"Paddle On!" Part Four of Florida Keys Trip with CKAPCO

Brian and I went back out, launching from the resort marina. We originally intended to paddle the four miles out to the Alligator Reef Light. We made it about two miles off shore and were in 3 foot swells. They were nice rhythmic rollers but, to be safe we turned back towards shore. With the wind at our backs blowing us back towards shore we made great time surfing towards the south end of the Islamorada Key.

We did a house envy tour. This house belongs to the same people who own the resort we are staying in. It also can be rented. Do you hear my brain ticking? The cogs are turning? A trip with my paddle-buddies brewing? Looky here:

The house has a pool, pool bar and cabana, as well as tennis courts

The house also has an enclosed salt water pool and man-made beach

Leaving the house and island behind we went under the bridge into the Gulf side. The water pushed us under the bridge and into the Gulf with some force. The tides around here are to be respected. Not quite as swift and fierce as the tides in Eastport Maine, but quite worthy of respect, none the less.

We returned to Horseshoe Key. My heart was full of joy at the sight of the birds hovering over the island. It was just Brian and I and we were quiet. The birds were draped heavily from every mangrove. My camera was just about useless but I got a few shots that were okay:

I understand the frigate birds, with their impressive swallow tails and either white heads or black with red throat pouches, are poachers. They steal other birds' catches and eat other birds' young. Still, they were so beautiful to watch. They look like pterodactyls in the sky. Surfing the airwaves and barely flapping their narrow vee-shaped wings.

We ran into this Man O'War on our way back to the bridge. It was being pushed through the opening by the same force that tried to push us back as we (or at least I) paddled hard underneath the bridge.

And then we were back in the marina, one last time

Mike et al had recieved an invite to paddle with the Burnams and Collins on Saturday. I extended my stay at the resort to include Saturday night, as did Brian. No way I was gonna miss that!

Saturday was perfect, perfect temp, perfect clarity, perfect companions. Again, I need a thesaurus.

saddling up

gathering on the water, oh, and a blimp!

First part of our key hopping would be over to these

Frank

a made-made channel through one key

water got a little rougher

Kathy

Kathy and Frank

me trying to get sun on my blindingly white shins

going around Sawyers Key

packing up, calm water

Back at the launch on Blimp Road, not kidding, this paddling vacation came to a sweet end. We rode back to the Collins' house before we turned north, for dinner, packing, a few hours rest before tomorrow's long drive.

Sunday morning, 05:45:

On the road again

I napped an hour twice at rest stops, once at 10:30 am and then again at about 10:30 pm.

Later on facebook I posted "Exactly 21 hours and 1117 miles later, I'm in my driveway. Yay." 

Where to next, boss?

Bluebells on the C & O Canal Towpath

Virginia Bluebells

I had scheduled a much anticipated (by me) bike ride on the C&O Canal Towpath to view the Virginia Bluebell blooms. They only bloom for about two weeks a year and are a lovely sight to behold. So we headed up north last Sunday for the ride and a picnic. I had 5 cyclists on the rsvp list but only Ken showed up. I was not shocked when Ken arrived by bike but I was a tad dismayed that 4 people had blown the event off. First time I have had such a dismal turnout.

The ride started out cold and blustery. Ken, being a bike patrol, had been up and down the towpath very recently and he recommended we start out going north, as we had planned to do. We only considered going the other direction as I was worried the bluebells hadn't popped yet.

Ken pointed out the wild blue phlox as being quite numerous on the trail

There was only a spattering of flowers as we started out. This photo is of the trail behind us going out. The Potomac was on our left for the trip north.

There were a great many of these flowers, name unknown to me

And these! Wow! So pretty and again I don't know their name

Ken and the Lorax preparing our picnic at a "private table" overlooking the Potomac River

Ken, the intrepid bike patroller and picnicker

Spring forward, and I will!

I have climbed the last surgical hump. I put my great fears aside and went for the pelvic organ surgery to deal with the bit of mesh, or suture, that had been causing me such pain and misery for the last year. Today. And now, a week of bed rest more or less, and I will finish PT for my hips and I'm free.

Release me into the world! I'm ready for the spring's muddy trails. (note to self-get new rims on the Tri-Cross) And the rivers all around the DC area are calling me on to the water.

This year I start the year with a full quiver of boats well matched to my needs and abilities: A Wilderness Tsunami 120 for those playful days in the shallow rivers with rocks, and branches; my beloved Current Designs Solstice GTS for those long days on the bigger waters, rivers, bays, sounds, and long point-to-point paddles; and my new Necky Elias, perfect for playing in surf, moving between rocks, and navigating some of the closer waterways in the area.

