Friday, January 26, 2024

Ruta del Jefe


 In March I am going to Sonora to do a bicycle ride in support of several organizations that are involved with our Borderland region. I was lucky enough to go to the Northern Jaguar Reserve a few years ago and am excited to see this new region north of the Sahuaripa region where the Reserve was located.

If you can contribute to these organizations it would be greatly appreciated. Look back here after I do the ride ( looks to be hard! ) and see how it all went.

Thanks so much

Mike

Contribute to Ruta del Jefe here


Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Goodbye My Love

I don't know where to start. So maybe I'll start on Sunday night before we lost you. Your breathing had slowed and some morphine had been given you and you were resting and the room was quiet. Someone brought in one of your blankets from home and I stretched it out over you. And then I combed your hair and I just broke down. I don't think I have ever cried like that before as I knew I was going to loose you and would never be able to see you smile or laugh again. So how to begin?

I met you in 1971. I went to visit my friend Dan and I could hear his voice in the apartment next door, it being summer and the windows being open, so I knocked on the door. Your friend Terry answered the door and you were standing several feet back, long hair and a long dress and you were stunningly beautiful. A beautiful college girl "hippie chick". I'm not sure how the date got arranged, but Dan and Terry and you and I went to the Holiday Inn in Yuma for a dinner ( which was a pretty upscale place to eat way back then ) ... you told me later you didn't want to go, but Terry said "oh Susan, it's a free meal".  We dated that summer and someplace in all of that I asked for your hand and we got engaged. And then you thought better of it and we broke it off. I got out of the Marines and went home and you went to Cleveland, Summer of 72 was over and I came to Tucson to go to school and ran into friends from Yuma who were going to school here and they said "we ran in to Susan today!"  Somehow we reconnected and dated and decided to get married and there we were in Santa Fe with the infamous car fire being put out by Dan and I and your sister asking you as you two drove up "what are they doing ?  are you sure you want to do this?? "

I went to school and you sold waterbeds .. a DJ friend played "Tiny Dancer" for you on the radio. We got a washing machine when you and Nancy ran into a weird guy at a laundromat and then we bought our house that became our home for years to come. You loved everything about the house.  

You met my parents and they fell in love with you and you with them. You were their first daughter. They cared so much about you and you them.

And then you came home one day from classes at Pima and you told me you were pregnant. And you told me I should talk to your OB-GYN and I did and he told me a little bit about you and what you were dealing with personally. But I still didn't really know. And you carried our baby and then your water broke and I got you to TMC and suddenly I was talking to an anestheologist and he was visibly shaken by what was going to happen and suddenly I was too and we had a room full of people pulling for you and Paul and cheering as he came into this world.

You were strong and healthy and jumped into life with a new baby. That story of when you took him to the mall and an older lady asked you if your mother knew you had this baby out ... she didn't think it was yours and he was so tiny.

You and Paul and the other wives and kids picked us up when we came home from LA when I flew there every week ... you and he were home alone and I am sorry for that separation and then we moved and we were together again ...  LA was fun for a while but it was so good to get back to Tucson.  You treated it all as an adventure ... you worked selling baskets and plants in LA on Ventura Boulevard ( the Basket Case and Plant Orphanage )  driving our yellow Datsun pickup to work ...  You took ballet lessons with Marlene.

We traveled to visit relatives with most of our vacations, but got a few trips in to visit friends in Yuma and just goof off, you always looked forward to getting away and going places. I wish we had done more.

You went with me to the Fleetwood Mac concert wearing white coveralls. We had bleacher seats and our friends Mike and Mimi and others were on the field and we saw people jumping the fence and I pretty much tossed you over it and told you to "run" and you did run as a security guy came up. I still remember grass stains all over those white coveralls.

Somehow the 80's passed as Paul grew and I surprised you with a red VW one day while you were at work at Mervyn's ... I shouldn't have done such an expense without checking with you but there it was with Paul and a buddy in the back and me handing you the keys and I loved the surprise on your face.

You were always so kind to all of the animals in our house. Kitties and doggies and you turned me from a "they belong outside" to "they're welcome on the bed" and they enriched our lives. You so loved walking outside around our home, just looking at the cactus and the sky and the passing of the seasons. That time when I was trying to get Bandit our orange cat to go back to the house and he ran straight toward you and GreyBoy at top speed and GreyBoy jumped straight up in the air. We laughed so hard at those two.

You went to the hospital from time to time. I still didn't know exactly what your issues were, and then we got better imaging and names started being applied.  Atrial septal defect, pulmonary arterial hypertension.  And after one trip the doctors said you needed supplemental oxygen at home and the machine came and it was loud and you were so bummed out by it all, You cried and I hugged you and we figured out how to put it into another room and you only needed it at night and it was all ok.

And then you got close to 50 and I decided to surprise you. And your friends wouldn't talk to you in the week or so up to the party because they didn't want to blow the surprise. And your Mom and sister called you and wished you a Happy Birthday over the phone the day before. You were so bummed out that they weren't going to be here ( and they were at George's house laughing as they were right here in Tucson to surprise you ). You wanted a new phone because you were sad and I bought you a red phone to go with your red car and then we went to Tohno Chul and there were the folks from work and your Mom and Luly and Ed and Garrett and John and George and Paul and Heather and many other friends!  

You could still go to Santa Fe and see your Mom and sister and spend precious time with them. And Paul went with you and I would work.  And then one day Paul introduced us to Heather and you and I had a daughter in our lives and you loved talking with her and spending time with them as a couple and then they gave us a grandson and now you were someone's Mimi!

There were other birthday parties, some I don't remember. You were so sad with the passing of Luly and then of your Mom and Connie. It was really good that you could spend time with her and your health was still good enough that you could get out.

You worked so hard all of our lives together. You went into Mervyns on cold winter days, I would drop you off at Christmas time and pick you up so you wouldn't have to walk out into a dark parking lot at 11pm. You got a cosmetology license and you learned stenography and court reporting and took legal assistant classes. And you did office work for Madson Brown until the big recession shut down real estate and it was time for you to retire. You were sad that you wouldn't be working but you now had time to play bridge and do stamping and make cards and craft things and go to a book club and enjoy some other things. And I was glad to see you enjoy that stuff.

But as the years passed each little hospital visit would take a bit out of you and leave you a bit weakened from where you were before and that hurt me to see, but you were so strong and so resolute through it all.  

I loved that little trip we made with Whisper to Ocean Beach, just a few days watching her at Dog Beach when she drank all that ocean water and she couldn't eat or poop for maybe 3 days .. you were so happy.

