Moab won out over another Fruita ride. Moab is close enough to Moab for a day trip from Fruita. I drove to the N end of Klondike trails arriving early enough to squeeze in a rdie before dark thirty. Klondike trails are the most technical of the Moab trails in my opinion as I exclude the much more demanding trails. OK the hardest trails I choose to ride.My route was pedaling the easier side going out then returning on harder Dynoflo. racing darkness. 11.7 miles pedaling nonstop for 1 hr 28 mins. Dynaflo is fun as it twists short ups and downs as it skirts the lower edge of the Klondike face. Bedrock.

Cold nights, furnace temp bottoms out about 45 degrees. Sleeping wearing long underwear top and socks. Oh, pulled on my wool ski hat. day time temps are in 40s with some wind. Knickers, knee socks, long underwear top and long sleeve jersey. Summer weight gloves. Sun puts a glow in the body. Spent night.

Next day, the 12th, I dallied waiting for solar gain before riding as I had all day and not driving away after the ride. This time I rode the challenging stuff on the Klondike face ( my term) Dynoflo out then up Little salty then wandered around way up high before dropping down to pick up EKG finishing out back on Dyno.

Then came the demanding and slightly frustrating EKG which is named after either your heart rate or the ups and downs then back up over again trail. frustrating in that the raven would have chosen the direct line back versus all this wonderful marked trail on slick rock with all of its tech problems. I wanted finish and after awhile the repetition became I’ve seen this before. No, just grousing. Wonderfully laid out and built trails. A favorite spot to ride. The terrain and tread here are different than other Moab trails, great variation.

BLM serviced the outhouses.

Drove in to town for supplies and connections on Tuesday then drove out to Willow Springs road which is usually camped out, meaning that distance between my rig and yours in now measured in feet not yards. My favorite spot which is on a rock slab isolated from other campers was occupied. Further out the road would have more campers. I turned around  then turned up on a slick rock patch, the first camp spot off the highway. I picked my next best spot at the end of the rock and away from the road traffic and weak internet.

The

The rest of the day was a rest day. i did hike about linking slick rock patches. Still chillly at night.

Wed again I dallied as I would ride from here and sleep here again. Solar gain but required the same amount of clothing. I pedaled out Willow Springs road out to Klonzo system which is sandwiched between State Sovereign land and Arches NP. Different flora not that it could be seen.

 

16.2 miles made 8248 miles and 585 rides on my Turner RFX.

On Thurs, which is weekly laundry day, I drove towards town stopping for a ride on the Moab Brand trails. deadman’s ridge has some challenging problems that stumped me in the past. Today I nailed all of them. Tech riding over sand stone.

I didn’t stop to take pics of the rough stuff.

Drove back down to town for laundry, propane, groceries, a water fill up at gearhead, all the water you want and we will help you if asked.

n irregular clunking sound developed on my bike seemed to be coming from the front end. I checked bolt tightness and knuckle rapped on the frame checking for a break. Nothing. perplexed. My next thought was to back off all the suspension bolts and retighten them to torque specs. Needed a torque wrench. Checked into favorite shop, Chile Pepper seeking use of wrench and or suggestions. Service Manager who eliminates skritches suggested I clean my headset as grit works its way in. Huh? OK. You said so. Forget about torquing. That night I squeezed my bike inside my van to my inside workshop. i disassembled and cleaned the headset and put it back together. The next day from the first pedal stroke and terrain obstruction the bike was quiet. The guy was right. No knock lasted for the downhill part of the ride but returned on the pedal out. Back at the van I tore into the headset again this time outside where I had more room to work. Cleaned then added  squeezes of Slick Honey. The next ride was peace. headset does have scoring on a race however.

Drove back up out of town out to Wild Horse area. The BLM has closed the first group of campsites past the XG. Hmm, this could go bad with possibly more closed spots. Took the first turn on an opened backcountry road, I had been here before and knew of a spot which was open. I set up for 3 nights and 3 days of riding out there. No internet signal. All alone where the nearest camper was prolly 100 yards away.

More about those days in next blog. Getting late and other electronic communication awaits after 3 days out of range.

I busted 2 knuckles on my left hand open on the seat swivel device. I wrapped a band aid over each wound then wrapped it in paper tape. Still bleeding which is prolly because the knuckles need to flex and I am learning of clotting properties of new anti clotting med.

I have been tracking the battery storage vs use. I notice that when the engine runs it adds a longer charge to the batteries than just the solar panel even though  the end of the day battery voltage is the same: no engine charge means less storage.

Rigs are still pulling in at 9:30PM. Parking lot close.

I said Good Bye to Susan and Don and got back on the road heading west. I 70 weather was snow as prolly were the towns along the way I could have ridden and people to visit. I chose to go over Monarch Pass, US 50 stopping to ride Canon City, Salida, and  Fruita.

First up was Oil well Flats at Canon City on the east side of Monarch. BLM land. Well developed and signed trails. Nice mix of challenging chunk and pedaling. I rode this system last year and is well worth riding again and then once more. Cholla cactus with small prickly pear.

12.4 miles climbing 1348′. Good hump. I fell off my bike, sort of a side dismount, not over the bar when I think when both my front wheel and back wheel were on respective front faces of rocks. I went sideways right into a patch of scrub oak which slowed my fall.

back at van put bike back on van and made ready to get underway, next stop Salida.

Made Salida. I met Mark who does my web programming. We walked from his city house to downtown for dinner, on our way we followed a 4 point mule deer walking the sidewalk. Deer are prevalent in town.

