September rides

[Sky King]

Kicked off the month with a fun 3 day trip. We had a loose plan to reach an area in the Jarbidge Desert called the Arch. We picked our route thinking it was feasible as long as the "roads" that show on the map were there... HA. Missed a major turn on day one (hate to confess it was probably my fault as I was in front as we climbed out of the Bruneau Canyon) Actually in hindsight it was not a bad thing as we would have been even more challenged with finding water. Saturday night found us camped by Dead Horse Spring. Not much water but it wasn't covered in scum, nor was it muddy. We double filtered and crossed our fingers. Some Antelope came down in the morning to drink and they all seemed healthy . Continuing off course, Sunday we found an intersection with an actual sign. We could see a few trees and bushes so we rode to that area and hiked in, hoping for water in the creek - no such luck. We opted to backtrack about a mile to an old, fallen down ranch outpost. This time there really was a dead horse in the corral - Yikes. There was water pooled in the stream bed so again we double filtered and crossed our fingers. Glad we stopped because that was the last water we saw until we recrossed the river on Monday. Late Sunday afternoon found us battling tumbleweeds and in wander/wonder mode - as in where the heck are we anyway! Off in the distance I see 3 ATV's, usually I cringe at the sight but the desert spirits were looking out for us as the ATV's were on the "road" we needed to get back to the truck without having to retrace our steps. We have decided to invest in spot tracker, this part of the desert is so remote it would be a challenge for someone to find us if something went wrong. Happy to say my Surly ECR performed the best. I have gotten really comfortable with the handling and trusting the bike on descents. The Bike Hermit did a blog post on our website Here are a couple photos

[Crankin]

Geez, Sky King, I would have been freaking out.
Didn't do the group ride today, as it was raining at the time I had to leave (it was along the coast on the north shore, about anhour away), both at home and at the ride start, with mist and spot showers predicted for the rest of the day. The ride was not cancelled, but I doubt it would have been a good day to ride by the ocean. We've had so much sun and heat, I am enjoying the damp, cloudiness. I walked to the gym, did the power lifting class i missed on Labor Day, and walked home, a total of 3 miles. I may commute tomorrow, will definitely ride Friday. Saturday is the Ghost Bike Memorial service, so we are riding about 5 miles to a group meeting place, about a mile to the service, and then not sure what afterwards. Then we are driving out to Amherst, staying at our friends' and doing a 50 mile charity ride on Sunday.

[north woods gal]

Wow, Sky, me getting "turned around" back in the woods on our county land seems like small potatoes compared to your ride in the desert. Still, it has convinced me that I should be using a GPS, riding solo like I do. Didn't even know there was such a thing as a Spot Tracker, but sounds like a great idea for me, too.

Would love to send some rain to anyone who needs some. Had 3" in a few hours, yesterday, and much of my MTB trails look more like a lake.

[ny biker]

Kicked off the month with a fun 3 day trip. We had a loose plan to reach an area in the Jarbidge Desert called the Arch. We picked our route thinking it was feasible as long as the "roads" that show on the map were there... HA. Missed a major turn on day one (hate to confess it was probably my fault as I was in front as we climbed out of the Bruneau Canyon) Actually in hindsight it was not a bad thing as we would have been even more challenged with finding water. Saturday night found us camped by Dead Horse Spring. Not much water but it wasn't covered in scum, nor was it muddy. We double filtered and crossed our fingers. Some Antelope came down in the morning to drink and they all seemed healthy . Continuing off course, Sunday we found an intersection with an actual sign. We could see a few trees and bushes so we rode to that area and hiked in, hoping for water in the creek - no such luck. We opted to backtrack about a mile to an old, fallen down ranch outpost. This time there really was a dead horse in the corral - Yikes. There was water pooled in the stream bed so again we double filtered and crossed our fingers. Glad we stopped because that was the last water we saw until we recrossed the river on Monday. Late Sunday afternoon found us battling tumbleweeds and in wander/wonder mode - as in where the heck are we anyway! Off in the distance I see 3 ATV's, usually I cringe at the sight but the desert spirits were looking out for us as the ATV's were on the "road" we needed to get back to the truck without having to retrace our steps. We have decided to invest in spot tracker, this part of the desert is so remote it would be a challenge for someone to find us if something went wrong. Happy to say my Surly ECR performed the best. I have gotten really comfortable with the handling and trusting the bike on descents. The Bike Hermit did a blog post on our website Here are a couple photos

I have been to the town of Jarbidge, which had a year-round population of 11 at the time, and I doubt it has grown in the past few years. A group of us drove there from Elko in two vehicles, one of which kept breaking down. The map tells me you were north of there, but I imagine it's all pretty similar. I'm glad you made it out safely! It is worlds away from the crowded cities and suburbs that many of us are used to.