Each boat has its pros and cons. I have considered selling the Tsunami. I am interested in taking some white water classes this year and could be talked into getting a more appropriate river boat. There's only room for three so the Tsunami would be the logical boat to sell. I am supremely confident in the boat. Its primary stability, large cockpit, and thick poly layup make it practical and practically indestructible. It makes a great loaner for visiting friends and family. It's also the heaviest boat I own pretty much guaranteeing that I can't get it out of the garage by myself. And being a shorter wider boat means I pay a hefty price when out with the big boats.

The Solstice, well, I could sing its praises all day. Its beauty, incredibly fine finish, and very comfy fit make it ideal for me. It's light enough for me to move in and out of the garage by myself and with the help of the Thule Hullivator it's no struggle to load it on the Subie and take off. Its composite glass/kevlar layup has held up very well to 6 months of non-stop paddling. I'm in boat-love. It's also, true to Greenland style, tricky in choppy water with swirling currents. I busted plenty of sweat in Cobscook Bay in Maine last June. I wasn't yet fully familiar with the boat, mostly my own fault. By the end of the paddling season, when the doctor kicked me out of my boats and off my bike, I had come to a sure place with it. My comfort zone had expanded. But much like with my female Aussie pup, I can never fully let my guard down. Or I will find out why "they" say : a sea kayak is a long, thin, elegant paddle-driven boat with a cockpit on the underside.

My Necky Elias, well, just one paddle old is a charming poly boat with a ton of rocker. It will turn with just the paddler's turn of the hips. Its plastic layup is thinner than the Tsunami, but this means it's lighter. Again a boat that I can get to the water without help. There's a lot to like about it. Its down side is simply that on a long paddle, point to point, the rudder is a necessity to reduce fatigue piled on by the need to correct its course. I'm good with that. Not a big issue. I was already used to the Eliza having the exact same characteristics and I got an entire year of paddling, a whole twelve months, before I sold it.

I am not a prayer, I don't have any belief that the universe operates that way. But I am thankful to whatever mechanisms operate this complex bio-physical machine we inhabit. I've been handed some very tough lessons and had my down-and-outs. But I am also lucky, very very lucky. For my lessons, my growth, and my happiness and joy, for this I am grateful. Good night mates, see you on the water soon!

Our club getting ready to clean up a little local lake called Lake Accotink in April 2012. Catching the trash here means less trash flowing into the Potomac. That's me on the far right in the white hat.

A Full Moon paddle on the Potomac near Old Town Alexandria. What a gorgeous night!

Oh yeah, the pleasurable feeling of nearly spring

Mid-February here and I have that spring feeling going on. Wild birds start screaming outside my window in the big cedar tree about 5 am. This leads to a last hour of uneasy sleep punctuated by odd wild life dreams. When I wake up my first thought is either "I need to get new rims" on my 'cross bike or "is it too cold to kayak?"

There are a few hardy souls paddling right now. Some claim to go out daily, or nearly. Hardy fellows. The husband and myself, we feel like it might be necessary to paddle this time of year if we had to leave our island of warmth for supplies or maybe if we were running from suburban zombies. But aside from those two instances, we really don't venture on to the water much this time of year.

We have wet suits, booties, hats, gloves... Not really a lack of equipment, more a lack of desire. Plus, the pros recommend you "swim" your equipment before each paddle. Now, if I bought a dry suit, and I might, then I wouldn't mind venturing into the water before paddling. But I have to say, NAY, I am not interested in soaking my wet suit etc, and then paddling on the windy river for a few hours. Utter lack of interest here.

Oh, and then the self rescue. Essentially, for my equipment to be valid I need to practice rescues in it, under the conditions I would be using it for. Mmmm, hypothermia here I come. Oh so sexy all that shivering. But that's the point. You want to figure out if your kit will prevent hypothermia or not. And whether you can get back into your boat with all that movement-stifling-gear on. I suspect the answer for me would be "NAY."

I'd hate to put the husband on the spot. You know, that place where he's doing the "Hand of God" rescue on me and then towing my unhappy self back to land because I am too shivery (or whatever) to take care of myself. So I will likely not see the water until April or so. Once the water hits 50 I have much more confidence in my wet suit etc. Also, I need less gear overall.

