Not initials, just wet, one rain event after another since Vernal. It is what it is, make do with what is outside or stay inside. Which is where I am now parked out near Phils TH outside Bend. may all the precip benefit the forest health as in no smoke.

Sunday at Vernal I finished my ride in drizzle. Forecast for Monday called for precip. Clay dirt becomes nasty when wet, not like the Slippery when wet trail . I headed west towards OR. Route went south of Sun Valley. I receive the weekly trail updates from Wood River valley which reported limited ride choices because of snow coverage and or wet. I decided to drive north into the valley for a social visit with no riding. Visited with Steve, slept in his driveway 2 nights while there. First night so much rain fell it puddled out on flat gravel driveway that I splashed thru water over the top of my sandals. I visited with Chip at Sun Summit South bike shop then drove up to Ketchum to Elephants Perch. Cameron of Club Ride invited me to a 5 PM Lefty’s beer. Kyle, the phone is smarter than me to retrieve our pic to post here. Spent night back at Steve’s. Wed AM I headed to Oregon, Bend. Long drive, windy. Van gets 27 mpg on the highway.

Drove out past Phils. Score my favorite spot which has been cleaned up as was the one below. Thurs was ride laundry, shower, 10 Barrel, hello to whomever.

Riding here is under Ponderosa tree cover, not much for visitas.

It is what it is: almost buff cupped tread, firm from wetness. Can be big pedals.

First ride was up Bens, pine Drops then down Phils till Kents back down to TH. Kents requires some uphill before descent to TH but more challenging and fum that lower Phils. 16 miles climbing 1562′. Nice day, even saw the sun. Walked into 10 Barrel, welcome home. Picked up from last year.

Drove out to favorite spot which was taken. Picked spot where I stayed last year right next to Marvins Garden. As I was positioning the van for the night I noticed a rider nearby who appeared to be in some kind of trouble. I walked over and offered help. It was a woman who had misjudged a rock feature and fell injuring her shoulder, she said dislocated. I offered and she accepted my ride out to the TH where her sister was waiting for her. They took her away. I returned to the spot for the night.

Fri. I drove out to spot off rd 41 and Catch and Release trail. Ride went out C & R to Storm King climbing up to Funner continuing to Wanoga TH. 9.9 miles climbing 1568′ pedaling for 1 hr 31 mins. Picked up Tiddlywinks riding ove several small patches of snow. Took Kiowa over to Tyler’s Traverse. I hoped with the rain firming up the dirt that the descent down Tylers would be firm which it was. Exciting downhill with various jumps and bermed corners. Great bike. Drop the seat and assume attack position and play with the terrain. Scoot. I chose larsen’s cutover to avoid lower Tylers then long catch and release back. Worked well. Climbed start to Storm King then settled in for a fun descent what I climbed earlier. So much coasting I planned on repeating the next day. 26.5 miles needing 3 hrs 29 mins to climb 2576′

Spent night off rd 41 trail side to Catch and Release on purpose to wave at riders pedaling by.

Sat. I drove over to Visitor center. Crowded parking lot. Started with COD which at the start is nasty chunky sharp edged basalt chunks, walked a bit of it. Then I lost my planned route trying to get over to Bens. I rode up to a rider who called me by name, it was Gary whom I met years ago and lives here. He is 5 weeks out from surgery to plate a serious collar bone break at Gooseberry. I globbed on to his route which climbed up to start of Storm King then down to COD which is mostly smooth here. He finishes on Ticket to ride piece that I had not ridden, worth the fun to ride it again. Weather required long underwear top and knee warmers, the weather deteriorated. We finished before rain started. 18.9 miles climbing 1804′ needing 2 hrs 26 mins of pedaling.

My desert tan is fading.

Rainy 3 day weekend in Bend.

Back out past Phils below occupied favorite spot but with good internet signal. rained off and on during the night. Furnace sometimes fails to start on 1st sequence but with turning on and off during start cycle will fire it up. Presently 11:35 AM, overcast rain threatening, 43 degrees and the furnace is keeping me toasty.

Yesterday I raised my seat several times seeking the height that would eliminate front knee pain which indicated too low a saddle. Seems that my legs have gotten longer here on these pedal trails. My legs are pretty shaky after yesterday’s ride. OK to rest today.

Back in the mid 70s I raced hare scrambles and enduros on a 250 Husky. Today I feel that my bike is like that Husky. I choose to not do work when I can coast which seems like riding that dirt bike without the motor. Carving and pumping.

Chilly enough last night to run the furnace for getting out of bed comfort. Slept in past 7. Lingered getting up as I had all day to ride while accommodating weather features. Fixed scratch pancakes with blue berries and real maple syrup. Sunday treat when I can find buttermilk.

Chilly enough for long underwear top. Plan was to ride Jackalope loop which per Trailforks is 6.9 miles climbing 1111′. Ride started right from comfort of van picking up And Cookies trail to start of Jackalope which till its high point is mostly climbing. Tread around here is mostly non angular loose rolling rock, nasty is the size of softballs. Nothing holds the rocks together, where heavy traffic up to Serendipity junction loosens said rock. Traction is a game of finesse, that’s climbing, downhill is another matter.

Saw antelopes several other places, saw more of them than riders.

Then the descent started. Trail receives little use, Loose rolling rocks. Drop the seat, assume and aggressive athletic stance and hold a steady course counting on reflexes making adjustments to stay on top of my bike. Not saying I railed anything, just saying that my skin is intact.

