Long Time, No Post

Over a month since I've updated. Not sure why, just not in the mood.  Too much rain, too much work, knee hurting, all of the above.  So, what's been happening?

Still going to physical therapy. Next week will be 9 months since the surgery and 15 months since the original injury.  I still have a strength deficit between legs and we are still working on that and on trying to keep scar tissue from building up.  A lot of painful sessions!  I told Rich that with what I've spent out of pocket on this, I could have bought a new bike or some really nice race wheels.  It's a good thing I like him or I would have quit going long ago.  It gets really frustrating at times, plus, it's like having another job.  Anyway, enough complaining.

One positive is that Kenny has me going back to the track to do some track workouts.  I really like the Sunday workouts--there is a nice group on Sundays and you warm up together, then do your own workout and socialize in between.  And it's really fun to ride fast!

Off the bike the Mouse team helped out at the Berkeley Hills Road Race in mid-May. I worked one of the intersections with teammates Dan and Hank and we sat out in the rain and had a pretty chill day. 

The weekend after that was the TOUR OF CALIFORNIA!!! For Stage 1, I drove up to Sacramento with a couple of guys and rode on the American River bike path, then stowed the bike and watched the P12 Sac Grand Prix race and the women's Sac GP race.  Mouse Bev mixed it up with the big girls and it was so exciting to see a really good, fast women's race. Listening to snippets of conversation amongst people who showed up early for the finish of the TOC, they were amazed and excited to see women racing so hard and fast.  "Wow, those women ride hard!"  

 

Stage 2 of the TOC was a rain-filled day so I ended up working and watching via the computer (well, actually reading text updates since they couldn't get the helicopters up in the air).  I'd originally planned to take the day off and ride and catch the finish, but I'm still a little leery of riding in the rain, especially since my knee started hurting again.

One evening after walking some steep downhills, my knee started getting a sharp, stabbing pain every time I stood up or extended it.  It wasn't the pain like pre-surgery, but in a different place and a different pain.  Crap! Why now?  It seems that the muscles tighten up and pull on the kneecap and that's what is causing it.  More bodywork and diligent stretching and it has subsided quite a bit.  Not 100% gone, but much, much better.  Stretching and deep tissue massage are my friends.

Stage 3 TOC:  I met up with Jean down the peninsula and we drove up to the top of the first KOM at Tunitas Creek/Skyline.  We'd planned to ride out there but the week prior Jean broke her toe pretty badly and no riding for her.  So instead, I got there early, got in some riding before she got there, we went and watched the race come by and then I finished up my ride afterwards.  It's amazing how fast the pro riders go uphill!  A cold, rainy day.  
 

The evening of Stage 3 we went to a fundraiser for the Hellyer Junion Program and the Testarossa Velodrome Challenge at Testarossa Winery.  Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin were there and they were very entertaining!  I'll do a separate post about that.

Stage 4:  We went to the start in downtown San Jose and wandered around checking out bikes and bike riders and watched the race start.  Then I went and rode 2.5 hours.  Again cold, windy and some rain.  It never rains past May in California!! 

  

After that, the TOC headed south so that was the end of my TOC.  I did take Friday of last week off and rode another 2.5 hours.  The weekend was a women's track camp at Hellyer which I mentored at.  That was a lot of fun with 20 women trying out the track for the first time. Nearly all are roadies so some good hard riding was done.  It was a good week--13 hours on the bike for me, biggest volume of the year.

That catches things up to this week.  A recovery week with a race at the end.  It came at a good time as I had a work trip to Los Angeles and the hotel (downtown Marriott) has a WEAK gym!  One exercise bike.  A number of elliptical machines (5-6?) but all but one were out of order.  3-4 treadmills but 1 was out of order. I did get two very short bike rides in on the gym bike, but more to just get my legs moving since I knew I'd be sitting in a conference room for two days.  

Recovery week + 3-day holiday = time to get caught up on stuff that isn't bike-related!  On tap for the rest of the weekend is read, study (started Portuguese classes again), laundry, dinner out, grocery shopping, and two short bike rides. And finally....NO RAIN!  Happy Memorial Day!