June rides, summer begins

[Crankin]

Glad I decided to check in while on vacation. You have my empathy, NWG. Everyone is so right, about developing other interests. I have never had a serious crash (just minor ones), but I have had illness where I had to change my attitude about riding. I spent a whole summer riding to farm stands and doing easy rides. In fact, I have changed a lot of my attitude toward riding; it can’t always be about longer and faster. Try some meditation; you can use the CALM app for free, if you don’t already.
Emily, you know Pamela Blalock? She is from my area, though she lives in western MA now. She rides with many people I know, including my friend Jack, whom I often mention. Small world!
Chicago is awesome. We did a bike tour just after arriving. I dislike riding city type bikes with those high bars; don’t mind flat bars, but these, plus flat pedals were enough for me to feel scared to death in the beginning, when we were in real city traffic. DH and I were elected to be sweeps, as experienced riders, so I kept it to myself. But, we saw stuff we would have never seen.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, you know Pamela Blalock? She is from my area, though she lives in western MA now. She rides with many people I know, including my friend Jack, whom I often mention. Small world!

I don't believe I ever met her. My husband knew her from work at Northern Telecom in RTP (NC) before I started working there. It's possible that some of our time there overlapped, in the '80s, but we were in different departments, and I don't know when she left -- I worked there for many years. She doesn't look familiar to me, but her name certainly was, as she was legendary for her cycling skills, even when back here in NC!

Glad you are having a lovely time in Chicago!

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Crankin. Not that first crash I've had and (shudder) probably not the last, but this one was the closest call, by far. One thing for sure, I have a lot of time on my hand to think about what I'll do this summer.

Yeah, Chicago is an interesting place. While it is definitely not my kind of place, I regard my seven years there as well-spent. Loved the diversity of cultures and all the things to do. Lots of great bicycling if you know where to go and a strong bike community, too. For sure, you WILL learn now to deal with aggressive drivers.

Interesting weather - again - for us. We're getting pounded with heavy rain and thunderstorms and back into the 90s for temps. Have flash flood warnings out for the entire weekend. Did my daily one mile walk, yesterday (I've set one mile as my goal, for now) on my bike trails. More flooded sections than I've ever seen and it's going to get worse. Should have worn waders. Caught myself trying to decide what fat bike to use on them. Of course, I'm still thinking of the trails in terms of my bicycling. Probably be safer, for the time being, to get out and do my walking on the pavement (if it ever stops raining).

My husband and I go out for breakfast at our favorite family restaurant every Sunday morning. Debating whether I should do that, tomorrow. My face still looks awful - not so swollen, now, but mostly black and blue and scabby. I look awful. Keep thinking it would be kind of rude for me to go out in public, right now. Don't want to spoil anyone's meal. It's Father's Day, though, so I don't want him to miss it. Did I mention how important it is to have a partner in your life when you go though something like this? I am so blessed.

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Sheila. All things considered, pretty good. The source of pain has been the severe neck strain and that's gradually diminishing each day as the muscles ease up. They put me on heavy pain meds, but I really hate those things, so I keep use to a minimum. The neck brace is a matter of learning how to deal with all those little things, now that I can't bend or twist my neck or reach for anything above my head. My spirits are good, though. Still kind of overwhelmed with gratitude it wasn't worse. That will never change. As for trying to figure out what I will do with my summer, well, that's just another challenge and I eat those for breakfast. I'm fine.

[Crankin]

You have a great attitude, NWG. I wouldn’t be taking the pain meds, either.
We are on our last leg of our trip, sitting in our hotel lobby, waiting for an early dinner and then to the airport. This morning, we ate breakfast at a great healthy food place by the hotel, as the hotel breakfast, though free, really was horrible. Then we checked out and stored our luggage and went off to meet a friend from my childhood. I saw her 5 years ago to the day, at a reunion for the first time in 40 years. I was friends with her, really in elementary school, not even right before I moved in gr 10. We had a great visit, at a lovely hotel outdoor patio.
We were going to go to the contemporary art museum because of the heat, but it was really breezy and didn’t feel that bad, so we walked to an outdoor art festival. Of course, it got hotter and some of the walk was not shady, and we have sandals on. A mistake, but ice cream for lunch helped. Then we walked to Navy Pier and back to the hotel.
Have an hour to go until dinner. We probably won’t get home until 1:30 am, but we can sleep tomorrow.
We walked 20 miles and rode 7 in 3 days.

[emily_in_nc]

So glad you are still able to take walks, NWG! When I fractured my jaw, I couldn't even take walks for awhile, as it caused the jaw to move about (painful). Once I got it wired shut, I could take short walks, and that was a blessing. I know what you mean about imagining riding on various trails/roads, though; something I always do. I enjoy hiking, but it isn't quite the same as riding, is it?

I also empathize with your not being sure about going out in public. I looked pretty horrific for awhile with my swollen face and then terrible bruising, so I pretty much hid inside our RV for awhile until I looked more human. When my face started looking a little better, I wrapped a scarf around my horribly bruised neck and just went for it. I am sure some people noticed, but ultimately, you have to live your life.

This was me, with most of the worst swelling down (still some remaining), but with horrible bruising that caused lots of nasty colors in my neck a couple of weeks after my crash. Pretty scary, but if I dressed appropriately, it didn't show too terribly much. I also switched to much smaller band-aids for my cuts when we went out in public. I had a stitch under my nose and one on my chin.



I really do feel for you! This is not a fun time, but keep remembering "this too shall pass". It takes awhile, but things will get better. (Me now, for a comparison):

[north woods gal]

Cranking, that is a lot of walking! Sounds like you're having fun. Made it down to Navy Pier a time or two, myself.

Emily, yes, that is very similar to how I look right now, except it's confined to the left side of my face, mostly, and concentrated around my eyes and forehead. I'll need to buy foundation by the gallon if I expect to cover it all. Thanks for sharing the pic. It helps give me courage.

Rain and storms, today, so only got in a half mile of walking before another storm cut it short. Did walk at high speed, though, to beat the storm back to the house. My walking was out on the road, though, and Star was not a happy camper for being left behind. Just can't risk putting her on a leash and having her make a sudden lunge. She's very welcome behaved on a leash, but still ... Will take her for a walk on the trails, tomorrow.

On a positive note and one more bike related, I am thrilled that my husband insists that he continue his daily road ride around the neighborhood for the sake of exercise, even if he has to ride without me, for now. His fat bike needs some work and tuning, but I can't bend over to do that kind of work, right now, so we'll have to take it in to the shop. He is addicted to that fat bike of his and I'm good with that. Rides it on the road, year round. Fat bikes are as safe and stable as a bicycle can get, not to mention super comfortable.