Another Restart To Posting

Been a long time gone!  But I just started another blog to track my photography habit that has also re-started.  So, seems not right to ignore this one that started me in blogging many years ago now. 

Also, maybe if I start posting about ridn, I will start to ride more.  It worked this morning.  We have t experienced a lot of varying weather this May.  The first half was nasty, cold, windy and cloudy.  We couldn't wait for spring to kick in.  Before that was to happen we got about 8 inches of wet snow and a deeper blast of cold and wind.  However, in not too many days, we went right to summer.  Upper 60's dew points, high 80's with high humidity, had me scrambling to get the AC's installed.

After the heat left, a cool air mass came in to take over.  This morning it was in the 40's.  By the time I got on the bike it was just breaking 60.  But the drier air after a big rainstorm was crisp and clean.

I have not been riding much since I had to stop spinning this winter.  In part because Kind Cycling's owner/operator, Rachael, had to shut it down for the COVID measures.  I did do some at home in the basement, but it was hard to get motivated.  I did do one good hour-long, hard session, but afterwards I felt not that great.  In fact, I was having trouble breathing, had a dry cough, body aches in various places and ran a fever.  Symptoms often associated with the COVID virus.  I didn't get tested or go to the hospital, although I thought at times I should.  I just waited it out and did breathing exercises and rested a lot.  Last thing I wanted to do was spin or ride.  Besides the weather in March and April was horrendous.  


Finally I woke up one morning and knew it was on its way out.  As I felt better and better I started doing more activity.  But again, the weather was very depressing and I wanted to take it slow coming back.  Eventually, I went to have an Antibody Test, but it came back non-positive.  So, I probably had another virus.  Doing work in the yard and walking the dogs further and further, I built up some stamina and felt like I was getting some fitness back.  Donna and I did a loop around Summit Lake on the mountain bikes that went well.  Alix, Donna and I did a out-and back on Coach Road on the rode bikes that was also a good check on my fitness.  Two days ago the three of us met at Alix's and we rode the Luther Forest Trails, which was loads of fun.  And today I did a loop around Cossayuna Lake.  So far so good.  

Being open is a state of mind.  With the lock-down, feeling crappy, lousy weather, bad news all over the world, imposed limitations on our ability to freely move about, it is easy to get bogged down.  We continue to have restrictions on commerce and other interactions, but if we let our spirit and our minds get locked down, shut down, limited, we lose everything.  I want to keep RIDN and Posting and will do my best to make that happen.  

Still Ridn After All These Years!

Well, it's been a few years since I have even looked at this blog, and lots has happened.  However, the title remains a true statement.

Last post was October 4, 2014.  Ironically, one year to the day after that post I had the first signs of Cardiac Artery Disease (CAD) that would require Cardiac Artery By-Pass Graft (CABG) surgery a month and a half later.

I will describe the surgery in more detail later, but suffice to say, I am fully recovered and still riding road and mountain bike and snowboard.  I even added a ride: a BMW F700GS motorcycle to the stable.  Also a new road bike was purchased in August, 2012, but I did not write about it.  Both my Parlee Z5 and the BMW are amazing machines that I feel very fortunate to be able to enjoy on our amazing roads.

Another go at posting?

IPad Air with Zagg keyboard may make it possible for me to resurect this blog?

Time will tell.

Rides are going well as I have found a way to keep the heart ticking normally (I think).  Havee hooked up with Bruce and Art for some impromptu and MHCC club rides.  Been slowly pushing it harder and so far so good.  Tour of Batteenkill new route may go right past our house and new start / finish at Washington County Fairgrounds is very tempting, as these are all MY TURF.

Hiking has gone very well too.  Did Giant, Iraquis, Boundry and Alqonquin, along with several lesser than High peaks with Donna, Kevin and cousin Andrea among others.

Fall so far has been dry and warm.  Today marks the end of the drought with an all day rain and a fire in the woodstove.  Donna's mother and sister are visiting tonight.  Alix has been home for several weeks and will remain a feew more before heading to North Carolina, which may be a winter riding destination in the near future!

What happened to 2012?

