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Riding Prescott!!!

Took off on my second day on my own again. I wanted to head northwest out towards Williamson Valley, then branch off from there. I was thinking I would be able to get about 20 miles out and then head sw and make a turn nw and come back via the Camp Wood area. Didn't quite work out that way. I headed out on 124, then thinking 705 would get me where I wanted to go. Not! 705 was blocked off and I had to turn back and hit another trail heading sw. I was heading off in the wrong direction for my plan. I didn't see a trail number on my trail, but it was such well traveled double track, I was comfortable continuing on. As it turns out, it was 65A, which eventually brought me down to 260, where I went the wrong way on before I hit another closed gate, turned back and ended up on Tonto road to the highway between Skull Valley and Prescott. Here's some pics!

Prescott Vacation!

So we came up to Prescott on Sunday. Came up to drop Daniel off at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for his first year of Aerospace Engineering. We have been coming up here for atleast seven years on vacation. We love it up here. So much to do here with the hiking, moutain biking, motorcycling, etc. We dropped Daniel at the university on Monday and haven't seen much of him since. We are a couple miles away in the Point of Rocks campground.

We have been keeping pretty busy. Inna has been able to go hiking in the mornings with some family friends and I have been able to get away on the XR to do some trail riding.

Tuesday I headed out towards Crown King going past Lynx Lake to start the ride. Cool ride up some backroads. Was about half way to Crown King when the rear end started sliding one way, then the other. Felt like a flat. Yep, indeed. 3" spike in the tire. I don't carry tire changing stuff, so it was a ride it out kinda thing. The trails weren't too bad, but alot of uphill and turns on the way back to Prescott. It was 20 miles on the flat. Thank god for rim locks. Kept the tire in place for sure. Also split the tire at each side of the sidwall on top of the rim lock. I knew it was going to kill the tire so no biggie. The last couple miles were on pavement, that was a little sketchy.

Inna came and picked me up in the truck and we headed out to Star Island Motorsports in Prescott Valley (formerly Hales Motors in Prescott). I had already called them and they had a Dunlop D-606 in stock and got it mounted up while I waited. Great service and prices. Not one store in San Diego had this tire in stock when I got it back in April. Anyway, got the tire on rode back to our campsite. Going North tomorrow.

Nice Shot from the Top of Devil's Slide looking West.

Probably the best desert shot I've ever taken. Looks like an add for the XR 650R!

Two Wheels.

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Here's a pic of the latest adventure machine. Just picked it up last night. I decided that my KTM 300XC, while probably the best bike in the world for trail riding, is probably one of the worst bikes for the wide open desert and open roads. Although the KTM was built to conquer the trails of Northern Arizona, I only used it up in Prescott 4 times over the last 4 years. Seeing as how many projects I have going right now and they all seem to be ongoing, I decided best to part ways clean with the 300 and get something that I could use more often.

Enter the XR 650 R. I have been toying with the idea of buying something that could be street plated and be a little dual sport and a lot desert. Something that I could use at least once a week, even if it meant driving it to work and back one day a week on the back roads. I've been researching bikes that would fit the bill over the last couple months. I finally came to the conclusion to get rid of the 300 before I could get anything new. I listed the 300 for sale on Tuesday evening this week and it was sold 12 hours later to a guy here in San Diego. Mixed emotions selling the KTM. I loved the bike when I was using it for what it was designed for, but I had been going out to the southwest deserts which are wide open for the most part. The 300XC is a purpose built bike for tight terrain that is only a 5 speed. Top speed was measured a few weeks ago with my phone gps at 77mph. The XR 650 R is a world renowned desert racing machine. It has won the Baja 1000 more than any other bike and is wicked fast and stable when set up right. Key words, set up right!

My goal was to buy a low hours 650 that was already set up with most of the aftermarket parts that I wanted. Many of these bikes that I saw advertised all had pretty much the same set up. They were all bought in socal and taken to Precision Concepts shop to do suspension and motor mods that would be similar to the XR 650's that have been winning baja for so many years. I found one that had one more mod than all the others and it was up in the Temecula/Murrieta area. It had all the mods that I wanted plus the HRC Power Kit. This is an "internal" motor kit, adding a different cam, piston, cam sprocket and chain, in addition to all of the carb and intake mods. The HRC kit adds 10 hp to an already powerful bike, putting out approx. high 40's hp stock. cont.......

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Nice Road Ride This AM.

Went out for a great Road Bike Ride this AM. Started a little late (9:30), but got in 45 miles and still felt good afterward. Did one of my usual loops without too much climbing. Only 2000' of climbing. Can actually tell that my legs and lungs are getting back into shape. Been stayin off the scale, cause I really don't want to know what I weigh. I know I'm getting back into pretty good shape and my body composition is changing for sure. I would guess my weight is around 207. Optimally, 195 gets me back to really good shape. Funny thing, last year when I was 185 (which was really hard to achieve and maintain), I noticed that I had lost some strength, as opposed to 195. Figured this out when I'd hop on my mountain bike. Just didn't have the strength in the same way that I used to. I had plenty of stamina, which is what road biking does for you. Mountain biking has a way of taking you anaerobic really quick and unexpectedly. Road biking is just the opposite, where you usually know the hills and plan accordingly. Mountain biking can throw you for a loop with a rut or something while climbing and get you out of your zone really quick.

