And I am off again ...

New start point for the Geezerman. Tomorrow Lois (my wonderful, charming and gracious wife of 45 years) will be driving me to Salt lake City to start this adventure a second time. Segment 4 reports July 1, and will start riding July 2. I have only missed 1,141 miles of this ride, so I still have 2,459 miles of this adventure to experience. Now the question is: what kind of shape will I be in, and will I be able to keep up? The accident was three weeks ago yesterday, and I have been on my trainer, but I don't know how that translates to the road. I did get a 42 mile ride in on Monday, but that kind of distance is way short of the 75 mile average this ride calls for. The shoulder is painful, but tolerable so far. The longer distances will be more revealing. I think I am more worried about sleeping on the floor than riding the bike, and now I will probably need two youngsters to help me get up off the floor in the morning.

Maybe I should have waited to join the group when they get to Denver July 9, but I really wanted to be a part of the build day in Craig, CO July 6. I am not sure what I will be able to help build with a gimpy shoulder, but I will at least be a part of the experience, and I can always "gopher" whatever is needed. Wait, I forgot how good I am at supervising, I can still supervise with only one good arm!

Oh yea, 190 lbs, and still short of my 185 lb goal. Maybe I can Craigslist my excess stomach. There must be some really skinny person that would appreciate a little extra weight.

I am very thankful for this second chance to join the group, and for all the support and encouragement that I have gotten. Now I better finish packing.

Peace

How sweet it is ...

I finally rode right off my back porch and onto the roads again. The movies were just getting too bad to continue on the trainer. Keeping fit on a bike trainer has got to be the most boring thing in the world, the minutes tick by like hours, the hours seemed like a week. I rode for 12 days on the trainer, watching 2 movies per day. Yuck!!!

I think I trained more than most of the other riders, and I was counting on that training to keep up with the youngsters at the beginning of this adventure. Then we would all be getting into long distance riding together, and I would still be able to keep up. I am now worried that I will be behind and maybe not be able to keep up, especially with my weakened upper body. But, hopefully I will soon find out, and the other riders will be kind to me.

My shoulder is doing much better. The doctor first told me I needed 7-8 weeks to give it time to heal and stabilize, but also said that all I needed was 2 weeks to prevent any permanent damage. So, it boils down to how hard I want to do rehab, and how much pain I want to put up with while riding. After riding 27 miles today I have to admit that the road bumps do travel right up to my shoulder, which does get uncomfortable. A few more days on the road will tell me if I can leave for Salt Lake City June 30 to join the ride. If I can start then, I will have missed only the first three segments of the ride

Maybe another short ride after church tomorrow, and then I will see how far I can go on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and how much pain there will be.

Peace

Bad news ...

From the blog, "One Pedal at a Time" by Patric Smith:

"After Yesterdays ride on the way to the Superior High school for showers, Ben one of our senior riders, took a pretty serious fall. His shower bag got caught in the spokes of his bike and he flipped over his handle bars, he experienced two fractures one just above his left eye and the other below his left eye.  He was lifted into a stretcher and then air lifted to the hospital at the Missoula. His wife Sarah spent yesterday flying in to see him today. We have heard that he is stable and is scheduled to have miner surgery tomorrow. Needless to say he will be unable to go with us any further on our ride to D.C. Please keep him in your prayers."

The rider is Ben Abney, and a bummer because I was looking forward to meeting and riding with Ben.

Peace

Ride information ...

Here are some riders blogs that I thought you might want to follow until I get back on the ride. Then of course you will only need mine.

http://bikingitthere.blogspot.com/

http://sarahdcycles.blogspot.com/

http://eastfcba.blogspot.com/

Also the fuller center blog:

http://www.fullercenter.org/blogs/bikeadventure

And of course you must follow the ride on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/BikeAdventure

I guess you will have to copy and paste until I figure out why I can't make it a click to follow.

OK, now maybe?

Peace

Porch riding is fun ...

NOT !!!

Getting more hours in riding on the porch: 2.5 hours Friday and 3 hours yesterday. Still not enough time in the saddle to be keeping up with the ride. Hopefully enough saddle time to keep my legs going, but it takes upper body strength to be able to ride, either up or downhill, so I need to get this shoulder strong, and fast. Physical therapy starts Tuesday, daily for two weeks (except Saturday and Sunday), so of course that will help.

I hope the hum of the trainer is not bothering the neighbors. I've set up my iPad to be able to watch movies while riding, which really helps because I am such boring company. Problem is at this rate I'll soon be watching some really bad movies. I'm using instant play on Netflix, so I'm somewhat limited on availability, especially when I look for at least 3 stars before watching a movie. I did find some cycling movies last night, so I hope to get some motivation from them.

Drat, I just realized that I am losing my tan lines! I need to get off this porch and start road riding again.

I forgot to take my Advil prescription yesterday so my shoulder was bothering me more all day. As it turns out, not a bad thing as I now know that I will still have to take it for a few more days; the shoulder had been feeling a little better each day. I'm trying to stay away from the pain medicine prescription unless I really need it. Doc says not, but this shoulder seems worse than the left one that I separated last November. At least that was from falling off my bike, not from a freak auto accident.

Well it is Sunday and I am still at home, so it must be weigh-in time. At least I stopped gaining weight and I'm back down to 191 lbs. Maybe I can still reach my goal of 185 lbs before riding, although I wasn't planning on having this extra time. :-(

I need more time on the trainer, so maybe I'll stop rambling on my blog.

