70 degrees today, clear skies, wind chill maybe 65. Polar express barreled down onto the central northern states. Brrr. May all your parts remain unfrozen.
Moving along.
Mid weight long sleeve merino jersey is becoming to warm to ride in. Set aside the knee warmers today.
Yesterday while driving on beaverhead my phone rang. I looked at the number seeing a CA number I figured it wasn’t some telemarketer tempting me with free $ to pay off college debts. Doug introduced himself by saying he has been reading my blog. He wanted to spend time together for a ride or a beer. We created a plan for him to call me later that evening and we could plan a ride. He called later. I stayed in Sedona to shorten the drive to an 8:30 PT appointment and later a 2:00 at the repair shop to replace the door slider to make my door whole again. We met at 11: at Sunset park. Doug is from BC. We took off to ride what I call the 3Ss as in Skywalker, Scorpion, Sketch with connecting trails. Doug is 51 with equal and better skills than me plus the age difference allowed him to be faster. Beautiful day. Scorpion has many patches of basalt babyheads, keeps one’s attention. I continue to learn the performance benefit of riding with my seat down and standing up riding like a BMX bike, standing puts more power to the pedals. As Quentin says: just go faster. Beautiful day. Doug allowed me to be his rabbit which meant he could sit on my wheel and talk while I worked hard. The heart rate monitor messed the bed several rides ago leaving me without pulse rate data. I might pause when I see my HR in the nonbeneficial zone which is somewhere on a climb or at its top. I like to know the beating I subject my body to. Smiles were on our faces throughout the ride. No pics.
Yesterday my looking forward to event was to hike out from the Cultural Park to find the ACE trail building crew and Forrest from the FS who is management level FS making trail health direction. I parked at the Park then headed out hiking. I heard my name called from the TH. It was Forrest who was here to check on trail work. Wonderful friendly visit as he is a rider and gets around on the road. He told me where the access trail to the reroute of Girdner. I walked right to it and didn’t connect. I met Forrest right there as he rode his bike. Incredible effort as the new piece is bench cut in steep hillsides leaving backslopes to maybe 4′. Plan is to make it 30″ wide to allow for 2 way travel to squeeze by as there is no way to get off the trail for most of new trail. I have earned street cred with FS trail people.
Later while parked at Cultural Park sharing a colorful sunset with other viewers I started fixing a one skillet dinner. A moving rig outside my open door caught my eye, it was Plumber Phil who is a legendary local trail builder and subject matter expert in building sustainable enjoyable Sedona method trails. We shared many volunteer trail work days. I have cred here also. He accepted seconds of my preparation.
The above 2 people I interacted with are examples of connections to a physical community that I seek. I am able to give back and I get human interaction. All 3 of us and many more will be building new trail in the western Gateway trail system.
I am now riding an Absolute Black 30T oval chain ring, down 2 teeth from its predecessor. I read AB’s chain ring web info stating that one should ride in the middle of their cassette. I ride in the smaller gears. I calculated that by dropping 2 teeth I could move down to the more middle of the cassette. So far this is mostly correct. Today I tried granny 46T on a steep loose Sedona sandstone climb to learn what would happen. Didn’t spin out, just way low. I will continue to evaluate the need for a 46T cog. The derailleur is rated to 42T. I suppose the main benefit of riding in the middle cogs is that it creates a more straight chain line which lessens the wear on the chain ring. I do experience shifting unhappiness that so far I have been able to tune out with slight twist of gripshifter.
This afternoon right on the dot I rolled into the repair garage for our 2:00 appointment for me to pay them to install the door slider. To which he succeeded. The door is healthy again.
Physical therapy for left groin muscle pain is proceeding. For 2 sessions therapy recommended dry needle acupuncture. The first time after insertion current was sent down 2 of the 3 needles buried 2″ into my thigh. I jittered. The healing is caused by acupuncture to turn off tight muscles more effectively than hand massage. The second time was very painful. 3 needles buried to the hilt in my thigh. This time the muscle contractions were so strong and painful I flopped on the table like a fish out of water. I slapped the table signaling I’m pinned, I give up. She said if you want to get better this is what I have to do. Believe me, this hurts you more than it does me. Today was the next PT session. Today all of the muscles physically worked did not bark. Release. I have been doing daily roller sessions on the same muscles to supplement PT. The roller calls attention to unhappy muscles to be rolled over. What I have really noticed is I am much more limber. My pedal stroke is the most powerful ever partially credited to the loosening up of pedaling muscles.
On Saturday I rode loop of part of the Hogs trails. First big ride here. For me big, 14.8 miles climbing 1535′ pedaling for 2hr 10 mins mostly non stop. The route covered these trails in succession: Bell Rock, Big Park, Singletrack By Pass, Llam, Little Horse, Broken Arrow, Hog heaven, Twin Buttes, Hog Wash, Peccary, Mystic, neighborhood, HT, Easy Breezy, Templeton, Cocconino, finally Shades. All red dirt sandstone, no basalt. For the most part I encountered hardly anybody except at the more popular areas.
Satisfied with that effort on Sunday I rode bigger ride out Dry Creek road. This tallied 15.8 miles gaining 1535 pedaling 2 hrs 18 mins. My route crossed Dry Creek several times, most of which crossings will be eliminated by the reroute which stays out of the sandy creek bottom. Chuck Wagon crosses at the furthermost upstream trail spot. I was told a monster downpour fell on the Secret Wilderness, which is above Sedona, which ran off into the downstream washes, Dry Creek being one of them. It ran big time dumping feet of sand and washing trees downstream. This ride just a puddle remained. These trails were Chuck wagon starting at Dry Creek rd crossing, Gunslinger, Mescal, Aeirie, Cockscomb, then I loose track of the creek bottom trails traveled to get to the climb out on Snake, a piece of Girdner, and the start of Chuck Wagon to the van. All crossings of Dry Creek were ripped up. Girdner is sandy.
Enjoying my new wool sweater.
Sat as I was riding thru the Bean parking lot a white Sprinter stopped. The driver stuck out his head. It was Logan and Virginia from Brevard. Logan Watts is a bikepacking knowledgeable putting adventure money on the table person. They are road tripping. Logan rode a 50 mile bike pack overnight here. We have been sharing a campspot on Beaverhead. They are genuine people. Together they have bikepacked in many foreign countries.
Staying tonight again at the Uhaul lot. So cool to have a quiet in town sleep spot.