First thing on Thurs morn was to call AAA roadside assistance to line up a tow back to Bend. Previous experience learned was I would be in for a long wait. Truck arrived within 90 mins, driver called to tell me when he would arrive and he nailed it. Driver pulled the van out further in the parking lot to be able to hoist the van onto his carrier. Success. Van strapped in place. I did try to start the van before tow arrival to same result. Quick ride to Bend and the service garage.

The 2 service advisers at the shop are mtn bikers. I was booked in with possibility of late afternoon or Fri for sure. I was cleared to sleep in the parking lot. I hung around sometimes popping it to start a biking conversation. Dunno efficacy of my conversation but I do know that Casey reported that the cause and the fix was a fuel pump module not energizing the high pressure fuel pump. It was a fuel system problem. They installed a Ford module. At 5 I was able to leave the garage under my own power. Success in that this time the cause of failure was discovered and fixed.

Still enough time to do laundry, chose the west end place. Put clothes in front loading machine and a detergent pod. Slid correct quantity of quarters in the slot then hit start. I watched. Darn pod worked its way to the door sill which prevented it from dissolving, my load went thru with no detergent. Door would not open until cycle completion. I stayed then slid another load of quarters and buried the pod in the clothes. Water poured in and the drum spun. The pod dissolved cleaning my clothes. Early evening, drove out to Phils.

Friday I set out from sleep spot near Marvin’s garden. Made a big loop climbing up to top of Storm King then mostly descending on same to Catch and Release picking up piece of Ticket to Ride then other trails to arrive back at van. Crazy: 24 miles climbing 2008′ which was longer and more climbing than O’Leary ridge ride. Almost 3 hrs pedaling. I pushed my front wheel into a soft burn on Pine Drops which spit me off the bike. I was bounced off my left pedal then smashed same side shin into the traction pins resulting in several bleeding wounds. Falling happens so fast, so fast a memory is not created. I remember looking up and seeing a bitter bush getting real close and the front wheel perpendicular to my intend direction of travel. Whew stopped. Big ride.

Sat I treated myself to the South Fork loop. Started at Swampy snowpark out to namesake former shelter. South Fork heads downhill. Difference between this dry side and the wet side are about water which grows lots of dense green vegetation and the tread is firm and dust free. The downhill kept a smile on my face. However the pay back was the climb out up Tumalo Ridge. Slow climb. Saw wiggling on trail, stopped, my first sighting of an emerging Pandora moth

Furnace is still not consistently firing.

Today was Dirt Church rock work on new piece of COD. 6 volunteers moved rocks to armor and create a line thru the rock faces. Not many feet but lots of sweat of effort. Woody walked us the length of what is finished: Extensive rock work. Trail will be a technically tough trail and us bikers built it.

I did order a Fox 36 Factory fork that will be sent to Diaz for custom valving and a RUNT. Will prolly be 2nd week of July before getting it on the bike. Like $1,200 of newness and improved handling. Both forks are comparable for burliness. I chose a 160 over the present 170 travel. Factory is available in non boost which is what my wheel is. Diaz said this fork is better than the Pike. Listening to a suspension tuner.

Late evening recap.

This morning when I turned the ignition key to start the engine it would not start, condition sim to what happened last year at Baker City. Joe and others were driving over from Bend. We texted and I scored a ride with them down to McKenzie Bridge shuttle pick up. Eliza is still the driver for my 3 previous shuttles. Loaded up for like 45 min drive to where we were going to start, the usual put in. Joe, his daughter Tanya and sil Rob, and Larry was the party. Old hiking trail, legacy single track not purpose built for bikes except for rebuilt sections to current standards. Deep woods cover. Skinny tread w/ long distances of significant exposure partially fear lessened by tree cover. Forecast called for 90% rain and thunderstorm. Beautiful start of the day. Clouds built over Cascades, nasty storm. Weather finally caught us on final climb to Castle Peak trail. Scary strong winds whipped the dense tall trees, a bit of hail. We hunkered down under tree canopy and waited out the downpour. No, earlier a brief thunderstorm hit but not strong or long enough to don rain jackets. Made the saddle to drop down Kings Castle downhill, 4.3 miles of just fun trail, deep woods. Rain eliminated dust. Man, just let gravity pull me downward. Deep tree cover blocks the sun then added the clouds blocking the sun the light was like almost twilight. I wore my tinted glasses because I wanted eye protection, the trade off was loosing trail detail. My brakes squeal sometimes when dry, when wet pick an angry animal to describe the squeal. However even in the rain when using them for a bit the pads dry out and grip.