Connor gave you great joy. He loved to sit on the couch with you and watch a tv program or you would play a game or cook something in the kitchen. Nothing like cooking with Mimi and having Connor over and reading to him before his bedtime.

More hospital trips, new kitty cats. You came back from the hospital trips and I got used to telling the doctors what your oxygen saturation levels should look like and how many liters of o2 you were using at home. And they would pump you full of oxygen and give you antibiotics and I knew that was the combination that would keep you going forever.

Your Aunt Janet turned 90 and we went to Maine and I got to see some of your childhood places. Such a wonderful trip with you.

I started leaving on bike trips. I guess I never really though about how lonely you would be when I was out there in the middle of nowhere for days at a time and you were home with the kitties. I am so sorry I was so selfish.

You would call me Bear and I would call you Bugit. You would draw these little smily girl pictures on cards that you would give me for Valentines Day and birthdays. On our honeymoon we went to Yosemite and we got to a hotel and you had a bad dream in the middle of the night and you said "bear .. bear's going to get me" and I was a mean little boy and teased you. I'm sorry Honey..

The pandemic came  and I worried about you and we had you "grounded" for a long time. You got all your shots and you were so much happier when you got to go out and do grocery shopping. You really liked going down to Safeway and getting your coffee at Starbucks and talking to the people there ... sometimes I know it took a bit out of you even with your portable oxygen generator but you were still getting outside and seeing people.

You loved our 50th anniversary party, it was so sweet and you were totally surprised. And right up to the end you were still doing little trips out and going outside and looking at the sky.  You went out that night to watch the incoming storm and you fell and hit your head hard and then called out for me. And we went to the hospital and I thought you were ok and we came home. But you weren';t and I called an ambulance and they took you away and you had seizures and Honey I started loosing you and they gave you all the oxygen and it wasn;'t enough this time and there you were in that bed and so quiet and I was so helpless.

I love you Susan. I love you so damn much and you brought so much happiness and light and fun into the lives of so many people. You were a treasure to all of us who knew and loved you. Goodbye Honey.




Saturday, May 13, 2023

Ride Across Arizona 2023

So, Stagecoach 400 was hard and I didn't finish it, so why not sign up for something even longer? What could go wrong?

I rented an Enterprise car and drove up towards the Needles/Bullhead City area. The ride was going to start on a Monday morning in Topock, which is right at the crossing of the Colorado River by Interstate 40. First, I drove to the Burro Creek Campground to check it out as it's a possible water resupply point ... water was off at the restroom and the faucets outside. That means the first day is going to be long and dry with no resupply for 105 miles.

Drove through Oatman. Oatman is a hoot, was full of Route 66 motorcyclists and lots of burros in the street. It's about a block or two of little shops and bars. Took a couple of photos of the burros and moved on. Got to Needles, grabbed a hotel for two nights and ate. Up the next morning and drove to Bullhead City to drop the car before it got to hot and rode back to the hotel in Needles. Needles is a little town that has just seen better days, a few hotels, couple of chain restaurants and a couple of local restaurants and that's about it. It seemed like they make their living off BNSF railroad employees, working on the railroad and etc as there were a lot of their vehicles at the hotel. Sunday came around and I figured I would ride to the start at Topock and camp and be ready to start RAAZ without having to ride 15 miles before the first 105.


Burros in Oatman

Well, that was kind of a bad idea ... it got hot, I rested under some shade, then went to Topock at the bar and checked out the Colorado River people. Bikers and river people galore. Came back to the area and then a Warden came by and told me "you know you can't camp here" ... I was going to but had not set anything up and she hung around kinda making sure I was going to leave the Catfish Paradise day use are. That actually worked out ok because I bailed back to Topock and went up the hill between the railroad and the Interstate and found a great spot, cooler and out of the wind.

6 am, we were at Topock with everyone else and boom ... we're off on I40 heading east. 

Getting Ready to Start at Topock


I stopped at the Pilot and got my extra water, an Endurolite, some chips and etc and continued. We turned off the Interstate at mile 13 and immediately I was pushing my bike up a sandy steepish little hill!  First day was hard, it got warm and we had a wind from the southeast that slowed everyone down. A couple in a white pickup truck were doing support for another rider and they gave several of us extra bottles of water and refilled some water. Alamo road went well, but Coyote Springs road was a PITA with all of the sand ... I was pretty fried at about mile 60 and bagged it for the night at Signal ( or where Signal used to be ).

Day 2, got up and rode the rest of Signal Road and up Seventeen Mile Road ... I enjoyed that one, it had lots of climbing but the surface was great! We hit US 93 and had a few miles up the hill past Nowhere AZ where a gas station and curio shop used to be about 40 years ago!  Zoomed down the other side to the turnoff to Bagdad and a bunch of rollers, then a climb up to the top of the mountain. Keep looking ahead thinking "they didn't put this town on the top of the mountain did they?"  ... yeah they did!

Bagdad was great. Giant Coke. Hit the diner and got a grilled ham and cheese and recharged my phone and Wahoo. Got a couple of things at Basha's and left and got about 10 miles into Camp Wood road before camping in the bushes on the side of the road.

Near Yolo Ranch on Day 3 .. Deer in there someplace

Up early, looked like it was going to rain on me, but had a good morning with Camp Wood road. Passed Yolo ranch, saw some deer. Never did figure out where Camp Wood was exactly ... looked like just a farmhouse at that location ... have to go back and look that up again. Great descent heading east, beautiful views and then when I turned north toward Sleigman, the wind was behind me!  Got 80 something miles in and made it to the hotel there. Girl says we only have a pet suite available and I go "yeah that'll work" so I got the Elvis theme room.


Outside Sleigman

Wind Alerts on the phone for the next day. Hard climbing east, wind behind me when I turned north. At the northern most point I turned southeast and the wind was atrocious. Crazy hard to just walk the bike .. just energy draining. Finally got close to Williams and now the wind was cold, cold, cold. I had all my stuff on and was freezing. Note to self: when you get to Flagstaff go shopping!  Cool little town Williams, had fajitas and a great breakfast the next morning. 


The "Peaks" in Flagstaff in the distance


Trailhead on the way to Flagstaff from Williams

The ride to Flagstaff had some nice sections and a power line road that was a little rocky, nothing too hard. Bit of rockiness and climby in the forest and then it topped out and finally hit the Flag area. Think I was there by noonish. Ate at a Freddie's, got a room and left the bike at the hotel and Uber'd downtown. Bought a sweatshirt and a down puffy hoodie and felt much better. 