Had some free time today waiting for Donna to get treated at the ER at Glens Falls Hospital. A cornea abrasion from a sharp pointy object that greeted her in the morning. So, using my iPhone in the waiting area I opened up Blogger and did some posts. Later in the day I was editing and started reading some. Good to revisit the past and reflect. I noticed the gaps, and one really big one, like the whole of 2012. So, filling some gaps and adding keywords and pictures is now a goal, along with, keeping up with ongoing entries.

2012 - an attempt at recalling events with some accuracy!

shoulder dominates

On December 23, 2011, nearly one year to the day out from my BTKR surgery I went for my second snowboard session at Killington. The first and second days were great. I was bending and carving and compressing and it was fantastic to be riding again on new legs. I stopped for a break at 2 but decided to walk over to the Superstar chair for a few more runs. As I put down the board and lifted my one leg to get into the binding, the other boot skidded out from under me sliding on sugar snow over hard ice. I went down with all my weight on the right shoulder. Instant blinding pain shot into my brain and any attempt to move my arm resulted in the same. I was down for awhile and people were checking on me. Finally I made it back to the car. I was in trouble. Had to drive home without moving my right arm. I stubbornly refused to get X-rays or treatment hoping it would get better with rest, ice and ibuprofen. Finally I went to Donato and he couldn't do a thing. I waited until after I completed a  Conference I was in charge of at work, but then got into a surgeon for MRI. Bad news. Complete tears of 3 of 4 rotator cuff tendons, plus bicep tendon was totally torn out of the insertion of the humorous. OS this time was young and confident. He did a great job with my surgery on February 23, 2012. Needless to say my riding activities from late December 2011 to now were non existent. Now it's rehab and recovery time again. 

It would be mid May before I could do much riding. Even stationary bike put pressure on the recovering shoulder. I did 2x per week PT plus every other day at home PT to get the shoulder back.  By mid June I could ride the road bike pretty well but lacked endurance. It was hard to keep weight down but I did through controlling intake not burning calories. The last week of June we had a family vacation in Puerto Rico and I was bound and determined to not be fat AND to ride a surf board. 

My knees were doing well but I did have some scar tissue in my right knee that was keeping me from correctly firing muscles in that leg when standing and pedaling up hills. It was very frustrating.  I had goals on the bike of completing the a couple of Century Rides in September: the club century and a MS Century which included a climb up Notch Road to the summit of Greylock. 

The week in PR WAS FANTASTIC! No riding but lots of time in the water, salt water. SNORKLING, body surfing and walking plus resting and relaxing were great. Lisa, Alix and Donna and I had lots if fun exploring the countryside as well. Our day on the surfboard was fantastic. Beautifully formed , small waves were perfect for learning. We all got standing pretty quickly. It was as much as a rush as I thought it would be, confirming why I did not take up the sport earlier: I would be a total surf bum!!  

The time my leg spent in salt water, plus the abrasion of the board on my knee resulted in the scar tissue coming up to the surface of the skin. Eventually I was able to remove it!!  My shoulder took a setback from the paddling, but that would recover. The big deal was that now my right knee was not short circuiting the leg muscles and they fired correctly I discovered on my first ride when we returned. 

The Century rides were completed. Not just completed but done to total satisfaction as I was able to train well so I could ride well and finish strong. The two of the most enjoyable 100 milers of my life.   The club ride was in great weather and I joined up with a younger group. I was able to drop them and was joined by Bruce who was out there looking for me. The MS ride is one i long wanted to do for a customer whose wife suffers from the disease. Terry, Caleb and I rode together and that was special as I got them stated in cycling and now they excel at it. They had to slow so I could stay with them, but my goal was to not have that be too slow and it was not. 

Killington Payoff. Mid November 2012 to mid April 2013.

After two years of investing in Killington Express Cards and not getting to use them more than twice each year, 2012/13 provides a return on the investment. 

Total knee replacements one year and shoulder repair the next wiped out my snowboarding. This season the weather and my body cooperated. Lots of snow early and deep into spring allowed me to get rides into late April. I could have done more but I needed to train for the Battenkill so cut it off. The final day was fantastic top to bottom K1 over to Cascade and Lower East Fall and Canyon. Chute and mouse trap were also good ways down. 

So, for the season, the Killington riding along with the Tahoe Trip and a day at Stowe with Jon T that was on fresh Ten Inches of powder, riding snowboard was best yet.

 Pretty sweet after two disappointing seasons. 

Reno Rides. March 3&4, 2013

Tale of two experiences. 

