Friday I rode out Verde Valley school road for pavement riding because I did not know how dry the Turkey Creek trails would be. On that ride I ducked off onto several dirt pieces and discovered dirt was firm. Yesterday I put my tires to the test as I again rode out Verde Valley road because that’s the access to the Turkey creek trails. How sweet it was as the dirt was reddish brown pow, all the sand pits were wetted binding the sand grains together.

I rode out to the tank then hike a biked up the nasty loose trail up to the ocotillo forest. This way I could ride down what I would have struggled to pedal up mixed in with blow up hike a bike. Like it better this way. My tires were the only tracks I rode over for the entire ride. Hikers were about but I and we encountered few. I rode around a knob, its name escapes me, where there were several steep outsloped sections of slick rock that had a black coloration and water was running over the rock. I was told to be aware of black color when wet as it could be slippery. I heeded their advise while vey carefully walking across those patches. I tested several patches for friction and came away with I do not know how really slippery they would be but I errored on the cautious side as the consequences would have been a slide downhill over the rocks. Nice mix of tech features I could master with others still escaping my proficiency. I sessioned several to some success.

Pleasant day.

Dallied in town waiting 6 PM start of Zags game televised on ESPN and a bar front seat at PJs to watch it. I ate a salad and a bunch of french fries that does not seem to be setting well in my digestive system even at this hour. Zags won. back out at dry overlook for the night. made scratch pancakes for bfast and ate the entire batch.

This AM I am joining Ian and Jimmy for a Black Canyon ride, riding down with Ian.

Walden is sure a snoot full of almost validation of my life choices.

 

Yesterday was laundry day. I line dry all my bike clothing on a line at the back of my van. Yesterday I hung a paltry 1 set of clothes to dry. I rode only once during the past week. Weather issues even dropped some snow. yesterday was sunny making being outside enjoyable. Dirt would be mud so trails were off limits. Hmm… there is always pavement: Black Dirt. I parked behind the outlet mall. I could pavement ride up Jack’s canyon. I geared up. I pumped tires up to 30 psi for pavement. I started pedaling, road headed uphill from get go, not serious to my dismay but requiring muscle effort. Shit, am I dragging a cinder block? My body was not really getting into being off the chair. My brain told my body this is good for it, just pedal to the next mailbox and I will back off. I kept after it. The canyon dead ends up the ways. I pedaled the side roads to dead ends then coasted down. On my canyon exit I turned right then climbed up Lee mtn road which is another dead end. At one dead end I caught animal motion crossing the street. Suspect javalina. I spied a solitary one foraging. I slowly approached it snapping snapshots.

I retraced my steps to my bike. Maybe 5 javalinas trotted past my bike.

They were following a well worn path.

I had heard the next trail project was to be off Jacks canyon road. I spied a new reddish brown line on a hillside. I pushed my bike over snow to a wash working my way to that line. Short piece of faint walk in trail connected me with what is a recently completed piece of new single track. I hiked it to where construction stopped up close to connecting with rabbit ridge which is a social trail.

USFS response to covid is to cancel all volunteer trail work.

I hung at the mall lot, my new spot, till late afternoon then returned to the overlook. 2 days ago I checked out MP4 rd spot learning that more moisture needs to leave the ground before my tires don’t make impressions. Wed night the overlook was the chosen sleep spot by others. Years ago I saw a minivan parked before the cul de sac. I checked the spot out. Killer: level and nobody could park around me. I have used that spot every night. Ride today was 11.5 miles and climbed 960′.

Forecast for today was for another precip event maybe after lunch. Challenge was to get another pavement ride before it hit. Parked at outlet and geared up. Sunny, calm, no rain. I pedaled out Verde Valley school rd to dead end at Pink feet crossing of Oak Creek. Road riding. Several trails either leave the road or pass close by. Hmm. I looked at one such spur evaluating moisture content. I chose a piece that turned out to be firm. Good enough for me and the trail. Dirt remained firm and in tact. I could have been riding single track red dirt. My tires were pumped to 30 psi for pavement, dirt pressure is 21. Tire pressure affects ride quality and I am a stickler for my chosen pressure and my tire hand squeeze is not calibrated so I left the hardness in the tires. I crossed over the road and rode some of Turkey creek trails. Should not have been amazing but all the loose sand patches were now firm. Note to self: Turkey creek trails do not have clay and can be ridden when damp. Forecast called for strong winds. As I pedaled back on the road the winds started up: pedaling uphill against ahead wind. Made van before precip. Sandy from Calgary zipped by going in the other direction. We recognized each other in brief passing. She took to the friendly skies to cross the US border. Ride today was more enjoyable. 12.1 miles climbing 673′.

Zags won last night. Listened to live broadcast on XM, Tom Hudson local called the game.

Smelling of clean clothes: The washer I used had residue something perfumed which washed into my clothes. My sheets stunk of it. I have no desire for my clothes to be scented. I am tempted to gather up those scented garments and rewash them. I even smelled the fragrance on my knickers as I rode today.

I bought Manchurian Candidate at a second hand store 2 days ago. Released in 1962. Young Frank Sinatra. Movie captured time on celluloid. People were typical of that time.  OK, released in ’62, film was of Korean war in early ’50s. Clothing and hair styles common to that time. Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury wore lacquered coifs. We look to the past to see what was, we live in what is the now, and wonder about what will be. Go look at your high school graduation picture, hold it up to a mirror while you look at yourself. Find a grandparent’s picture to glimpse what you will look like. Clothes and hairstyle will be different.

3:11 PM, rain and wind happening. 42 degrees and dropping. Heater on in van. Wind gusts rock the van.

For all of my life I have shied away from reading Walden. Yesterday I finally purchased my copy. I will quit creating this then learn what is between those covers and between Thoreau’s ears.

 

Update: furnace repair shop in FT Collins just called: furnace fixed and on it’s way back to me. I hope to have it reinstalled next week. Such a creature of habit as I continually look at the thermostat location back by my bed to see its status. At present only an empty hole is visible

 

 

I spent all day Monday at overlook in anticipation of being snowed in out in the desert. Snow started late Mon and continued thru the night as the temp dropped.

 

Tuesday was my furnace extraction appointment that needed to be attended to but threat of many inches of snow created nerves of A driving on it and B missing the appointment. Tuesday I walked out to look at hard road condition, a snow plow passed while watching. Road seemed to also been driven clear. Good to go. I drove thru Cornville which sits in a hole then a climb out. Road was clear. Shopped at Top Shelf liquor store for a bottle of affordable Scotch. Seems store lived up to its name as there were few choices for like even $40 bottles. Picked one. Drove to local bike shop for a visit. Managing my time I grocery shopped at Fry’s in Cottonwood which is a large store. Can’t find Bob’s red Mill Scottish oatmeal.

Next was Furnace extraction. Pulled in, great to see same folks there. Steve spent 2 1/2 hrs removing the furnace. Short story is the furnace was placed in a sturdy cardboard box and I drove back to overlook for the night. Desert out on Beaverhead was under snow. Snowfall was affected by elevation as Cottonwood was warmer either the precip fell as rain or not as much precip fell. Warm enough to melt the snow off my van including solar panel.

Burning the  cat infra heater produces water vapor that I have written previously. This morning the temp was low enough to change the sate of water. I started the van and let it run for many minutes to warm up enough to melt that ice. I drove up to west Sedona which is higher than where I stayed. As I gained elevation the snow depth increased. Made UPS store and gave them the boxed furnace for shipment to Fort Collins location of service shop. May my repaired furnace be back in van in early Feb.

Ground here is covered with snow, no riding here for a bunch of future days. Maybe a break and head down to Black Canyon.