Subject: Camping

Hi all,

This will be mercifully short! Limited by the battery life of the laptop. 

This weekend I decided to take the pop-up camper out and spend Saturday night on the “Rim” – 7000 feet and much cooler! But it would also give me a chance to tryout the new (as in very old & cheap) mountain bike that I have been rebuilding for Sharon. It must look outrageous;  60++ year old, straight, white, married male, wearing a trekking hat, shorts and hiking boots while riding a girl’s pinkish red mountain bike – never mind the unsteady weaving and swerving!

So I arrived at my designated camp spot around 11:00 only to find it occupied - moving on to another spot I set up the camper, ate lunch and proceeded to make my first grand tour. It is now about 3:00 and I am back in camp trying to recuperate – totally exhausted – swilling Pepsi for transfusions – medical professionals are conferring to assess how many, if any, of my body parts can be saved. Seems that I forgot one of life’s lessons – "when out of shape, start by going up-hill first" – at least that way you can coast home.

Naturally I started out by running into a tree! That really wasn’t my fault – I was looking down at the chain, derailleurs and rear tire to be sure everything was lined up OK, when the edge of this small pine tree sprung up out of nowhere – I survived with minor, non-life threatening scratches while the tree remains unscathed.

From there I proceeded by going down hill – fast, on a dirt road, on the sandy edge of the dirt road – afraid to use the front brake on the loose stuff. But I did not panic – provided screaming at the top of your lungs doesn't qualify – finally I managed to get everything back on the solid part of the road without going over the edge (literally or figuratively). At last, I arrived at the trail head – it is a trail that I have hiked before and remembered as being relatively easy – and it is when you are walking but not so for someone who hasn’t been on a bike for about 40 years!

The trail is a rock strewn, quagmire of sand, branches, roots, narrow trenches and steep drop-offs. I proceeded for about ¾ of a mile before giving up and turning back. I seem to remember that as a youth I was able to go anywhere on a bike – I just sort of willed the thing between rocks, roots, trees, etc., without effort or much concern. Not now.  By the time I returned to the trailhead the bike and gravity had won two falls and three major skirmishes – the final score a the end of the day, the trail 5, Roger zip - and of course I still had a mile of vertical mountain road to traverse back to camp.

The next time some one tells you “it is as easy as riding a bike” – slug the guy for me. Life’s real lesson is that you might retain course skills but finesse certainly deserted you a long time ago!

Well, I see the battery icon is signally it’s intent to shut this thing down – so it’s time to go.

Take care,

Cousin Wimpus Arizonus Rog.