Northstar. Solo, wet, trees.   

Heavenly. With two friends. Bluebird. Fresh pow. 

Northstar. Started off morning at McD and almost called it off. Fifty degrees and pouring rain. Decided to make the drive up at least. Listened to a radio doc talk about heart issues with diet and exercise - foreshadowing?  Kept going despite no change in conditions. Parked car and got dressed and on the shuttle bus. About half way up the gondola from the village to the base rain turned to large globs of snow. Up the first lift and snow was coming down hard and wet. First run on front side EXCELLENT.  Deep carveable snow that wasn't too sluggish. Did several runs over by the black diamond chutes before moving to the backside. BACKSIDE!!!  Better than the last time I was there. No people, steep black runs, great deep floaty but heavy snow. Third time down I decided to venture into the trees. Best tree experience I have ever had!! Got into the groove of not thinking about turns just picking lines through the trees. Dropped off an eight foot ledge onto a crossover which scared me at first but excited me after!  Legs finally gave in before I was ready to, but needed to save something for Heavenly tomorrow. Changed and dried off at car. Drove down to Truckee and had a spinach avocado omelette.

Heavenly. Yesterday's wet snow on the north side of Tahoe turned out to be a powder dump on the south side. Met up with Ian and Bennet and dropped my car at the airport. Another McD breakfast on drive down. Never been on this side of the lake and marveled at the scenery. Long wait to get first gondola up out of the village. At mid-station, walk to second lift at altitude took its toll. Elevation yielded powder but took lots of oxygen out of the air. We spread ourselves all over the place on each side of the state line so wound up doing lots of traversing instead of shreading. Mostly blues too which is what happens when ridin with others so enjoyed the benefits, which were lots of laughs and shared experiences. After a lunch break I got my board locked but not unlocked. After getting them cut free joined up with the guys again. Ian's legs were done so just Bennet and I for the rest of the day. We ventured up to the 10k peak and did some blacks and trees. As the sun got lower the powder froze up, but we did find areas where it stayed soft. Another great day on the board. 

Hard to return and attend conference for next three days.  Killington would have lots to live up to now. And turns out it did and then some!

Up and Ridn

Back was pretty well healed soon after Donato visit, so riding resumed when work and traveling allowed.

At least 5 to 7 high quality stationary bike rides in the cellar help to keep the heart, lungs and muscles from wasting away too badly during the time since my last post.  Traveling to Minnesota and Arizona one week and Austin, TX another week certainly put a cramp on the quantity of workouts.  I did manage to bring the Sufferfest videos on my IPad so got some of those in at motels.

Have been to Killington three times since the last post so it is shaping up to be a good year on the board.  Conditions have been good, with lots of loose snow on top of hard pack.  Weather has not been too cold.  Last Sunday was a challenge to see in the fog, but good practice to adjust by feel.  Got a couple more snowshoe hikes up Murdock Mtn in the backyard as well.

Will be leaving this Saturday for a conference in Reno, but arriving a couple of days ahead of it to snowboard at Northstar and Heavenly.  Should be a good time! 

Temporary SetBACK

Cold, really COLD temperatures dominate and a setBACK occurs.

Single digits were to be heading our way and the wood supply on the back porch was getting to be minimal. No worries, while Donna was away Sunday I would cut up a stack of firewood we had for the old outdoor wood furnace. I have to take each split log and cut it in half, then haul them by wheel barrel to the back porch and dump them to be taken up and stacked later. Each wheel barrel load represents a full day of heat for the house on a really cold day.

I started off well, but soon my right lower lumbar and tight IT band where barking. Ignoring the pain and pushing through is often my downfall when it comes to my body. I wanted to complete at least the one stack, which turned out to be 12 wheel barrels, or 12 really cold days, worth. I pressed on as the pain got worse. Having had this before and recovered I was not too worried.

As it turns out I did not recover well. A trip to Donato was needed along with a forced period of inactivity that is why I am writing in the blog instead of riding the snowboard this Sunday. As a side benefit the inactivity allowed me to buy and play with my new iPad mini which is a great way to post now, so I may be more apt to keep posting now.

Hopefully I will soon be BACK to riding snow or bikes soon as this morning the back is feeling much better. Enough that i am very tempted to ride or hike something today since the sun is shinning and it has warmed up to 11 degrees!