Don't get me wrong, I admire the guys that ARE paddling in the weather. I just know better than to place myself, and potentially others, in a place were I am less than confident.

So this is the place I find myself: I had the second hip surgery. I potentially pushed hip replacement back 10, 20, forever, years. BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE. One of the worst decisions, tearing the hip sockets in January 2012 and putting off seeing a surgeon until August because I didn't want to lose the whole season recovering. Stupid stupid stupid. I caused lingering damage waiting, now have arthritis in the right hip I didn't have before and created all this inflammatory tissue. Dumb.

I figured out as I rehabbed from the left hip, working the still-torn right hip in rehab, that I could be in a better place for the second surgery. And it worked. Now, the second surgery is 9 days post and I am walking normally, no limp no sh*t!!! Yeah, I still have some post-surgical pain and am banned from real biking for the next month at least. But I got my walk back. I am so stunningly happy with the outcome. This surgeon, his whole career is dedicated to hips, he must have amazing job satisfaction. Labral tears and their treatment is a fairly new in medicine. The smart guys think the tears were always there in patients who had hip pain and couldn't walk. But before, they couldn't see them and didn't even know they were there. If cortisone injections didn't help next potential step was hip replacement. Now the specialist goes in laproscopically and cleans up the place. Wow.

So cheers! Spring is around the corner. Rise and stretch, the time for movement and big things is almost here. And I'll be ready.

Wet suits?

Opinions vary. I hear Moulton Avery was wearing two wetsuits layered over each other just a few weekends ago. He prolly knows better than me, eh? I am probably the least willing to paddle in the cold of all the organizers one could ask this question of. But I also pay attention in class and read a lot. I have no lack of equipment. I just don't paddle in the cold much. I prefer cold weather biking myself.

Question via email: Hi Lorax's Wife,
Where would I go to buy a wetsuit in the Northern VA area? Any suggestions? Thanks. Peggy

Answer:
Hi Peggy,

I am CERTAIN that a drysuit would be most appropriate for paddling with the Wash Kayak "Cold Water Crew." It's a good and timely question. But if you are just making sure you are equipped for the spring paddling that will arrive oh-so-soon then I think my advice below is sound.

Check out the different "splash tops" and "dry tops," when looking into wetsuits. I prefer the wetsuit and splash top combo, but some people will prefer the dry top.

Of course REI, at Bailey Crossroads or the one near Fair Lakes will have them. And I love REI, so you can't go wrong there.

However, having done this a few times, here's my advice, since you asked:

You'll need AT LEAST a 3 mil farmer jane and a splash top. You will also need some really good booties and gloves. And the neoprene hoodie/balaclava/noose. You must wear a skirt and be comfortable wet-exiting in it. MUST, there is no valid argument against the skirt UNLESS you aren't comfortable wet-exiting, in which case wait until it's warm and you don't need all this gear to be safe on the water.

Go to REI and try on different suits and combos. Also Potomac Paddlesports in Rockville has a nice selection. Other paddlers will weigh in on their favorite stores and websites.

Because my bottom and my top aren't the same standard size I have found a farmer jane really doesn't work for me. I have one and hate it. Instead, I ordered 3 mil (man) bottoms from Outdoor Play ( http://www.outdoorpla... ) and bought a 4.5 mil jacket when it went on deep discount at REI. This works, and fits me better than the farmer jane. With this, I still wear a splash top over the jacket. Also several years ago I bought a Quick Silver "paddle board" jacket that is neoprene bonded to fleece on the body and thick Lycra material on the arms. This is my go-to jacket in May and June. I pair it with Hydroskin pants. It's a winning late spring/early fall combo. Lastly I have a pair of 3 mil shorts that go all the way to my knees that I can wear with the Hydroskin when water temps are "in between."

Neoprene gives me an itchy reaction on my bare skin. I solve this by always wearing a layer of exercise top/tights between me and the wetsuit.

NRS has their own website as well ( www.nrsweb.com/ ) but Outdoor Play is often cheaper.

Outdoor Play has an awesome selection of booties. Don't forget to order some neoprene socks to go inside the booties. They really add to the warmth and comfort of the booties. My favorite booties are the NRS Caveman, but I can't find them now. However Outdoor Play has a lot of other styles. Whether you are wearing the neoprene socks or not, the booties should be pretty snug but stretchy. Baggy foot gear is wrong on so many levels, but especially bad if you are trying to get out of your boat when you are hanging upside down.

