Siri Search and Rescue

Big Bang was too much for the pocket of my new jersey. My phone bounced out on an up and over with a right hip check to get the rear tire in line.

That was the short story. So I’m having a great time on probably my favorite Flagstaff loop yet, I get to the trailhead and wonder if my wife’s phone number on my Road ID is current. So I go for my phone and wait what. I had taken off my helmet and gloves. Did I airheadedly put my phone somewhere. I called out for Siri, no response. Ah, OK I’ll start a ride and see if a Garmin Live Track starts. Damn, no luck that means my phone is at least 40’ away. So not likely a trailhead event. I turned on spot so my wife would know I was ok.

As I stood there pondering my next step. A nice older couple, that reminded me of our friends Bruce And Lois, pulled up to park in the shade of the big Ponderosa pine I was under. I asked if I could use their phone to call my wife. She said the mileage on the live track was 16.25. My ride ended at 19.55. Now I had been riding for three and a half hours and was very happy with that and my phone was almost paid for and I have insurance, so for a fleeting moment I considered leaving it. But it would take longer at the Verizon store than to go up and back, never mind the set up. Also I thought I remembered looking at my Garmin around 16.25 miles and seeing that I was at 7400’. The trailhead was at about 7200”. I thought , great only a couple hundred feet of climbing and a little over 3 miles up, no problem. So I head happily along the easy green trails I ended on for recovery to Orbit for some moderate climbing to Big Bang and I was already at 300’. I had wondered how it would be to climb Big Bang, figuring it was too knarly. I walked one steep, I was kinda tired, but good the rest of it was quite fun and challenging. But it was getting increasingly steeper by the time I got to the three and a quarter mark. I was going to say I slowed down, but I was already going pretty slow, to watch go see if my Garmin connected to my phone. Not yet. I got off, not to go slower really but to not fall down the mountain, while I focused on the Garmin and searching for my phone. No guarantee that it was still on. But only a few steps later and “Phone Connected” popped up on my Garmin. Phew! I later learned my wife danced at this point. I didn’t get there a moment too soon as the sun had found a hole in the shade and the overheating warming was on!

I threw it in my Camelback, in the compartment next to the bladder. Which was still cool, as it starts out filled with Ice.

Then just a re-ride back down to the trailhead just 6.15 miles and 764’ latter according to Strava.