cross the creek down lower.
I kept my ride short because of my tender chest. I crossed the creek again finding a stepping stone path. The the climb out of the drainage on Anaconda climbs above the Girdner junction meaning that more climbing than the more direct Snake. To hit Snake would require additional crossing of flowing Dry Creek. 10.78 miles climbing 1257′ needing 1 hr 35 mins of riding.
A shower at snap then the drive back down to VOC and the Bean for the Friday night happening. Cashion from The Bike Farm in Brevard was parked in the lot. Warm greeting. Just a small collection of local riders, a subset of the usual bunch. Don from Galena Lodge is visiting for a short spell. I ate dinner at the 2 doors down Thai restaurant. I drove out to Beaverhead after dark. I drove to the same spot which was empty. I count on this spot being unoccupied. Became more populated last night but nobody camped on my bumper.
Finally the Holter test results were shared with me: Heart performance is normal. I lived a typical 24 hours for data gathering. I vaped some Shatter which really elevates my pulse. Heart did not go off the rails.
Which brings me to Sat noon where I parked behind the sheriff office. I skipped trail work today to protect my chest muscles. Will watch the Zags game tonight against BYU at home. Senior night. Karnowski’s last home game. Talk about an empty hole caused by his graduation: 7 feet tall and 300 pounds of being; massive in the paint. Zags are now 29-0 ranked #1 in the country for 4 weeks in a row.
During my travels I have met may riders local to the location. Because of less enjoyable local conditions many find their way to Sedona. Sometimes those travelers visit the bean when I am there. So cool. I catch up on their local happenings.
As of yesterday’s ride I have now ridden 1,705 rides totaling 25,007 miles. I have climbed in the 2,xxx,xxx. feet as data from Garmin has data from when I lived in Spokane. 2 million feet, data indicates almost a one calorie to one feet of elevation gained.
My Formula The One front brake lost its ability to lock the front wheel. I put Formula organic pads on replacing Formula sintered with no change in stopping performance. I then abraded the rotor and cleaned it with iso alcohol and installed a pair of CoolStop pads. I bedded them in which restored the brake to allow nose wheelies.
What I don’t understand: why some things are singular but are labeled plural. Why are pants plural when the legs are attached and a shirt is singular with attached arm sleeves. Why is a bra singular when there are 2 attached pockets? I buy a shirt, a pair of pants, and women buy a bra?
Craig, I have the exact same tires on my Ibis, Love Them!! I have “0,” complaints. Gonzo sent my fork off to Push to fine tune it a bit for me, ready for this. More trails are being built at BC from Alex, off Hesitation Point. Take care!