[Aromig]

We have decided to invest in spot tracker, this part of the desert is so remote it would be a challenge for someone to find us if something went wrong. Happy to say my Surly ECR performed the best.

I own a spot that I use when hiking/hanging out around Moab, and I will take it on long bike rides in Southern Indiana where cell phone reception might be spotty. I've owned mine for 4 years now, and never needed it but it is reassuring to look at the blinking lights knowing its transmitting somewhere when I send a message (mine you can only send a preprogrammed message, but I do that to save GPS coordinates).

I've had one friend (not bikers) use theirs for rescue when they got lost and had no water and then it's worth every single penny. I also pay for the optional (its not very expensive) insurance where they'll pay for the charge of emergency services if you're billed for them.

The device and the annual service is totally worth the peace of mind.

North Woods Gal - I think they have new spot devices that may communicate with your phone, I'm not sure, but I have an older device that doesn't help me get home, but can signal that I need help and can send signals to family about where I'm located. I also use my Garmin Edge 800 and it's helped me find my way home when I've taken a wrong turn, but I didn't quite need to call for help yet :-)

[north woods gal]

Thanks' girls.

Speaking of GPS units, what is everyone using? I'm not digitally challenged, but I don't want anything complicated and loaded with options I won't use. Just need something to track my movements, save way points and so on. Just hate that "I'm lost" feeling. Very rewarding when I come out on the good end of things, but really takes away from enjoying my ride. Thanks.

[Blueberry]

The Wahoo Elemnt was recommended to me recently. Curious to hear what others have to say!

[Crankin]

I finally rode today, but a number of things conspired to make me wait until after lunch, when it was 88 degrees and humid. I am happy with the 12 miles I did, but it made me realize how much I hate the heat, and humidity even more. The most exciting thing that happened is that they are filming a movie on the trail DH and I hike on, about a mile from my house, and we saw all of the signs, pointing the crew down the dirt road to get there.

[ny biker]

I rode almost 20 miles after work last night. Was hoping to ride Wednesday but we had thunderstorms so I had to postpone to Thursday. It was hot, I was dripping sweat at the end, but I'll take a September heat wave over winter cold any day.

Last Saturday I did 41 miles in Virginia, in a rural area around Warrenton. It was a nice route, some roads I'd ridden before and some that were new to me. The ride leader says he likes to do variations of it in the winter, so I'll keep an eye out from them. Afterwards we had lunch near the ride start. There's a cluster of buildings on land that was purchased by federal government back around WWII and used by cryptographers (or something like that), and now they're a brew pub, small cafe, produce market and museum about the Cold War. We got food from the cafe and brought it to the brew pub for a nice post-ride lunch.

Then on Monday our bike club had our annual century ride. I helped at a couple of rest stops, taking leftovers from one that closed early to another one that was open later, then driving to a third stop to help out until it closed, then driving back to the ride start by way of the final rest stop while picking up route-marking signs along the way. It was a long day but perfect weather and lots of fun. We did run out of food at one rest stop, and at the post-ride picnic were already talking about how to keep that from happening in the future. The ride is in an area that is not close to any grocery stores so it's not easy to get things on the fly when you start to run out.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite rides of the year, the Civil War Century. I'm doing the metric as usual. I'll be riding with someone from work and will be on the lookout for some bike club friends who will be doing a longer route. The food is always great at this ride, fresh fruit from local orchards and ice cream from a local dairy. I'm looking forward to it.

[Crankin]

I am getting a bit nervous about going to the ghost bike memorial service tomorrow. I did not know the man that was killed, but feel compelled to join the huge group of cyclists that are attending. This accident occured just about 5 miles from where I live. Glad I will be surrounded by people I know.