Merry Christmas 2013

It's Christmas time in the city...Portland, OR.
Also time for an update.

I'm back in the saddle.  Did a 200k #1401 Beaverton-Hagg Lk-Carlton with Dieter, a week ago.  The bike friday was more comfortable than the Buzz on my elbow, so that was a pleasant surprize.  Occasionally needed to flex the elbow, to alleviate some twinge on the outside of the joint.  I got behind on nutrition and the hills got my medial quads to cramp up,  at least begin to, so I needed to be careful. Out of the hills and with a mocha and other foods in me, I did much better in performance and speed.

our overall time was 11:20, though officially, it'll be longer.

Looking ahead for an R2 in San Diego, to take advantage of the nicer weather.  There's one that starts where we're staying and goes up the coast to San Clemente and back.

Listing items to take, and repairs to make to the BF.  One casualty of that ride was the front fender, about 6 miles into it, got broken when I rolled over a fallen branch.  The rear derailleur cable is hard to downshift, so may just replace it outright, or lube the cable and housing.

October 2013 update

I'm still alive to enjoy the beautiful sunny weather we are enjoying.  Particularly true after a wet stormy weekend , including a power outage during the memorial for my dearly departed mother.  Fortunately, the company was good, the food and wine were plentiful, so we made the best of it, just as mom would have done.

On the day after Labor Day, I was participating in the BTA's Bike Commute Challenge, and had taken my longest approach ride to get to work.  Once on campus, I made the right turn to go through the speed bumps, and my front wheel slipped, and I was on the ground.  It had rained the night before, but the Tarmac was just damp,  there were no leaves, save one.

end result is I was seen by Dr Defletsen, and the x-rays showed two fractures of the olecrenon, on the proximal end of the Ulna.  One was clean through and the other closer to the end went diagonal from the end, about half way through.

Three weeks later, the gap in the two pieces of the Ulna wasn't getting smaller, so proceeded to an ORIF to place a piece of titanium "plumber's tape" and screw the three segments to that titanium rod.
Now, a long incision with 17 staples. Hope to get them out tomorrow.

It does mean an end to this quest for an R12.

Update on 7th October. The staples came out, steri strips on, and should last about 5 days.  I can take the splint off when I'm setting still, and can and did take a shower, oh boy.  Got my flu shot at work. After getting home, figured out the new stretching routine. Now icing it through the compression tubing they gave to eliminate the remaining swelling.

Update for mid July 2013

Cycling: done with R4, R5, R6, and R7 as well as STP 11.

Home: done with north fence
           led to where to put the soil dispaced by posts and retaining wall stones.
           & create 4 planter boxes to replace the rear lawn

Process of lawn removal

• dig up grass
• separate the dirt from the thatch
• return dirt to inside of the juniper wooden frames
• recycle the thatch
• in between and around the raised frames,  first cover with weed blocking fabric
• then, cover with enough pea gravel to be level with its surroundings
• add some broken concrete from craigslist listings to make walking on the gravel easier

Likely March of 2013

Now over 1/3rd way to an R12,with a second running of the Beaverton-Hagg Lk-Carlton-Beaverton 200km.

Making progress on the fence on north side of property, as our new neighbor tore out the wild arbor vitea that had been there too long.   All but the two fence posts are in, the two end ones.  Gates at the front end, and a replacement post over the existing metal post in the rear corner.