Lake Mary with a Kayaker

Headed down Lake Mary Road the next morning. Pavement for 55 miles and the wind wasn't bad. Sometime in the afternoon I got to Happy Jack's RV Park. Big barn like place with a country western dance hall/restaurant and lots of dead animals hanging on the walls. But a great burger and piece of strawberry pie. Left there, down AZ 87 just a little bit and onto the Rim Road. I got to a great viewpoint of the Mogollon Rim and it was getting late and wanted to camp. The campground was closed .. not open for another week and was full of snow and water. I saw the privy and it was dry and so that's where I ended up for the night. 


Mogollon Rim

Rim Views Forever 

Got to Forest Lakes the next day before the store closed at 3!  Everything else there seems to be closed or a step backwards on the route. The fellow running the store was really nice, let me recharge my stuff on his patio and stay after he left. Had two burrito's, chocolate milk, Coke ... all the necessities. Back into the forest, saw some horses that seemed to be wild, passed a fire tower and camped for the night.  A little windy, but not too bad.

Fire Tower at Campground between Forest Lakes and Show Low

And More Rim Views .. Powerline for TEP in Tucson runs in the distance
 

Next day's goal was Show Low and I got there around 2:30 and stopped at Motel 6. Washed my clothes, and walked across the street to get a prime rib. Recharging electronics and eating ... that's pretty much it. Breakfast at McDonald's ... their big breakfast has about 1000 calories, hard to beat.

Rode to Vernon and then on to Greer. The wind really really picked up in the afternoon and I was getting low on food. The route doesn't go to Greer, there's a turn in the forest way above it. So I went down the hill not realizing how deep of a hole Greer was it, and it got steeper and steeper and I was committed and it was still going down and now I was going to have to go all the way back up this damn thing. Stopped at the little store and got some goodies. Asked the lady if the Motel was open and she said yes. Went outside and walked over to the Motel and looked for the office. Tom was sitting there and he says "it's behind you in that building". Went back and she had closed the store ( it was 5 pm closing time ). So no motel for me tonight! Talked to Tom for a bit and he and his buddy offered me a ride back up the mountain and I took it and got back to the route. Rode about 5 miles or so and camped on the side of a paved highway near a snow plowed area. Heard the elk "bark" that night.


Not that long of a stretch, about 9500 feet 

Wed morning comes around, cold start. I really thought the Big Lake store would be open, got close to it and then realized they didn't open for another week. I was off route at the Apache Trout campground and stopped at the little kiosk looking for an electrical outlet. None on the outside and a door that said employee's only. Hmm ... tried it and it opened! Power strip inside and I started charging. Forest Service guy drives up and I tell him what I'm doing and he says OK!  Looked around and They Have a Microwave and I heat up my Jimmy Dean egg/cheese/sausage ... WIN, WIN!   More riding, a nice long descent through a burned area, more forest road, just getting closer to US 191.

Crossed 191.  Up a hill and inventory what I have. Part of a Nestle crunch bar, couple litres of water, a bag of M&M. and a Cuban beans and rice back packing meal. Down into the Blue and the beginning of the Blue Wilderness. It's 9 miles down, down, down. Windy, crazy windy with dirt blowing in my face. Finally got down to the relative quite of the Blue River Road. Think it was about 8 miles to the Finish, took a while as there was still some wind and a little climbing and I was tired. And then I look at my Etrex 32 and I have run out of track.. we are done. Am in New Mexico and I look behind me and there is a sign saying welcome to Greenlee County.


Dropping into the Blue 


Along the Blue River 

Figured I was going to camp down there someplace and was walking the bike and a truck comes by and I flag him down and ask for a ride and he gives me a lift the 8 miles up to AZ 180. And it was still light out. I get to Alpine, get turned around trying to find the motel ... Alpine isn't that big but i got confused anyways ... tired, cold and the hotel had a vacancy! Put the bike inside and walked to a bar and had a great burger and fries and listened to a live band with a whole bunch of Willie Nelson lookalikes.

Rolling a 5:30 am in 25 degrees to get to Springerville to pick up a rental UHaul. Put my bike in it and drove home. Dead tired, but I did it and 9 days and 10 hours.  No idea what to do next .. get some house stuff done this summer I think.

This is an awesome ride. Craig and Minnie put a lot of work into it. It hits desert, mid desert, mountains, forests .. it will test you and it isn't easy and it's pretty rewarding to be able to have finished it. Get out there and give a piece of it a run, you won't be disappointed!





Monday, April 3, 2023

Stagecoach 400 Winter Forever

Off to Southern California to do Stagecoach 400 again! They've had a lot of rain this year and just got snow in Idy last week, so it all promised to be interesting.

First up was the rider's meeting held out by the flagpole in Idy with snow coming down as Meg passes out a few last minute comments about where to start in the morning, parking, etc, and then off to get some pizza and go to bed.

It's snowing during the rider's meeting in Idy


Got to Alpaca Coffee kinda early, scored a breakfast burrito and coffee and watched everyone else come in.  8 am came really quick, and we were outside, lined up and GO.  Up the hill, on an icy road with a bunch of other bicycles, didn't see any crashes as the hill was pretty steep and soon we were on dirt and right into several inches of snow.

The snow got everyone around me off their bikes and the pushing began. It was just a long line of bikes and walker pushing them. We went through an area of fog, then back out into sunlight and more pushing. Fortunately it was downhill, but still hard. And on and on and on. You could see places where some people were riding, still people pushing behind me and in front of me.

There was a very large washout. Guy in front of me was already down in the hole helping a couple of others and I handed my bike to him. Then I tried to get down in the hole and slipped and landed on my butt and left arm in the mud and muck. He scrambled out of the hole and I picked up my bike and put it on the bank and then scrambled up through the snow on the other side.  More snow, more walking, more mud.

There was single track. Might have been nice to ride but full of mud, I walked pretty much all of it. I waded the creek where the Sideshow bunch from the week before had made a bridge .. looked too slippery and my feet were already wet. Close to Hurkey Creek I could ride and rode to the Hemet store, and got a drink and a quick snack.

Rode the double track that had been added ... went a little too far, figured it out and made a u turn and told 4 other riders they had missed the little trail at the bottom of a switchback. Got to Hwy 74 and saw those guys take the pavement and I went down the CRHT, saw a guy coming back the other way looking for his tracker. Finally got to Sunshine Market ... like 1 pm or so, we've been at the thing for 5 hours and have covered about 25 miles.

