Sunday morning the weather finally cooperated and made a window for me, this is what I saw at 530am:
An added bonus, my father in law John was joining me on my wing, well for maybe 10 seconds. We planned to touch base at 630am and try to takeoff at 7am. #Flying in #Colorado in the early morning is so special, it's too perfect to put into words and this morning especially. We fought a headwind on the way to Salida but it was a smooth ride at 11500. The spinning must have helped with my oxygen saturation with the oximeter never dipping below 88% without the gas on (@12500).
John's T-18 and Mt Evans in back
After passing Southeast of BV we tuned in to Salida's unicom and discovered we were second and third in line for landing behind a Bonanza and an incoming Citation. Our spacing worked out like it was planned and we made our landings on 24, the Citation went around when a Zenith lined up on the threshold of 6 for departure. Nobody was sure why the Zenith felt a need to line up and wait for the Citation to land on 24. At Salida it's perfectly normal to arrive on 24 and depart on 6 just not line up on 6 waiting for a Citation to land on the opposite end. It made for good ramp chat when we met up with the Netjet pilot later.
It was fun to have John and his beautiful T-18 along, he already had an admirer scouting his plane before I was parked. The Citation pilot joined in the inspection a short while later.
While the gallery checked out the T-18, I fetched the courtesy car and off loaded my bike and gear and packed up the trunk. John wanted to head back to Denver to hit his to do list and I was off to check out Salida's trails.
We didn't depart KBJC off until nearly 730 then with the headwind and ramp talk, it was pushing 930 when I left the parking lot at the base of Tenderfoot hill. (Arkansas hills trail system) The ride starts with a healthy climb up Frontside to the parking lot then Lil Rattler to North Backbone. About half way down North Backbone I turned around and back tracked to join Backbone, riding it all the way to Cottonwood. It was there I realized I blew past Sand Dune and double backed to find it. It was after 1130 and my legs were wasted.
On the way back to find Sand Dune, I caught a pedal at slow speed and took a spill. The damage was right side forearm, knee, elbow...and a whole lot of pride. The trails were true single track with respectable penalties for failure and the trail had that perfect cadence of up and downs. I'll be adjusting some sag out of the center shock before going back, I dragged my pedal too much. Part of the problem was me being rusty but I'm convinced the pedals were not clearing well enough due to the sag, I recall muttering "really! how did I catch that?"
My favorite trail was Backbone and North backbone, I'll go back there again and regain my pride. With my second trip to Salida done, I'm a fan. Everyone I encountered on the trail, town, and airport were first rate friendly. The park and downtown are right at the base, so you can easily eat when you are done.
It was just afternoon when I got back to the car and the winds were picking up. I skipped lunch and drove the 10 minutes back to the plane and got out of there; riding a 20 knot tailwind back to KBJC. I chowed down on some PB infused pretzels; sucked down a nalgene of water; and cranked up the O2, on the way back.
John stopped by the hangar after I landed and we had a beer and talked about the flight. I made it home 10 minutes before Liam woke from his nap. We played outside and grilled burgers...perfect day!
While the gallery checked out the T-18, I fetched the courtesy car and off loaded my bike and gear and packed up the trunk. John wanted to head back to Denver to hit his to do list and I was off to check out Salida's trails.
We didn't depart KBJC off until nearly 730 then with the headwind and ramp talk, it was pushing 930 when I left the parking lot at the base of Tenderfoot hill. (Arkansas hills trail system) The ride starts with a healthy climb up Frontside to the parking lot then Lil Rattler to North Backbone. About half way down North Backbone I turned around and back tracked to join Backbone, riding it all the way to Cottonwood. It was there I realized I blew past Sand Dune and double backed to find it. It was after 1130 and my legs were wasted.
Million Dollar views
North Backbone - on a water break
Backbone overlooking Sand Dune
On the way back to find Sand Dune, I caught a pedal at slow speed and took a spill. The damage was right side forearm, knee, elbow...and a whole lot of pride. The trails were true single track with respectable penalties for failure and the trail had that perfect cadence of up and downs. I'll be adjusting some sag out of the center shock before going back, I dragged my pedal too much. Part of the problem was me being rusty but I'm convinced the pedals were not clearing well enough due to the sag, I recall muttering "really! how did I catch that?"
My favorite trail was Backbone and North backbone, I'll go back there again and regain my pride. With my second trip to Salida done, I'm a fan. Everyone I encountered on the trail, town, and airport were first rate friendly. The park and downtown are right at the base, so you can easily eat when you are done.
It was just afternoon when I got back to the car and the winds were picking up. I skipped lunch and drove the 10 minutes back to the plane and got out of there; riding a 20 knot tailwind back to KBJC. I chowed down on some PB infused pretzels; sucked down a nalgene of water; and cranked up the O2, on the way back.
John stopped by the hangar after I landed and we had a beer and talked about the flight. I made it home 10 minutes before Liam woke from his nap. We played outside and grilled burgers...perfect day!
View from North Backbone - Salida Airport out there
Lessons learned trip:- Tissues - not in my pack, recovering from a cold (yep cowboy style)
- Basic First Aid Kit - in the plane, that might have been handy
- Hydration system - the tube had some funk in it...so I didn't drink as much as I should have, dehydration is a precursor for hypoxia. I sucked down a nalgene in flight and cranked on the oxygen
- Adjust center shock to give another 1/2 inch pedal clearance (@120 PSI on this trip)
- Front headset/fork developed a rattle need to check it out
- clip-in pedals developed a squeak and felt dry - clean and lube
- rear derailleur developed a hitch - clean and lube
Airplane:
- High humidity leaving jeffco climbed fine but didn't generate good airspeed, John said I should try building up more airspeed before pitching up. I'll work on that.
- Pick up some plexiglass cleaner - all out
