Riding along the River

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

I have learned that the Police Acadamy is being held here in our hotel, and I continue to see vehicles from more and different towns in the state. We are either very safe here, or not so safe elsewhere. There are quite a number of police officers here for some training.

Our first stop was to visit the bike shop for any information they might have about the trail or other options for riding. The guy there was not too infomative, but did give us the hint to leave the trail onto a side road (Meningo Marengo) to ride through a small residential area for two miles of low traffic, quiet roads to rejoin the trail. This hint was worth the bike shop visit.

Seems I ride through some college or university on almost all tours that we do. This one brings me through Gonzaga. The campus almost abutts our hotel.

Another college banner to add to my collection

We did quite the ride today -- all along the Spokane River on the Centennial Trail. Our wildlife sightings were few, but we saw a few hopping rabbits, some beautiful magpies (we must be in eastern Washington) and a couple of marmots looking at us as we looked at them.

The River runs close at some points of the trail

 

Not many people on the trail on a weekday

Potty stops and water fountains are placed along the trail, but one must leave the trail to find food and beverage. We took a side arm of the trail and found ourselves at the Spokane Valley Mall where we had plenty to choose from at the "food court" in the mall.

Vickie takes this time to apply sun screen (also purchased in the mall)

 

Gerry looks over the flowers and parking lot...

Having made good use of the Mall (food, restroom, sunscreen, outdoor picnic tables) we found our way back through the parking lot to rejoin the trail.

Had to take this photo for Susan (fly fishing rod)

 

Waterfall across the road from us

The Centennial Trail is about 37 miles end to end, one end being in Spokane, the other end at the Idaho state line. From there it, or a differently named trail, continues another 15 miles to Coeur d'Alene. Yesterday we rode about five miles to the west before cutting it short and returning to the hotel which is at about mile 22. That means we rode from mile 22 to mile 27 which leaves 10 miles on that end that we did not do. There are areas along the way where the "trail" is on traffic roads, but the shoulders are very wide and marked as bike lanes.

Today we rode from mile 22 to mile 0. With a few off the trail spins we ended up at 25 miles when we got to the state line. We were oh so disappointed when there was not a "Welcome to Idaho" sign, or at the least a sign telling us we had crossed the state line.

This is the best I could do at getting an Idaho sign

Continuing on to Coeur d'Alene would add 30 miles to the 48 we will have done on this day. No way! We will drive to the state line and ride this trail the next day.

We were all tired and spent by the end of this long ride, and I know that I for one slept VERY well. And my back is no worse than it ever is with slight to moderate later onset pain and discomfort, but nothing to truly complain about (I am tired of complaining anyway). A great day!

 

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Short ride in Spokane

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Seeing police vehicles from Redmond, Bellevue, Clakamas and Yakima as we pulled in to the parking lot of our hotel gave us pause!! Was there some state-wide riot thing going on? or was there a police party happening? Vickie could not help herself from walking to the other end of the lot to find out. Turns out there is a police academy here -- I am not sure where "here" is -- Spokane or our hotel -- but our mystery is solved.

Although a little tired from the long drive -- Gerry and I wonder how she and I can be exhausted when Vickie drove the entire 300 miles -- we spent no time resting before jumping into out riding togs and taking off to explore by bike.

V & G have not spent much time in Spokane and had not seen any of the sights such as the huge water fall smack dab in the middle of town. So we found the trail that took us along the river, to Riverfront Park, and through some quiet neighborhoods with views of the river from the bluffs.

 

See our shadows on the wall

Spectacular Falls

In the middle of town

Couldn't resist the local "art"

Don't know why, but Boris was born in 1975

 

Red Wagon in Riverfront Park

 

Trail ended and we had quiet neighborhood streets to explore

By the end of our ride we had a late dinner (I don't recall the last time I ate dinner at 8:00) by the riverside and were ready to say goodnight to a nice day and evening.

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Eastern Washington for some sun

April 29, 2014

 

Vickie and Gerry will be picking me up in an hour. We add my bike and gear to theirs and drive to Spokane for a week in the sun. Of course, now that we are heading for the sun in eastern WA, our weather here at home has turned from gray, wet, cold, windy days to sun and warm temps for this week. Murphy's law?

