I'm back, baby!

Has it been that long since my last post? I remember thinking about needing to post. So much has happened since then...

This is us at the Dunlap time trial on June 7th. Headwind from 3 directions, gusts brutal at times. We were 6th of 7 tandems. It's generally used as a "warm-up" to the district championships the following week. Our plan was to do that this year, but that crash changed everything.

On June 12, Kameo took the day off and suggested a ride. I didn't tell anyone I was going with her. I had a follow-up visit with my surgeon's PA on the 17th, when I expected to be released for riding, and except for tandeming I hadn't been on the Diva outside since March 14. I figured this was low-risk -- flats, reasonable pace, my BFF -- and off we went. Ah, it was glorious! We got caught up on what she's up to, we rode 35 miles, I felt great. My arm fatigued some but obviously not enough to stop me.

I rode the next 3 days, too, and got back that piece of me that was missing.

Musings on a Saturday night from the patio

The sun is down, the sky nearly dark. A few clouds linger overhead, deep gray/blue. A robin was singing as the sun slipped behind the mountains and has evidently gone back to its nest, as I no longer hear its song. Ludovico Einaudi plays like a river on my iPod, the music ebbing and flowing and smoothly progressing all the way to the inevitable end. This is a peaceful evening in the yard.

This kind of zen is what I crave before and after events that require adrenaline. Tomorrow is our first tandem time trial of the year and we haven't trained for it. I never got on the trainer all week to even spin. My disappointment with my newly-found ability to negotiate my workouts is huge and a discussion for another time.

We got in 25 miles today, pretty much a flat ride to Winters and then through the orchards the short way home. We had some wind, which I expect we'll have tomorrow. We did some accelerations and my legs were like lead. It was all I could do to turn circles.

We plan to warm up on our single bikes on trainers, then jump on the tandem at the last possible minute and ride to the start. Last year we tried to warm up on the tandem -- an unsatisfactory exercise. I want to be lathered at the start.

We stopped at Steady Eddy's while in Winters; Chris used the faciilities and I got an Arnold Palmer (half iced tea, half lemonade). So tart and wonderful. We saw a runner come in; she looked out of place among all the cyclists. She was wearing silver and pink Nike Shok shoes. She gave them a rave review and told me where she bought them. I asked out loud if my sister could run a 1/2 marathon (we did Big Sur in '06; she tore her Achilles tendon at the calf the next year and is just now back to competing). Chris said, "Why don't you ask her?"

So after I picked myself up a pair of silver and pink Nike Shoks I called her. She's pretty sure she's in. Yay for a new goal.

My Broken Wrist -- Recovery Update

Today I finished my 5th session of physical therapy. Myra, my Princess of Pain, changed up what we've been doing. She used to massage my hand/thumb/wrist and do passive stretching, then have me do the exercises and play with the toys, then give me 15 min. of electrical stimulation while my hand was in an icy mitten. While not a fan of frozen fingertips, the e-stim offered some pain relief.

Since the PT exercises have aggravated the tendons that pass over the lateral epicondyle Myra took a different approach today. I dipped my hand/wrist into some orange-colored and -smelling wax, let it harden, and repeat. Five layers later she wrapped my in plastic wrap and slid an oven mitt over my hand and gave me 10 minutes to warm up. This has got to be the most passive warm up ever.

She then rolled the wax off my hand, and massaged and stretched my stiff muscles and tendons, kneading them into submission and eliciting more flexion and extension than I usually achieve. Her hands are so soft, and small, and insistent; I invited her to move in with us and she'd not have to cook, just massage us and keep us injury-free. I'm too poor for the lifestyle I want. Boo. I Blame Drew's Cancer for that.

After that heavenly and painful massage she took out the toys: Chinese steel balls (rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise in my hand), a kind of 3-D maze to move a coin from one end to another by wrist rotation only, shuffling a deck of cards, putting clothespins on a yardstick, remove, repeat; thumb-pull downs with a rubberband and a U-shaped plastic frame; picking up tiny grooved stainless steel pins, putting them into a board, then removing them; rolling different sized cylinders covered in Velcro on a Velcro covered board (for wrist rotation); squeezing a sponge; and pulling apart special putty (ball it up, pull apart, ball it up, pull it apart, etc.).

Today, instead of e-stim, Myra took some special tape and measured and cut and placed it on my arm as illustrated. She said I'm to wear it a couple of days. It's to pull the muscle up and allow better lymph drainage and blood circulation, in hopes of relieving my tendonitis.

I'm to continue with my exercises (flexion & extension range of motion mostly) and see Myra just once next week. The week after I head back for my 10 wk. post-op visit. I hope then to get clearance to begin strength training and to ride my bike again. I'm optomistic and realistic: It may be the end of June before I can ride my bike. Meanwhile, I'll do what I'm told, and work toward my goal.

Later, I went home and was about to change for my trainer workout when a client/friend whom I sold a home around the corner stopped by. She's a cop; she rode her bike over after running her dog while she rode the bike. Our dogs are close to the same size and they all played while she & I hung out and caught up. She's a soccer star, a rock/wall climber, mountain biker, and wannabe roadie. I hope to sway her to the dark side; I'm happy she's got 3 bikes. Chris came home and made a fabulous off-the-cuff pizza; my friend went home then came back and had pizza with us while we watched "The Big Bang" together. What a fun way to spend the evening!

Sunday Afternoon

We have two pieces of furniture in our house that we don't allow Oliver (left) and Beau (right) on, and they're on one of those pieces in this picture. I shooed them off after I got the shot.