Get some insulated gloves if you are going out now. If you are just gearing up for spring I like the Warmer gloves and wear glove liners with them when it is cooler, and without when it warms up a bit.

Bet you didn't expect a dissertation, did you? :-D



Lorax's Wife

Each good day is a gift

It is brrr cold now. Finally winter. My fitness partner, we are "fit-fatties" together, texted me last night to see if I would bike at 43 degrees and windy. It's a given I will, but not sure if he will. We shall see.

Turns out the new jacket I bought him, a Mountain Hardware something or other, has turned him into a winter rider. I added a fleece neck gaiter as well, to the gift. Why the heck did I not think of this sooner?? Every year when the temp would hit 55, he'd ditch me; opting for football, beer, and sweatpants. Thus, he is the yo yo fitness partner. He's a BIG BIG BIG guy, so he can pack on 40 pounds and make it look like maybe 10.

He's the safest guy one could want to bike with. Therefore I feel a bit vulnerable when riding alone, with out him. He once said, "yeah, why worry about these hyenas when you are running with the lion?" His glory days included high school football championships followed by college rugby championships. He's a beast, and makes me look like a petite little thing. That is until we get up to you and you realize I'm normal sized and the dude is a mountain torturing a cheap hybrid for the sheer pleasure of hearing it scream and creak with every turn of the pedals.

He always teases me because I prefer to ride a bit more nuanced bike. Or, in other words, I do believe I've gotten my thousand bucks out of this 6 year old cyclo-cross bike I bought before they became the "it" thing. It weighs an honest 25 pounds with bags and commuter pedals, and is aluminium with a carbon fork. It's a solid ride. I think I may have finally done one of the rims wrong, but after at least 10,000 miles I can't say they didn't last. Plus, we regularly ride a rutted dirt double track with all kinds of bad things just lying in wait.

So this is what I am looking at: I find out this week if my right hip needs to be cleaned up; and next week I find out if the mesh monster needs to be sliced out, or maybe just needs a bit of a trim. In the meantime I am back to practicing yoga 4 or more times a week, riding at least 3 times, and walking a few miles every day or two with the pups. My right hip hurts, my left hip (which got cleaned up in October) hurts in a different way, and my lower abdomen & pelvic area hurt really bad. Like discomfort is my closet companion these days.

I don't know where I have found the drive to try and regain my fitness. One of the women I know, when I flat out laid down the details of my physical existence, said she couldn't believe I was "just walking around like nothing is wrong." She'd be "curled up in a ball sobbing." Well, shit, you can't do that every day now? Right? If you did, who'd do the laundry and walk the dogs? Who'd clean up dog poop, feed the cats, and punch the time clock? No one, if I don't.

I knew of a woman, a friend of a friend, who worked her damn job and lived alone while she was DYING of cancer. She worked every day until three weeks before she died. I don't want to die now. I want to live. But she, is me, and that's where I found the drive. Necessity, the mother of invention they say. The mother of must-do's, and have-to-haves. My mother, Necessity.

I leave you with this, a recent painting by myself. Proof that I think about paddling, even when I am not on the water: Mattawoman to Leesylvania

OMFG, what other medical horrors are hiding around the corner?

Have you seen those scary lawyer commercials? The dreadful ones that go something like "have you or your loved one been a victim of pelvic surgery using vaginal mesh," aka "been eaten alive by the mesh monster?" I feel distinctly as though I am going to toss my cookies every time I see one. Not only are they creepy ads themselves but I can identify with the "victims."

Every doctor who ever used mesh on a woman's pelvis is probably living under a big dark cloud, waiting for the subpenas to roll in. Ack. I do feel bad for the doctors. My GP/Internal Med doctor said the other day,"yeah, we used to think silicone breast implants were a good idea, too." And medical knowledge marches on.

I do and don't have problems such as those mentioned in the scary ads. I can say that short of dying from the mesh, I won't be likely to join in the frenzy of suing. It's a waste of my time, energy, and good karma. I want to have whatever issues arise repaired and simply move on. I recognize this isn't always possible but that's my plan.

Moving right along, I haven't kayaked recently but generally the Lorax and I put our paddling stuff away in the cold weather. We break out the bikes and hiking stuff and plan other kinds of adventure. I don't live and breathe paddling like some of my club buddies. I like to think of myself as generally well-rounded. (or generally round, one or the other, maybe both.)

So biking, yes! My second and sometimes most favorite activity. I especially love the mud and speed.