Snow Comes and Goes and Comes Again.

January can offer a very varied menu for ridn.  January road rides during "thaws", ice biking when frozen, basement Cyclops sessions, and snowboarding.  Recently added another entree: snowshoeing.

Basement riding on the Cyclops was / is a challenge of the mind more than the body.  I tried to create some excitement enticement to get more done in winter training.  I bought some videos from SufferFest which are very good at making you work hard and have fun following real race footage.  The intervals that result are excellent for getting the most out of the stationary trainer.  I used to just do an hour playlist and did hills and time trials according to the song.  This is better.  I tried to make the basement more comfortable, but not having the outdoor wood furnace heating it down there, it became colder - 50's and lower on really cold days.  

I have not even put the studded tires on the mountain bike yet.  Instead I tried Donna's snowshoes and really liked it!  One walk was on about 14 inches of fresh snow and the sun was out and the air in the teens.  It was great!  I walked to the top of Murdock Mtn in our backyard - about 3 or 4 miles of breaking trail was a great workout and I loved the fact that you can float over all the rough terrain.  A week later I did the same track and it was just as much fun.  As a result, I bought a pair of my own, so now Donna and I can go together.  Since then the snow has melted off.  Before it was all gone, but with enough to still enjoy we hiked on regular shoes with the dogs across the street.  Another great walk in the woods, which by the way, would have been totally impossivble without my NEW KNEES.

A road ride at lunch on Monday with the temperature in the low 50's and sun out was great fun and I got to see if the intervals were helping.  They are because I hit a MAX heart rate of 172 going up and over Coregy Hill, which is an elevation of my max HR from 160's.  I need to keep going down stairs and doing the intervals.  

Snowboarding is so much fun!  I did a couple of Killington days early in the year when the terrain was limited.  Also, did a night ride with Alix, Scott, Donna at West Mountain on New Years Eve.  These were fun, but not full out blasts of snowboarding bliss.  Last Wednesday I had a business meeting in Rutland, VT.  It snowed all day and it drove me nuts knowing how good it was just a few miles away.  So, the next day I did some work early, did a conference call and quickly packed the gear and took off for Killington.  I got there at 11 and had a blast covering west to east, Ramshead to Bear.  Cruise Control was a flat out twisty bomb for 1.4 miles that I did four times in a row towards the end.  Conditions were great for carving and playing on the edges in the 6 inches of powder that accumulated there.  I tracked the day with both my Garmin bike computer in my pocket and a new App for the iPhone, so I have the stats, and can "relive" the runs on Google Earth, which is pretty cool.  

Today Donna and I will do something outside, but at this time in the morning, I don't know which entree will be chosen!

January Lunch Ride

Sun came out and a long absence from road riding was broken.

Felt great to be out on the road. Took the Cannondale due to sloppy roads and enjoyed the ride. Any time you have ice fisherman as spectators and you are not freezing, it's a great ride.

iPhone app for blogging

May resurrect RuppRidn !

We shall see.

Took this great sunrise photo on rt 11 at Broomley on way over to Mile Barrets.

Cycling to Snowboarding - 19 hours in November

Cycling to Snowboarding in November. Not often is it warm enough for the former, or snowy and cold enough for the later. My knees are healing up just in time to enjoy the great weather of November 2011! At just over 10 months old, the knees are stiff, but not swelling much these days and activity now seems to loosen and strengthen my knew joints.

Early snow melted off in the lower lying lands, but stayed put up high on Killington. Snow making was possible so they have a 24 inch base to work with. Killington has committed to early skiing and riding by creating a way to get to the high peak and then download on the gondola over the yet to be conditioned lower slopes. The catch is you have to climb up a set of stairs to get back to the Gondola from the top of North Ridge triple. The other catch is there is only one chair for all the riders and skiers, and really just one trail work going on - Rime. So, it can get crowded. Today, mid-week they had a special for $29 because they started the Gondola late (11 am) due to some construction. This worked out great for me. I got some work done early and got up there for the first run at 11:30. By 2:30 my legs were sore anyway, so I came down and signed up for the Express Card and the $29 went towards that.

The knees were only a minor bother on sharp, hard turns and balance and strength were ok too. Lines were very short as mid week didn' catch too many people able to get away. On the weekend this arrangement will cause 45 minute line waits and Rime will be crowded. Not today! On top of that it was a blue bird cloudless 40-degree day!

