Now my turn

I listen to people’s stories etc about the choices they have made and the results. Me listening and learning detracts me from figuring out my own progress. I have been living in Bend area now for almost 3 months contentedly anchored as my decisions are all supported locally. From my body and van health to riding and sleep spots. I repeat my solutions.

I now have a change in the wind and on the pavement. My sister and her husband will be visiting western South Dakota on Sept 20. I am starting my plan to meet them. Back on the drive, ride, camp, lifestyle repeat for 1,100 plus miles. Google maps gave me 2 choices from here to there. One goes up thru Spokane that will be mostly interstate and the other lower thru Boise etc. The later is more enjoyable for non interstate driving. I will chose the later route. I will research Trailforks for rides along the way.

First step is accepting that I am in charge of my choices.

Today is day 7 post surgery, recovery is for 1 week post surgery which means Wed, tomorrow, is first day for hard effort. Recovery is for incisions healing, 15 of them. To date none of them have bled. Several of them are felt when I bend my knee, I have concern that several will be bothersome when pedaling. I have been walking for movement. I will ride tomorrow. The ulcer is just raw and weeping. I contacted the clinic stating this condition, the clinic passed the PA’s answer: healing can take 6 weeks, keep doing what I am doing. I am just covering the ulcer and wearing a compression sock. The edema is mostly gone. So I no longer need the weekly unna boot.

The van produced a new sound while returning from Skull Hollow. Yesterday was its check up at Import. Cause is the alternator bearings starting to talk. Landon gave me info, it can last for a long time maybe before the warning light lights up. Immediate fix is $2,xxx. I will drive until the light comes on. The repair is straight forward at qualified shop. I will just tune out the additional engine sound.

Sat afternoon I drove up to Swampy to spend the night. The trailhead was taken over by a running event which packed the lot. I drove away to seek a different spot. Back towards town a developed gravel road took off from the pavement. Trail Funner crosses it somewhere. I took this road which was well developed as I eschew stutter bumped roads. I checked out the first dirt track off the good road. I walked the short distance to its end to an established dispersed site. Cool. I drove down to it and anchored. I spent two nights there. The area was a lodgepole forest now a stump farm after harvest. I hiked from there. One hike was to catch the Funner trail. I wanted to watch riders ride the last rock challenge before Wanoga. I choose to walk this patch as did all but one rider. Just several riders. I told them I was their audience. 2 nights ago night temp dropped to 31 degrees, the heater ran all night producing blower noise for white noise.

I hiked a piece of Funner paying attention to trail condition. Several years ago I helped on a COTA trail love event that dug several drains. We dug down a bit. I saw several of the drains were now populated by lupine. Interesting regrowth.

So, back in early days of emerging mountain biking activity we rode existing trails mostly hiking or dirt bike. Those trails went somewhere and back.  Riding was out there. Pedaling  was what riding was about on what had been created for hikers and horses. You went somewhere. The sport has long since gone main stream with trails being built just for bikes. Dunno which is the dog or the tail as the sport now is about gravity downhill and technical features. New trail systems are being developed on small patches of land that focus on just riding to nowhere. Bike mags and other media show riders with wheels off the ground. This image is attractive to people considering the sport. Some buy their bike and then ride these newer trails. The user creates demand, the money making industry develops gravity focused bikes that riders buy. Volunteers or paid trail building companies build trails to support this demand. More riders buy bikes to ride these trails which creates demand to bike builders. Riders organize to raise funds to support the professional builders for riding to nowhere trails. Me, my demand is for trails that go somewhere like Bend, Road 44 trails, Moscow mountain, etc. Just me and objection to change.