I didn’t post yesterday, so I’ll post the weekend update today.

On Saturday, I wrote my blog post first thing in the morning. Then I caught up on a few other blogs I follow. I also looked at the site that mapped the Hawes Trail System. I wanted to ride my mountain bike there.

Around 11am, I rode my mountain bike out of the RV park. I rode a mile up Recker Road to Thomas, then I turned east and rode another mile past the intersection with Power Road. This is the entrance to Las Sendas, where Thomas Road becomes Eagle Crest. I crossed the canal and saw a trail next it, just like I remembered on the map.

However, this trail was gated with a “No Trespassing” sign. I was confused by this. It looked like people had gone in, around the gate, but I didn’t think that was a good idea.

I continued up the road another 30 yards and found another trail. There were no markings or signs and the trail entrance was subtle. Once I left the road and followed the trail, it quickly became obvious that this was a well-used trail.

The trail meandered along between the canal and the Las Sendas housing development. It was fairly easy and fast at first, but I ran into technical sections before too long. A couple of other bikers passed me. I wasn’t ready to ride at their pace. I didn’t want to hit a ditch or drop into a ravine at speed, so I rode at a reasonable pace.

I passed a few people running on the trail as I climbed up towards Usery Mountain. As I gained elevation, I stopped to take in the view.

 

I could see for miles across the Valley of the Sun to the southwest. Although Phoenix claims to be located in the Valley of the Sun, it’s really more of a wide basin than a valley. Most of the desert southwest is a series of basins. It’s never as flat as many people imagine.

As the trail climbed, it became more challenging. There were many sections where the trail was narrow and climbed steeply. Other sections dropped into sandy ravines, then climbed up onto decomposed granite or hardpack.

I missed the turn off for the trail that would take me to the road in Las Sendas. I found myself at the base of a long, steep climb that the locals call “Cardiac Hill.” I decided to turn back. I wasn’t up for that challenge. When I reached Thomas Road again, I’d been out for an hour and a half. I was whipped.

When I returned, I reheated leftovers for lunch, then put on my trunks and walked to the pool. I showered there, then soaked in the Jacuzzi. It felt good. I kicked back on a lounge chair and read a book until I was dry.

I shaved and showered back at the coach and took a nap. I was supposed to hook up with Mike and Jodie Hall, to go to a party in Chandler, but I was too tired to go anywhere. I visited with my neighbor, Peter, from Switzerland. He had been out on his road bike and put in 50 miles. He rode to Saguaro Lake, then did the Usery loop twice!

Yesterday I woke up feeling refreshed and well-rested. I wanted to try another part of the Hawes Trail System. This time I rode up to the north end of Recker Road. I couldn’t find the trail entrance once again. Then I saw a couple of guys on mountain bikes. They pointed out the trail head at the end of a cul-de-sac, next to a house.

This trail led me away from the housing tract. It was fairly fast, with sweeping turns that banked against small hillsides. After fifteen minutes of this, it became more technical with difficult drop-offs and climbs. The last half mile was mostly uphill. When I reached the end, at Power Road, I was huffing and puffing for breath.

Once I caught my breath, I crossed over to the trail on the east side of Power Road. I asked a mountain biker on the road how the trail was. He said it had some technical sections, but wasn’t bad. I wanted to ride this trail back to Thomas Road and loop back to the park.

Ten minutes later, I found out what he meant by “some technical sections.” I came to a stop at a steep drop-off. The trail dropped into a ravine. It was a nearly vertical drop of six or seven feet. Then it crossed the bottom for about 10 feet, then climbed the nearly vertical wall on the other side about eight feet high. It was shaped somewhat like the concrete half pipe where you see extreme riders or skateboarders do stunts on TV.

I looked it over, found a line I thought I could follow and went for it. I extended my butt off the seat, over the back wheel. This kept my weight well back and prevented me from going over the bars when I hit the bottom. Half way up the opposite side, when my bike slowed, I pedaled madly with my weight on the front of the seat and made it to the top. After I crested the hill, the trail dropped into another half pipe ravine. I did the same as I did on the last, pedaling like crazy in a granny gear. At the top, I stopped. I was looking down into another, deeper half pipe type section. My upper body was quickly wearing out. I made it through the third one and decided I’d had enough. I saw the trail flattened out and curved next to the road. I may be a glutton for punishment, but I knew when to quit. At the curve, I bailed out and got on the road.

I need to work on developing more upper body strength and endurance. Mountain biking uses different muscle groups than road biking. I was trying to do too much, too soon. I knew if I kept pushing through the technical sections, fatigue would inevitably lead to a crash.

I stopped at Subway on the way home and bought a Footlong Cold Cut Combo. I ate half of it for lunch, then followed Saturday’s routine of Jacuzzi and poolside reading. The other half of the sandwich was dinner. I miss Donna and I miss her cooking too!

Later, I decided to take on a project that I’d back-burnered for awhile. Our surround sound system has a hissing noise, especially from the rear speakers. It sounded like distortion from an amp that has too much gain. The amplifier is a Don Hamilton System that takes the 2-channel signal from the TV and converts it to 5.1 QSurround sound. I thought the amplifier might have an adjustable potentiometer on it somewhere to set the gain. The amplifier is mounted in a cabinet, next to the  TV. I removed the amplifier, but couldn’t find any adjustment for gain.

As I was reconnecting the wiring and preparing to mount the amp back in the cabinet, I noticed the wiring ran through a choke. I followed the wiring on the choke and found that the TV sound ran through it. This choke is designed to remove hum from the radio signal. Radios can pick up noise from the alternator through the 12-volt system.

The TV runs on the 120-volt AC system. The choke might be useful if the TV was operating off the invertor, otherwise I couldn’t see any sense in it. Most motorhomes built before 2007 have had TVs replaced with newer flat screen models. This is the case in our coach. Who knows who wired the sound through the choke.

I rewired the TV directly to the amplifier and ran the radio wiring through the choke. I tested the TV and radio – no hiss or hum! Job done!

Today, I plan on a little rest and relaxation. I need to recover from three straight days of biking. Our neighbors, Peter and Ruth Zaug will be leaving. They’re taking the ActionMobil coach I wrote about in my last post to Apache Junction and putting it into storage there. They’ll fly back to Switzerland this afternoon. They plan to return in September and continue their journey through the USA.

Happy St. Patricks Day! At some point, I’ll probably go to the Red, White and Brew for a pint or two of Guiness.