The Blog of Blues

[blues2cruise]

Saturday July 19, 2008

My sister, cousin, aunt, nephew and his mother (and their 2 dogs) went to visit my Mom on the weekend. My Mom had asked if there would be room for me in the Jeep, but unless I wanted to ride on the roof rack, no there was not enough room. (I'd do it if it were legal )
Doc had mentioned he was going riding Saturday to check his gas mileage but he had no particular location in mind......so-o-o-o.....I asked him if he felt like riding up the coast and taking me with him to spend the day at my mom's.

We caught the first ferry on Saturday morning and got to my Mom's at 9:20 where she had breakfast and fresh coffee waiting.

My sister and her carload arrived about 11am.

This is my sister (blonde) and my cousin (dark hair) snapping a picture of my nephew who I plunked in the captain's seat of the harbour tour boat.


This is the nephew's mother who later went for a ride on Doc's bike with him.


This is the cousin going for a ride later....




It's a good thing I am taller than everyone so they were all able to fit into my riding jacket.

How about a little sumertime fun for the 2-1/2 year old. Rides in wheelbarrows are just that.


Here is the nephew smiling up at Doc as he gets geared up to leave.




We had to leave without supper because we had to get down to the ferry. I should have known better than to accept staying for dinner.....they never ever get things ready in time.
So we left at the time we needed to make it to the ferry on time. However...unbeknownst to us, the ferry schedule had changed just a couple of weeks before and there was no 8:30 ferry. For years there had been an 8:30 ferry. Suddenly they schedule changed and the last ferry is now 9:40pm.
So, we had to hang around for a long time. We got a quick bite to eat on the ferry and then Doc dropped me off at home on his way home.

It was a very nice day, but it took its toll on my already abused body.
I was so tired and achy.
Sunday I limped around for a good portion of the day.

I baked blueberry lemon loaves tonight and shared with my neighbours. I better put some aside for Doc. He missed out last time.

[jstark47]

It was a very nice day, but it took its toll on my already abused body.
I was so tired and achy.
Sunday I limped around for a good portion of the day.

Hey, Blues..... Mrs. Stark asked me last night how your rib is healing...... which I couldn't answer 'cause I don't know. So, how's your rib healing up?

Goodness, that boy (your nephew) is cute!

[blues2cruise]

Thanks, yes, the nephew is a cute boy. He is that age though where the testing and pushing buttons start.
For example.....After we had been playing outside with the water I brought him in to get him into dry duds. Well....when I opened his diaper was when I found the surprise package.......yuck.....anyway.....lately he discovered his own poop and would stick his hands in it.....gotta love/hate those developmental stages....
So...knowing that he does this, I told him do not touch anything, I have to g get some wipes to clean you. As I stood up, I repeated do not touch anything........he reached his hand out to touch the cupboard while he was looking at me.....if you've ever had kids you know he was testing.....I told him, fine you can touch the cupboards....I left the room to get the wipes and yahoooooo....he had not touched in his diaper. He is almost trained but like all little kids when they are having too much fun they can't be bothered going in to the bathroom.

Anyway.....as for my rib......it is coming along. It is 4 weeks now. I'm not short of breath anymore, but I still have problems with bending over and carrying heavy stuff. A couple of more weeks and it should be good. (I hope).

My bigger problem right now is the rehab guy......I think I have a couple of more weeks there. My knees, elbows and hands are hurting from so much exercise. About the only thing good coming out of this is that my shoulder has improved a lot. I will be including my experience in my journal for the lawyer.

The other good thing that has come from this is that the LTD provider also provided some counseling. The first guy was a waste of time. I had 4 sessions with him before I called and made an "inquiry" about him. They then removed me from his case load and assigned someone else to me. He has been great.

I look forward to my next shiatsu session. I love passive therapy.

[blues2cruise]

Sshhhhh

Top secret.......I rode my bike today. I rode to Langely (about 40 minutes from me) did some practicing on a lot with cones (I sucked). After lunch I rode home again.

I'm not 100% in the torso yet, so I wanted to start small. My arms are still a bit annoyed from the rehab program so doing the tight maneuvers today proved a bit tough.

I'll go again tomorrow. sshhhh......

[Wrider]

Congrats on your ride blues!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay for blues! Congrats!
Wrider

[blues2cruise]

Thank you. I thought long and hard this morning as to whether I should ride or not.....then decided that my muscles have been artificially strengthened by weights and exercise and unless I go do some "real life" activity, I would never get back into "real" condition.

[blues2cruise]

I went for another ride today. My original plan was to go to Langley again and continue my further education toward becoming an instructor.....and do a bit of practising in the lot,,,,,however, as I was riding along and pulled in to make a fuel stop, I changed my mind.

I called the Bossman and let him know I would not be going there today.

