A Happy Biking Family

Shannon and I bought a new road bike for her yesterday. We picked up a new Trek 1000 WSD (Women's Specific Design). The bike looks pretty damn cool and has me wanting a new bike as well :)

Shannon is very excited about the bike and we broke it in today with a nice 10 mile ride out to Devil's Lake and back. She is still trying to get the hang of the new feel, especially the shifters built in to the breaks (STI). Maybe after a few more trips out I will talk her into opening up going down hills!

Overall I am very excited since this will mean we can ride as a family multiple nights a week, and hopefully by next year I can talk her into doing one of the longer rides with me!

Bond Falls

Last weekend while up in Rhinelander we decided to take the whole family up to Bond Falls in the Upper Peninsula. Shannon and I have not been up there since we where in High School and it was a bit of a shock to see how much it changed.

Over the years they added a parking lot, and completely changed the old dirt walkway into a long deck like walkway. It definitely feels clean but I miss the feeling of exploring a waterfall on foot. Now it feels like a mini Niagara falls with it's fenced in walkways.

However, though it has changed, the falls are beautiful and the kids had a great time hiking around them. After we finished hiking around the falls we headed up the road to Bond Falls Flowage beach. We had packed a couple coolers full of food and drinks and enjoyed lunch just before jumping in for a swim. Oops forgot to wait an hour! The kids had a blast playing together in the water and had to be dragged away when it came time to leave.

The trip was definitely worth the stop, I was glad to see the kids had a great time hiking around. It gives me hope that in September the kids might do alright with some light hiking as we visit a number of National Parks.

Sauk County Fair

Last week while Shannon's mom was up we took the kids to the fair. The rides where still too big for the kids, however they had a great time checking out the animals. Since they where to small for the rides we had to spoil them with a horse ride and an elephant ride. That's right an elephant ride. I don't know how often people get to say they rode on an elephant, but it was definitely worth the money to say I have! It was quite an experience to ride an animal of that size that doesn't even bulk when someone as large as me hops on it's back.

Down With My Own Sickness

Dan had an interesting post on his blog the other day labeled "Down with the Sickness". In that post he discusses some of the amazing / foolish things we do to punish our bodies.

I couldn't help but think of that post today as I got back on my bike after almost a month off. Pretty sad huh? I can't believe it has been a month, it feels... Wrong! My ride consisted of riding down a block and back, and it was still painful, but it felt great to get back on the bike especially after having a bunch of work done on it. The bike that is, well I suppose my knee too ;)

So what made me think about Dan's post. Well it was the fact that I met with the PT Friday and she informed me due to the unplanned "Lateral Adjustment" of my kneecap that I am looking at a lot longer recovery period. She hinted that there was a good chance that my knee will not be ready for the Utah ride in September and that I may be months away from total recovery. This was quite the blow to my moral.

Friday I was still relying on crutches and was told to stay on them until I no longer limp. Well the limp is still here but I have been free of crutches since Saturday. I may not be the wisest when it comes to listening to instructions, but I am starting to feel that I need to push my body if I want to recover. Actually all the pushing I have done has made a remarkable difference in the pain and flexibility I have now. I told Shannon that I want to do a light ride this Wednesday (about 8 miles). The reason is two fold, I want get back on the bike and I also want to ride to my PT appointment. I suppose that is a mixture of being stubborn and stupid but I am willing to do whatever it takes to get through this. I really want to meet my goal!

So that is where I am today. I will keep everyone posted on my progress and hopefully I will be back to somewhat normal in the not to distant future. Well keep your fingers crossed for me!

nigh nigh time

My kids are lucky, they get to watch more then one fireworks show almost every year since Chris has become a licensed pyro . We watched the show in Baraboo, which are shot off behind the high school, so we have front row seats and don't have to leave home to watch them. Then kids and I went to watch Fire on the River down in Sauk Prairie this evening because Christopher works for the company that sets them up. It is excellent show and well worth the drive down to watch them. Anyway, about half way through Kai was sitting on my cousins lap and rolled over onto his side looked at me and said "nigh nigh time" and proceeded to go to sleep for the remainder of the show. Guess it is hard to be two.....