Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Back on the exercise bike

So about a month ago I was at home and had some time before a woodturning lesson. I decided that I need some footage of my bike to put into my videos. I thought some video of the chain going around the sprocket, the tires, breaks, pedals that kind of stock footage would be good. I mounted the video camera on a stick and went for a ride around the neighborhood. I was on the other street and either hit a rock or just lost my balance. (I am going with the rock) and down I went. I got some road rash on my knee, elbow and hand. My bike and the video camera were fine. I rushed home to get cleaned up and proceeded to teach my lesson about halfway through the lesson I reached for a tool and my shoulder hurt. When I finished up the lesson I went in and made a doctors appt. He recommended physical therapy. The tendon in my knee has been bothering me as well. So we are working on the knee and shoulder. I have been doing the pt for a few weeks now. Last weekend I did the Tour de Cure. We rode 129 miles over 2 days. So Monday morning I go in and the first thing they do is put me on the exercise bike. I was like "Really you want me to ride? I just spent all weekend on a bike. My butt is still sore." Anyway I did 2 miles on the bike and could fell it in my legs. The good news is my knee is feeling much better, now if I can just improve my shoulder I will be very happy.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Tour De cure Bike ride


This weekend we did the Tour de Cure bike ride to benefit Diabetes. It was a very nice weekend. On Saturday we rode 68 miles and Sunday we did 60 miles. The ride Saturday was through rural Florida lots of farmland. It was a nice side of Florida we don't often see. We rode south all the way into Crescent Beach and then turned north to St. Augustine. The tour put on a dinner Saturday complete with a band. Tami and I had dinner and then went for a walk on the beach. After the beach we decided to go for a swim in the pool. I slept good Saturday night and Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then walked over to the starting area. They had a bike check area where we picked up our bikes. Then we were off for 60 more miles. The tour had rest stops set up with snacks and food at each one. We had 3 bridges to cross including the bridge of Lions in St. Augustine. The police had blocked the traffic to the bridge so we were able to just ride across in the roadway. After St. Augustine we headed north on A1A up to Ponte Vedra. Then we turned west and headed into Nocotee. There we crossed over the Intercoastal Waterway Bridge. This was the biggest bridge. It is a chore to ride up this bridge but I hit 34mph on the way down. Then we were back on country roads and the temperature was getting in the mid 80's with no shade and a head wind it made for some tough riding. I was happy to be done with the ride and would do it again.

The oddest thing seen on the road was today. We were riding by a lake and someone had thrown a fish in the road. It was probably a 3 pounder. Yesterday I was 1/2 mile from the finish and 2 girls on beach cruisers turned off the sidewalk and almost crashed into me. It was pretty close. At the finish in St. Augustine they had a giant block of ice that you could rest your legs on. This felt so good....
It was a very nice weekend. I got more sun then I wanted. But a lot of money was raised. We had fun doing it. There were a ton of volunteers that were very helpful and put on a great event. The rest stops were well manned with helpful people and I could tell they were hot, but they were doing a great job taking care of the riders. I want to personally thank every volunteer. You helped make this a great event!!!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Radishes

This is part of our container garden. We have 4 different kinds of peppers planted and some spices. Nothing major but I think we should be able to harvest some peppers. In fact I was noticing my bell peppers are already starting to bloom.

So last night my friend Marilyn and I were out riding bikes on the Baldwin Rail trail. We were about 17 miles into our ride when I hear my phone ring. I slow down and pull it out of my pocket and see it is the house number. I answer it and ask what is wrong. Ethan (my 10 year old) Says nothing is wrong. So then I ask him what he needs. He asks if I can stop at the store and buy some radish seeds. I said "What, I am in the middle of my ride." He says "Oh, how bout when you are on your way home you could stop at the store." I told him we could talk about it when I got home.
Today I was out and stopped buy Lowes and bought some radish seeds and we got them planted. Ethan is convinced they will have sprouted by tomorrow morning. I hope he won't be too disappointed when it takes a few days to see results and a month or so before we get some radishes. The question now is if he will eat more then one....