Becoming late summer. Today at Swampy at 5810′ elevation now at 7:57 PM temp is 57. Sundown is now 7:57. June 9 was my first day here, not quite warmth of summer. Up here then at Swampy snow still covered upper trails. Maybe summer crowds have thinned. Seems like the winding down of a summer vacation at a mountain cabin or beach. Almost 3 months. Time to pack up.
Today I rode from Swampy to swan song my favorite trails here. My time here is coming to an end. This Tues is a vein removal procedure, as the name sounds, followed by a week of no riding to let the stitches hold. No use time expires on the 27th and I plan on leaving Bend. I want to leave because I want to, I’m not burned out. I am meeting my sister in Rapid City, SD on Sept 20. I will be rationing my time between now and then.
Today I pulled together the trails here at Swampy, pretty much everything. From the get go was the gentle climb up Ridge, I huffed and puffed for non stop distance. Today my average heart rate beats per min was 118, resting in 50s. The pedal trails here are less worn and all in virgin forest. I like nature’s way of forest growth. At junction of Flag tie, the high point at 62xx’. traverse and descend thru hemlock forest with patches of lodgepole. Hit Lower Flag that is now getting additional traffic coming down upper Flag just opened. Still coastable. I have no judgement if the trail is more worn because of Flag traffic. Dunno. Coast down to end at Swampy. Turn right on Swampy west to a catch connecting Swampy east right at start of SST. SST is a mix of ups and downs, it starts down then finishes on elevation gain. Deep forest.
SST ends at junction with Tumalo Ridge, Sector 16 and Swede. I climbed Swede. Local name escapes me for the monster steep climb. Today I pedaled it to the top while stopping 3 times to blow. Swede ends at Swampy east where a bunch of men younger than me were hanging, 3 on Revels. Left on Swampy east to same catch over to the west side. Climbed up another catch up to join Ridge for a return. Ridge is a gentle angle for both climbing and descending. Slight berms, twisty ski slalom course. Carve. Keeping looking way down the trail to possible yield to other traffic. Index fingers cover the brake lever, only applying micro squeezes for peace of body. Back at van. 15.3 miles, climbing 1450, pedaling for 2 hrs 3 mins.
Last ride up here.
Staying at Swampy TH paved parking lot, a snow park during winter.
Flag opened last Thurs. Sat and Sunday the 2 morning bus trips bike trailer was filled. The guy I visited with said they caught afternoon bus. The trailer was filled at the in town pickup meaning those riders had several miles of city riding to return to the starting lot and their transportation. I have got on at the first stop at the Welcome Center. My joy is riding whenever I want to not constrained by income earning.
Shorter days. Last night was chilly enough to run the heater for comfort. The blower noise I learned is white enough to cancel out infrequent road traffic noise.