Nature is what it is, roll with it as that is mostly our only choice. Or travel to a location with favorable conditions. I am living with what the weather and this corona virus pandemic gives me. Current precautions are to maintain social distance and stay out of groups and confinement. My lifestyle meets precautions as I live by myself and don’t socialize inside. Bare grocery shelves affect me just like the home bound. I have lots of odds and ends of foodstuffs that I will consume, Meals will be mix what I have into a one off hot meal. Eggs and butter and bread are not in the stores. Rice is empty. I have small amounts of some. Eggs for baking or ingredient, not scrambled for breakfast. Food will be an issue for all of us. Toilet paper will become an issue for me when the restrooms I use run out.

I bought a new front tire at OTE. I went to the store and noticed they were open but the doors were locked. Instructions were to call the store and conduct your business. I paid for the tire with my debit card. Shortly an employee walked out the door and handed me my tire and sales slip. The shop was sanitizing rental bikes. Mounted it up while parked in a parking lot. Floor pump strong enough to pop the beads onto the rim.

Sedona has received 5 ” of rain so far this month. Thurs was another day of same. I drive out to the cultural park and park for the day. Snug inside warm. Friday I was out there again under clearing skies. No rain falling. Late in the afternoon I walked down Girdner remarking to myself how dry the trail was except for very infrequent small puddles. Axis crosses Dry Creek right at Girdner. The water was channeled through a choke point. Would have been a hard crossing against the current and the depth. I only wanted to look. walked back up Axis, again mostly dry. Favorable for a Sat ride. Been spending the nights up town.

Sat drove out to park under sunny skies and no rain forecast. New tire on the front and legacy trail to add to my ridden list this year. Rode down Herkingham which has many rock features better riding the drops than trying to peal the step ups. Pedaled up Old Post which is an old double track with rock slabs. Still nasty but prolly the easiest climb out. Continued Old Post to pick up Ridge climbing up to Sketch which rides better this way. rejoin Ridge over to Secret Slick rock connecting to Ramshead. Climb out on Scorpion which is a bitch because of the almost constant climbing and several patches of basalt baby heads. Hump mixed in with walk over something. Finally at the top I rode Stay High down to lower red rock road. The a Focus loop. Climbing back out on Red Rock trail right above 89A. 16.6 miles pedaling 2 hrs 36 mins climbing 1368′. Not many miles but lots of effort and skill. Basalt babyheads around Schuerman.

Received invite for Sunday group ride. Just 5 of us. Up Rabbit ridge. What a bitch strenuous climb while gaining very little elevation. Just below grade with lots of loose small rocks to pedal over. Javalinas have really been rooting in the ground right along the edge of the trail.

Thursday was my bike’s anniversary. I hoped to ride and take a pic of it in its natural element. 858 rides, 12,112 miles.

Roll with it. Corona virus.

Yesterday’s forecast for today became a fact. Rest of week has precip called for in various probability and amount. More hunkering down.

With this wetness factor my mantra is now ride it when I can. because tomorrow and several more days it might be too wet to ride, or even hike.

Yesterday was actualization: get it while it was almost completely dry. I rode Big Park jump trail to Single track Bypass, joined Bell rock then split off to ride the roll down around baby Bell then Llama to Little Horse up to Chicken Point.

Then Broken Arrow to Hog Heaven over to Twin Butte down to Hogwash traversing to Peccari down to Mystic. A piece of neighborhood pavement to go down a nasty piece of broken loose rock . Pick up HT down to Easy which was running. Ride a piece of Templeton taking Hermit to Javapai TH then join Slim Shady for the scoot home. Hero dirt where dry and where water was ridden thru my legs where rust colored streaks. back at the van I looked at the condition of my bike, maybe I could ride it another day before washing it? There were more reasons to wash it than not to: Nice afternoon, access to spigot, and I had time. I sprayed the chain then later after it dried applied dose of Squirt wax based lube. I am firm user of Squirt.

Clouds indicated precipitation leading edge. Rain wets the desert dirt which softens it to a slippery clay like tread. Tires sink a little ways, not frame deep. Wheels that have power just chew it up creating ruts. Just nasty out at MP 4. Believing the forecast would dump rain out at MP 4 falling perhaps before wake up. I chose the safe overlook pavement. I have been choosing the right hand shoulder of the road instead of in the main paved area as the shoulder establishes the parking pattern. Last weekend a pickup was parked almost on my rear bumper and there were cars of 2 women in front, the pavement was packed one night with big rigs. before sunrise the leading edge of rain fell. Pitter patter gentle at first tapering off to quiet. I can sleep thru it as I don’t have to immediately drive away. Shortly a more energetic sprinkle fell. A short while later the main course dropped on. Snug as a bug in a heated dry van.

Today became a rest day. I drove back to W Sedona to hang at Cultural park then sleep in town then do my laundry tomorrow. Grocery shopped Basha’s: same condition as Webers in the Village: no paper products and bare shelves for the likes of beans and vegetables. Strange: both stores all the root crops were absent like they had been pulled vs sold out.

Out at the Cultural Park inside furnace warmed air and dry watching and listening to several rain squalls sweeping thru. Lonesome Dove is 858 pages long, I am 512 pages into it. Being inside and dry and reading brought back memories of my PCT hike back in 1978 during many days of rain. I was reading Mitchner back then. Before I allowed rain to drive me from the trail I spent 2 whole days inside my tent reading while rain fell. Today was not the same conditions but the experience was the same.

