Tonight I am van living on my plot of land near La Pine State Park, Oregon. Possession of piece of land where I determine how many days a person is allowed to stay. The private property sign I lashed to a tree deteriorated and fell off yet nobody checked it out. My acre is undeveloped and between residences on either side. 4264′ elevation. I’m about 30 miles from main Phil’s TH. The road I live on is gravel, 4 houses to the west the county road dead ends on to old haul roads in the Deschutes NF, dirt bikes and various 4 wheel rigs use the road for FS access.
Last night I anchored off rd 41, Catch and Release trail passes about 50′ away. I watch riders go by , I wave them on. I wait for eye contact. some wave back. 2 riders rode up, they were covered with Deschutes dirt ( wet volcanic sand), 1 guy said glad to see you again, he showed me a pic of his wife inside my van. Drew a blank on people and event. Pot’s good for not remembering. They were caught in localized T storm. Large drops that splattered, mostly show versus gully washer.
Today I picked trails that are closed during the week because of timber harvest. Again, joy of riding from my house making this ride a favorite. I think the number 1 reason a rider picks a favorite trail is if he /she can ride from home. I seem to have many trails that meet that criteria. So I started on Catch and Release heading to Storm King for the climb to Funner trail start. Rode to its end at Wanoga TH. Turned onto Upper Tiddly Winks which traversed mixed short climbs till finally pointing downhill with large man made mounds of dirt. Flow trail. Sunlight shone fully or was diffused by tree cover created shadows that my eyes had difficulty perceiving trail nuances. Why an informed person would chose to pedal it up is beyond me, I learned that from a group ride several years ago. Not crowded. Tiddly ends at Storm King intersection. I continued on SK, crossing highway, then turning down Upper COD.
Left COD to S Ticket to Ride which part descends a gulley that the trail plays swooping up 1 side then back again. Too much fun to ride this way, again, why climb it? Ended at Visitor center that is still closed. I take on water at the water spigot. Cross the highway and pick up Ticket to Ride back to van. 21.3 miles climbing 2054′ pedaling for 2 hrs 53 mins. Average speed was 7.37 mph which seems to be my average speed here. 60 hours of recovery before next ride.
Friday and Sat I rode out of anchor spot at Swampy TH. More favorite trails. I mixed up riding directions on Swede and SST in a loop. One ride I climbed Ridge up to Flag Tie. Winter left overs are slowly melting.
Both those rides ended being the same distance, elevation climbed , and pedal time. Just happened. 11.7 miles 12xx’ pedaling for 1 hr 39 mins. Trails up here are more primitive and lesser ridden.
It is what it is, I am riding a loaner wheel that lacks instant engagement of the I9 Hydra hub. The wind up is too great for my figuring out how to lift front wheel. I walk rock gardens I rode on the I9. Can’t ratchet pedal this wheel. I estimated wheel return to be 7/22.
Quiet and dark here, no night lights. La Pine is colder than Bend.
I think riding flow trails is like skiing groomers.