Mountain, Cross and Shuffleboard Nats

Art and I have moved back to Ringwood for trail work. Parking Lot C will be closed for a week starting tomorrow. We will be addressing some erosion issues near the parking lot. Part of that involves closing some old eroded roads and creating a sustainable trail that climbs up out of the parking lot. Observing DEC timelines, we are now cleared to begin work. The new trail is roughed in. Leo and Steve found a worthy rock for a bridge. That is now moved close to where it can be used. It is amazing what can be moved by a few people with the right tools.

My new favorite tool: 6 pound sledge with 36 inch handle. Pixy can smash rocks like never before, and if she sets it down, strong guys will grab it cause they can smash all day with a 6 pounder.

I went for a ride today and was real tired. After multiple days off from rain, I tried to catch up with work and riding, but I may need a another complete day off everything tomorrow. Not sure why I have been tired, but I try to listen to my body.

....and my ripening figs have been AWESOME tasty !

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pixychick said:
Art and I have moved back to Ringwood for trail work. Parking Lot C will be closed for a week starting tomorrow. We will be addressing some erosion issues near the parking lot. Part of that involves closing some old eroded roads and creating a sustainable trail that climbs up out of the parking lot. Observing DEC timelines, we are now cleared to begin work. The new trail is roughed in. Leo and Steve found a worthy rock for a bridge. That is now moved close to where it can be used. It is amazing what can be moved by a few people with the right tools.

My new favorite tool: 6 pound sledge with 36 inch handle. Pixy can smash rocks like never before, and if she sets it down, strong guys will grab it cause they can smash all day with a 6 pounder.

I went for a ride today and was real tired. After multiple days off from rain, I tried to catch up with work and riding, but I may need a another complete day off everything tomorrow. Not sure why I have been tired, but I try to listen to my body.

....and my ripening figs have been AWESOME tasty !

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Nice seeing you at Sterling on Wednesday. I'm excited to see the new trail leading out of Lot C. Thanks for all the great work!
_Antonio
 
While all the guys and the machines are up grading the road, I continue to crush and top the entrance of the new trail out of the lot. That whole area sheets water when it rains and is super wet around the lot. The trail is now lifted up with rock underneath. We are hoping it will stay high and dry. We got a few inches yesterday and so far, pretty good. Dirt was too wet to work today. Maybe in a few days. I think I quit in time today as I am not in any crazy pain or totally exhausted.

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Seems like fall foliage colors have been close to to peak the last few days. .... Beautiful world out there.

I spent four hours making crush today at Sterling. That was probably my last day working Sterling this year. It has been a rewarding year working over there. Ringwood still needs some attention though. I would like to get some crush on the causeway extension in Ringwood before I head west for winter. I hate to leave things wet with winter coming, so super stoked to have a few volunteers lined up to manage that. I just need to get them started.

Looking forward to a few dry sunny days.

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I have really been falling behind on taking pictures. I have been seeing a lot but not taking out my phone or taking the time to take pictures. The recent flurry of trail work has left me pretty sore and I am not yet recovered. I also did a big ride out at Stephens on Thursday which wiped me out, and then did rock crush work on Friday. My neck and back need a rest, which I will get with it raining today and tomorrow. I hope to get a few more rides in locally, but I think my trail work is done for this year.

Not only have I been enjoying the fall foliage, but I have been enjoying the pond. The family of 3 otters have been active. Wood ducks and mallards are courting. A heron or two each day and we saw a grebe for the first time. The migrating grackles are here in the hundreds as they do each year making for a "Hitchcock" creepiness.

It looks like we will get a quick cold snap before we head west which always confirms our exit. I will miss all that is here, but look forward to getting back to the desert and some more sunshine soon. ..... Maybe Pictures in a few days.
 
I was able to do a group ride at Sterling this morning. It was a tad cold at the start, but really turned out to be nice. Probably my last time there for awhile, so glad to hit Munsee Eagle loop as well as the new stuff. .... a very enjoyable ride with good company and many fluffy leaves. After last weeks long ride I did not think I would be ready for another, but felt good today. I think I just like the rocks. They keep me on my toes.

After my failed attempt at trying to drop a few pounds, I sort of gave up and just did not think about my weight for a month or so. I decided to get on the scale yesterday, and I was under 120 pounds for the first time all year. Not sure what happened, but that is usually how it works with me: If I try, I gain, and when I least expect it, I drop a few pounds. I can also say, that I lose weight easier in cooler weather. I think I burn more calories trying to keep warm. I have a lot of respect for all those that are good at losing weight. It is not easy.

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So, I made a bunch of food for the trip. I originally made the food to make life easier during covid, but Art has become a big fan of the idea, so I still do it. After driving all day, it seems somehow less stressful to just stop and get a hotel and eat in our room and not have to figure out where to go to find dinner.