Bike making horrible noises mostly from brake pads with dirt in them as I headed south towards Warner Springs. Was a bit tired, not nearly as strong riding this as last year. More riding, just exhausting this year and got to the pavement by Warner Springs well past the gas station closing hours. Dan, Pat, Nik and I. Wind was blowing, I was freezing and while they were chatting I setup my tent and got inside and changed my socks. Went to bed. Got up at 1 am, heated up a can of soup that tasted really good and went back to sleep. I think 52 miles for Day 1.

Saturday morning rolling at 5 am in fog, Deep fog, Climbed up Mesa Grande in fog. Loved the ride down Black Mountain road, that was so much fun! Getting to Ramona and decided to go for breakfast, was starving and wanted real food and it absolutely hit the spot. Ran into Randy and Dan as I left and rode down Hwy 78.

Above the fog on Mesa Grande early Saturday morning


Dan and Randy were first at the trail angel snack bar that was left for up. Had a Coke, OJ, some fruit, that was really nice!


Trail angel cooler full of goodies with a chair and a muscle roller 

Couple of fun little single track pieces going to Escondido, I bypassed it and opted for lunch at Hernandez Hideaway. Can't go wrong with Mexican food.

Yum and it's right on the route!

Different route into the San Diego area to avoid mud. Couple of steep hills, a deep water crossing, finally got to Del Mar, ran into Dan and Randy again who had passed me while I was eating ( I had passed them while they went to Escondido I think ). 

Ocean Beach, Saturday night by the Deli


Didn't spend much time at the Ocean, headed right toward UCSD, got lost in the forest for a bit and pretty soon was at Ocean Beach. Crazy busy on a Saturday night, Stopped at the same deli as before, great roast beef sub and over the hill ( slower than last year ). Missed a turn on the downhill, rode back uphill a bit, back on course, and scored a hotel room. Maybe 110 miles for Day 2.

Early up, went to McD's and they weren't open yet ... past the Midway and on to Chula Vista. Turned on Palomar Street and hit the McD's there.

Some good street sections, traffic not too bad, long stop lights and I hit a lot of them. Some pretty walking paths and trail sections interwoven in the Otay area.

It was a good day, a nice dirt road with almost no traffic on it, and we by passed the whole Sweetwater trail section with the pagoda and all. 


Looking back at the puddle that came all the way up my inseam


At the old bridge I went north and hit the Carl's for a burger. Back on course after lunch, up the highway toward Dehensa, onto Sloan Canyon and back up the California Bike Pushing trail ( actually not that horrible, the majority of the road had been dragged by someone and was smooth, just the upper 1/2 mile or so was a lot of pushing ).

I get to Alpine, sit at the Shell and think it's really chilly here and the sun is out, and why not just stay here?  So I call the hotel and they have a room and it's back to the hotel for the night, Mexican food in the little strip mall next to the hotel and off to bed. Dan and Randy had the same idea.  Day 3 is about 50 miles or so ,,, we're at mile 203 now,

Day 4, Monday, Wind Alerts from the Weather Service, Windy up Viejas Grade .... I can see the wind blowing the dirt around wiping out Dan and Randy;s tracks in front of me. They disappeared over the hill, and down Boulder Creek we go.

So much easier when I rode this in 2013

10 years ago, I rode Boulder Creek on my road bike doing something called the Dirty Devil. The road looked completely foreign this time ,,, I sure went fast on it back then, this time, I'm pushing into wind, It was really, really hard. Had lunch under some oak trees in a really pleasant little place, but the wind was just howling. Rode Engineer Pass fairly well as the mountain blocked most of the wind and finally got to Lake Cuyamaca and it was open and Dan and Randy were getting ready to leave,

Salton Sea and Desert awaits 

Had food, headed out, down Oriflamme ... rode the top part, walked most of the bottom and then got to the big wash out where the creek has turned what was a sandy road into a river. Wet feet, into the water and back out of it over and over and over,

Freezing feet again, dirty bike making all sorts of noises. Dark out and I get to Vallecitos and camp for the night. I wash my shoes and socks out, change into dry socks, stuff the shoes with paper towels ( I paid $24 for the tent camping spot ,.. used several of them! ). Was a chilly night, stars were out but my plans for riding on were kinda busted by the chill.  60 miles I think for Day 4.

Day 5 ,,,, the desert. Ranger lady was lowering the flag to half staff ,,, another school shooting, I hadn't heard any news. She says "I'm glad I'm  out here" 

Lost my rear blinky on the road. Turned into the desert, Rode well to Diablo I think, Fish seemed much harder than last year and I was getting some saddle sores, probably from riding in wet shorts ....

Getting ready to turn into the desert

Fish Wash ... looks flat ... it ain't, bumpy and washboarded and sandy 

Iron Door is always closed when I go by, I snagged a little recharge for my phone by the Elvis statue, and left, got a couple of sodas at the little store when you turn west at the ATV rental place. First part was ok and then someone turned on the wind. Getting to Borrego was just plain hard, and I was kinda done for the day. Got a room ( lot of mid century furnishings ).

Sleepless night, worrying about the storm coming into the high country. I've been cold all weekend long. A couple of saddle sores, and not looking forward to pushing through the snow up high. So it was either stay in Borrego another day or so, ( which I don't really have because I have to mentor someone back at PACC where I walk dogs ), or look for a ride.

I messaged Rick in Borrego ( after a big zero with Uber and Lyft ), and he pointed me to a guy (Ed Beck) and I messaged him and away we went. Met Wesley at the Fudge place in Borrego, and he was getting a ride too. Going up the mountain to Idy from Palm Desert in the car we went through rain and a little snow and lots of fog ,,, was so glad to not have to deal with the weather ,, cold stuff that I just don't have the gear for. Back to my car at Brendan's house at about 3 pm on Wed. Freezing .... 35 degrees and cold.

Down the mountain ... the sun pops out .. then it rains. The wind howls. I just turn up the heater.

Stopped in Blythe for the night, then home by noon, clean socks in the land of washing machines.

Was a good adventure. Glad to have gone over to do it, would have been nice to have finished but I got 320 miles down. 

Monday, January 30, 2023

BellBreaker 2023

BellBreaker. Heard about it years ago, did it in 2020, right before the pandemic set in and everything changed for a year or so.  Nate who set it all up from BlueDog cycles has moved on to Los Angeles and Jenna and Steve from Transit picked up the torch and put something on IG back in December and I go "sure .. why not"

So we got the route, packed up the bike and drove to Paul's house to park my car and then ride over to The Hop Shop for a 5:30 am cold morning start. About a dozen or so of us at the start and around 5:40 off we went. Down the Loop, along Campbell, down Ina, La Canada and up the Loop towards Oro Valley.

