By now, everyone is probably as tired of hearing about injury-related blah blah as I am of thinking about it. Let's just say I tried to increase activity levels a bit too much just over a week ago, and experienced somewhat of an epiphany as a result along with an achy head. This mental re-set reminded me me that everything happens for a reason, and this long drawn-out ordeal might have something to tell me. Partly influenced by the opinion of my massage therapist and friend, I have finally come to realize that the overall priority of this process should not be to try and get back riding bikes or training for any sport ASAP (you bonehead!). There is no timeline aside from hopefully being ready to race early next spring. Instead I need to work toward overall health by taking care of my body and letting it get as much rest as it needs, and take this opportunity to relax and lengthen those angry tight overused muscles I have cultivated through years of pushing my limits and accumulating stresses. Plus, it's not like I'm going to turn into a lazy couch potato or anything. There is no better time than now to break down the scar tissue from past injuries that may not have been properly rehabilitated, and make them more flexible and receptive to building strength. Later on this fall I'm hoping to find a strength trainer to address any remaining issues and bring things into balance before seriously getting back to business. It's a great time to address muscle imbalances and focus on correcting postural problems (like climber-biker shoulder hunch) before they become major issues. Just like my brain, I only get one body in this lifetime, and I'd like it to continue being as functional as possible for a long time.
I highly recommend my friend Emily Quinn as an amazing massage therapist, as well as a knowledgeable, nurturing yoga instructor focused on therapeutic methods here in north Lake Tahoe. I can't thank her enough for helping me finally realize that putting the time and money in for healing bodywork will pay off in the end. It has taken me 3 or 4 years of seeing Emily usually once a year, and every time she sighs and shakes her head and always says she needs so much more time to work it all out. And do your stretches more often! Ok, you win, and I will too in the end. Instead of paying for race entry fees and bike parts, my poor beat-up muscles finally get an upgrade. And when I've done my time getting the worst of the tension worked out, I really hope to do some kind of massage maintenance schedule, every 1 or 2 months, to avoid letting things ever get that bad again. This week I'll try to venture out to a few mellow yoga classes like Yin, restorative, and therapeutic to help things along. I'd like to think I'm strong enough to stay with this program without deviating and hopping on a bike other than a beach cruiser too soon, but just in case I may lock both of my mountain bikes together and give the key to a friend to keep for another month or so. I'm way too easily swayed by the idea of hitting the trails, and my "bad idea alarm" seems to be malfunctioning lately, or I just have a really bad bike addiction. Must…ride…now…aaaahhhhHH!
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| My old XC racing rig, now converted to SS |
Even so, I've continued to put together my single speed project, and it's now close to being done. Nerding out on building bikes is still pretty great! It is only in need of one more tiny headset spacer to compensate for a slightly smaller stem clamp. For the drivetrain I decided to experiment, using an online chain length calculator which uses inputs of chainstay length and cog sizes, to figure out if I could use a half link to achieve proper tension without using a separate tensioner. With the vertical dropouts on my frame I presumably only had 2 choices: a tensioner or an eccentric hub like Kit has on his SS; the hub looks the cleanest but it would have meant trying to figure out an eccentric disc brake adapter situation that would work with my brakes, or buying a new rear brake that worked with post mount adapters. In the end my plan worked out perfectly, and the chain is tight enough to stay on securely but not so tight it doesn't move freely. The parts I used are an old XT crankset, an extra fat 16t stainless steel rear cog and Surly 32t stainless front chainring, and a burly single speed chain. Some other small parts I used are a new set of aluminum cassette spacers, which I decided would look classier than the old plastic ones I had, and some shorter chainring bolts. After having Kit try to grind down some longer bolts with varying degrees of success it seemed a lot easier to just get a new $5 set of bolts. Finally I added some new cockpit bits: a set of wider riser bars for better leverage and a new Loaded Precision Ti stem to accommodate the fatter diameter bars, and some fresh new grips from Loaded. I'd like to find out how much it weighs now, because it's pretty darn light. I'm dreaming of cranking up some gnarly climbs on that bike!
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| Mmmmm...looking slick! |
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| Shiny new parts |
With bikes no longer the center of my existence this year, now I turn to my other favorite thing: food. Cooking is my favorite indoor activity, and I find myself in the kitchen for hours at a time making an exotic feast or paging through cookbooks looking for dinner inspiration. Thanks to my gathered resources and a good helping of internet browsing, I've had no problems dispatching approximately 10 lbs of vegetables that we receive every week in our CSA box, sometimes even wishing for more and winding up at the
farmer's market to fill the produce bins partway through the week. I have fallen hopelessly in love with vegetables since starting the CSA two years ago; the roots and leaves, colorful and plain, they all are so tasty when cooked in the right way. Rutabagas, turnips, celeriac, and other oddities disappear quickly with stews, soups or roasting. Striped chioggia beets are one of my all time favorites, looking so lively in cole slaws and shaved raw onto salads. Crispy lemon cucumbers that can be eaten like apples on a hot day…ahhhh, yum. The irony I have discovered this summer is that an innocuous herb, parsley, is becoming my undoing. Parsley goes easily in so many things, but since a small amount goes such a long way, getting parsley in the box two weeks in a row is proving to be an insurmountable challenge. On top of that, I have a parsley plant in my garden happily growing away untrimmed. What to do with so much parsley? Feeding it to the chickens comes to mind, although that seems like a cop-out, and maybe that much of a strong herb will make the eggs taste funny? Help! I'm buried in mountains of parsley!! Oh well, I guess I could always freeze it…
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| Garden as of July 27, notice the squash exiting to the right. |
The garden has gone nuts in the past few weeks, loving the warm temps, and one of the squash plants has exploded out of the raised bed and ventured out into the yard, growing at the rate of nearly a foot a day. The squash in the middle has numerous flowers, while the one on the left is struggling a bit with being eaten by something at night, requiring some pepper spray application once in a while. It looks like a totally different variety than the other two and I'm curious to see what it ends up being. Some baby snap peas are coming out already, not quite ready to pick but maybe in a few more days. The cherry tomato has tiny green fruits already and one of the giant heirloom plants is flowering. I'm not sure what will happen with the corn since it's behind schedule but still going pretty strong; it might end up just providing the chickens with more shade in their pen. I'm kind of surprised at how easily this gardening thing is turning out to be overall, not a whole lot of weeds to pull or maintenance other than daily watering. Hopefully I should be overrun with veggies within the next couple of months, how exciting!!
I'll leave you with this particularly applicable quote, shared today by a Facebook friend, who is always coming up with the most inspiring things to share and post:
"Your life, with all its ups and downs, has molded you for the greater good. Your life has been exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the current moment. And every moment of your life, including this one right now, is a fresh start." -Spiritual Awakenings
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