Yesterday I got home from a meeting in Albany around 3:30 and went for nice road ride around Cassyunna and up to Christie road - 23 miles. Felt better riding than I have in a long time. The mountain biking must be helping.

It is great to get back to doing all I want to do and not having any knee pain.Photos

Snow Clears; Mountain Biking Ensues

Nearly all of the 4 to 6 inches of wet, heavy snow melted away as the temperature nearly got to 50 degrees.  We walked the dogs around the block.  Later after lunch and a short nap and getting some paper work done, Donna took the dogs for a run and I donned the biking gear and mounted my trusty Epic.

Didn't know what I would find in the woods, but was willing to find out as the knees feel really good today.  I had raked off leaves in one section on Friday, so started off there.  I soon was riding all the trails and they were in great shape.  The leaves were packed down by the snow and the snow was gone for the most part.  Even where there was snow, it was easily smushed down and ridable.  I did everything we have including up behind Rick's pond and over to the new park.  Then rode on the road - down Brennan extension, out Coach to Randle's than back and up 47, back in the woods all the way back to the chicken coop.  Donna was just returning.

A great 2 hour jaunt in the clear blue sky with white on fall colored leaves.

October Hiking

Rooster Comb, Hurricane Mountain and Fish Hawk Cliffs / Indian Head Overlooks of Lower Ausable Lake Photos

Legs still feeling the tightness around the new bionic joints.  The generalized swelling of the leg is a thing of the past now.  What I have now is internal swelling that stiffens the knee some, but not taking away flexibility, just creating a pull sensation as the knee is flexed.

I was stuck in a hotel room and decided that the stiffness was on the wane after a weekend of hiking, so got on the treadmill and did two miles at a 10 minute pace, expecting the worse in "steps backward."  To my surprise I felt looser in the knees in the following days than I have in a long time.  Puzzling to say the least.  Did I get the scar tissue to break loose?  Don't know, but will file that away for future use.  I did however, get the expected soemness in the other areas of the body, especially the hip flexors and lower back.  Just the thing to do to yourself before a three-day weekend of hiking in the Adirondacks with Donna!

Well the hiking went very well; it loosened the hp and back area and did not tighten the knees until the last day.  After Donna got the animals settled in, we set off up the northway to Keene Valley and got on the trail to Hurricane Mountain at 1:30 pm.  So, a 4 to 5 hour hike up 2000' got underway.  Doing calculations as we started the steep climb right from Tr 9N trail head, I figured we would be in the dark the last hour at best.  After the first climb we got to a beaver dam pond that flooded the trail and had to go around.  We had difficulty getting back the trail on the other side, so decided to abandon the hike and go back.  We saw another trail head just up the road on the way in, so looked it up.  Baxter Mountain was a short 2 mile in / 2 mile out and 1000' of up, so that is what we did.  It was a nice walk with great views right down into Keene Valley - we could see our B+B!

Saturday after a great breakfast we got an earlier start (10 am!) and headed back to Hurricane, but this time from the northern route.  It was about the same distance, 3 miles in / out and 2000' and most of the hike in was right up a stream bed, so very challenging rocky path.  When we made it to the top we were rewarded with spectacular views of 42 of the 46 high peaks, 360 degrees of mountains and even a great view of a long section of Lake Champlain.  I can see why the put a fire tour on top.  There was one other couple that we criss-crossed, but that was it.  Cold on top, with ice froming in the puddles and the wind was not bad, especially as the high winds often found on top are how it got its name.  We decended and had lunch in town at the ADK Cafe - great food.

Our legs were certainly feeling the effort, but we did not want to waste Sunday, especially as the weather got even better and was supposed to deteriorate by late afternoon.  We decided to head up to the cliffs overlooking Lower Ausable Lake - Fish Hawk and Indian Head.  We had to park right off Rt. 73 and then hike the private road into Ausable Club.  Then up the dirt road that parallels Ausable River until we hit the path that follows Gill Brook until we take a right and climb up to the first cliff,  The falls and flumes of Ausable and Gill Brook were amazing.  The view up the Lake from Fish Hawk were unreal, also we were looking directly across to Sawtooth, Pyramid and Gothics.  We ate lunch with 1000 foot of air between us and the lake below.  The short but steep hike over to Indian Head was well worth it too as now we could see up to Hurricane and down onto the dam below.  The trails to the dam and along Ausable and out were just as pretty as the other trails.  We finally got back on the private road and out - about 8 or 9 miles all together.  My knees were tight and I developed a blister, but otherwise was in good shape.  Shower at the Noon Mark Diner and then headed home in the rain that started as soon as we got back to the B+B for the shower!