Hop Shop getting read to go


Decided to grab a quick something from the QT, stopped for 5 minutes and back on the Loop. Then I heard a little different noise from the bike. Stopped, spun the pedals backwards and still heard it. Looked for something in the chain, didn't sound like that. Tried to figure out what to do and got on and the noise was gone. Well that stuck in my mind for a while.

Ran into Sarah and Ed as we went under the Big Wash bridge, we were fairly close to each other through most of the HoneyBee trail section, then on the PowerLine road out toward an electrical station off AZ 79. Someplace north of that I ran across Deidra. We rode along 79 for a bit, then met up with a couple of the guys doing it and we continued. 

Someplace out there, I dropped back, riding by myself. I kinda like that, I don't have to try to keep up. We had a really cool section through desert north of Freeman Road and east of 79, and then finally, finally got to 96 Ranch Road.



Crested Saguaro along 96 Ranch Road

Turned onto it and that was the northernmost piece of the route, so felt like we got someplace, about 63 miles in. I ran across Deidra taking a lunch break and continued on. 96 Ranch Road is a pretty gentle climb, mountains in the distance and you're getting closer and closer to them. Finally get into the hills and pass the old ranch house. It looked like it would have been a really cool place years ago. 

Someplace out there 96 Ranch Road turned into Barksdale Road, didn't quite realize that and I was a little confused, having ridden Barksdale years ago going to Florence. I ran into Julie H out there and another lady, they were out for a day ride from Florence and rode with Julie until Freeman Road.


96 Ranch House

Happy to get to Willow Springs Road ( finally ), and then 18 miles or so to get to Oracle. A little past 24 hour town, I ran into Damion A. as he was driving to 24 Hour Town and he took my photo. It was getting dark and colder. Totally dark by the time I hit AZ 77. 


Took a while to get here

I rode up to the Biosphere turnoff, and on that quiet pavement I heard the noise in the rear of my bike again. The more I thought about it the more I thought it was something in the hub. Turned onto a dirt track that is mostly under a power line that was going to keep us off the highway. Darker and much colder and pretty tired, I decided that I wasn't going to make an open restaurant in Oracle and bagged it for the night on the side of the trail.  

Moon was bright, stars were out and cold. Glad I took the sleeping bag liner. I actually slept pretty well. Nibbled at a sandwich I had during the night and woke up at 6:30 or so. Packed up a wet tent and rode/walked towards Oracle. Got to the Mexican restaurant and huevos rancheros ... you can't believe how GOOD it tasted. Food when you are starving hungry is so amazing.

Rode a little bit towards American Avenue towards the Circle K and decided the hub issue needed to be dealt with rather than continuing so I bailed. I got onto 77 and was doing pretty good until Oracle Ford and the freewheel quit .. turn the pedals, the cassette turns but the bike ... she no go forward!

Pulled over, pedaled backwards some, loosened and retightened the thru bolt and the whole thing seemed seized up ... put some pressure on it and it started working! Go on, rode to Tucson and got my car with a face full of wind on the way back.

Taking the wheel to a shop tomorrow to have it looked at. 

 

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Dangerbird 2022

 I started getting my GPS tracks for this organized a few weeks ago. I remember loading the new track from RWGPS that had the points of interest on it and thinking it might have too many points for my eTrex, but it seemed to come up ok. And then I saw the track on bikepacking.com and just threw it on the eTrex also. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Sarah mentioned this event to me while I was walking PACC dogs and I said sure, why not? It was filled up and then she got in after being on a waitlist and then I emailed Matt the organizer and he said "sure come on over". So on Friday morning we loaded bikes on her car and away to Las Cruces we went.

Pretty straightforward drive from Tucson, we found our hotel rooms and headed downtown. Scored a green chile burger at the little festival in downtown Cruces and then met up with the other riders doing Dangerbird which is a big group depart riding the Monumental Loop, a 250 mile loop through Organ Mountains National Monument. They passed out these big baguettes of bread and a cool bandanna wrapped around it to each rider, and then we went back to the hotel to organize.

Up the next morning, park the car at NMSU and rode to the start point with a couple from Duluth. Scored a couple of breakfast burrito's for the day, I managed to catch Grace who was rolling backwards and then we all started out with Grace leading the pack as we rode around Klein Park and then really started.

Sarah at the start in Cruces

Hit the bike path and passed where we parked the car and I started noticing that all I had were the POI flags on the eTrex and I didn't have the line I am used to following. Was puzzled by this and someplace as we worked our way through some suburbia before a single track trailhead I loaded up the last years track and I was back in business.

A break on the single track

Great singletrack at the beginning as we headed east and climbed. Couple of rough places down in drainages, but most of the group I was riding with was doing the same pace as me, sorta at the rear of the train. A few hours of this and it was beginning to get tiring and then I think we crossed into Texas and hit pavement. A quick downhill, a sketchy I-25 access rounder and I met Sarah who was ahead and had scored tacos at a roadside truck. I got some as she headed for the DG and then caught up with her at the DG. We then rode back into New Mexico and headed south along the Rio Grande's west bank. I think about 10 miles or so and we were at Vinton Texas and another DG. 

First disappointment of the day, we heard the little Mexican restaurant was closing at 5 and we had missed it by a few minutes! Bummer. Well, the day was getting on and we headed west back into NM and trying to make the Kilbourne Hole Crater as our stop for the night.

As I rode along my bike made some really weird noises. First issue was the shifting was messed up and I figured out that was due to the rear wheel's axle being quite loose. Easy fix. Shifting was now good, but I had this ridiculous rattle that couldn't place. Was it in the shock? I tightened bags and looked for loose crap in my frame bag and etc and couldn't figure it out.

The sun went down and about 4 of us rode into the dark. Twilight, then really dark. Finally turned on my light ... that Fenix BC22 works really well!  On past 7 and then 8 and I'm getting tired. Sarah and I are about 2 miles from the Hole and we decide to bag it for the night .. I was sooooo glad to stop.  

Heated some water for soup and the broth was great. Took a while for my system to take the noodles but I got the chicken noodle ramen down and went to sleep. Beautiful stars out and no wind to speak of. And it got cold!

