Yeah, of course it didn't happen that way.
Halfway down Schnebly Hill Road, which is a great 6 or so mile blast downhill into Sedona, I hit a rock doing about 30 with the front wheel and got a wicked pinch flat. No big deal, I just popped in the spare I keep on the bike. But, I lost track of the time up to that point. It was 2:30, way later than I planned on getting to Sedona. So I called Exe for a rescue, and rolled into Sedona.
What took me so long? I took a lot of pictures.
A shallow little lake. The road ran through the middle of it, with a few inches of water and a LOT of mud over the road.
Then came the snowdrifts, three feet deep and sometimes a few hundred feet long over the road, accompanied by more mud.
Then under more snow, and under the stream again. At this point, I abandoned the road and followed a faint game trail that was headed in approximately the same direction as I wanted.
The game trail paid off, and dumped me right on the road I wanted, at a little bridge over the stream I'd crossed twice. I sat here and dried my feet for a while. I felt like Huck Finn, sitting on a bridge with bare feet. All I needed was a fishing pole.
It was a long grind up Schnebly Hill Road before the downhill, and I shot out from the trees to this view.
After calling Exe for a save, I took the singletrack Munds Wagon Trail from the road down the canyon into town.
I felt great, for having ridden to Sedona, and if I had more time, I'm sure I would have been able to ride back home. But, I was not familiar with the roads to get back home, and I didn't really look forward to going over all the snow and mud and creek crossings with it getting colder.
I definitely want to do this ride again when it warms up a bit more and the snow finally melts.
After we got home, I felt good enough to ride to Beaver Street with Exe and TC and Alex for dinner. I think it's going to be a good year.
Mileage: 52
1 comment:
Right on, I'll join ya next time.
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