It took the full week for my knees to lossen up and this morning we went for a hike around the block in the fresh 6 inches of snow that arrived overnight.

Weekend of Activity Without Overdoing It

After recovering from the strain of doing the home trails with some good activity (swimming and elliptical), I didn't want to do the weekend warrior thing and put my self back for the upcoming week.  So, on Saturday, a windy, cool day I took to the home trails with a rake instead of a bike.  After walking the dogs on the trials, I stayed out and raked off about 75% of my trail system.  I would have stayed out longer, and probably too long to not do too much, had it not been for the cold front squall that attacked me after about 2 hours of raking at 4 pm.  The wind started howling and the rain driving, even with some mixed in hail.  I stayed in the woods for awhile enjoying the protection derived by the trees.  The branches and limbs coming down had me alarmed enough to start towards the house.  By the time I got there I was glad I started in when I did.  I looked for the chickens in the coop and only conted four.  The other four apparently were under the coop.  All in all, a good workout that was later felt more in the shoulder that the legs.

On Sunday we got some lumber to build raised beds and then Donna decided to go for a run with the dogs.  I had in mind riding the trails I had raked the day before, but definately wanted to take it easier than the last time.  So, I rode on the mountain bike while Donna ran with the dogs - just about 3 miles which was a nice warm-up.  Then I took to the freshly raked trails and stayed to where I had raked.  Felt good before, during and after.  Hopefully that will hold true tomorrow.

Steps Backward Needed to Go Forward?

The mountainbiking on home trails did take a toll.  After the road ride my knees got swollen and stiff for quite a few days.  I was getting depressed and discouraged about getting ready for snowboarding.  After some days of rest I had an opportunity to do some swimming and hot tub therapy at a conference in Chicago.  What a difference that made!  I followed that up with a workout on an Elliptical, and felt great.  Better than before the mountain biking!  More flexibility, more strength, no swelling.  So, the big question: is it necessary to strain the soft tissues in order to make progress, or would the progress have been made without taking the backwards steps?  It is nearly a mute point, as I have proven over and over again, I will always push to and beyond the limits and then recover and see what is next.

Traffic Jam in Argyle and 12 Dead Snakes Ride

As anticipated, my mountain biking last Monday put some strain on my knees, especially the right one.  So, some backwards steps were taken.  By Friday I was getting somewhat better, and the week's activity of standing and delivering at our meeting was not leaving me ready for some early Saturday activity.  So, a nap and chores around the house until 2 pm, then I forced my self to go for a ride.  Not another go at the trails, but a nice easy road ride to try to loosen the legs up and get some aerobic activity.

I set out to do about 30 miles where there would be no serious climbs, so I set out heading down County Route 47 to our little hamlet of Argyle,  I was greeted by more cars and people than I have ever seen in our little town.  Turns out it was Garage Sale day and everyone and their cousin Lou was out trying to score a good buy on some crap.  It took me forever to get through the little village, something that would normally take just a few minutes.  Once out on West Road, the ride became a pleasure.  The day was clear, windless and sunny 75 degrees - a rarity to be treasured.

My stamina has really taken a nose dive since mid-summer.  But, even though I was huffing and puffing up the hills, I did enjoy the great roads we have.  I found a loop that met my goals and started counting dead garter snakes as they were encountered at a regular interval.  Must be they were trying to soak up some warmth before taking on the winter.

The legs felt the work and rewarded me with some muscle soreness towards the end so I knew I did something.  I think through this process of straining on the mountain bike and now that the swelling has gone down, I have some more flexibility - which is the goal.  Feels good to have been on a ride.  Tomorrow is supposed to be just as nice, so I will see how I feel in the morning.