Up at sunrise and packed and I rode out first in the cold ... hands hurt because I forgot to bring my gloves and I got the 2 miles in and got to the Crater. The SAG folks at the Crater were awesome ... all the water one could want, sodas, coffee, some bananas and cookies and I scored an apple for later!  And then I discovered the cause of the rattle ... my brake caliper assembly was about to fall off the frame because the two bolts had worked themselves loose! Easy fix, and I dodged a bullet on that one.

Kilbourne Hole 

Kilbourne

SAG folks at Kilbourne

No Country for old men

Desert views


Loved this section 

Cattle tank where we missed a turn

Almost back to town

Me

Sarah rolled up and refueled herself and then we rode out. Lots of riders were still there and they were packing up. Sarah and I rode north and at one point we were supposed to take a ziz zag through a cattle tank and we missed that and rode about a mile off route. Glad she saw it, I thought we were close to the route and just seeing a GPS error.

When we doubled back we ran into some of the other riders. I headed out fast and got to the railroad tracks as they caught up with me. We crossed the tracks and found the road on the other side and headed back towards town. Some good fast riding. I stopped with some of the guys across from the shooting range where the local yokels were wasting ammo and then back down the hill to the river.

A dry Rio Grande at the Mesilla Dam

I texted Sarah that I was heading into Mesilla to find some food. I found a little cafe where I could watch my bike and ordered some pulled pork tacos, because that was all they had! They were pretty good. Found out that Sara had missed my message because her phone was in airplane mode and she had gone further north and across Cruces, so I did a diagonal and caught up with her as we checked into a Motel 6 along the route. She needed to dry her sleeping bag that got wet due to condensation last night, and I was happy with a hotel stay and a good meal.

We walked to a restaurant, got fed, had a beer and back to the hotel.

Up early, had coffee on Halloween morning, and rolled for Dona Ana, riding along the "ditches", a bunch of mostly abandoned irrigation canals. Went well and we saw a Mexican restaurant and stopped for breakfast. Chachi's was great!!  Huevos rancheros to start the day, and we scored some burritos also.

Sarah rolling on the ditches

Happy with huevos rancheros on board

Finished breakfast, then under I-25 and then uphill to the Dona Ana trailhead and more singletrack. Great riding, one little area with some walking where there was a jeep road and Raul another rider we ran across was down in a drainage and Sarah and I were on top of a hill and we weren't sure which was the real route but it worked out!

Back across I-25 and more canal riding and then bank riding on the Rio Grande.  We got to the Blue Moon and it was closed for the day. We had decided to ride pavement to Hatch and away we went, with me thinking about a burger and shake at Sparky's!

Alas .. it was Monday and Sparky's was closed and I settled for ok tacos at a little burrito place, but the chilie was great on the rice and beans. Sarah rode up the river on that part and I met her at the Circle K and then away we went out of town up highway 26.

Made my turn near the dairy farm and then managed to go up the wrong road for a couple hundred yards. Recovered from that, Raul caught up and went ahead and Sarah caught up. One rocky, bumpy little road. Walked some, rode some, walked some more. The grade wasn't bad at all, but crazy rocky and hard to ride on. We got to the cattle tank with the old ranch house, took a couple of photos. Back up the mountain into the Uvas. Couple of switchbacks to do some serious climbing and I was out of gas, with a real struggle to get to the top as the sun was completely setting. I was beat, could barely stand.

Old ranch house headed toward White Gap

Top of White Gap - Exhausted

Headed down the mountain

Up before sunrise

Took Sarah and I together to get the cattle gate open and reshut and we started walking down in darkness. Then I discovered that my front tire was flat. Was looking for a flat place to camp with none to be had and now had to fix a flat. Added a bottle of sealant to it, spun the thing and then refilled with a CO2 cartridge and off into the dark. We got to the cattle tank and I was now fried and we stopped.

Heated up a can of chunky soup and felt much better and Sarah had a little bottle of Jim Bean! Perfect! 

A good nights sleep for Halloween evening..

Sunrise the next morning and we had about 2 miles to get to the next SAG stop. Think it took me a bit over 30 miles to do it. Mark and his pup Cookie were there and Raul from the previous day had camped there. A soft drink, some coffee and a bunch of Oreo's made me feel better. Petted Cookie a little bit and talked to Mark and Sarah came up and refueled and we rode out.

Cookie the SAG Dog

What a beautiful downhill! A paved road with zero car traffic on it. Great views, riding along with a raven over my head talking to me and we stamped out some miles.

So I knew a turn was coming up and I was in front by quite a bit. I made my turn and then started waiting for Sarah. Turns out she was waiting for me a little further back. She was on her track and I was on my track. So we each ended up running with what we had. Turns out this was the difference between last year's route and this years and I was on last years because of the POI thing that I ran into on day 1.

I was supposed to take the green track 

My route went well, Sarah's had some sandy stuff and some mud I think. I got to highway 70 and made a turn south thinking we were going back through Mesilla to get to where the car was.  I waited for Sarah but she thought I was already at the car, so she got to the car first, changed and then picked me up at a little park near the river.  

Loaded up and drove back to Tucson. Was a great 4 days of riding and we had fun, no major issues although I may have caught a cold from sleeping on the ground the first night when it got so cold.  We did the whole route except for the hills west of Radium Springs. Matt and the folks who set this route up did a great job. I think everyone had fun regardless of how much of the route they did. 



Sunday, April 3, 2022

Stagecoach 400 2022

Me talking to Paul, my son, after finishing on Wed night:

Me: "I'm hungry"

Paul: "What did you eat today?"

Me:  "Some cookies, some Cheetos, some beef jerky, a chocolate milk, a bear claw, a strawberry milk, some cokes"

Paul: "So you eat like an unsupervised 8 year old"

Me: "yeah, that's about it"

I was in Idyllwild two years ago. Got sick the night before the ride started, and barely was able to get my bike into my car and drive home. Think I drank one Coke the whole day, then slept for a whole weekend. Not sure what the heck happened, but was hoping it didn't happen again.

Left Tucson on Thursday morning and made the dash to Idy. Scored a great hot dog at the rest stop on I-10 where the CAP crosses west of Buckeye ( who would have thought, but this guy was selling hot dogs like ganbusters! ). Into Idy in time to checkin to the hotel and get down to a rider's meeting. Hooked up with Sarah and Ed and Mike and we had dinner and then went back to hotel rooms to pack our stuff, figure out where to park cars and get ready.