The most important thing about biking in the cold is wearing the right amount of layers. Not too hot, not too cold, the Goldilocks middle. Over the years I have found that dedicated bike clothing isn't mostly necessary. Hiking or other athletic stuff translates fine. Wicking really is good, wet sweaty cotton in the cold really can be bad.

In my experience one of the most useful items is: a fleece neck gaiter. If you don't have one and live north of Georgia, get one. They are cheap and ever useful. I usually start any ride below 45 degrees with a gaiter on. I can pull it up on to my chin or all the way over my nose depending on the wind/cold. It also blocks the warm air from escaping from my jacket collar and also keeps my neck itself warm. Above 50 degrees I don't need it. Sometimes I start the ride with it on and pull it off halfway through. It's a small item and easy to stash in a pocket somewhere. It can be used as a hat, ear warmer, bandana, snot rag, no-okay-not the last one, it doesn't absorb snot very well. Anyway, yay for the neck gaiter.

I also own wind pants. Besides my shoes and helmet this is the other piece of "bike costume" that works well, is functional, and kind of necessary. I don't dig tight bike gear (see the round comment above). Looking like a brightly colored Lycra sausage is not appealing. As a matter of fact, the very thought is enough to make me park my bike back in the garage. But the wind pants are a great item. I prefer the REI brand, I have owned two pairs so far over the last 5 years and generally they are superior because a) they are black and b) they are not form fitting; roomy but not baggy, just right. And they do stop the wind. For example it was 34 degrees and had steady 10-15 mph winds yesterday, but with the wind pants and a layer of light weight tights underneath my legs were toasty.

Did I mention wool socks? Those are good too. Again I don't generally own "biking socks," but instead shorter mid-weight wool hiking socks. I dig the Smart Wool ones. Very toasty and durable.

Specifically biking stuff I do own? I have a Bell Metro helmet that has some cool attachments such as a rain/wind cover and ear flaps. During the winter I leave the wind cover on it. I have a pair of older Specialized Tahoe shoes that are one European size bigger than I usually wear, to accommodate the wool socks. And that's about it. Everything else I bike in I can use for some other pursuit, like hiking or paddling. Even the gloves are used for paddling.

So I am recovering nicely from the first hip surgery. I may need a second hip surgery, but I am popping off the physical therapy exercises, eating right, getting exercise, and generally doing well. I know I am doing well when I can bike 10 miles 2 days in a row now. A small achievement but huge in comparison to where I was two months ago. This other problem will be dealt with in due time, and I am not letting it concern me, too much. I am back to practicing yoga 3 to 4 times a week. Between the yoga (critical) and the biking (varied with walking) I think my progress is satisfactory.

The New Year will start in a week and I am ready to put this year behind me. I will be putting my "best foot forward."

I have surprised myself

I am actually glad that I had the labral tear fixed. I have had many days since the surgery where I can mostly walk well. It has been less than thirty days and the benefits of the surgery are obvious. For example: I can get out of my office chair and walk like the biped I am! Before it was an ordeal just to get out of my office chair and navigate the obstacles in my office.

People take this walking shit way too casually. Sure, it's something you do every day and you pay absolutely no mind to it. Until you can't walk, then the shit hits the proverbial fan I say! Yeah, I can see you are impressed. Try not being able to move because it felt like your butt tendons are tied too tight. Say, try that for about a year. Then, magically, some thing loosens said bun strings and voila! you can walk.

Now I am in physical therapy twice a week and the therapist I got this time was a lucky draw. He's great! Say that like Tony the Tiger! He stretches my hips and pelvis out (sounds dirty but it ain't) every visit and has begun adding balancing and strength exercises to my home practice.

At the same time as I was lame, my puppy went lame as well. She is only 14 months old but has barely been able to use her front leg now for 4 months. That's nearly 1/3 of her life. So my limp has nothing on hers. It's all very mysterious, this limp. We found a jagged hole in the third metatarsal of the lame leg. We have run every test possible on this dog, short of anesthetizing her and sending her into the MRI tube. During these four months the foot has occasionally developed an abscess between the affected and adjoining toes. Last week we sedated her, flushed out the abscess and x-rayed the leg again. No real improvement. In desperation, I finally asked my cats's homeopathic vet for a "Hail Mary" remedy. Can't hurt, might help.