Mountain biking like it was in the beginning.

Joe dropped me off at the snowpark. Glass was still in all the windows. Tried to start yielding same results. Tonight I tried to make a towing appointment for tomorrow but it’s first come first serve. Van will be towed to shop in Bend that has experience with my van. Can sleep in parking lot. Heater is working like it should. 42 degrees and raining.

Tomorrow I will order a Fox 36 factory fork and have it shipped to Diaz Suspension to be tuned and a RUNT installed.

Chilly night. No mosquitoes.

Physically taxing ride today. So looking forward to laying flat on my bed. I need to wipe off the woods dirt from my legs first.

O’Leary is top drawer.

Tonight I am sleeping in a snowpark at 4800′ elevation at Santiam Pass right near Hoodoo ski area. Bear grass blooming.

Mosquitoes: afternoon was warm enough to cover openings with loosely attached netting which kept the deluge of insects however, enough found their way inside and many found bare flesh for blood withdrawal. I just squashed one in mid flight that had a belly full of blood, some of which was put on several keyboard keys. I charged the battery on my low powered dust buster and used it to suck up them while flying. Thing lacks the power to pull in even mosquitoes. There are numerous dead mosquitoes around my work station. No mosquitoes in Bend down low.

I am here staging for finishing the drive down to McKenzie Bridge for a shuttle ride of O’Leary. Forecast is for showers.

Today I drove way down to Fort Rock and the Propex guy to service my failed furnace. He replaced the fan motor which required removing the furnace from the under the van. Will learn in a short while of his success.

Several nights ago I was in bed with lights out. I heard scratching in the food drawer. Shit. I opened the drawer but didn’t see the source. I lay in bed listening to the scratching. Where I stay there is an abundance of chipmunks and ground squirrels, one of which I feared was making the sound. I slept thru the night. The next day, all day long no sound, I assumed whatever it was decided to leave. Again, lights out and in bed when the scratching commenced. I searched the floor with my headlamp. I caught sight of the source: a mouse. I have smash to death mouse traps in my junk drawer. To get them I needed to hoist the bed up which is becoming more of a chore and cause for concern of failure from wear. I put almond butter on a trap then set it on the floor hoping that the bugger would find it. Shortly the sound of the spring snapping shut caused me to turn on the light: one squished mouse. I opened the door then dropped the mouse and trap to the ground. In the morning I searched for the trap but not found. After my ride I searched wider and found the 2 still mechanically attached. The mouse munched on an apple instead of my chocolate or cookie. Dunno how they are getting inside.

Friday after a ride I dropped my bike off at Sunnyside for fork service. The shop threw a solstice party. Nicole, the woman I helped after her fall, joined me for conversation.

So many of these squashed mosquitoes leave red smears of my blood.

Sat I drove down to Sunriver to help build trail. Some day this piece will link up with Catch and Release which makes accessing the Phils trail network from Sunriver which is north of my future home which shortens the drive. 23 volunteers almost all men and older.

Bike wasn’t ready.

Sunday drove into town to pick up my bike. Service was performed and condition of fork was shared: worn out. 9989 miles and 708 rides. Worn out. Shopping for a new fork. Diaz said the Fox 34 is the fork to get. I will buy the fork and have it shipped to him for tuning. Going to be about $1,000.

Sunday I rode a big Mrazek ridge ride like 2 previous rides. This time all the trees were cleared and snow was all melted. Still comforting to vape pot for the big grinder uphill. Seems the hill just disappears. I feel less discomfort while powering up the climb.

Forecast for tomorrow’s ride is for showers. Ride is mostly under deep big tree cover.

Defrosted the fridge while the furnace was being worked on. I put a pan of 120 degree water in the freezer compartment against the built up ice and waited. After awhile the ice build up let go from the walls. Ice removed. Temp got to almost 50. Switched fridge to electric which is the more efficient cooling method. temp dropped down to upper 30s within an hour. Wow.

3 bar 4G at the pass. back in ’78 on my PCT hike I stayed at a CCC built lodge owned by a church camp. Building was abandoned but I believe it has been adopted for restoration because of its historical significance. I will go by it tomorrow.