We have gotten in a couple of rides even in the bad weather (and bad back). As I await my friends, I will share a few photos.

Riding through the tulips

 

Jaydon & Lucy ready to go

 

Lucy has not met a hill that she cannot walk up!

Needs no words

 

We tired them out

 

A solo ride in my neighborhood shows spring arriving

This is serving as a test as I have not been doing any blogging for a while and am ensuring that I can still remember how it is done.

Last minute prep now and I will be off. Susan likes for me to be gone these few days so she can do her ending of school and grading period without my interruptions ;'-).

See ya later.

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About my back

April 29, 2014

This is all I am going to say about my back issue and treatment -- I have yet to reach the sun at the top of that last hill.

 

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Closure for this topic

January 26h, 2014

I have made the agonizingly difficult and disappointing decision to cancel my "epic" tour along the southern tier. Below is the email I wrote to my loved ones, and am including here as part of the closure. It is long, many of you may have already received it in an email, and many more of you may have no interest -- so skip it. I have it here for my own history of the "happening".

But do read on after the end of the email.

On Jan 23, 2014, at 1:25 PM, Nancy Graham <nancycycles@gmail.com> wrote:

The Tour That Almost Was…. isn’t

Most of you know of the back/sciatica issue I have been dealing with (for way too long actually), that has been debilitating to me, and the care and treatment I have searched out. Briefly, for those who may not know, I have chosen nonsurgical decompression treatments rather than more invasive care such as surgery – or narcotics, epidural injections or other drugs. This treatment is outside of my insurance company, and is quite pricey, but what price for health and pain relief? It is gentle, safe and has no risk (unlike those other “traditional” options I listed).

(Only) because of Susan’s insistence, I kept my previous appointment with the neurosurgeon that my primary doc referred me to and met with him today. He has no control over which care providers Group Health will make referral to, and is a “traditional” practitioner of course, but says there is no harm (except to my wallet) to having this procedure done. So I move on with my choice. (I can always opt for surgery later if I so choose). I am only a little conflicted by the accepted policy of Group Health willing to refer to a chiropractor but not to one who does this procedure. He says there is no study that proves it works (is there for other chiropractic procedures?) and the bottom line seems to be cost – however less costly compared to surgery?

My chiropractor (Dr. Shelly) is very positive that I can get great relief and cure from this treatment, and I am rapidly becoming a believer! Until this morning I have gotten out of bed in the morning and could not stand up straight, and almost crawled to the bathroom – a few feet from the bed. After 45-60 minutes the pain would mostly work itself out and I could continue with most of my day even if with some pain. (Morning pain would be 10+, through the day would be anywhere from 3-7 – everyday). This week I have had only one decompression session, and two cold laser treatments and this morning I was able to stand and walk upright directly from the bed. I felt like I was on one of those miracle t.v. shows ready to shout “I can walk! I am healed!”.

I am not trying to preach this procedure, and it may not even work for everybody. As well, many would feel better about the other medical choices. But I cannot begin to say how wonderful it feels to have almost no pain today! It has been sooooooo long since I have been pain free.

To complete the process takes three months of 3-4 times a week (and monthly maintenance after that). I had planned to be gone for two of those months on the southern tier bike tour with Woman Tours. Dr. Shelly said from the outset that he felt he could get me to 50-80% better by the start of my tour, and I would continue the treatments on my return home. He said, even though it was not “optimal” or “preferable”, he thought I could do the tour.

I have agonized and caused myself tons of stress, leading to feeling physically ill, over the decision I have made – to cancel this wonderful tour. I talked with Dr. Shelly about why I was considering this move (listing the reasons one by one) and, after listening patiently and intently, he said that if I could do that it would be much preferable for my treatment and care. He said I could “survive” doing this trip, but if I wait to do it at another time I could “go after it”. I liked that terminology, and think that is how I have been looking at it: I don’t want to wake up every morning in pain or worrying when the pain will start again; I don’t want worry about my back while cycling to be my focus; I am not paying the grand fee for the bike tour to ride in a van for much of the trip.