The homeopath also asked me to re-evaluate what I am feeding my dogs. She suggested substituting 50% of their commercial diet with real home cooked food. First up, they started getting scrambled eggs and spinach for dinner. This weekend I will be making my first people-edible happy-dog stew. My husband loves beef stew. I myself don't care much for it. The husband says he will eat all of the stew himself before the dogs even get a bite. I am cooking a gallon or more, so he has his work cut out for him.

Soon I will be able to bike and hike again. Soon I will be able to paddle. Soon I hope my Kona Bean will be able to ramble on long walks with me (my favorite!) But for right now I will spend my time reading, crafting, researching, and cooking. It is really no surprise I have gained 15 pounds and she has gained 5. We will lose it together when we are healed. Finger crossed!

Thank (whomever) that's over...

After I begrudgingly gave up on sleep this morning I gave into the temptation to check the news. Ah so. The president remains the president for another term. I voted for the guy. This should be good news but instead I instantly burst into tears. Big giant hysterical sobbing. Very unlike myself I must say. Maybe it was because I never turn the light on so early, never look at my phone, don't want to disturb my morning blind bumbling and stumbling. My real guess is that I am exhausted by all the bad stuff I've been through in the last month and this bitter political battle has just been icing on the cake. Don't know.

I really want to be funny here. But not fake. Life has handed me some real doozies lately. Like I am sitting down with the physical therapist yesterday for evaluation and he demonstrates to me just how weak I am. And all I can say is "yeah I am a mess, but really it's just not that bad," followed by me giving him a cheesy smile. He looks at me blankly. Hhmmm, maybe it's worse than I thought? I tend to make fun of myself a lot. I learned this backwards defense in school. It's real hard to make fun of the knock-kneed "albino" with the skinny red braids and crazy freckles when she just joins in. The embarrassment factor is totally lacking.

So let's see...oh yeah...I run this kayaking/adventure club, through which I have gained the reputation of "a safety nazi, an elitist pig, a kind instructor to beginners, a paddler so slow others have to wait, a speed demon who leaves others behind, a gear head"...

Last night, though, I added a good one to it. We have a regular monthly happy hour. A married couple known to many came up in conversation and I admitted I did not think they like myself and the husband. Why not? I think "they got the mistaken impression we are tea-baggers," this causes an instant silence all around me. I grope for the correct phrase but unfortunately, mostly due to the Lorax and my son using the similar but incorrect term, I can't think of the correct term. Some one suggests "you don't mean Tea Partiers do you?" YES!! That's it! How unfortunate! Now I am a tea-bagging slow/fast elitist pig safety-nazi gear head! Man, that's a mouth full. Also, it makes the bed really really crowded and knots the sheets up like crazy.

Bet I never make a friend through that club again.

Apparently I suck at life

If I have one more thing go wrong with this hoopdy of a body I am going to lose my sh*t, no joke. But, lucky for me, Bike Snob NYC (credit Bike Snob NYC) came to the rescue with this inspirational photo:

Hopefully the Bike Snob won't come after me for using his photo. But if he does it will just be another reason to off myself.

This demotivational photo succinctly states how I am feeling about life right now. As the cortisone injection is wearing off, the tear in my left hip has begun to haunt my nights again, I tripped over a purposefully placed obstacle in my office and stress-fractured my right ankle, and whatever the heck is going on with my girlie parts three years post massive horrible surgery is just getting worse, not better.

This morning, as my husband was freaking out over his own health crisis, I briefly wondered if I have enough pills to do myself in. It was a very brief thought. Personally, I'd rather go out getting hit by a Mack truck. While texting. On my bike. Those things can be hard to arrange though; so, for the time being, I will have to continue with my miserable existence. 

I miss my bike and my kayak. The paddling season is drawing to a close while I am trapped in my house and yard watching the leaves fall. The mud season has started, my favorite time of year to bike. I heart the cool, misty weather and rooster tails of mud, stripes up my back, no fenders here sir. My 'cross bike is made for this stuff.

I have been passing the time looking at bike porn on the inter-webs. I guess I am dreaming of a new semi-custom steel framed bike that puts me in a more upright position than my road bike. I put a 45 degree rise stem and had a fitting done on my 'cross bike 10 months ago to achieve this sort of configuration. It worked for that bike but the street bike, no. It would be sacrilegious to Frankenstein my street bike. I use sacrilegious fairly loosely, as my religious views or really lack thereof, do not include bikes.

Sadly, my Ruby Pro is just languishing on my indoor trainer, where I take it out for "spins" whenever my hip allows. It's probably not the world's most expensive trainer bike, but in my world it sure is. What a waste. I need to sell the thing to someone who is going to take it out for real rides and doesn't mind that carbon has a scary high fail rate.

