Fulfilling the Daily Goal

I've just returned from a bike ride around the neighborhood. I logged another seven miles which covers my daily goal for today. I plan to go out later and add some more mileage. I don't want to fall behind in my goal to get to 1,000 miles by Labor Day.

It's a nice morning, perfect for getting out on a ride while it's still cool enough to enjoy the surroundings. I actually took notice of some houses I've never really paid attention to before. There are lots of really interesting houses around this neighborhood. Nice yards, weird locations and then the ones who have just given up on their yards.

I don't think I could do that. I'm far too concerned about what people think of me to ever let my yard go to hell like some of these. They clearly just don't give a shit.

I should point out that my yard is far from a showcase. but it is mowed and mostly green-ish.

The funny thing is that my two side yards, which nobody really sees, are in great shape. Green, lush and nice looking.

Okay, stand by and let's see if I get back out there and add some more miles.

11:12PM: I managed to get a few more miles on the bike. I need 207 more miles to make my goal. I'm pretty confident I can do it.

Bicycle Mileage Goal Update

I’m happy to report that I am mostly recovered from my bicycle mishap one month ago. It kind of slowed me down in my goal to get 1000 miles on my bike by Labor Day. I now have 36 days before my goal date and I have 263 miles to go. That means I need to ride 7.3 miles every one of those 36 days. Of course, if I ride more than 7.3 miles, that just helps lower the daily total.

So, I’m going to be riding some bike over the next month.

I’ve been doing a bunch of little projects around the house so t hat is also keeping me busy. Susan is doing a lot of prep work for painting. If you want more specific update, check out the house blog at www.my-life-as-a-house.blogspot .com.

Three Week Fall Report

It’s been three weeks since my incident on the bike. As of Wednesday, I can finally go down the stairs without any pain. I’m still kind of stiff in the knee and my ankle, which initially didn’t have any trauma, is my most painful joint right now.

I have been out riding a little. There was a period where I couldn’t ride. I couldn’t complete a full peddle cycle. That only lasted a couple of days. I can now ride with hardly any pain. Which is great because today is Susan’s birthday and I got her a new e-bike. It’s the same brand as mine but a slightly smaller model.

Knee Update

It's been two weeks since the falling incident on my bike. I finally was able to get back out on it today. It was a little painful but nothing that kept me from enjoying the ride.

Today is the first day I didn't have to bandage up my knee. It's finally looking almost normal. My leg is still a rainbow of ever-changing colors.

Anyway, I can now resume my attempt to get to one thousand miles on my odometer by Labor Day.

By the way, today I managed to weigh in at 200.8 pounds. At this point, I'm calling my weight loss program complete. I think I'll be able to maintain my weight in this region. I guess we will all find out together.

Transformation

On Monday, a landscaping company we hired started work on our west side yard. This yard has dissolved into a disaster over the years and we have had enough.

Here's how it looked on Monday Morning.

Here's how it looks on Wednesday evening.

I have lots more pictures.

Needless to say, we are thrilled. Poorer, but thrilled.

Now I just have to keep it watered and not lose it.

First Fall

In the previous post, I reported that when the nurse comes this Thursday to change the dressing on my PICC line, I will have to announce that I've fallen twice this past week.

The previous post described my second fall. I am here now to report on my first fall.

It was last Thursday, July 2nd, and I was out in the yard working around Shawn and Alex, who were working on our new deck.

Right now, it's just a frame. They are doing the final prep work before laying the decking.

I was working across the frame towards the Carriage House door when I lost a step. There was nothing there for me catch myself, so I fell. Shawn rushed over to me and helped up. Before I could really get my balance, I fell again, this time, really tangling myself in the framework.

No damage to me other than my pride.

Bum Knee

I have just returned from an evening bike ride that didn't go well.

After dinner, I decided to go out on a little ride since I had not yet been out on the bike today. I traveled up the Post Street hill, diverting off to the side road and across the top of the bluff over to Division. 

When I'm on the bike, I sometimes like to slalom. That is to say, I will pick opposing spots on the street to turn toward, thereby weaving back and forth across the street. The spot can be anything. A dot of oil, a leaf, a manhole cover. 

One of my favorite things to do is the go through a wide-open parking lot and do a really tight 360-degree turn. I like the feeling of tilting way over and holding a turn.

At the top of the Division Street hill, there is a little mini mall with a coin shop and a decorative clock on top of the building. I traversed through their parking lot. At that point, I decided to do a tight turn. I tilted way over and the turn did not hold. 

The asphalt in the parking lot was really quite slippery. My front wheel went out from under me and I went down.

My damaged pride is matched by my road rash. The main issue is my left knee. I have a good scrape, and it has swollen impressively.

Here's a photo of my right knee for comparison.

So, as I said, my pride is sullied and I'm off the bike for a few days, which is the most distressing aspect of this whole fiasco. That, and I have to report a fall to my infusion nurse this week. Two falls actually, but that's another story.