Day1

Tanya and some folks at the coffee shop had a great breakfast thing going and we got well fed and at about 8 am, started rolling. I stayed in the back, letting the fast people hammer down that steep hill leading out of Idy. The ride went well, past Lake Hemet, up Thomas Mountain and down the back side of it towards Anza. It seems like that descent goes forever. I stopped at the Jilberto's and grabbed a couple of taco's. Ate only one of them, but drank a giant Coke and felt pretty good. Nice ride to Sunshine RV park where I met Sarah again. The two of us rode out of there together and started towards Warner Springs. 

Ready to roll out from Idyllwild 8am on Friday morning


I felt pretty good, all along that section of CRHT, climbed up the hill south of Chihuahua Valley Road. Started getting tired by the time I got to Indian Flats campground. There still is a bunch of uphill and I had forgotten about it, and I was starting to get slow. Also, I knew the gas station in Warner Springs was going to close at 5 and didn't have cell reception to call and ask them to stay open just a little bit longer.  Finally got on 79 and called them, and they stayed open for me and then two or three others came in, including Sarah. Think we had about 6 of us hanging around. I ordered a couple of cheeseburgers to go, got water, topped off my camelback and started out.

CRHT in the land of a thousand false summits 


By the time I got to the Warner Springs info center, my back and butt were soaked from the leaking Camelback. I pulled the bladder out and looked at it and didn't see an obvious problem. Put it back together and by the time I got to the Caltrans yard, I was even more soaked. And it's beginning to get dark. Turned onto 76 and then turned at Josie's and Sarah was there. We got a couple of cokes, and then started up Mesa Grande Road. 

No good places to camp and Sarah wanted to get some more miles in. Stopped at one place where a road went off to the right that looked like a possibility and we walked down it ... skunk smell all over the place! ... this is NOT the spot.

Sarah remembered the wide spot in the road campground after the turn off Black Canyon and we stopped there for the night. Something like 80 miles in for the day.

Day 2

We both work up at about 5:00 or so and were on the road by 5:30, riding out of the campground area in the dark. Up Forest Road 12S07 and by sunrise were were at the gate to the single track along Pamo Road. That was a cool section of singletrack, I really enjoyed it. And we heard some turkeys calling and saw them way over by the creek.

Getting to the top of Pamo Road, back on pavement, we decided that we were hungry for real food ( my cheeseburgers were just awful! ), and took the mile off route detour into Ramona. That was an excellent decision. Found a breakfast place, and coffee, eggs, bacon, toast, jam are so much better than some beef jerky and tortilla's.

Got back on route, and the rest went really well. I think we both rode more of the Raptor Ridge trails then before and we got to the Chevron in Escondido. Saw a big rattler on the bike path and waited for him to move along, and then hit the Lake Hodges singletrack. Did better than last time, only walked a little short uphill rocky piece and we stopped at Hernandez Hideaway for lunch. Can't go wrong with sit down food again, and we were ready for the dam and the switchbacks. Was good to finally get onto pavement by Fairbanks Ranch. Del Mar came up pretty quickly and we hit a Starbucks. Probably the slowest service of the whole trip, but drinks finally came.

Almost to the pavement near Fairbanks Ranch .. and missed that hole next to the cattle guard

The Beach


Stopped at Torrey Pines beach, got a couple of photo's and made that climb up to UCSD. There's a section of single track through some woods and it was really fun. And lots of improvements have been made on the bike path going to the In-Out-Burger. The route by Mission Beach is one convoluted thing, so many, many cars! But finally you get to Dog Beach.

As we left, we heard a couple of people cheering and asked if we wanted ice cream or anything. It didn't register to either of us that they might have been watching our dots and we both said we're good and kept on rolling. I feel bad that we didn't stop and chat for a little bit, so whoever you were, we were just a little bonked and wanted to get over the big hill and into a couple of hotel rooms for the night.

There was a deli on the route and we did stop there and scored a couple of great sandwiches! Then navigated through the area by Sunset Cliffs mostly in the dark, up Hill Street and found a Ramada. For $259 each for a room, we were done.

Day 3

Up at about 6, and went to McDonald's and got a couple of big breakfast's. Those things are about the only thing I will eat at McD's, and I really like them. Then we started riding towards the airport and discovered some traffic lanes were blocked off for a half marathon. So we rode in these great blocked off lanes down to the Midway avoiding all of the bike path that starts and stops at every little parking lot. The marathon was starting a little past the Midway, stopped and cheered a few of them on and south we went.

The climb up Sweetwater to the pagoda went really well this year. Last time it seemed like I was walking/pushing through a bunch of tall grass and I knew I was going to get snake bit. It did take us on one piece that had a sign saying something like "this isn't a trail" and we were def routed straight onto it and other riders came down it. At the top at the pagoda we ran into three other riders and they were tracking us!  

Pagoda at the top of Sweetwater

Apparently we're not supposed to cross this bridge .. ever!

Sweetwater River Bridge 

More riding along the Sweetwater, up and down, up and down, amazing how that area is so close to all of the metropolis and still isolated and fun to ride. Before we got to Sloan Canyon we had turned onto Dehensa and saw the restaurant at the golf course was open. Stopped there and waited a few minutes, got a table outside, and had some lunch. Then rode Sloan Canyon, which is a fun isolated section.

When you get to the end of Sloan, the road pitches up a little, but after that, it's very rideable, and climbs and climbs and then you make left turn back onto the CRHT and it's pretty much straight up hike a bike. Push, push, push towards a red barn on top of the hill and finally get there!

We got to Alpine, stopped at the Shell station where Brendan, Shelly, Cedar and I watched a guy get busted for car theft 5 years ago. We headed out of town and weren't sure if we were going to make Descanso before Veronica's closed, so stopped for pizza. Each of us took some to go and headed out.

Viejas Grade just goes on and on. And the mileage signs tell the mileage past the top, when you get right to the top you have one mile to go!

It was cold, cold, cold going downhill to Descanso and we hit Veronica's at about 7:30 and they close at 8. I got taco;s and Sarah got a soup ( better choice! ), then we rode up the Merigan fire road and camped for the night on the side of it.

Day 4

The weather forecast for Monday in Alpine was going to be an inch of rain and much colder weather. We woke to clouds and a low hanging marine layer. As we went up 79 the sky cleared and then it cleared quite a bit. It was pretty on the trails to Mt Laguna, but towards the top of Indian Ridge the weather really started moving in. Got to where the Pine Mountain Trail came in and I stopped, then immediately continued down Indian Ridge. I thought we were supposed to hit Pine Mountain Road ( there's a difference! ) .. got down this hill and the weather was really coming and we took Skyline Road to Sunrise Highway.

