Location: N Klondike BLM paid XG, senior fee $11 / night. Share with range cows, bouquet of cow shit. Some feeding on previously eaten back shrubs that have stout pointed stickers. Public lands abused by a few but paid for by all.

Tues shop in Prescott examined my van, their evaluation is the fan clutch engages when not required but is just an annoyance, said better to have it engaging instead of frozen and an overheated engine. Low priority for replacement. Thing engages seems willy nilly and stays on. Engine temp has behaved. Drove back to Sedona. stayed out at MP4 with Jimmy.

Wed back to VOC. Last adjustment by DR Dave who has done a good job of putting bones in their place which has mostly eliminated my head ache.

One last ride, another success of Llama ramp.

My chest area in places says it hurts. Concern is heart is not happy from calcification of arteries. Because I lack knowledge I have been bidding the devil before I meet him. I would be leaving Sedona area and the medical community shortly and I needed evaluation before leaving. Wed after my ride I drove down to Cottonwood hospital ER. I walked in seeing a packed waiting room. Oh well, I need to wait my turn. I spent maybe 4 hours reading Gone Girl. Triage EKG and blood draw then return to the holding pen. About 1 AM I was walked back to a room. DR Shank (yes) was attending. No cardio knowledge passed other than giving symptoms of a heart attack, His determination was sore chest wall muscles. released back to the undiagnosed living. Drove back to VOC outlet mall. During drive 3 of the braking system warning lights lit up. Next opportunity to have something fixed. No dinner, in bed at 2 AM.

Thurs morn figuring actions. Had planned on driving to Moab, do my wash, drive up and ride Rodeo, and find a spot for the night. Happy path. Called Prescott shop for appraisal. Brakes still work, just not all the ABS performance. Van good to go. On the road to Sedona laundromat. During the cleaning cycle I decided I could still make Moab for last event. Wind velocity contacting my van at whatever direction made for a fully engaged drive. Winds were from aft of beam helped with fuel burn I suspect, at least no head wind. Stopped at GearHead for filtered water and across the street to City Market for 2 days of groceries. Darkness falling. Drove N out and up from town towards Horsethief area. I drove to the high place I like but it was occupied by an absent owner. Plan B spot next to it was plugged as was the last one on the ridge. Shit. I jammed the van onto a small flat spot across the dirt track from the big camper. I encroached. The guy did not engage me.

Friday’s ride was of Rodeo accessed down an OHV path passing numerous camp spots, just several were occupied. I figure on relocating here for the night. Over the years I had stayed here. Last night I feared no openings.  During the ride a loud clunking started. Back at the van I checked what I have knowledge of finding everything was good. Next thought is a pivot or bottom bracket problem needing more experienced resolution. Hasty drive to Double Down, the local revel shop. Monte, owner, listened to me tell of my knowledge. He reached down and disengaged the derailleur clutch then stepped on a pedal: no clunk. He explained that the clutch needed lube, I squirted Triflow and later Boeshield. Noise went away. Said clutch is failing and lube might be short term solution, In any case I still have $ in the bank. More water and additional groceries then headed back to Horsethief out to dispersed sights, parked in plan B spot. Other traffic drove in during the day but never filled all spots.

Sat I rode a piece of Rodeo to get to Chisholm trail. I encountered maybe 10 people on various mtn bikes, maybe an illegal ebike, people not mountain bikers, no helmets, gym shorts, running shoes, etc and riding opposite traffic. WTF? I saw where their tracks hit Rodeo in full view of a do not enter posted sign. People showed contempt. 13.6 miles climbing 1158′ pedaling for 2 hr 3 mins. Heart average was 116 beats while not seizing.

Warm enough during the night to not desire heater until just before slipping out from under my single layer summer weight down blanket.

Sunday scratch pancakes, forgot to put in the melted butter. Butter makes everything better tasting. Today plan was for ride, drive back to town for water and food, then head to N Klondike BLM XG. I like riding Chisholm trail out and back from Horsethief. Trail rides exciting well in both directions plus it makes for a shorter ride. I drove out to TH at trail crossing on Horsethief road sparing the 3 mile out and back from where I slept and I was driving to town anyway.

Mock orange plants are emitting fragrance for a base odor.

Desert is dry. little splash of spring blooms. Hedgehogs are few.  Out at N Klondike the state flower, Sago Lily, are abundant.

Sunday resupplied back in town then turned back heading to N Klondike and hope of scoring an open site. Two years ago the BLM established a paid campground and closed off any formerly primitive spots. I feared judging from full Horsethief XG that this XG would be filled. It’s a 2 mile washboard road drive to XG. To my surprise many spots were open. I picked site #1 at entrance as it had distance to next site. Score. Full on sun. Presently van thermometer reads 80 degrees.