I know that getting my body healthy is the best avenue to take and is my major focus. I may choose to do this tour next year (even though I will be yet a year older!!), or I may choose more, shorter tours rather than one long one. Whatever I choose will be much more enjoyable, safe and done with a stronger (pain free) body.

I hope I am not disappointing anyone with the decision of not doing the epic tour I had planned to do and talked so much about to many of you. Thank you for your care and love – and stay tuned for I will be back with more stories!!

Much love to each and all,

Nancy

 

I have been looking at the positive side of the decision: the refund helps pay for the procedure; I will be able to focus on my body and treatment rather than obsessing about riding my bike (or being depressed when I cannot); I will now have that time to enjoy with my friends and family rather than be away from everyone for two months; I have time to get healthier for a trip in the future and do it with no pain.

I am not the neatest person in the world -- at least not obsessive about it -- but much clutter can cause me stress. When it gets to that point I tell Susan she needs to clear up some of those piles of things that are hither and yon. Even if reluctantly, she does do it because she knows I will be happier ;'-) -- and do less nagging!

For this past entire week we have had our neighbor (and professional painter), Steve, working on removing wall paper and getting ready to paint the middle level of the house. In the middle of this, we had to get a new water heater installed. This means EVERYTHING has been turned upside down in our house -- including all that stuff from the closet that houses the water heater.

I repeat -- this has been the case for the past ENTIRE week (plus some). While I have been thinking, stressing and focusing ME, I have been blindly and unconcernedly walking through and around this disarray every day with little thought. Then, the decision was made, the paper work was done for trip insurance and I looked up and thought GOOD GREIF!! THIS HOUSE IS IN A DISASTOROUS MESS! A mess I barely saw until that moment.

Let me show you.

Our living room

Our dining room

Part of the downstairs rec room

The "desk" room

 

Because of the stress I was going through about ME, I am finding it not as difficult to live with the stress about this mess! The stress is not gone, but different. Patience, I say to myself.

 

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Epic Tour Draws Closer!

December 24, 2013 (Christmas Eve)

As the time for my tour nears, my anxiety grows a bit. Will my body hold up to the challenge? Will I make it to the end point before dark each day? Am I strong enough for this? How will I withstand being away from home and everyone for two months? What about packing the right stuff?

Well, it goes on and on but in addition to having the nagging worries, I am also excited about the tour. A major niggling worry however is that I have not been doing any regular exercise -- as in strength training or interval cardio training, nor long rides; AND my eating regimen, well, isn't. Then December came in with frigid weather, precluding riding my bike very much at all.

This all wouldn't be quite so bad if it were not for the fact that I do believe I was born to worry, and this is all fodder for that fire.

Most recent dithering is around the packing. We are limited to two bags that weigh in at a total of 50 pounds, with neither weighing more than 30. We will be carting our own bags from the van to our room, some of which will not be on the first floor, so if I can go a touch lighter that will be to my benefit. I have a list -- oh do I have a list! -- of things to consider taking along. After this holiday is over I will start gathering and putting things out in sight to see just how much I do have on that list. Deciding what to cull from that pile will be the challenge. I love my comforts but am willing to do without some, but which ones? I want to be prepared for all weather, but just how much do I need for potential cold weather? I would like to have enough change of cycling clothing, but perhaps nightly handwashing will suffice? And the gadgets -- I don't dare list them at this point, at least until I get them in sight and see what we are talking about here.

At least I got a bit of riding in during Susan's Thanksgiving Break from school. We went to Jenny and Laurent's home in Indianola, on the Kitsap Peninsula, and enjoyed a delightful Thanksgivng dinner. We spent the night there and drove to Long Beach the next morning.

Morning tea time at Jenny & Laurent's house

The morning view during morning tea

We arrived in Long Beach for a rainy weekend.

Lewis and Clark were here

There is a delightful trail that connects Long Beach to Ilwaco.

Some of the trail -- the part into Ilwaco -- was not paved. And was UPHILL.

Uphill on a gravel trail -- yuck!

 

Captain Clark with sturgeon

Long Beach was decorated for Christmas.

So was Ilwaco.

Crab Pot Christmas Tree

There was also a long boardwalk in Long Beach - for walking.

