acidfast7

Had to walk in today :/

I forgot that I had left bicycle at the train station as I was in Oxford last week signing a £1.1M deal for the research group.

A really nice bank holiday weekend full with celebratory garden parties!

beachball42

Didn't get to ride at all last week so rode this morning. Might have some severe thunderstorms this afternoon to work my way around on the ride home but it felt good to be on the bike this morning. Temps around 70 degrees, not to humid and saw quite a few more people out and about at 6 am than I have been, I didn't see any other bike riders like I normally will on such a nice morning.

RidingMatthew

I was off yesterday for Memorial Day. We also had pros racing in town this weekend. I watched the ladies race on the computer in the morning then my son and I went downtown to see what was going on. We saw the PRO men's race, velodrome racing, rode in a bike rodeo and many other things.

I am so proud of my son! He was riding his new geared bike around town. We got passed (safely) on a road and the driver gave me a thumbs up. After the race was over we were heading back to the car and he climbed this hill where all the team cars and teams were hanging out and they were like wow and smiling and thumbs up! Made me so proud.

a few pictures


the velodrome race from above



urban renewal




exploring downtown with my son




coming in fast for the finish.


Finally, Honor Memorial Day! Freedom does not come without a price. We may sometimes take for granted the many liberties we enjoy in America, but they have all been earned through the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many of the members of our armed forces. Charlie Dent

arsprod 

Well if I have to go back to work after long weekend it helps that it was a beautiful Spring morning - 71F, sunny, little bit of wind.

acidfast7

Very nice photos.

Could do without the political discussion next time though.

pdlamb

I think last week marked the first time since last October we haven't had rain at least once in a week. That was very nice. Now can we have some rain to cool things off?

As you might have guessed from that intro, it was toasty this morning; upper 70s with about 70% humidity. Roads were pleasantly under-populated for a Tuesday because of the holiday and school's out. As long as I could find some trees to shade the street everything was nice, but the 3 of the last 4 miles were un-shaded. I think the water tank up on the hill equilibrated to 85 degrees over the long weekend, so the shower at work was warmer than I'd have liked. Talk about a first world problem!

Darth Lefty 

That little velodrome looks terrifying to ride

RidingMatthew

I talked to a guy who rode in it before and he said it would make you dizzy.

Tundra_Man 

That was my first thought as well. It sure looks small!

acidfast7

Very

robertorolfo

I've been in the exact same situation a few times. I have a set of "good" lights that I put on whatever bike I'm using, but also keep a set of cheap spares in case I forget the good ones, or the batteries die. The spares are a couple of those free lights they give away sometimes, that I got at the exit of the 59th street bridge (I thought it was funny that they enthusiastically put the free lights on my bike, despite the fact that it already had a good pair of lights mounted and turned on, but gift horse...)

As dinky as those free lights are, they are still WAY better than nothing.

Nothing political about what he wrote, but nice try...

acidfast7

Sorry man, but please don't address me in that manner, as the comment wasn't directed at you.

As an aside, the photos are great, especially that mini-velodrome.

robertorolfo

Nobody addressed you in any manner. Leave your nonsense out of here.

The only political message was your sad attempt at labeling his message as such.

pdlamb

The first block of my commute took 35 minutes.

I neglected chain measurement for too long, and it started skipping on me yesterday. So when I got home, I replace the chain and went in to supper. Bad move. No test ride. This morning I fixed most of the problems left over, one at a time, and trashed any notion I might have had that I'm a master mechanic. (Ultimately competent, perhaps, but not commercially viable.)

The rest of the ride took a little over 40 minutes, covered 10 miles, and calmed me down. The last mile I enjoyed the phoebe's calls, the meadowlarks singing in the meadows, and the two bluebird families that have fledged from the ~5 year old Eagle Scout bluebird box project.

Wolfhaven

Over the weekend I swapped out my 2.6 tires for 2.35 big apples and what a difference on the pavement. Was a little nervous on the hilly 6 mile gravel stretch but they worked just fine. Warmest morning ride of the year with a balmy 48. Was able to leave the jacket and warm gloves behind. The swans are still on the nest but it can't be much longer.

Tundra_Man 

Welcome back to the week five edition of the Tundra_Man heart surgery newsletter. I'm hoping this week's episode is a little shorter, as I continue my recovery and slowly return back to normal life, whatever "normal" is.

The first bit of good news is the reduction in one of my blood pressure medications seemed to do the trick to fix the issues I was having a couple weeks ago. Since the change I haven't had any incidents with my blood pressure dropping down to unreadable levels, and even better no fainting. They wanted my at-rest systolic (first number in a blood pressure reading) to be under 120, and for the most part it's been hovering around 115. During exercise it's been raising up to between 130 and 140, which is normal when you're working hard. Post-exercise, which is where I'd been having the problems, it now temporarily dips to around 95. 95 is on the low side of normal, but I'm still feeling OK so I can live with that. 95 definitely feels better than 65.

The pain has diminished from last week. As the doctor suspected, my increased pain levels I was feeling were most likely due to pulling an already stressed chest muscle a bit too much. This week it is markedly better. My incision area is also starting to feel better. Previously if I were to press on the scar (or lean against something with my chest) it hurt quite a bit. Now it's down to a noticeable, but mild discomfort. So that's encouraging because the incision seemed to be visually healing quite well, but the pain hadn't changed much from surgery day all the way until this week. Plus the cat seems to have radar and always manages to put a paw right on the scar, and now it just makes me wince instead of cry. The sneeze count is up to 14, and still hurts but is no longer the traumatic event it originally was.

