Remaining snow is melting down from plowed piles. Trail treads are firm, however, tires not in the tread have left cast tracks both bikes and foot prints. Again, Carroll canyon face dries first. One piece on Old Post is north facing which holds its moisture longer as evidence shows slippery wheels and lots of foot prints. Hikers also tread on this trail. Doug and I have been riding this area for last 2 rides. Old Post gets up to the ridge high point and intersection with Skywalker which heads west towards the high school. Skywalker has its ups and downs as it stays high. How you view climbs affects your pleasure as descending trails drop off Skywalker but a hard climb is pedaled back up. One ride we climbed entire Old Post for another descent then a partial full climb back out. That ride was 12.2 miles climbing 1486′ pedaling for 2 hrs. Too high heart rate.
Doug rides a less burly bike than my Rail. For short pieces I ride his wheel on descents. He sort of picks his line to favor his bike while I enjoy the more stout performances by letting my bike roll over. Doug has been evaluating tires, he was curious about my Maxxis tires, he pedaled my bike up a piece of Old Post then coasted back to his bike I was walking uphill. He was impressed with the CBF suspension, oh and the tires also. He did give me my bike back. He rode another piece with same satisfaction. What’s next for Doug?
I have been riding an Absolute Black oval chain ring 30T. My body struggles with pedaling this ring. I started thinking about a 28T for perhaps easier pedaling. I ordered one. Yesterday Absolute put it on plus a new chain and I pedaled a short loop. Yes, pedaling is easier but I need to use bigger gears I noticed on wheel lifts.
My body is not happy causing me to feel the same. Learned that my cholesterol is high and I have calcium plaque in my heart arteries. High blood pressure as a result which increases my heart rate. Serious condition. Next DR is heart doc soon. My riding is suffering.
Van is real happy after Warren’s care. I have driven Oak Creek canyon highway to Flag and back 2 times with a smile on my face versus against uncertainty.
Propex igniting remains iffy. Last night it failed to ignite at thermostat command which turns on a 1 flash red LED. I woke up to slight chill and LED message. I twisted the control knob to clear error but I added extra turns which caused the heater to go flat line which requires a fuse removal to cold boot the heater for reset. Fuse is under passenger seat and accessed from outside. I slid out from under warm covers and turned on the backup heater then waited for sunshine warmth b4 pulling and reinstalling the fuse. Successful restart, however I am still not clear on sequence of knob turning sequence. Perhaps do it when I am awake. I have a new regulator which is set at higher pressure for the heater that I haven’t had installed. Concern to be cleared up is the impact of higher pressure on fridge and stove. Ignition failure is to be solved by higher pressure.
Zags smashed ST Marys for WCC tournament championship, Later today they will learn of their seeding in the Big Dance.
I had been staying in Doug’s driveway up in West Sedona as I deemed desert was too soft to drive on. Last night I drove on it to learn firmness which is was. However, others left deep ruts as their rig slithered out.
Nice weather today but what’s next is showers on Wed.
Yesterday I pedaled out from outlet mall parking lot bound for maybe Rabbit Ears loop, however my heart did not like the effort. I heeded feedback and shortened my ride lasting 38 mins for 4.78 miles on smaller chain ring. Heart rate was 25 mins in zone 4, which is anaerobic, at 80 to 90% effort. Too high.
Ebikes are not allowed on nonmotorized trails on BLM and USFS land. Scofflaws ignore legality. No enforcement means everything is legal until you’re caught. I practice trail love and courtesy to approaching riders. It’s only when a rider passes me do I see they are riding illegally. It burns my britches to see I yielded to a rider who bought their climb.