City camp last night about 85 yards off 89A at top of hill, 2 lanes each way. Still quiet enough for peaceful sleep and living. Ate dinner at new Mexican restaurant within a stone throw from my van but you can’t get there from here.

The furnace ran infrequently last night while providing a comfortable temp to slide out from under the slippery percale sheets. Breakfast event performed and cleaned up then made for road. Drove out to Cultural park for start.

Just perfect riding weather and almost conditions…. picky sand on Girdner. Rode Draino down to dry Dry Creek crossing which then becomes Last Frontier climbing back up onto bench cut in tread along ridge. Exposure and grunt. Narrow trail as build does not allow widening. Climbed out of small wash right before start of Western Civ which is free of exposure. Stopped at old homestead;

Turned onto Cockscomb then to Aerie where I started encountering riders and hikers, up till then I was all alone. Aerie is raising and loosening rocks making for a rougher ride, suspension takes the sting out of the sharp edges. Connect back to Cockscomb which is a loop around said peak. Cockscomb descends an old power line: straight with big rollers for speed with wide open sight line. Fun ceases as the trail returns to broken red rock  with some climbing. The first several times I rode this piece I groaned at the climb. Now it is just part of the ride that I just get the job done. A cross country scramble dropped me down onto Girdner along Dry Creek. Where there could be sand it was so. It is what it is. Climb out is a soul abuser, the harshest pay back for previous fun.  Back at van for adult energy recovery drink. 15.7 miles climbing 1627′ pedal time of 2 hrs 16 mins. 53 mins above aerobic.

Spending night in town again as tomorrow is laundry day up here.

Whipped tonight.

I stopped to take the 2 pics. Same ol same ol but still drop dead pretty.

40 years ago I was preparing for my Pacific Crest Trail thru hike.

Didn’t start Bromfield last night and prolly won’t tonight either as I directed time to write this.

Lights out is between 10 and 11 depending upon how good the book is to keep me awake. Radio show TheA1A is live at 7AM which is my get up notice, decent sleep time.

Sometimes you might have to look under that rock or read between the lines. I needed a subject and that is what I came up with.

So, socializing and or slow internet speed retards my recounting of my experiences or thoughts.

My family moved to a 900 person village of Lucas, Ohio from big city of Mansfield. I went to a high school named Malabar after a Pulitzer prize winning author Louis Bromfield’s farm,he lived in the Lucas area, before zip codes or area codes, prolly still had green stamps then. Award winning novel is Early Autumn bought from the Worm where I sleep in the back parking lot sometimes for city camping. Published in 1926 almost 100 years ago. I am 68. Looking forward to experiencing  Bromfield’s work. Heck, we even had Johnny Appleseed who ran from east of us to west to Mansfield to warn the settlers that Indians were on the warpath. Settlers took shelter in the block house. I was a boy scout camper for 4 summer 1 week camps then worked 2 summers on the aquatic staff, camp name: Johnny Appleseed. The JR high school shared the same name. Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox were somewhere else. Bromfield arrived later. He wrote on agriculture studying his farm, Malabar.

Free typewriter rambling.

Jeff, whom I met in Fruita and Moab, is here in Sedona. I joined him and new bud, Jon, for 2 rides and 2 nights of camping out off 525 road. I drove out there Friday. 525 is stutter bumped from lots of traffic including the little 4×4 rigs just blew by me. Spur rd to their spot was 1 round trip for me to further the life of my van. Had shade. Sat outside under moon light Fri night. Sat we piled into Jeff’s rig for the drive into town to ride Skywalker etc. Lots of parked rigs along camp spots. Beaverhead has less campers cpmpeting with fewer spots and is still my go to spot. But the rancher is running cows again. The spot I select has no new cow pies. Anyway we parked in Sunset Park. I guided from way back to ride Old Post, Skywalker, Scorpion, ramshead, Ridge, Sketch, then back to Ridge home. My breathing is giving me less and less effort. Scorpion rides better downhill as gravity is the engine for rolling over the basalt blobs. Steve, I have ridden that first climbing turn now twice: pedal pedal pedal. The ride was 10.5 miles pedaling 1 hr 30 mins climbing 1141. Heart rate data was average 120 max of 141. In perspective: my theoretical aerobic max is 132bpm. My resting pulse is in upper 50s. OK, I spent 17 mins above.  I work myself, not abuse, I get worked.

