preRA: Fountain Hills #6

Yet another conditioning ride.  A surprisingly cool day, probably between 70 and 80F the whole ride with overcast skies for much of it.  Strong headwinds coming down the Beeline – much more work than I really wanted, but it is teaching me not to fret about winds too much – they can be overcome with patience.

On Bush Highway by the river, a dead coyote caused me to stop and take a photo, and I then realized it was actually a fox.   I later learned that it is a Urocyon cinereoargenteus, a common gray fox, or in Spanish a zorra gris. They’re supposed to be pretty common along riparian areas like this but are seldom found inside cities like coyotes are, so that explains why we don’t see them around the house.

About five miles later this bug caught my camera eye.   A classic Scolopendra polymorpha, or centipede.   This one caught my attention because we normally see common desert centipedes around the house, which are brown all over.  But this one is the larger giant desert centipede, which displays a bright orange color and black ends, an advertisement of danger.

Yeah, I know.  I’m going to start calling this the “Roadkill Tour.”

A good breakfast with Jesse at the fountain.  I am thinking about buying some of the same Shimano cycling shoes he has, to replace these “commuter”-style Keen SPDs I have.  The Keens are just too flexible and have the cleat too far inboard, possibly a source of my current knee and heel discomforts.

I’m not sure what this plant is, but thought it very beautiful with all its straw-colored pom-poms.

About 59 loaded miles.  Barely over 2 weeks of riding left before we pack up to go.  I’m a little concerned about my twing-y knees and the heel pain.  These things suggest that fit (shoes, cleats, seat position, etc.) is not quite right so I’ll keep trying things out.  Otherwise I’m definitely ready to go.