Moab has cracked down on visitors by closing campgrounds, motels and BLM lands as precaution to local community from corona virus. Seems influx of outsiders setting up self quarantine and social spacing and spring was a no brainer. It’s one thing if people who have a home visit another place and others that have no home to go back to such as me. Saw a news blurb pleading to owners of RV parks to remain open. Wonder about the likes of Quartzite with older people who are an at risk category. AZ has not closed public gathering places. Last night outside PJs there was a tent set up to increase attendance as the parking lot was plugged. I have no need to go inside there. I visit places for needs then wash my hands back in the van.

Now wearing one of 2 dental appliances which are to correct the alignment of my lower jaw to compensate for a damaged TMJ. Fits over my lower teeth and takes up room in my mouth. The larger one is for non eating, the smaller one accomplishes the same function but is less intrusive for eating. Jaw muscles now need the eating one in to chew. I ate oatmeal chewing the grains with no jaw pain. The thing lessens the touch of food as it sits on top of my lower teeth as a solid piece, pressure is spreed out over the entire piece. Without it the individual teeth are on their own shock absorber which gives feedback on how well what is being chewed is being chewed before swallowing. I don’t seem to chew apple skins and maybe grains.

After sundown the rain turned to snow which makes hardly a sound when hitting the van roof. Parked in town down among trucks and on firm gravel.

Today was propane refill. First was Shell station in Village. slight sprinkles. Counter guy said they couldn’t fill because they lost the adapter. Suspect they had no one to operate the pump. Then Chevron which is hit or miss if they have a second person to hold down the store while the other pumps. At the Shell there has always been a person who can fill. Chevron guy said pump has been broken for 2 weeks. Always sure spot is ACE up in W Sedona which is why I am up here.

Yesterday the naturopath office called to reschedule my Friday appointment as they were not seeing high risk patients: mine?, I’m 70.

Furnace infrequently fails to ignite and will ignite when control cycled thru. Have little faith that it will consistently fire when I am away.

May y’all remain healthy.

Last week’s rain swelled Dry Beaver into the proverbial raging torrent just after previous run off quit feeding the stream. I have no reference point to this flow as to the Dry Creek area where I headed off to ride. Soon I would be riding in wet shoes. The highway is routed to a view of the creek.

Last night I pulled off the hard road to check out MP 4 spot. Ground was firm except for known bogs but very rutted from people living out at the end of the road. Preferred spot was empty. Score. Fixed dinner and cleaned up. Been reading Lonesome Dove, excellent capturing male interactions.

So, last night my Sonicare flashed icon indicating time to replace the brush. Walgreens in West Sedona was on the way to cultural park and a reason to drive up to buy new brushes. The brush lasts their programmed time of number of brushes. Checked that time span out.

Drove up to Cultural park after 10. Temp forecast of low 60s. Wore light weight wool jersey to keep me warm early and not a heavy enough to over heat. Quality about wool. I made up another scramble route picking 6 trail segments then identifying them on the map in pink highlighter then figured a route to hit each one in yellow. Because there are so many trail segments that can be linked for a ride how to figure out a ride but by blind picking of segments then planning the ride. Never know how the ride will go. I have added the further N trails out to Mescal which will greatly increase potential for longer rides.

So this is my ride: started at Girdner got to descend Girdner to Dry Creek then turn onto Axis to climb back out. Picked up Stirrup over to rejoin Girdner. Turn left onto Rupp, descent to Dry Creek. Well well:

Not even dry feet stones. I want to cross, My feet are going to get wet. Barefoot was out of the question that left either removing my socks and putting my shoes back on or just wearing all. I chose the later then sat on a rock on the other side to empty my shoes and wring my socks out. Warm day meaning wet feet would be cool feet. No party foul. Climbed up Rupp onto Cockscomb over to end of Axis. The next trail segment was section of Axis to the creek from Bolo. Down then climb back up. During the climb my chain started making dry chain sounds. Mud from yesterday then squirting the chain off after the ride rinsed away the lube. I found the right tree to hang my saddle from then free wheel the rear wheel. Drop of Squirt lube on each link. Chain was happy again. Rode fun downhill part of Outer Limits down from NOD’s knob. Outer Limits home. Dry creek crossing at bottom of tight twisty exposed chopped in trail.

Again no dry feet rocks.Walked across then repeated wet feet protocol. Climb out this way is an easier climb out going this way. Part way up the hill a small black beetle like insect flew up hitting my face just below my glasses then ricocheted into my left eye. Yeaow. Foreign object in the eye sending vicious stinging pain. My eye won’t open. i set my bike down of the trail then try to pull y eyelid down and over to free the bug. Still stinging and can;t tell if it is out. Tried fingers, no relief. OK, flush my eye. Located a dead branch on a juniper and hung my pack which would be above my head when I sat down. I let gravity pull water to wash my eye. Can’t tell if still there and my eye is still painful. I pulled a bandanna out of my pack and twisted a corner to a fine point then swabbed my eye. Still hurts. Will I be able to ride out if my left eye began working or walk out one eyed? Shit. Nobody else came along which was expected because this trail crosses the creek. No help. My eye gradually started working so I pedaled away. I suspect I flushed the bug out early on but its presence in my eye released some chemicals that irritated my eye. My eye is still unhappy at 8:30 PM. Climb out is 2.68 miles climbing 344′ took 26 mins of pedaling. I helped build this piece of trail last year.

Drove back down to MP 4 for the night. Tomorrow a ride around Hogs. Rain is forecast starting on Wed. Ride between wet dirt intervals. Makes for hero dirt but slippery slick rock