Anyway, my ride today felt great and got me feeling good about my road bike again. I've been trying to stay away from it and get back into shape with just the mountain bike, but it seems almost impossible. I know the time factor has something to do with it as well. When I'm out riding mountain bikes by myself, a 2 hour ride seems like forever, while on the road 2 hours seems like not enough. So, it's probably fair to say that just the time put in, road vs mtb is a big factor in road biking showing more results than mountain biking.

Still riding the Trek with Campy. The Garmin 705 is working great. I did get a new droid x and have an app that's been working great for mountain biking, giving av speed, elev gain, calories, etc. I took it with me today to compare it's accuracy with the Garmin, but for some reason it didn't start tracking until 14 miles into the ride. Strange, hasn't happened on the mtb on 6 rides yet.

Looks like Daniel and I are heading out to do some motorcycling at the desert tomorrow. We are going to Ocotillo probably. Daniel has been training for an Olympic triathlon in April, so he's been doing quite a bit of working out, running, riding and swimming. He's actually in really good shape and should do pretty well on his tri. I'll keep this updated with his training and results.

Mountain Biking Riding this week....

Was able to get in 5 rides this week ending today. Most have been over at Ted Williams, which is my regular ride. Yesterday, I was able to hook up with the guys above. Eric, Kevin, Mike and Thomas. Met Eric a few months ago out on the trail and have been out with his group a couple times now. Great group to ride with. Everyone is in pretty good shape and low key.

Can finally feel my legs and lungs coming back. It's taken awhile and losing a month and a half when my frame was broken has set me back a little. Still carrying around 20#'s extra. Once I lose the weight, my fitness and strength will be right on.

As far as the bike goes, it's all dialed in since the rebuild. I have had a "chain-suck" problem on both rides with the group. Seems everytime I ride with them, it's lots a water. When I'm on my own, somehow I miss the water, there's usually very little if any at TW. Anyway, once the chain gets contaminated with water and dirt, the small chainring up front holds on to the chain and stops everything. I guess this due to the age of the drivetrain. It's all original, so it's going on six years old. Chain and drives have always been kept very clean and I never have this problem on a dry ride, so I'm thinking it's the combination of moisture, dirt and a worn chain ring. Simple enough to order up a new small chain ring, it's the only one with any real wear on it, although I will put a new chain on it at the same time. Well, maybe a new crankset with chainrings......

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Anaheim One. 2011.

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Chelsea King Loop - Road Bike

Went and did a road ride this morning. Just couldn't resist the urge. Felt great, I've got pretty good stamina in my legs, but no snap to em. Heart Rate is considerable lower than before. Max I saw today was high 150s. I used to see 170 all the time on a considerable ride. Ride ended up being 44 miles/2500' of climbing/average speed 16.0. Really had a good ride overall. Could be more road rides down the road.....

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This only means one thing. Well, maybe two.

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Morning ride at Ted Williams.

No Grand Canyon, but Happy New Year!

Well, as soon as I got into the planning our proposed Grand Canyon trip, the idea was shot down in the beginning stages. Apparently, you have to apply for a permit to hike the canyon up to five months in advance. We are already at four months and permits are not available. They do issue a few permits onsite, but not worth the risk of showing up and not getting a permit.

So, we are thinking of a kayak - camping trip to Lake Powell. We have been to Powell as a family once back in 05'. We drove our RV to Wahweap Marina and met some friends from Colorado. We rented a boat for a few days and traveled around the lower parts of the lake, sight seeing, inner tubing, etc. Unfortunately, the water level was over 100' low, so we didn't get to see the "Rainbow Bridge". I have been to the lake a couple times when I was younger on a family vacation and you could go right up to the Rainbow Bridge in the boat.

So, now we are thinking renting kayaks vs buying kayaks. None of us have a lot of kayak experience, especially the "sit in" types that would be needed to secure enough camping equipment for a 3-4 day trip. A little research has shown that you don't just show up to the lake and hop in to go camping. Permits are required as well on Lake Powell. So, the research goes on.

On the biking front, I have been able to get the Turner all dialed in now. Went up to Daley Ranch on Sunday with Eric, Mike and Tommy. New group of guys to ride with. Bad idea, the trails were muddy as heck and our riding them certainly didn't help them out at all. With all the moisture, I was having serious chain suck problems on the small front chain ring. So bad that all hills had to be climbed at about 30 rpm, which is a bad deal with some of the hills (think K-2). I made it through, although I was lugging the group down towards the end with the drivetrain problems. Bike was really muddy at the end of the ride. Should've taken a pic, but didn't. All cleaned up now and waiting for a morning ride tomorrow at Ted Williams, where the trails are dry, dry, dry!

First post of the New Year, 2011. I have to say that 2010 brought mixed blessings for the Scates Family. Many ups and downs. Not only is 2010 over, but the first decade of the 21st Century is now in the books. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and healthy and prosperous life ahead.