Joy of riding from camp awaited me. .6 mile pedal to TH and start of Dino. You don’t visit Moab to ride dirt trails. Moab is about slick rock. Comfort is full suspension bike. Trails here are more tech and more climbing than Horsethief. Land slopes upward to the north. Dino and EKG  traverse  sidehill. Other trails leave heading up hill to top[ of ridge connecting with trails. I climbed Little Salty which gets after it. Took several blow breaks.

Settling: what causes one to eschew effort in favor of stasis? Yes, my body is age affected. But what is my brain doing? Are the drive impulses fading allowing walking instead of struggling for more distance pedaling? Back at my leaving friends in the Puget Sound for Spokane going away gathering I was given a wooden rocking chair. I was just 40, why do I need a retirement chair. They told me I would have plenty of time to break it in. The chair made it to my Spokane homes. Presently it is stored in my former neighbor’s barn. I have yet to start its break in. Pulse rate at wake up is in upper 40s, I have no body fat, body parts hurt before, during, and after riding. Albeit none smarting enough for me to settle.

Scored cardiologist appointment in Bend, July 20. I accept that my arteries are clogged and that someday either one becomes fully blocked or a piece of plaque breaks free and plugs an artery. Or maybe blood will continue to supply the heart allowing me to  continue my life style and make it work hard forever. The GPs defer to cardio DR for treatment. That knowledge is waiting for the appointment 66 days into the future.

Tomorrow another ride from camp then drive back to town for several nights of city camping at Reid’s.

My med script needs to be refilled on May 24  at Walgreens in Fruita. 9 more Moab days. Receiving Wood River trail reports telling of snow coverage and high run offs. I have a dentist appointment in Bend on June 13th. Allocate days till then.

Sunday I left Beaverhead for Prescott. I have  a van checkup appointment on Tues. I scored campsite reservation at Yavapai XG for Sun and Mon. I chose paid camping as I wanted an assured spot after my ride with local Jimmy and Christine that might go later than I would feel comfortable finding an open dispersed spot. Dispersed camping is limited to assigned spots that I suspected would be filled. 2 nights for the price of 1 with my senior discount card.

Warren drove the van for evaluation of fan clutch and I hoped that if he noticed anything amiss he would sense it. Whatever the secondary rev sound did not occur for him and the cooling system performed. He giving it a goodness pat that should have lessened my apprehension of climbing out of Verde Rive basin on l 17. I worry. van pulled the grade and the extra revving didn’t happen.

Arrived Jimmy & Christine’s, Lee arrived later. Jimmy lead us on a Goldwater Lake loop ride. Jimmy, Christine, and me ride Revel bikes, a rascal, Ranger, and Rail in that order. Lee don’t remember. Pedaled road a ways to start of dirt, FS land. Nice single track. Rode around the lakes, Upper and Lower.

Hung out at their house afterwards visiting. Late afternoon I bid adieu driving up to Yavapai XG and my reserved spot. Campgrounds have instituted an on line reservation system that does what it is. There are several first come sites that are just that. Again paying for a site is eliminated stress. Nice site. Campground not full. Chilly night necessitated heater running before leaving cover comfort.

Trailforks was my ride research medium. Jimmy told me to ride trail 332. I found it on TF then used the trail as on a posted route. I was able to ride from the van following the selected route. My Patagonia bike shorts have a side pocket on the left thigh holding the phone flat against the outside of my leg. Location keeps the phone in place and easy access. I used to carry the phone inside my pack but to read the map I would have to take the pack off, read the phone, then put the pack back on. Took time and attention to place pack straps in place.

Trail tread here is mostly decomposed granite that acts like ball bearings when not weighted correctly. Trails I rode were well designed and built single track except for climb up Little Granite which was eroded wide, steeper fall line. I walked quite a few places. Elevation is 6,000′, 1,500′ higher than Sedona, I say I was affected.

Great signage at every intersection

Oak trees are leaving out.

I first rode at Prescott before Trailforks using paper map and description that kept me confused and not enjoying my ride as navigation was what it was back then.

Today’s ride was 14.7 miles climbing1795′, pedaling for 2 hrs 13 mins. Elapsed  time was more. 2 hours seems to be most ride time that I can survive. My average speed on my rides is upper 6 mph.

Friday night I socialized in VOC, dinner at Colt at the bar, then a glass of wine at PJs, spent the night at the mall parking lot.

Sat I drove up to Sedona for a Western Gateway ramble with  dry Dry Creek. I  crossed it at this spot. Spring runoff moved lots of sand

Sat driving back from Sedona Jimmy and I passed each other I learned later. This is Jimmy I met back at The Hub in Brevard. We have shared camp spots in several states. I replied to his text telling him where I would be sleeping. He arrived later, he told me he had spent the previous night at this spot. Jimmy travel living vehicle is a VW Westy, he’s making it work. Live in what you drive.

