Precip fell on Sedona and color went out of the sky. I waited and waited finally on Wed I pedaled Turkey Creek from VOC. Dirt on this ride would be sand, no clay. Starting from the outlet mall several miles of pavement went under my wheels till I turned on to dirt which turned out to be just soft sucking effort. Red sandstone even when wet offers traction, it’s a matter of trusting grip. I worked on configuring my reflexes to match the tread. This sandstone is soft so it does not skate away under angled wheels, how far can I lean trusting the side knobs on my tires? As to be expected my engine continues its loss of compression as I walked what I had in the past.
Clean bike.
Dirt side roads were too soft to venture out on so i had been staying on pavement at overlook.
Tues I undertook heater treatment. I just needed a mechanic to remove heater. I started with Johnny’s, a local legend, he gave me other shops to try. Next one did not want to be servicing propane. The next was the shop that has serviced the van in the past but getting in to him is a lengthy process. He sort of accepted to do the work but no date was set so i drove away. The next shop said they would do the work and I scored an appointment. The service tech at the place where I bought the heater called which resulted in maybe 20 mins of miscommunication to my succinct questions. He walked me thru a different reset process which started the heater. Warmth. Seems the heater blew itself out attempting to fire and the different method he shared caused it to light. Canceled the appointment. Heater no working as it should.
Thurs was my annual dentist visit. Teeth cleaned. Dentist exam and review of X-Rays determined that 2 teeth need to be recrowned as my gum line receded like my hair line exposing the roots. No new underwear this year as the bill is $3,xxx. Work starts in 2 weeks.
last night I drove out onto the desert at MP4 rd, preferred spot was and the furthest out was also occupied. The ***** rancher put a cattle trough at another preferred spot and the cows made a manure mess of it. I settled on a spot between the spots parking nose into upcoming sunrise. I like sleeping with no privacy curtains, last night the moon provided light while I listened to the Zags game on XM. Pulled a win out in the waning seconds of the game.
Today I invited Doug to join me on a ride down here. Sunshine but chilly 50 degrees at start. We hit dirt at Bell Rock TH finding it firm and dry albeit infrequent puddles, good dirt. Another acclimation ride. I need homework on missed problems. The Llama problem is still there.
I am cautious riding as because my past experienced features last year but time and environmental forces move rocks and change lines. More home work on my own.
So, 2 rides here under my butt. Still upright. Tomorrow will ride additional trails.