Climb is a hump, I paused several times. I would pick a spot uphill of me as a goal for a possible rest. Loop returned to the corral and van where I took advantage of food.

Afternoon ahead of me. Go for a second ride? Didn’t have beer with lunch. Rain is possible. OK. I did put my rain jacket in my pack. I headed back out with ambition of riding High Rollas somewhere south of TH. Trails junctions are for the most part signed and Trailforks spotted me. This place is really big. High Rollas is a mesa perimeter ride reached after some hike a biking.

Clouds would spit drops until finally got after it hitting me when I was down off mesa. I stopped and put on my rain jacket pedaling back to van in rain.

Light rain fell of and on throughout the afternoon. Presently 9 PM having rain drops on the windshield. Forecast is for similar conditions for the near future. Wet events in the desert are a good thing.

Looking ahead. This weekend is Memorial day. A bike festival is held here at the corral. Next stop is Pocatello, ID. Wood River trails are melting out but much is still either muddy or under snow.

So, Thursday I picked up my bike after Dan at Over the Edge “only” replaced the derailleur. I pedaled in the street for long enough to notice that the bike was much faster. Noticeably. Put the bike back on the van then went to Hot Tomato for a Sedona salad.

Drove out N of Loma to BLM land. Weather forecast called for a wind event. A blow arose. I held my pocket wind speed detector which read gusts to 26 mph, 14 average. That was during daylight. During the night the wind upped its effort and just really rocked my van while I was in bed. I gave thought of driving away to find a less exposed spot, but remained as I would have been driving wind affected.. Safer. I put a collapsible bucket under my sink drain to catch sink water. I put the only heavy thing I could find which was a 6″ long log round to weight it down. As I was being buffeted I gave thought to driving into Junction to buy a replacement. Funny, upon morning light I spied it on its side a short distance away. It should have been long gone.

Forecast called for another wind event an possible T storm. I wanted to do a big ride today linking the 2 new trails, Hawkeye and Wrangler. I drove to the Mack I 70 exit for the TH. I packed my rain coat in my pack. Ride plan was ride up Hawkeye, descent Mack, short piece of Mary’s to start of Wrangler to its other end then drop back on Marys to Lions then climb up Mack Ridge to descend Hawkeye.

I pedaled away on my so much faster bike. Oh, I learned that Dan opened my I 9 hub and cleaned it and freed my slightly dragging rear brake. It pedals so much easier. Could have been the lower jockey pulley on the derailleur which was not turning as freely. Not only that the famous I 9 freehub is much quieter not I 9 noisy.

Hawkeye was built to be a either direction trail, hand built. 2.73 miles climbing 673′ took me 30 mins. A hump to start. I walked several of the features as they were either over my head or my engine couldn’t push me up, mostly the former. Windy with non exposed pieces. At the top I turned downhill on macks which is a handful of jagged rock. I rode over this piece of embedded like stakes of rock which I feared for my wheels, maybe snake biting the front tire. The wheels rolled over it. Amazing. I don’t ride with much force which is a benefit. Windy, rain threatening. I caught Wrangler which climbs right off on a beat up jeep road. Once on top the new single track takes over. I was so looking forward to the banked climbing turns on a descent. Windy. made gthe descent and continued to the second cutover to Marys. Windy. Pedaled Marys over to the junction of Lions. This piece of trail is right above the CO river and would be full on exposed to the wind and possible rain. This is where long was shortened.

I pedaled back the frontage road. Rain never fell.

Drove back to town. Visited with Dan where I learned of his service and I thanked him. Big improvement.

Another wind event for the night. This time I oriented the van to account for wind. That’s where I clocked 26 mph. Van was nose into the wind so it didn’t rock. Before bedtime the wind just quit.

Today my plan was to finish the shortened big loop before another wind and T storm event. Pedaled up Hawkeye. Another 30 min effort. There are sections of traverse and descending on the trail which is a nice mix of pain and pleasure.

Another descent of Macks same rocks. I work on being light on my pedlas and hop over what needs and can be. Today’s forecast called for winds different than what blew which was carrying black clouds and trailing precip. Perhaps a race, the winner remaining dry.

Up on top of exposed Macks ridge. Pushed along as I kept an awareness eye on the incoming threat. made top of Hawkeye, going to be home dry. Not entirely so as a few wind blown sprinkles fell on me. 11.9 miles pedaling for 1 hr 50 mins climbing 1385′.

Upon the comfort of my desk chair I can see doing my longer ride in its entirety requiring me to allow for rest breaks because it will be a full effort of my body.

My rides are shorter. Is it because I only want to ride that long? Like a fixed 2 hour time? I work pretty hard, not race pace which I can’t do anyway, which tends not to keep a smile on my face. How long do I push myself? Is it age which seems to favor work avoidance? I am able to do 20 30 miles but sitting is not overrated.

Next up was the drive over to Vernal going over Douglas Pass at about 8400′, up from Fruita 4,500′ Threatening clouds. And the road steepened and the curves got tighter. I hit the snow line where rain changed to snow. Road was bare up and over. Snowfall requiring full time windshield wipers. Highway descended below snowfall, rain and into blue skies.

Made Vernal. Stopped at Altitude Cycles to visit. Owner Troy was not present. Shop restroom uses a brake lever to actuate the flush handle on the toilet. Bought groceries then drove out to McCoy flats for the night. Really green.