Temp is getting chilly. I switched to a Patagonia puff jacket. I walked into the local brew pub and took a seat at the bar. 2 guys broke away from their boisterous group of buds to almost confront me to figure out my contrast dress with the puffy and my cowboy hat. Seems the conflict between old (cowboys resource extractors) and new (outdoor recreationists) exists and I was a mix of both. One guy lived in Arkansas so we shared common places. No harm no foul. Just beer induced talk from them.

Earlier I checked out the only laundromat in town which I had used in the past. A park RV here sign was hung on their fence. Cool, legal sleep spot in town. The brewery shut down at 9, I drove to the laundromat positioning myself for early morning clothes cleaning. A rig with a utility trailer was parked behind the building. Hmm. I believe that asking permission when possible is better than being asked to leave. I walked in the door which was partially blocked by washers. I met the young couple who had just bought the business. They permitted my stay. Chilly night.

I have been antsy about crossing the Rockies on snow covered road. I needed to get over Monarch Pass at 11,311′. First was a short ride on Fruita’s S Hill trails. New trail is Chicken Dinner. I rode this system last year.

Different type of rock: loose and embedded sharp edged hard rock. Hard hump for 9.46 miles climbing only 889′ but at like 7,000′ above sea level. Nice day.

Now comes the crux of this route: Monarch Pass. Road was bare and dry. Whew. Dropped into Gunnison which is like living in a deep freezer. Just too cold to want to ride Hartman rocks. Spent the night in Bill and Susan’s driveway. At 7 AM it was 3 degrees outside and only 42 inside. I replaced my sacked down blanket with my 20 degree down bag opened as a comforter and wore my wool hat with the furnace heating the cooling air. Chilly night, well maybe really just cold.

I bid Gunnison adieu heading to Fruita which is out of the freezer. I needed to be in Fruita before Sunday to enjoy Hot Tomato. I checked in to Over the Edge and picked up my replacement worn out Sun race 11-46T cassette which I installed while parked on the curb. Dinner at Tomato. Visited with Ann a co-owner.

Yesterday I rode 18 miles climbing 1962′ of the Kokopeli trails outside of town. Chilly day. Trailhead was crowded upon my return by hardly a shared trail.

Wearing long underwear top for warmth even as sleep wear. Dandruff from my bald head.

Last night at the Tomato a young couple addressed me at the bar. Turns out they read an article about me and took my example and sold their house and launched their own living on the road now several months along. Their travels will be similar to mine which migh allow for a longer visit.

It’s 11:30. Chilly and windy. I could ride one more ride at Kokopeli or just drive straight to Moab. Hmm. No internet there which is why this early day writing.

I am now in the desert.

Zags won last night as did the Cougar football. I caught my first look of the Cougars at a sports bar in Fruita. Go Cougs.

May each of you exercised your citizen responsibility to vote which ever race you feel will bring our country back together to benefit all of us.

After the Switchgrass ride I drove a bit more of the interstate stopping at Wakeeney found a parking spot in sight and sound of I70.

Sunday I finished my drive across windy Kansas into the windy flats of eastern CO. I used Google to navigate to Buffalo Creek TH. I picked the slower but more scenic route thru Colorado Springs then climbing up to Woodland park then down then back up to Buffalo. At a point on I70 the snow covered peaks of the Rockies arose. What’s this white color all about? What was I getting myself into? The road was clear and dry with snow patches in the shade. Dropping down from the high point ground cover was bare. And the temp was more pleasant. made the TH which is closed to camping and prohibits marijuana but no mention of alcohol. I drove back up mountain to Little Scraggly rd driving out to find an approved camp spot, same place I stayed back at previous visit back in 2008. Windy night rocked the van.

Yesterday I regained 2 hours because of daylight savings fall back and moving into Mountain time zone.

After dinner I was hit by a very painful sensation in the center of my chest. Felt like a bad heartburn. I was concerned that the new anticlotting med failed and my body sent a blood clot into my heart. Just very painful. I finally decided to seek medical attention. No internet. I did not know direction to care. I turned left hopefully heading to Denver. After awhile I found internet signal and looked up hospital. Nearest was 44 mins away. I was headed in the correct direction. As I drove the pain lessened. I continued. I found the emergency hospital. Not a hospital in terms of people in residence. Hmm. Do I really need to be seen? I parked across the street at discount tire then went back to bed. Didn’t sleep well. decided I really needed to learn what my body was doing so I entered the “hospital”. was seen. Hooked up to EKG and blood draw. Vitals solid so heart wasn’t issue. Stomach irritation. Antiacid reducer. Released.

I searched local rides finding Green Mtn rec area. Google navigated me to TH. Chilly and very windy. Popular place. Geared up and pedaled away. I stopped to take a pic and realized I left my pack back at the van. Returned to retrieve it. Back up again. I encountered another rider who was going to ride the same route I was planning on. He waited for me at the intersections for me to catch up. Windy. There were places on the climb over loose softball sized cobble pointed straight into the wind. I couldn’t pedal against both gravity and wind. Just very windy. At a point we encountered other visitors hanging out.

Just a hump 8 miles climbing 1178′.

I finished my day with visiting with my cousin and her husband at their house in Lakewood. Susan and Don. Denver environs is huge.

Snow is falling in the mountains, I70 has issues, to the south Monarch pass is also affected. I have chosen the southern route over the mountains. I plan on riding Oil Well Flats, then Salida, then waiting for weather break to hump over Monarch pass to cold Gunnison then heading to Fruita.