This spring here in Sedona has been one wet event after another. Two weeks ago it was snow, since then several rain events, one of which was Tues night dumper, creating Oak Creek flooding and rock slides on 89A in canyon. I parked facing a wash and watched runoff rise up its sides. mass dump. Wed morn the flood was just a trickle. No riding on Wed.

Steve arrived Mon afternoon full of anticipation of riding red dirt instead of white snow. We did a short ride around Big Park. Beautiful day for reacquainting him to Sedona riding as I enjoyed his smiles. Earlier this year I became aware of the demands this riding extracts from a winter body not conditioned for the all around body workout riding.

Steve took this of me, seems my belly protrudes as the shutter is released

We  spent peaceful and comfortable night out off Beaverhead.

Tues we me at shooting pit off Dry Creek ride to ride trails on other side of raging Dry Creek which is swollen by melt and run off covering every dry feet stepping stones. Our ride immersed Steve into a mix of system and cross country trails. 13.9 miles climbing 1106′ pedaling for 2 hrs 9 mins. Forecast called for rain event as day progressed as we observed clouds dropping and blocking out the sun. It was coming so we shortened our ride to beat the rain. Parking at this spot staged us for crossing Dry Creek on name sake road bridge. The creek would have made a thrilling class  2 rapid, more importantly for us was dry feet. Our route would have been a lollipop return to cross this bridge, however we shortened our ride per above taking Dawa and a wet feet crossing, water reached mid shins with velocity. We beat the rain. During the ride Steve’s wife called telling him that  she had fallen on snow and had possibly broken her wrist. Steve heeded her call for help by cutting his multiday visit short and driving the 2 days back to Bellevue, ID and white dirt.

Spring break season in a non beach town swells traffic to almost unimaginable levels. Tues driving back to VOC took 28 mins to coast down the hill and thru Talaqua what ever. I spent night in outlet mall.

Oh, the parking lot at former outlet mall. Signs are posted banning overnight parking or camping which I had honored. Mike at the Worm used to have his business here and knew the property manager whom I met years ago in his store. Mon I was parked there when a pickup pulled up beside me and the driver struck up a conversation. I clicked on the person was said manager. I asked and was given overnight permission. Score. Paved sleep spot.

Wed heavy rain loosened rocks to slide onto 89A up the canyon closing it. Thurs I had a heart test up in Flag, My only route was driving I17 uphill and because it was Thurs I needed to find a laundromat in Flag. Made the drive and washed clothes at found laundromat near NAU. I put my wet shoes in the warming sunshine on the passenger seat. Mostly dried out. Additional data gathered on my heart. Drove back down to VOC. S bound slow lane on interstate has many patches of broken pavement, driving over them jarred my eye teeth.

Doug and I sought to ride on Friday but concern was for dry trails after rain during the night. We met at Sunset park with acceptance of having to turn around because of muddy trails. We were surprised at how dry they were and so few muddy spots. Sunshine.

Carroll canyon side. My breathing has become more labored, air goes in and out yet I get out of breath on climbs. Seeking to learn cause and if repair is possible. Is it age or bad body parts?

Friday night, ST Pat’s day, was Gonzaga’s opening game in the Big Dance. PJs in VOC is my go to watching spot. Today the drive thru the Y took less time. PJs was packed with patrons wearing green. I am Pagan and refused anything green. Zags won to advance to next round on Sun. They are a number 3 seed.

Today back up in West Sedona for a ride. Forecast next week is for more rain events. Many dry days will pass before Dry Creek can be dry feet crossed.

Shocking: Steve said ebikes were allowed on Croy trails outside Hailey which are on BLM land. BLM’s official ebike policy is that they are only allowed if the local manager has signed a document permitting them. The local manager by passed that process by changing the designation of the trails by allowing all 3 classes of ebikes. Class 2 is full electric with throttle and without pedals. Mayhem. Trailforks has not been revised to this change.

In an attempt to pedal with a bigger smile I had a 28T Absolute Black oval chain ring, down from 30T. First ride proved an improvement as the smaller ring made pedaling easier. When I rode with Steve, who is slower than me, allowed me to lessen my effort. However, with speedy Doug I was back to being out of breath.

Sunny Sat AM, 48 degrees, and a stiff breeze, forecast wants high winds.

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.

Wed night forecast materialized dumping perhaps 5″ of dry snow. I woke up and looked out side window to see several inches of snow stacked on top of wooden fence. Sufficient depth of snow on pavement walk to Doug’s door required short rubber boots. Doug grabbed the snow shovel then shoveled entire parking area. The snow melted at the ground which worked to wick moisture up into snow pack which made a shovel scoop heavy with water. Snow plastered trees causing numerous limbs and trunks to snap. The dead end road Doug is on was never plowed, we watched several cars drive down the snow depth, in places it appeared to be frame dragging deep. Sun came out enhancing melt off. Patience made the road more passable. I waited till after noon to drive down to laundromat. My solar panel was sufficiently covered to prevent solar gain. I braked hard on downhills to cause the snow to slide off with no success. I needed the panel collecting energy to the batteries. I needed a ladder and a broom to sweep the snow off. Who could help me? I was in Bashas shopping center also home to Sedona Water Works where I buy my filtered water. They might have what I need and would let me use it. Score. David had the stuff, I swept off the panel and energy followed.

Thursday. Festival starts Friday afternoon. No way able to ride snow covered trails. All events were cancelled for Fri. Fri noon we walked residential streets to coffee shop at Dry Creek rd. Just a few feet of sidewalks were shoveled.

Festival commenced on Sat. we walked residential streets to venue. I bid Doug and Leia adieu as I embarked on my solo stroll. I walked around. At entrance was USFS booth where they discouraged riding trails but could not closing the trails. Muddy and wet. I spent the afternoon visiting. I did not need or want anything which kept me out of eye candy booths. Visited with David at I9. Freehub said they would be here but they did not have a booth. Dinner time I walked downhill then drove over to crowded Picazzos. Bartender Robb remembered me as me him. He choreographed scoring me an open seat at the bar. Freehub was “hosting” a 9:30 rally at Stagecoach down the road. I drove down and scored a parking spot at the front door. I walked in and cruised the crowd looking for hopefully Brandon, the publisher. I took up a spot near the front door. I ran into him as he just walked in. We made eye contact and greeted each other warmly then began a long conversation about whatever. He wore no identification badges, he said he travels incognito. Neither of us were recognized allowing for quality conversation albeit competing with rising talking and a electronic DJ “music”. I stayed put surrounded by men taller than me, I did meet 2 other Freehub people but  connected with no one else. I left after 10:30 for Doug’s and bed.

Today sunshine was sky cover. Doug and I decided that trails would still be too wet plus the festival crowd numbers. We went for a hike out S side of 89A down upper Red Rock road. We hiked popular trails with no bike traffic. Much shuttle traffic on the road, seemed a mix of shuttle back up  but riders were pedaling up the road. I counted 3 small puddles until we hit secret slickrock trail which was a trickle of muddy water. We could have ridden on dry trails. Tomorrow we will ride on empty festival crowd trails.

Zags play in semi final round tomorrow night at 9:30. Late night at PJs. They were number 2 seeded to ST Marys but Zags are ranked higher in the polls.