Just saw a video on facebook; Rae was in the accident with me, and is just an awesome individual.I can't seem to get video link to work here, so under web sites of interest on the right, click on "Facebook Bike Adventure" to find the video.

Peace

Starting over ...

I have been riding a recumbent bike at the gym, and now I have started riding my hybrid bike on a trainer on my back porch. A little awkward getting on and off, and also riding with one hand. Boring, but I have been able to get in at least an hour to an hour and a half the last three days. I need to get my time up to at least 2.5 to 3 hours, but I'm finding it tough mentally to sit there looking at the same thing that long. Maybe I just need better company than myself. It's not the same as street riding, and hard to push the pace with this setup, but it's better than nothing.

I saw the ortho doctor again today, and I now have a prescription for physical therapy, and appointments set starting June 21 and running every day for two weeks. That will bring me to June 30, and if I
I'm feeling strong enough by then, I will be trying to join the ride again in Salt Lake City, July 1. If the pain level is still too high then, I will just have to wait until July 9, when they arrive in Denver. I am really psyched to get on this ride, but am still trying to be careful with the shoulder. Doc says the only problem besides the pain would be if I fell on it again. That would probably mean surgery. I wonder how training wheels would work, or maybe an outrigger like some boats and canoes have.

I'm driving again since I have a spinner on my steering wheel which helps when my arthritis acts up. This used to be called a necking nob, but bucket seats put an end to that. They also used to have pinup pictures in the spinners, but that would be an antique that I could not afford. Hmmm, maybe a big picture of a pinup girl at the end of my porch? Hmmm, maybe I am too old for that to make a difference? NOT! Hmmm, maybe I will have lumps on my head when Lois reads this.

Peace

Recovery ...

Had trouble with emotions in church this morning, praying about what happened, and so thankful for the outcome.

OK, but now I am thru feeling glad that I was the only one hurt bad enough to have to leave the ride. I am still glad that I was the only one hurt, but now everyone has reported to Seattle, gone on a practice ride together yesterday, and are off on the first leg of the trip to Monroe, WA today. Now I am getting really bummed out!

I guess the accident didn't scare anything out of me, zero miles ridden last week, so no surprise with 195 lbs today, a 4 lb gain. I am going to have to be very careful about what and how much I eat until I can get back to riding. I got my trainer all set up, but it's difficult to ride with one arm in a sling. We have recumbent bikes at our community lodge, but I've always had trouble working out in a gym. I would rather be out with my friends, the steep hills, and head winds.

We have a van and a temporary trailer with a new one meeting us in Colorado Springs, but could still use some help offsetting the cost of the van.

Thanks for all the support and good wishes for a fast recovery from so many, friends and strangers.

Wow, just got a picture of my "new best friend," Michael, who is a hard and fast St. Louis Cardinals fan, wearing a Cubs hat that I hid in his bag before I left for home. That is a true friend supporting me in my absence.

Thanks Mike!

Peace

Doctors ...

A quick update on my shoulder. It is separated, but only a class 2 at the most, which requires no surgery. The doctor insists on 2 weeks' rest to let the shoulder stabilize and the swelling go down to avoid future problems. So I will not be joining the ride in Kellogg June 19. I see the doc again this coming Wednesday to find out about joining the riders in West Yellowstone on June 26. I am more realistically hoping to join the ride in Salt Lake City July 1, worst case being Denver, July 9. The doctor didn't say anything about staying off of my trainer, so hopefully I can stay bike ready. Not sure how many hours I can stay on a trainer, but I will have to get in some work at least.

Help, we need a new van ...

We think we have a trailer donated, but still need a van after our crash in Idaho. Here is information:

" ... we want a 15 passenger extended van that runs on diesel. At this point, I think the best thing anyone can do is donate to this cause. We have found a couple of vans that we are going to check out tomorrow. The Fuller Center has set up a fundraising page to help cover the cost of the van. We have very little time and, again, at this point, this seems to be the best option.

Here's the link to our van fundraising page http://www.fullercenter.org/help-us-get-a-new-van Please share this with everyone you know. Any amount will help.

Peace

Home bound temporarily ...

We are driving home, and very thankful to be doing so. As we say in geezerville, "it's a good day when you wake up still looking down on the grass".

My fellow riders all seemed to be feeling better, the soreness will continue for a few days, but they are headed for Seattle, only one day late! THE RIDE WILL START ON TIME, My shoulder is feeling better also, and I still have lots of narcotics to dull the pain. I am already starting to think about getting back to the ride, and praying for a good report from the doctor in the morning. I hope I don't have to tell him when I will be able to ride again. Norm asked me if I was angry, sad, disappointed that I couldn't start the ride with the others, which is a question that I had been puzzling over. I think that I am just so thankful that nobody was seriously hurt, that it just doesn't matter that I will not be able to start with the whole way group.


   

It is still difficult for me to understand how we all walked away from this. Why do these things happen? Fuller Center had the van prepared with new tires, and the tire blew, and we are upside down. A small fire; what if the van used gas instead of diesel? What if we had a car or truck next to us? What if we had gone across the median and hit a vehicle head on? What if we had continued rolling a few times instead of just falling on our side and then onto the roof? What if we stop counting our blessings, or lose faith? The group prayer we had after the accident, suggested and led by a 22 year old, tells the real story of The Fuller Center for Affordable Housing. Praying to be able to continue so that we could keep helping people in need! And the young shall show us the way!

Peace

Location:County Road 202,Fort Bridger,United States