Rain or not, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend at the ocean. Fortunately it was not cold so the rain did not deter us from our bike ride.

Back to worrying and dithering -- will keep everyone posted as the time gets even closer!

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Thanksgiving 2013 & Pre-Epic Tour thoughts, worries and jitters

November 11, 2013 (Veteran's Day)

In less than four months I will be taking off for my tour across the Southern Tier with Woman Tours. A few friends asked me for an outline of what this tour is about. below is a copy of the email I sent to them.

 

 

It is with the company WOMAN TOURS for women only, and mainly those 50 years old and older (but we know that any company will take anyone's money!). At 72 years old I will be either the oldest or near the oldest rider. But others tell me that there are those in their 70s who do this tour. I have one friend (Vickie) who did the tour about 8 or so years ago and she is my biggest cheerleader -- getting my confidence up when it begins to dip! She gave me her journal and photos to peruse and I have just completed doing that. Some of it seems daunting, but I feel pretty good about riding the tour.Their tours are very popular and many of them fill up -- especially the cross country epic tours. I tried to sign up for the 2013 (when I was a year younger) tour, but in September (2012) the tour was full. So I signed up for 2014 that long ago.We meet in San Diego on March 6th, leave on the 7th I think, and arrive in St. Augustine on May 1st. It is about 56-58 days -- in essence, 2 months. We have a rest day about every 7-10 days as I read it in my friend's journal. They say the average is about 55 miles a day, but that is an average, and most days are well over 60 it seems to me. AND there are 5 days that are over 90 one of those being about 110!!!!!! I don't know, they must include rest days in that average they quote. In addition to miles, there are the hills!! And mountain passes, oh my.We are completely supported with a van carrying our gear and a SAG vehicle following us and stopping every 20 miles or so with water and snacks if we need it, and to pick us up if we don't want to or can't ride any further. I may need that at least on the 110 mile day!Woman Tours (you can google it if you want more info) feeds us breakfast, dinner and snacks (we can make pbj sandwiches and grab snacks to take for our lunch if we choose. I can imagine getting pretty tired of peanut butter!) on riding days. We are on our own for meals on rest days. They secure our motel for each night (no camping thank goodness), and generally support us every step of the way. Riding my bike across the country has come and gone as a dream of mine since college. I never totally got caught up in that dream until my friend Vickie did it, and then the seed was planted. It is quite pricey, but what is retirement for? It will basically be my last most expensive gift to me and I plan to enjoy every day and every moment of that day along the way. With that in mind, though I would hope I can bike every mile, I will be smart about it. If the weather, the terrain or my body tell me to take the van, I will do so. I will do my best to not jeopardize my health and body parts!I think I have told you just about everything, and possibly more than you ever wanted to know, but if you have more questions just ask me. I am very into talking and sharing about this experience ;'-) I do plan to keep my blog during the tour -- perhaps you will follow along there and know where I am on any day.

I will be riding my Bike Friday. She just had her doctor's check up, a good overhaul, and a few new components.

Bike Friday is a compartively heavy bike and I use (what others call) slow tires. These tires are very flat resistent, and the last pair I had refused flats for 5000+ miles. I got new tires simply because the others were showing their wear. "Slow" is relative in my case. I am much slower in changing a flat tire than these slow (heavy) tires cause me to be on the road. Also - I HATE changing a flat tire.

OK so... Many of the women who are signed up for this tour have started emailing to the group. There is talk of carbon (extremey light) bikes, riding 50, 60, 70 miles a day, and weather (in CA and HI) being 70, 75, 80 degees. All so very opposite of my profie -- heavy bike, heavy tires, rides of 35 miles, and temps 40 - 50 degrees and rain.

I MUST keep in mind what Dan (our Utah tour leader) said to me: 'You are a strong rider, have good form, keep a good steady pace, refuel rehydrate and rest regularly. You will have no problem doing the southern tier tour."

Thank you Dan.

A couple of photos of recent rides to break up this long and wordy post:

Fall color

 

Seattle skyline from Gas Works Park

As my time for the tour nears, I will probably have the urge to post more thoughts and feelings about it all. It will be, after all, a trip of a lifetime ;'-)

 

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