I'm posting this because I had a nap today, a 90 minute nap. I napped so long we didn't get a bike ride. That wasn't my intention. I thought I'd get a power nap and we'd go for a quick spin, then off to Kameo's for dinner.

Sleep trumped, and Oliver spent that time at my feet, his chin resting on my legs, just above my ankles. He's not big, at 16 lbs., but he sure puts out the heat.

So the weekend is complete.

Another Day, Another Tandem Challenge

I've been off my Diva since March 15th, the day after my crash and subsequent broken wrist. Now nearly 10 wks. since my titanium screw was surgically inserted into my scaphoid bone, I'm still relegated to the trainer or the tandem. And Chris's demanding work schedule makes it darn near impossible to ride after work. So we do the weekend thing. And it's thrilling and fulfilling to be on the road, hammering at 25 mph in near-perfect conditions, as part of a team.

We headed out early and it was cool enough that I wished I'd worn a base layer. That thought was gone after we started up Cantelow hill, from the east, a long and challenging grade. It has ups and downs, some of those ups are 12% and the downs can get crazy-fast.

Chris likes to turn a big gear where I'd spin if I were in charge. Since I'm not (even though the stoker is always right -- or never wrong) I mash along and call it strength training.

We haven't climbed over Cantelow since Feb., as best I can recall, and I wasn't sure I wanted to today, but there we were, climbing and enjoying the light traffic and pretty views. No pics of that; I had to stay focused on the work. We ended up spinning up the last, steepest part of the grade. It was easy, very easy, especially after we climbed Chili Hill Rd. last week. Talk about a pain fest.

At the top Chris shifted into the 54/11 and down we went. We didn't use a lower gear for another 10 miles, when we cruised through downtown Winters. As soon as we turned onto Putah Creek Rd. he shifted up again, and we time-trialed away.

We passed a lot of cyclists, most of whom seemed to be out for casual rides. We saw a group of people on mostly hybrid and mountain bikes, flat pedals, baggy shirts and shorts, helmets askew. Some of them looked like they were ready for the ride to be over. Not many water bottles on those bikes, either. Good thing it wasn't hot.

A fellow pulled up to us and asked if he could ride with us, since he was alone. He had a striking LaPierre bike, and we shared good conversation. That's one of the beautiful things about road cycling -- you often meet the nicest people.

The sunflowers have grown a couple of feet since the last time we were out. Apricots are ripening, too. The tomatoes have flowers. Even without looking I knew when we were in the tomato fields. That distinctive scent gives them away.

A pair of redtail hawks were flying near us and I barely got the camera out in time to snap a couple of pictures.

We ended up with 44 miles, 18.6 avg. mph. That was good for us.

Chris made a fancy albacore salad. Then we made a menu for the week and went shopping.

Later I napped about 30 glorious minutes. I love a good power nap.

He grilled salmon and asparagus, steamed snap peas with a minty/lemony glaze, and I made salad. I'm still full.

We ended the evening with a fine cigar on the patio. For me, this is living the good life.

Sidebar: Now all I need to do is figure out how to insert my pics after the description, rather than before. I'm still new at this; I'll get it one of these days.

A Bit of Serendipity

This morning I wasn't wakened at 4 a.m. by a crazed robin repeating the same 6 notes obsessively. Shortly before the radio came on I exhaled into consciousness, not quite ready to be awake, not wanting to continue sleeping. The dogs immediately detected my relative alertness and started their not-so-subtle attempts to rouse me and let them out. I resisted. Chris got up instead. I floated between sleep and awake until he brought the coffee, then I really got up, almost bounding out of bed.

Sidebar: Our standard ritual is a tall coffee, a double shot of espresso, 1/2 c. foamed 1% milk. When Chris is working he assembles it. When he's not, I do. I'm spoiled and I like it that way. I enjoy spoiling him as well; he deserves it.

So I greeted the day especially refreshed and particularly inspired. I went out to see Chris off to work, watered plants, inhaled the honeysuckle, and as I was watering the begonia, noticed the gardenia in bloom. Heavenly. And lovely to gaze upon, creamy white flower against shiny green leaves.

Sidebar: I love flowering plants and steward them to the best of my ability. A flower is a plant's orgasm. Cultivating and caring for the plants so that they reach their peak is restorative for me. We love the flowers, their scent, their dramatic contribution to our little Eden out back, that they give their all and ask for so little. Connecting with the earth on any scale helps me put the b.s. of selling real estate into perspective. I love what I do.

After my morning reverie, some fruit and my physical therapy exercises it was office, ho! The rest of the day was all about real estate.

It was not quite 6 when I met my business partner, Lisa (more on this amazing woman later) at the Vacaville Museum for the 25th anniversary celebration. We visited with people we know, ate and drank; I put in a request with the DJ for some Stevie Ray Vaughn. He found it, and after the announcements & raffle drawings he played it. Chris had a hard time standing still, but refused to dance. Boo. Still, it was a perfect evening and a very enjoyable event.

Tomorrow is a bike day. Yay!

A New Blog is Born

Took me long enough to make this official. I should have been doing this years ago. Instead, I rode my bike, every chance I got, flying down the roads of Solano, Yolo, and Napa Counties. Dancing up hills and stopping to enjoy the views from the top. Watching the seasons' passing in the orchards, the sunflower and tomato fields, the horse farms, the cattle ranches, the flowering of the shrubs and trees that line the roads.

I still do that, just not as often, since I'm on the DL (still!!!) since 3/14/09. I'm on the back of the tandem during one of Chris's busiest years ever at work, making us weekend warriors. The Diva's been on the trainer since 3/16, patiently enduring grind after grind, until she's out on the road again.

One post down, more to follow.