received a text invite for a group ride on Sunday down at VOC. I carefully drove the nasty until pavement. The parked cars alongside the road for Devils Bridge hike was the longest yet I have seen. Most of the hikers from those rigs hike the road instead of single track Chuck Wagon which we ride. Duf, Greg, Dave, Kyle, and me way off the back. Climbed rabbit ridge which is a gentle climb mostly below grade, narrow, and moveable rock smaller than a squash ball. First time with the RUNT suspension tune from Diaz Suspension which made the ride so much less hash fork compressions. Duf has one also, we both agree how much our ride is improved. As much as rabbit can be less onerous. Then descent the Waterfall for hike a bike pieces for me. I rode more this time than ever. All by ourselves except for a hiker and her dog. She asked if we knew that this was an equestrian trail. Multi use, even a hiker rarely. There are red rock mounds which is usually the tread. Sometimes steep lines have been pioneered. We stopped at the Wall of Death rolls. Kyle rode Wall of Death, Duf rode I think Certain Wall of Death. I helped him lift his bike back up the face.

I split off on HT for back to the barn. I perceived my limit by splitting instead of continuing on planned ride.

Headed out to Beaverhead. first camp spot is now occupied by an RV that was parked near the water trough that was told to move because of the recently located cows. At the trough was the guy with the trailer who had a lock on the preferred spot. I kept going to the vacant spot I choose. I stayed there all day yesterday reading and a short hike. Rancher then FS stopped at guy’s trailer who wasn’t there to prolly move. Must have left a note on the rig. I watched, yep he moved.

Today I drove up to west Sedona to ride and a shower and a new book. Before 9 beats the crowds. I visited with Mike then rode out to ride the Soldier Wash trails, before adoption, Secret Trails. Now established trails are routed and mapped while there are prolly some lesser used social trails. That climbing turn on Anthill still stumps me still after 3 goes at it. Javelina downhill is still a hoot. Enjoyable and challenging trail system with expensive homes built to the FS boundary line. So close in but has experience of being way away.

Cold shower at snap. the 2 shower rooms were occupied. One door opened as a woman walked out. I was blasted by the hot steam from the shower. 2nd time for this woman. This time the hot water ran out. Got wet then soaped up then short spray of cold water to rinse.

Crazy: a voice mail from Hubie. We were students in a Boeing training class back in 1980. Then he called me this afternoon. Our class was 3 months long  which allowed several of us to become buddies. He just retired after 35 years. I was jettisoned after 22 years.

Parked at the Worm.

I carry my camera on every ride, however I hardly take pictures. Riding by myself I just pedal, riding with others I am pedaling to catch up. The scenery remains jaw dropping spectacular that i have scads of previously taken pics. My explanation for few pics shared here.

Last night the Zags put up a fight in the Sweet Sixteen round to Florida. Two teams go in, one comes out a winner. Thanks Zags for your season.

Personally I am deflated. I followed the Zags from preseason till last night of almost 5 months. I watched  almost all the games that I could find a place that had the TV package or listened to on XM and the ones that weren’t there it was slow internet gamecast. I booked 2 events each week. Their season is finished, now a long wait till November.

Forecasts have missed the mark the last several days. Yesterday was for precip. Jeff whom I met in Fruita last year who is also living his version of living on the road and another riding buddy who is deciding if he wants to embrace this life style shared a Chuck Wagon, Mescal etc ride. Rain was forecast at 11. I left beaverhead spot early enough to drive to sedona and do  my weekly wash and meet at 11 out Dry Creek rd. Clean clothes and on time arrival connected with Jeff and Jon. Steve figured this ride direction as we climbed out of Dry Creek  at the start and finished on downhill Dawa. No rain. Amazing how few hikers there were on Chuck Wagon in spite of the large quantity of vehicles parked along the road. Just a few bikers encountered. We climbed Snake, Girdner and Chuck Wagon, traversed Mescal, flew down the power line section of Cockscomb then pedaled final Dawa back to rigs.

Jon works for Dirtrag mag. He saw my Catalyst pedals then said he wrote a review of them publish in said mag. Another rider has his pedals.

Last night I parked at the overlook the location requires 3 leveling blocks under the right front tire to level my home. When I pulled out the needed blocks I noticed I was 2 blocks shy of a full bag. Oops, I drove away yesterday leaving 2 blocks behind. Today I walked back to the spot finding the blocks as I left them. A smaller count of cows are back on the desert. Still nothing green. Desert is dry and cows are continuing their damaging of our lands to the benefit of a few.

Going out to share a camp spot with the (2) Js.