Back Yard Mountain Biking

We only have 5 acres of land, but we try to get the most from it.  Since it is woods on hard pan there is not much agriculture that can get done.  The lawn can hardly get a foot hold.  Donna had me build some raised beds and with those and the front yeard flower trough, we raise some potatoes and veggies.  No, the thing we can do with the land is make really great mountain bike trails.  Yes, we do spill over into the neighbors' property, but we do have their permission.  My frist attempts resulted in nearly trial-difficult paths.  But over time I have gotten them at a difficult, but not too difficult level.  With the legs in recovery, however, I have been reluctant to really have a go at them.  And, coupled with the wet weather making them extra hard from the slippery rocks and roots, I have yet to ride them this year.  Tonight that sad streak came to an end!  Yes, they were slippery.  Yes, they put a strain on my quad tendon and patella tendon.  But I was ready.  It was great to get in the short but anaerobic workout that doing the home trails provides.  Over the summer Donna got into doing some trail building herself so she could walk with Harry over to the neighbor's mowed yard that is not used for anything else without taking him on the dirt road which bothers his sore foot.  I made a winding, narrow, edge-hanging trail off of her main trail and was anxious to try it.  All went well and I did a ride around our block to just cool off and enjoy the sunset at the end.  I like this riding because it takes little preparation and you stay close to home while getting a great workout for the mind, legs and lungs.

Nine Months Without Knees

My nine month anniversary for getting rid of my old arthritic knees and replacing them with new metal and plastic ones just past on 9/28/11.  The first 3 months were not easy, but I knew it was going to be well worth the effort even early on.  Today, I have no knee pain because I have no knees and I am nearly 100% in terms of flexibility and discomfort when bending.  Strength and stamina still need some work, but that will come with time.

For the first 3 months I had to recover from the surgery, work on getting Range of Motion (ROM) and get all of the ligaments, tendons and muscles used to the new straightened legs that I now have.  I didn't realize how bow-legged I had become as the old knees wore away on the outside faster than on the outside.   To accomplish this I used water therapy at the Saratoga YMCA, active release chiropractic massage from Keith Donato and home exercise on the indoor cycle trainer and total gym.  I went back to work full time at 2 months and it was too early as I was still swelling up and very tired easily.  A constant challenge was overdoing exercises which caused swelling and reduced flexibility or ROM.  At this point I was up to 125 degrees of flex in ROM as long as I was not swollen.  But I was still getting the swelling with very little activity so had to take it slower than I wanted.  Three steps forward, two steps back at best.

A milestone came on 4/7/11 when I took my first road ride around Cassyunna Lake.  It was the first time outdoors on the road bike.  Even though I had gone on the mountain bike with Donna running 3 to 5 miles several times, this was different.  I was alone, it was on the road bike that requires more balance and control, it was 20 miles and I had to complete it without overdoing it and taking too many steps backwards.  The ride was a huge mental boost for me.  The freedom of being able to use my new legs to take myself on this ride was a true thrill and feeling of accomplishment.  It was the start of making this ordeal truly worth while.    I was further pleased in that the ride and the few that I did in the next few weeks did not cause any great swelling as I was limiting my enthusiasm and forcing myself to go slow and stay to 20 miles.  However, I was causing some pains up in my shoulder and down through my legs.  I decided I needed to get a new fit on the bike because my legs are significantly different now.  At the 5 month anniversary (5/28/11) I went to FitWerks in Vermont and got new shoes, seat post and handlebars and an adjustment to the bike.  Subsequent rides felt much better as my new straight legs now were being worked properly.  At this point my only issue was endurance, strength and stamina that were lacking from lack of riding.  But, I was returning to the riding I wanted to do with the new knees!

Returning to the level of cycling was one goal that was now being accomplished with enough time to build back strength.  The other and main goal was to be able to walk, hike and even climb mountains without pain.  Dog walks with Donna around the block (about 2 miles) were now very much a pleasure and not a pain.  We did some longer walks - up to 5 miles that again were not painful, but did make me very tired and I needed time to recoup the strength.  At the end of April I went to AZ for a Dairy Conference and took the opportunity to do a desert hike and mountain climb with Terry, Russ and others that I work with.  The hike was easily accomplished, but the last part of the climb, a scramble up  Vulture Peak, was a challenge do to the high degree of flex needed to get up and over rocks and gaps.  I was not sure it was wise and may have been taking too many steps backwards, but I had to to do it and was glad I did make it to the top.  The next day I did a hike into Sedonna with Barry and still felt great.  However, on the return back I was getting a little stiff and did take a fall that resulted in a shoulder injury.  That injury was to be compounded a few weeks later by getting rear ended several times in a go cart which took a toll on my neck.  So, the legs continued to improve, allowing me to do some hiking and climbing, but my neck and shoulders now needed attention.