Now that I am well and truly broken and have important body parts, like my spine, held together by plates and screws, I find I am less willing to take risks. Yup, call me Ms Fuddy-Duddy. Soon I will be riding some kind of steel framed cruiser with the big bull horn handle bars and a basket. 

Oh yeah, I need a straw hat to go with my granny glasses and cruiser bike. Screw the helmet. If I get a head injury at this point who cares? I sure as sh*t don't.

Fall is almost here

I love the fall, my favorite time of years. Sweaters and pashminas, mmm. I also like gearing up for cold water paddles. The trees from the water are so lovely, and the air so crisp. The water becomes more challenging. The choking water weeds die back too, allowing us to paddle back into the marshlands. Love, heart, fall paddling.

But then, we haven't paddled the last two weekends, we got caught up in real life.

I am not biking right now either. My hip is killing me. The orthopedic surgeon says I need surgery for a labral tear. It is certainly painful but I am not ready to go under the knife again. At this rate, if I let them keep cutting away the malfunctioning parts I will be missing a quarter of my body in 10 years.

So I am seeing a chiropractor instead. I was really dreading the first visit. When I see them on tv cracking and popping joints, I cringe. That stuff isn't good for your joints long term. Don't let anyone tell you different.

This fellow came highly recommended so I took the plunge and went. First visit he sounded like he didn't even want my case. This wasn't a surprise, I am a medical disaster, I get it. Second visit, and I was pleasantly surprised. So far so good. He wants me to change my diet, no problem. I'd cut anything out if it will help.

He said to give it a month. If he can't help me feel more comfortable in a month, then he can't help me. Sounds reasonable. I hate to be hopeful, but am.

The Lorax is tired...

He announced the other day that he "is done with Meetup." He says he will still paddle with me, hike with me, but he is tired of the newbies that show up on our paddles. During the winter he was tired of the young and out of shape hikers that showed up on our hikes. This is the "thing" about Meetup.

If you don't know about Meetup, go find out; especially if you are bored, bike or paddle alone, and wish you had some one to go with. Meetup isn't about dating, or at least it wasn't designed that way. It is about going out in the real world and doing "stuff" with others.

So I have a Meetup group, I am the Organizer, the website is paid for by me and I design most of the outings. This is my third year organizing. I don't mind the newbies at all. Generally, they pay attention and don't show up on tough stuff they shouldn't have gone on in the first place. But once every 3rd or 4th event, we will get someone who didn't read the description all the way, or who just didn't care.

I get that it is a pain in the neck to have to shepherd slow paddlers or hikers. I, myself, have been guilty of showing up on another group's bike ride and been over-matched by the hilly terrain; unprepared. The thing about that ride was there were a few other cyclists who were over baked as well so we were the "red lantern" at the tail end of 40 riders. While I shared my shame with several others, I lived, they lived, the Organizer didn't strangle us because there'd be too many bodies to hide.

My last two events went off great. My friend Kat came out and the three of us paddled the wildlife reserves off Leesylvania State Park two weekends ago. The water was a choppy and filled with big, slapping waves. We had gusts of wind as well. She is a very skilled paddler, and we had a wonderful paddle back in the fingers of marsh land edging the Potomac:

And then Kat, who owns the orange boat in the back ground tried out my boat, in the fore ground:

Mine and Kat's boats on the beach at Leesylvania

   
She didn't enjoy it. The cockpit fits her great but the boat is a tricksy little vixen. My last  sea           kayak, a Necky Eliza, I call my "dragon boat" because it always seemed like she was ready to bite me. It challenged me to rise to a new level as a paddler. I learned to control the boat with my hips and pay much more attention to my body language. I dearly love that boat but its tight cockpit puts pressure on my (old fart) legs, so sadly will part with it soon. I am having a really hard time letting it go. It handles nicely in chop and big water as well as paddling smoothly and tracking cleanly through calm quiet water as well.


  

credit: Kat 2012

Last weekend we paddled the Potomac above the city (WDC). We put in at Algonkian Regional Park. We had paddled past this park numerous times but never put in there before. The boat ramp is wide and shallow, although concrete, which can be tough on boat bottoms. The river is quite filled with non-native flora at this time of year.

We spotted bald eagles, great blue herons, and snowy egrets a plenty. It was a peaceful paddle and we stopped on a pebble beach on an island that has primitive camping spots on it. I snapped the above pic while leaving the island to show the trail through the "sea grass."