Where the single track intersected Indian Creek Road .. and the sun was out

When we finished the summit Evan was there to get our photos and the storm had moved in!

As I get there, a camper truck is parked and I see someone scrambling around and a guy comes out and says "I'm supposed to photograph you" ... It was Evan, from Bikepacking.com. He took a couple of photos as Sarah and I tried to dig out warmer stuff for the descent.

We tookoff, fighting heavy winds and cold and rain that was just starting. Felt luck to get down the mountain and made the turn towards Oriflamme and the sun was back out.

Rocky descent as always, stumbled, almost crashed, banged a rib on a handlebar that came around and walked entirely too much. Finally down to the sand and Sarah points out a rattler in full on strike ready mode!

Nice quick ride to Butterfield and we resupplied at the store there. The rain was lightly coming down and you couldn't tell if it was going to just blow over or come a deluge. Rode out of there with awesome tailwinds, bathroom break at Vallecito and we bypassed Aqua Caliente.

As we turned off the pavement, Eric and Shaun (sp?) pulled up in a car and chatted. They were packing it up, between numb fingers and a knee that got hurt hammering up Hill Street in Ocean Beach. 

The sand in Arroyo Tapiado wasn't too bad, but the wind was against us, so the combination made for slow going. We were close to Diablo Dropoff at sundown and the wind was picking up so we camped. I got some cover from some bushes that worked a bit and Sarah ended up having to setup and then move her tent due to the wind. I rained quite a bit in the night, but the tent kept me dry.

Day 5

Up early, beautiful sunrise. Diablo Dropoff was rideable! Sweet riding until we encountered some mud and then it went really really slow. I left camp first and somehow Sarah passed me ... the Fish Wash area is just all spread out. Cleaned mud off the bike a few times, carried it a few times, I could ride in some of the wet sections and the water would help wash the mud off the bike. In other places just crossing two or three feet of wet stuff would muddy up the bike and make it unrideable.

Early morning before Diablo Dropoff 

Smiles before the wind kicked in

Could hear the metal in the sculptures moving in the wind

But we finally got out and I met Sarah at Split Mountain Road. 

And then the wind started.

I think that was the worst wind I have ever ridden in. When I passed the American Legion on Borrego Springs Road I could barely peddle forward. Got blown into the traffic lane once, scared the daylights out of me as I just had no control. I walked a little bit, stopped and saw some of the metal sculptures and finally got to Jilberto's. Ordered huevos rancheros and it was delicious!  Resupplied at the liquor store and went to the little park at the circle. They have bathrooms and few electrical outlets and I recharged for about 15 minutes or so. Sarah came over and we left about 3 pm.

The wind was still kicking and we were thinking Bailey's for the night. At sundown I was still a mile or so south of the gate to the Middle Willows. I camped and knew Sarah was behind me. Told a driver going the other way to tell her I was camped at that spot for the night. I left a blinkie on the back of my bike so Sarah could find me. The wind blew and blew ... I finally pulled my tent pole down on top of me and fell asleep.

Day 6 - the finish

Woke up and the tent almost blew away as I was packing it up. Wondered where Sarah was and I was pretty sure I saw her tracks, so she had passed me earlier before I woke up. Ran into her at the entrance to Middle Willows.

Middle Willows is amazing, so much water in the middle of the desert. Went well until my chain fell off and somehow the chain got wrapped around the derailleur into one tightly bound mess ... couldn't roll the wheel forward or backward. Knew I'd break things if I forced it, so stopped and tried to pull the rear wheel .. too bound up to even do that ... then undid the screw holding the derailleur on and got enough looseness in the system to get the rear wheel off, and straighten things out. Got it all back together without destroying anything as Sarah came back from scouting out the best exit ... seemed like there were tracks going in a couple of different directions from that point.

Middle Willows

Things were pretty rideable after exiting the Willows. Slow going but rideable and the wind had died! Got to Bailey's and someone had left some water and I drank one of the bottles. The road from Bailey's was pretty sandy and the wind kicked up a little more and it was slow going for me getting to the climb.

At the climb Sarah and I met a wildlife biologist lady. She was scouting bighorn sheep. Seemed nice enough but she started going on about how she "rode all of this stuff" and her husband "rode the willows nonstop" and it was kinda annoying. Actually it ticked me off but that was what I needed as I said a few words under my breath as we pushed up the rubble to more rideable sections.

Get to the entrance gates at the top and it's all graded smooth stuff going forward. Got to the top of one of the climbs and some local folks, the "Anza Peloton" were waiting for us. We talked with them for a bit and they rode with us to Terwilliger Road. Sam, one of the members, decided to ride with us to Paradise Valley Cafe.

Sarah, Sam and I

Got to Sunshine and turned my phone back on and found out that my wife was in the hospital. My son had taken care of getting her there. Talked for a bit and nothing to do but ride to Idy and get this thing finished so I could get home. Sam, Sarah and I rode on out, up Burnt Valley Road and back to the CRHT. Sam is from Laos and had some good stories about growing up and how his Dad rode his bike until he was 96. We said goodby at Paradise Valley and Sarah and I started going fast to Idy.

We stopped at Lake Hemet, and then up Keen Camp summit. I stopped and a car pulled up behind me and it was Sam and his dog Cookie. Petted Cookie and talked to Sam and then Sarah pulled up and Sam had these bananas from Thailand that were delicious!

One quick downhill and we climbed into Idy, briefly chatting with Brendan as the sun was sitting and finished at 6:24, so about 5 days 10:24, call it 5 1/2 days. Pretty much the same time as I had in 2015 and 2017.

Finishers sheet at Idyllwild Inn ... we made it!

Susan got discharged from the hospital by the time I finished, and was resting at home. I drove downhill, hit an In-Out-Burger in Indio ( still having dirt and mud from the Willows on me ... one stinky old man waiting for his burger! ), and then drove to Blythe, got a room for the night and drove home the next morning.

Got home, checked on Susan and washed my bike. My poor bicycle was making so many weird noises ... it would squeak and squeal going forwards or backwards ... turned out to be just dirt in the brakes ... pulling the wheels and washing both calipers really good fixed that issue, and the derailleur is working just fine, so ready for more miles.

Thanks to Brendan for originally setting this thing up and to Meg for organizing and running the current event! It's crazy hard and just amazing that some folks finished in under 2 days!

Maybe next year? Who knows?



Ruta del Jefe

 In March I am going to Sonora to do a bicycle ride in support of several organizations that are involved with our Borderland region. I was ...