Cardiac rehab has been going well. I've gotten to know some of the other patients in my class so I no longer feel like the "freak in the corner." I still am the freak in the corner, I just don't feel like it. Since my surgery date I've walked 104 miles. This last week was again lighter than I wanted mostly due to weather.

My blood thickness has now been in range for three consecutive appointments, so I'm hoping that's getting dialed in. If Friday's check turns out to be in range then I get to graduate to two-week intervals between pokes. Last weekend I had an altercation with the serrated edge on a tape gun and noticed that I now bleed for a few minutes on a cut that I probably wouldn't have seen any blood before I was on blood thinners. So that's one of the obvious things I'm going to have to get used to going forward. In the "living with blood thinners" video they showed me back when I was in the hospital they emphasized being careful to avoid cutting or bumping yourself. Ummm... it's obvious whoever made that video doesn't know me. Might as well tell an ostrich to be more graceful.

My target date to return to work is Monday June 10th. The surgeon's office said I could return now "if you really need to" but strongly encouraged me to take the time if I could. Some days I feel like I could easily go back to work, but I still have other days where I peter out after a few hours of activity and need a nap. I decided as much as I like getting paid, I'm going to hold off for another week and a half and try to recover a bit more before re-entering the work force. The 10th will be six weeks since I was discharged from the hospital and all activity restrictions will be lifted, so I won't have to worry about accidentally doing something to damage my sternum or incisions. Plus, until the 10th I still have a lot of appointments at the hospital so I'd be constantly leaving. After the 10th my hospital visits should significantly diminish in quantity, which will be nice. Not that I don't like the people at the hospital, but I've been there so much this last month that it's starting to feel like a second home.

So that's pretty much all there is to report on the recovery front. With all the rain Lake Tundra is still thriving behind my garage, but so far hasn't attracted pelicans so that's a good sign.

acidfast7

Please take a significant amount of time off, if you can financially afford to. No need to rush back.

We were at the hospital for 8 days pre-birth and then 6 days post-birth in the NICU when our daughter was born and ****, was it boring after a while. The staff and facilities were great (as was the food.)

Now, we really enjoy life with the little one. Decided to take a last-minute holiday to the Irish countryside starting tomorrow, just to get some more time with her away from work and everything else.

locolobo13 

Was going to drive to a park and ride then ride into work. Closing the tailgate after putting the bike in this happened. The tailgate wouldn't open with the glasses there.

Drove into work with my spare glasses. Then googled how to unjam the tailgate. The glasses were bent not broken. I was lucky.

Went for a ride after work.

essiemyra

The commute in this morning was uneventful yet pleasant. There is plenty of road construction where I rode today. In a few months I will be riding smooth road.

arsprod 

And it's raining again. I'm getting tired of being wet all the time

pdlamb

The thermometer is still in the upper 70s, but a nice south wind kept me so cool I won't even complain about the headwind. Long route again today as I wait for the road destruction to turn into (completed) road construction, like @essiemyra.

Wolfhaven

Woke up to 46 degrees so it was knee and wrist warmers and a wool bike hat. Light overcast with the sun trying to get through. First noticed it as a faint red ball which slowly grew brighter. Had to stop and adjust the front derailleur after losing my top chain ring. The swan is still sitting on the nest. Can't be too much longer. Winds will be off the lake this afternoon so temps will be in the low 50's when I start home. Probably be near 70 once I get away from the lake.

wphamilton

Yesterday morning, one of the less frequent Greenway users. She was real still, maybe laying eggs? If so, it's in sand built up from recent floods only about a foot from the path. I hope they stay OK until they're ready to hatch.

Coincidentally I rode by a small turtle at the edge of the street today and I went back to check on it. Unfortunately it had already died - I imagine from dehydration in the near 100° temperature and direct sunlight, unable to climb the curb.

noglider 

Yesterday evening, I headed out to the coop where I volunteer once a week. It was raining hard. I asked myself if I'm crazy. I answered that I am. But going by subway and not going didn't seem like good ideas. The ride was not unpleasant, though it's a shame that rain makes it so hard to see. I generally felt safe enough. I think I've achieved another level of toughness to weather lately.

At the coop, I was comfortable enough for a while, but then I had had enough of being wet and cold. I brought a change of clothes and intelligently put them in plastic bags in my backpack. I did a complete change, including socks. Oh, so nice.

The rain had stopped by the time I went back home, though the streets were wet. I got a little wet.

I laundered everything today, including my gloves and hat.

I'm still unemployed after a long time with no job to commute to.

robertorolfo

No fenders?

I got caught in the rain both Tuesday night and last night. I had my wet weather bike, and the fenders did a fine job, but I agree with your statement about visibility. It's also scary when you have no idea how big the holes are underneath the surface of the puddles, and there were puddles everywhere. Was glad I put on those wider tires last week. Was not happy to be putting gloves on once again, and vented my frustration by yelling, "It's May 29th!" out loud a few times. Nobody seems to pay any attention to yelling like that, and it's pretty therapeutic.

And yes, changing out of wet clothes you have been wearing for a while into dry clothes is one of life's little pleasures.

Hope you find someplace to commute to sooner rather than later.