We had a brand new paddler show up on his "maiden voyage" with his new boat. This is a good location for a new paddler as the flora keeps the power boats to nearly none and the river is wide and flat here. We all enjoyed ourselves.

So the husband doesn't like Meetup. I still do. Now, if he would just make some outrageous proclamation about it, the whole thing will turn funny. Funny is where it's at!

Evolving thoughts on my biking life

I, ok, I am a cyclist. Not a "real cyclist." Just a cyclist. I own more than one bike and I love to ride, just love the heck out of it. The wind and speed, scenery from the ride whizzing by, the ability to ride where I can't drive. And the speed, did I mention the speed? It feels so much faster than a ride in the car. Cars insulate me from the environment. Riding a bike puts me IN the environment. O yay!

So a few years ago I bought my first real road bike. I bought into the hype and purchased a carbon framed Specialized Ruby, a bike marketed not for racers but for the rest of us. The bike is fast and amazingly light, maybe too light. It feels like it could blow away in a 15 mile an hour breeze. Maybe it could. It certainly feels like it is going to fly out from underneath me when I catch a cross wind. And it is not a comfortable ride. It soaks up vibrations well but puts a lot of pressure on my hands and neck. I really hurt after riding it but kept at it thinking I would just get used to it.

The other "thing" about it is how careful I feel like I have to be with it. Once, when I crashed slow-mo in a cross walk I was so worried about the bike that as I fell I rolled on to my back and held the bike off the ground. I crashed because my new clip-less pedals were too tight and I couldn't get my foot out. I held the bike off the pavement by the same too-tight pedals. Not the bike's fault, of course. Here it is all shiny and new; note the handle bars are lower than the seat:

I can take my other bike, my main ride, off road with no fear. It's also a Specialized, Tri-Cross Sport, an aluminum-framed carbon-forked mile eating tough muddy machine. I have liked/loved this bike since my bottom first landed in the seat. I remember showing up for a trail ride with my buddy for the first time and him saying "you can't ride that skinny tire bike here." And a different time my bike was leaning against a tree while I practiced some yoga poses far enough away to maybe not seem associated with the bike. A couple of older fellows on "mountain bikes" rode up, dismounted and they both stared at my muddy machine. The one says to the other "I'd never ride those skinny tires here." The other fellow agreed.

And yet I could, and did, and have put at least 10,000 miles on it. Many, most, of those miles were on rutted dirt trails. Deep mud is not my friend, nor baby head sized rocks, but mostly this bike works great for what I do. Here it is, relatively clean before a 40 miles C & O Canal Tow Path ride:

It's not really pretty, and certainly not fancy, but every scratch and scuff shows how much I've ridden it. So here are the two ends of my bike spectrum. Carbon/light/have a care and Metal/tough/devil may care!

I broke my neck last year. Crushed the 6th vertebrae into a pyramid and ruptured the disc above and below it. No great story to go with it, just moderate embarrassment involving a light, a cat, and my bed. I have predictably had some health set backs since. Especially in the biking department. I took my Tri-Cross in early this year for a professional fitting to try and make it more comfortable. Between a stem change and some tweeks it is a bit more comfy now. But the Ruby, I don't think I want to go changing enough of the bike to make it comfortable. It is a pure machine, why adulterate it?

Recently I picked up "Just Ride" by Grant Petersen. I am struggling to get in just a few rides a week, the health thing and pain make it hard. So I constantly consider how I can get back to my biking life. So I get the guy's book, read it, and just feel dumb. Dumb, like, why didn't I understand that carbon was so fragile? (lack of research, listening to bike salesman, and did I mention Bicycling Magazine?) Why didn't I realize that my race-inspired Ruby was uncomfortable before I broke my neck? Why aren't reliable steel bikes available in my LBS (local bike store)? And should I change my carbon fork out for a steel fork on my Tri-Cross?

There is no bike guru sitting around taking bike questions from dummies such as myself. Any time I walk into my old LBS and ask probing questions I am met with a sneer. I moved and have a new LBS. They mostly don't sneer at me. But I still have the lingering embarrassment of being a grom or whatever they call the uninitiated. And they sell carbon bikes, so they won't diss carbon. I don't even know who would give me a straight answer. Do I order a steel fork, and from which manufacturer? Will my carbon bike sit on my trainer forever because that's the only place it's comfortable to ride? I know only I can answer these questions. And that I am whining. I know, get over it.