Yuccas are flowering. Blossoms are open during the day, some are closed, either because they haven’t reached maturity, or have not been pollinated. Nature’s way: Blossoms open at night in anticipation of the yucca moth that pollinates. Specific relationship.

I called bike shop in Dolores to learn of conditions. Scott said Boggy Draw still has its name sake. It might be still too wet for a visit maybe later this week. Plan is fluid dependent upon van check up tomorrow. If I am able to drive away I will head back to VOC. Wed final ride in Sedona, then Thurs head for Moab. Figure if I leave in time I can do laundry in Moab.

Finished ” Nowhere  for  Very Long” written by a woman who embraced van life in the SW. Even life distilled can be complicated.

Read the season first trail news from Wood River Valley. Effects of winter have not melted out, just lower trails like at Croy are rideable, most as up to snow then coast back down. So far I have a mid June Bend appointment as a commitment. I will allocate time for snow free rides like Moab.

My Bend care giver sent a referral to a cardio clinic in Bend. I will start pestering them for an appointment. I wore a Holter recorder for 1 week that recorded electrical heart activity. Results were normal. Just dealing with plaque coating the inside of my heart arteries. So far none of the GPs have told me to take it easy, back off on the hard heart work. Will my condition be treated before I break my heart?

Late night. Bed time. Chilly 54 degrees at 5787′.

My big event was finally climbing the Llama ramp problem. I played mental mind games in anticipation of my attempt. I told myself that I was at the top. I postponed my success several times. Finally the day arrived. Not much nerves, almost resignation. I pedaled away from outlet mall parking lot where I start all my VOC rides, 1 mile pavement to Bell Rock TH. My body is manifesting its aged condition as I run ot of breath on climbs. I arrived at slick rock patch at the ramp site. I caught my breath while studying the feature and working solution in my mind. Time to put up: I let gravity pull me downward until pitch turned up and my bigger gear caught up with the load. Attempt number 1 failed short of the top as did 2 and 3. On the 4th go effort clicked and I made it to the top and over like I had been doing it forever. SUCCESS!!. OK, I made it, am I able to do it consistently? I needed to find out. I went at it 2 more times w/o success. I made mistake of looking at my front wheel to steer between rocks. This can be fixed. I continued my ride.

During this ride I encountered 3 of the VVCC elder statesmen, each of us in our 70s. Dan is 78, he just had a valve replaced in his heart. Heart health became a conversation topic as I have my own issue with calcification of my coronary arteries. Dan’s replacement took 6 months from the time the GP wrote referral to walking out of operating room. I waited 3 weeks for heart institute to call and schedule my appointment. I hunted their phone number, called, no human just voice mail that was returned next day. Soonest appoijntment is July. WTF?.  I questioned the person learning that if it becomes a medical emergency go to the hospital where a cardio is on call. SO, only fix it when it becomes broken versus maintenance. I won’t be here in July. My plan is to have the cardio referral sent to the Bend health care organization before I arrive to be scheduled when I am in Bend. I learned that the GPs’ expertise doesn’t include my heart condition.

Writing about another heart issue is van health. It makes like a secondary engine shifting sound. Warren allowed me to stop by for his exam. I drove up but the noise did not happen. Warren would not listen to me attempting to describe the sound. He focused on fan clutch. During our drive the sound never occurred and the temp gauge remained where it should validating fan solution. Fan was never the cause of this noise. I made a service appointment with a shop in Prescott earliest is next Tues. Van runs but this sound unsettles me. I need the cause detected and understood and fixed. I worry constantly about me and things breaking down. Nerves. I will drive over Sunday to ride Prescott trails and spend 2 nights at a FS campground.

Otherwise riding here either here or west Sedona. Starting Monday and lasting for 2 weeks highway 179 to Sedona will be under construction causing delays. I have avoided experiencing the delay until tomorrow, Thurs, laundry day up there.

I like the western gateway trails as there is less climbing. Amazing in spite of number of cars at parking spots I have the trails to myself.

I am parked at the outlet underneath the fully leafed out AZ sycamore trees. Amazing how quickly they leafed out and now producing flowers. Cottonwood trees elsewhere have been letting loose their namesake , many are on my carpet. Dry Beaver is now just a trickle, it is fed by snow melt up on the rim which must be almost melted out.

My forearms are peeling revealing a healthy tan. I have been hiking shirtless timing my exposure to 1 hour.

I replaced my rear tire after 27 rides over 317 miles because it was well worn. Knobs on left side show carving, less so on the right. I know I have more confidence angulating to the left as the left shoulder works. Right side I can’t seem to drive shoulder into turn. Ridden bike 381 rides covering 5191 miles over 454,000′ climbed, like 87’/mile.

Plan is after van health is addressed I will start north.