Instead I went for a short ride to my sister's place and then back into my neighbourhood to go drink my thermos of coffee by the river.
I did some serious soul searching while I was out riding today and while I was sitting on that park bench sipping my brew.

I even texted Doc to tell him of my decision. (He has been away for the long weekend)

Ever since I started to ride, I had a plan to become an instructor. It was the first time in my life that I really wanted to work toward something as a job.
I have tried and tried and keep meeting roadblocks......
I decided today not to pursue getting licensed to be an instructor. I'm just going to be a rider.

After trying to get into one of the schools that offers class 6 instructor courses and not finding one, the Bossman said he would get certified to do the course. Well.....I have been waiting, waiting, waiting.......I finally asked him if he was ever actually going to do the course. He said no. He said since ICBC was doing a challenge, that he figured he wouldn't have any students to train.......
That is a cop out. There are plenty of people who would rather take a course. I had been helping him to write a curriculum and it was all for nothing.

Yes, I am disappointed, but life goes on. I will work towards something else.

After I left the river today, I stopped in at an empty school parking lot to do some u-turns. My body is still feeling wrecked so the tight maneuvering is challenging. The only way I will gain that specific strength back is to get out and practice.

I put a throttle rocker (Cramp Buster) on the throttle. It helped a lot to reduce the aggravation in my right hand. I am still waiting to hear from the hand doctor.
I also made a concsious effort to keep my grip loose on the clutch side grip. My shoulder wasn't as sore when I came today.

I have a couple of meetings this week. The powers that be are forcing me to try another graduated return to work. I truly don't think I can do that job anymore, however, they insist I try.

I need to make a new resume......or whatever they are called these days. I need to find something that is less demanding.

I will try to ride a bit tomorrow. Little by little I hope to build up the muscles and reduce the pain. I can then enjoy some fall riding. Oops...I mean autumn riding. The word fall should not be used in conjuction with riding.

[blues2cruise]

I went for another ride today. This time I headed in a direction that had more traffic, more intersections and more lights. I also went just a little bit longer.
My throttle rocker rocks....... It makes a big difference in how my hand copes with riding. The throttle rockers takes the pressure away from my thumb joint. I was able to ride today without problems with my right hand.

Hopefully the rest of me will soon not complain about what I make me do.

[blues2cruise]

August 15, 2008

I have been getting in a few short rides lately. I used my bike to go to my camera club last night.
I fretted all afternoon and did not go out...but when evening came, I decided to use the bike instead of the bus. I was a bit tense on the way there, but I noticed on the way home (in the dark) that I was feeling more relaxed. I had enjoyed the ride home.

Last weekend, Doc and I went for a ride. We met in New West for lunch and then after that we rode via the freeway to Surrey so Doc could go haberdashery shopping. He needed some new duds to wear to his daughter's wedding this weekend. I think Doc was glad I went shopping with him. I was able to help keep the salesman from getting him into a nerdy looking jacket. I also found him an awesome looking tie. Unlike the somewhat business looking tie the salesman tried to get him to consider.
Anyway...after the shopping excursion, we rode via River Road to Ladner. We spent some time in a book store so Doc could find a book.....it started to rain.
So.....we decided to go have an earlyish supper figuring the rain would quit. NOPE.
We sat on a bench under an awning looking at our bikes getting soaked.....it rained harder.....
Doc finally made the executive decision...we may as well get going. It doesn't look like it's going to let up.
So....we got on our bikes and started heading for home. After several minutes, Doc pulled up beside me at a light..."Can you pull over when you get a chance....I forgot to put my glasses on....I wondered why I couldn't see. "
So....after we got out of Ladner and pulled on to the highway, I pulled over into the bus stop. We headed back via River Road, over the Alex Fraser Bridge, the Queesnborough Bridge and then stopped in at the local Starbucks for a chai latte before saying our goodbyes.

I hadn't ridden in the rain for so long.....aside from the difficulty seeing, it actually felt fun......

My left shoulder gets achy.....I need to learn to relax again.

Today, I decided I had enough of my recycling taking up space. This is the stuff I save that doesn't go into bins for pickup. The municipality has a recycle yard for a myriad other things.....and just right now, I could kick myself. I knew I was going to the depot......I forgot to take the spent batteries.
So....I tied the bag full of recycleables to my bike and rode over there.

Creative tiedowns....my specialty. Doc can't stand it.

I noticed I was a bit tense on the way there, but not so much on the way back. My jaw was not clenched. My left shoulder still got a bit achy, but I can live with one small improvement at a time.

Oh, yeah....where I parked my bike....blackberry bushes full of plump ripe backberries. Yummmmyyyy.

[Nalian]

I'm glad to read you're able to ride more and more. You should be proud of yourself!