RED ROCK COUNTRY

After I fixed a late, mega breakfast, Marc and I took off again on the bikes, and headed toward the red rocks surrounding Sedona. We only had to go about 8 miles before we got off the pavement, then it was mostly well traveled forest service roads under the shadows of the very unique red rock cliffs, that are the signature of the Sedona area. This was an all new area for me, as I didn't do any riding around Sedona last year. Except for a couple of roads that were on the forest service map, that we couldn't find, we kind of made a couple of loops west of highway 89A.
We found one road that looked kind of interesting, but after less than a mile, we ran into a locked gate. It was obvious that there was a well traveled path around the gate, and the signage indicated that it was only closed to autos. So, after a little debate, we kept going, until the road started up a mountain, and it looked a little too challenging for me and my bike. As I waited, Marc kept going and climbed the mountain. When he returned, he said the view was incredible. While at the top, a small plane passed by, and he was actually looking down on the aircraft.
Most of the time, Marc stays ahead of me, leaving him free to ride as hard as he wants to, and I eventually catch up. At one point, I was leading, and decided to push the envelope a little bit. There's something about the male ego, that never wants to entirely admit, that you can't still do something as well as you used to. This moment of macho, I'll show the kid that the old man can still go fast, almost turned into a disaster. I misjudged a right hand corner, and entered it way too fast. As I was sliding the rear wheel, trying to keep from going off the road, and keep the bike from low siding, I almost ate a bunch or rocks, as the bike traveled off the road a little, but at least I stayed upright. Marc said it looked like a bull rider trying to keep from getting bucked off. With that little incident in the past, I waved Marc around me, and was content to stay where I belonged for the rest of the ride. It was another great day on the bikes, especially spending time with my son, who enjoys one of the same things that I do.