With time and therapy from Donato and rest these other challenges became overcome and today I find myself enjoying hiking and climbing in the Adirondacks with Donna and the dogs when we can get the free time.  We have done Buck, Hopkins and Rooster Comb, and all without significant leg, shoulder or neck pain during or after.  We also did a week of mountain biking in the Northeast Kingdom with Alex, which was the highlight of the summer.  Cycling has taken a bit of a back seat as I  am enjoying the hiking and climbing, and that has held back my endurance and strength on the bike, but that is ok.  I am now looking forward to completing all of the physical goals I had set out with for my new legs - snowboarding.  I have started doing the exercises needed to build quads and increase ROM even more.  I am over 150 degrees now and can nearly rest my butt on my heals in a deep knee bend.  More to come on that as winter sets it!

One Month Post Surgery

12/28/2010 I had both knees replaced with Zimmer NextGen Patient Specific Implants.  The surgery was mechanically no problem - they were done with me in less than two hours.  My last memory pre-surgery was the nurse sinking the plunger on the syringe on my IV as I was getting the spinal.  Next thing I knew I was laying in a bed with legs that had 23 and 30 staples in them.  I am glad I missed out on the cutting, drilling, sawing, screwing and pounding my bones and soft tissues endured during those 2 hours.  However, even though I was not aware of all that trauma, my legs were, and they reacted by swelling up like crazy.


I stayed at St Peter's in Albany for 3 days and then I was transported by ambulance to Sunnyview Hospital in Schenectady for in-patient Physical Therapy.  I weighed 179 before surgery.  At admittance to Sunnyview I weighed 197 pounds - all the fluid retention!  The stay at St. Peter's is a blur of a memory - I had a morphine pump that I could activated every 20 minutes to control the pain.  However, one of the other drugs in that mix caused me to have an allergic reaction and my blood pressure dropped to 76/50 and I had to get two units of blood.  Once they had my blood pressure up, they sent me to Sunnyview.


The first couple of days at Sunnyview were rough as we struggled to get the pain meds right.  After the third day I was more able to be comfortable and started to enjoy the PT.  Lori, my PT, liked my aggressiveness and we pushed pretty hard at getting the knees to flex and extend.  By the 5th day I was able to move around the room with a walker; then rapidly was released to walk with a cane around the halls.  One of the memories I will take with me from my stay there was seeing some of the children in the brain and spinal injury area - very sobering and emotional to see what some families have to cope with.


I was released after 7 days at Sunnyview and the ride home with Donna and Alix was in a snow storm.  It took awhile to get the pain med Rx filled, but we finally got home - it took a toll on me.  I needed the cane to get around and was on heavy narcotics the first two weeks.  As the bone and surgical pain waned, I was able to back off on the narcs and start using just ibuprofen. However, I caught a cold  (from the PT the first day of out-patient PT, I think).  So my third week was ruined by the weakness I had from fighting the cold and getting my legs to heal.  Energetically each leg is burning 1000 calories a day, just to repair and heal.  Fighting the cold was then added to that.  I now weigh about 170, so have lost about 9 pounds from pre-surgery weight, which is not what I wanted.  I slept a lot.  I did make it to PT, but was really wiped out all other times.  As it turns out, that may have been a good thing because when I felt good I overdid things and then had to recover. 

This week, the cold is over and I felt fantastic on Tuesday.  I  drove for the first time to PT.  So at PT I really overdid it and paid the price on Wednesday.  On Thursday, I learned the lesson and backed off, so today I feel really good.  The soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments) all need to adjust to my new knees and the new alignment of my legs.  IT band tightness, muscle soreness, and the start of Plantar faciatis in my left foot are now challenges.  These will be overcome and I really feel I am making progress physically and mentally now.  I am able to walk freely around the house and today I fixed the vacuum system and vacuumed the house. 

Donna has been saddled with all the work of blowing snow during these storms and keeping up with stoking the outside wood furnace, at the same time working her job and taking care of the chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits, oh yeah and me.