Our trip was going to be 6 days with a stop in NC to visit Art's mom and sister. We also did some shorter days of driving to accommodate visit time. Art's mom is 95 now and needs rest time. She had fallen and broken a bone in June, was hospitalized for months, then released in a wheelchair. She was told that the wheelchair would most likely be in her future. She has had a fantastic physical therapist that has broadened her goals. She can walk a bit now, as seen walking up the ramp into the house by herself and just the railings for balance. Nice to see her engaged in in both physical and social things.

While in the NC, the mountains and fall colors were just beautiful.

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From NC we drove two long days and two short days. While our trip had a bunch of half days, the 6 days seemed long. By the time we got to Arizona, I was feeling both stiff and sore from sitting in the car and sleeping in hotels. Now that a few days have passed and I have done a few rides, it is all worth it. We seem to have a bumper crop of limes and lemons. Limes are over ripe and need to be used pronto. Many of the the lemons will need another month to turn yellow, but the meyers are ready now. I have been enjoying home made meyer lemonade everyday.

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I felt like I needed a day off the bike after Thanksgiving so I took an easy day doing laundry. We may have guests coming this weekend, so I wanted to wash all the sheets and blankets in the guest rooms. It was not in my plans, but the next day we ended up getting vaccines and flu shot. Being that I got both, I ended up feeling like crap for a few days and did absolutely nothing. Finally got back out on the bike but legs felt like crap. Yesterday I was able to get the crap feeling out my body and have a good ride.

We went to Honeybee, which is across the valley from home. Technically, we could ride bike over there, but we were looking to keep it to a few hours or less. We drove the 10 miles over, so that we could get 100% rolling single track without too many steep hills. It took me about 30 minutes to warm up and spin the crap out of my lazy legs, but was able to turn the ride into a super enjoyable ride. The late afternoon lighting was spectacular with long shadows and glowing cactus spines. I have really been enjoying my new bike out here too. I loved my pivot and thought it was the best, but now I can say my Exie does everything better.

We are still plugging away with cleaning out the gardens, but getting closer to being done enough to just be maintenance. As much as I may seem to complain about it, I actually enjoy the yard work. It is pretty nice being outside under a warm sun in winter. Temps so far this year have been moderate, with no big freezes. We often get a drop in temps around the last week of December. It may stink for visitors that come Christmas week, but the locals seems to embrace the colder temps. I suppose after living through summers with temps over 100, 40 degrees is like heaven. I prefer 60's, but will be very happy to take 50's - 80's. I guess that is the NJ in me.

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We had a cloudy and slightly cooler day and neither of us could get motivated to ride. This has happened before, especially on the first cooler day. It ended up raining that night and the rain lingered into the next day. I hate taking more than two days off the bike, so I patiently waited for the rain to stop, but dark clouds kept rolling in and hanging up on the mountains. It was also cooler than the day before but I was not going to procrastinate any longer. Finally the sun started to peak out at 2pm, so we got ready to ride. We just did a local ride and the clouds were amazing! The trails were also in better condition after the recent rain. Some of the sandy spots were firmer. I needed to wear an extra layer, but am real glad to have that first cooler ride shock over with. Once adjusted, it felt great! Tucson's famed winter desert conditions are here for any of those that want to come visit.

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Weather has been fantastic this week. Even got the fire pit up and running. The bats came to join us, which was crazy! They were swooping all around us. I think they were insect eating bats, not the fruit bats that eat nectar. We have both out here, and they have been active right after sunset. It was nice to have a warm night where we could linger outside in the evening.

Had a few bad back days on the bike, but feeling better as of yesterday. Hoping for a good ride tomorrow before the next round of cooler weather comes in. .... Loving AZ life right now.

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Bottom of "the chutes".
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Doing prep for painting: Sealing before stucco and then paint.
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Soup season has arrived! I roasted a chicken on Saturday and Sunday I made bone broth base. After splitting the batch of broth, I made a lentil tortilla soup and a mushroom soup. The mushroom soup was made with baby bellas, lions mane, shiitake and potatoes.... seasoned with sage. Mushroom soup is a once a year kind of soup. I probably should have garnished with herbs for the picture. Art said it looks like cement. It was pretty tasty.

No riding today, but hopefully tomorrow.

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Ellen when I read your blog....it always reminds me of how important the small details in life are and to slow down and appreciate some of them....Im naturally really bad at this...so when I read your posts, it inspires me to try harder at it.
 
Once again, I have not been keeping up with pictures.

Yesterdays ride was pedal, pedal, pedal, and I never found the time to take pictures. We rode with some friends that tend to ride fast and long. It is always an effort for me to keep up, and in a good way. I have not been pushing much since I got out here so I just tried to embrace the situation. We are north of the city and our friends are south of the city. We rode in their hood ( Vail Vortex ) and it is very XC style, which should explain the pedal, pedal, pedal. I think it was about 20 miles and 2.5 hours of riding. We also rode later in the day which is always spectacular with the low angle light, but blinding at times. It was nice to ride somewhere different than our usual spots.

This week I am getting ready for a several week span of quests. Always nice to see friends, so I am looking forward to it. Hopefully pictures next time.
 
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