There went another summer...looking ahead to next year.

   Fall is here bringing rain and the best riding conditions. Despite that I can't help but feel awfully jaded by the past 2 years, logging far more couch time than saddle time, and twice getting crushed by another injury just when the previous one has healed. I think I've learned a lot and really hope I can actually apply it to become better at dealing with these setbacks--and avoiding them in the first place. I've also acquired a handful of other hobbies that are good for days off the bike and may make it more motivating to have more rest days. Gardening, fishing, and canoeing have helped me hang onto the last few shreds of sanity that were trying to escape this summer and provide endless opportunities for learning; especially so for fishing and gardening.
   Currently the canoe is all dismantled for some repairs and a complete refinishing. It's a really nice fiberglass canoe that needed to be returned to its former glory, with dry splintered trim and holes in the seats, and a hideous light green spray paint job. I tried an epoxy/carbon fiber patch on some holes in the front and back and they turned out really well, but it's been sitting for a while and now that summer work has finished I'm working on motivating to sand it all out for painting. The seats need re-webbing, and all of the wood bits need a going over with fine sandpaper and several coats of marine poly finish to complete the project.
   My garden was fairly good but not quite as successful as I hoped it would be with all the work that went into it. The pepper plants took forever to start producing, and some tomato plants never even bore fruit. The tomatoes I was able to get were very tasty but it seems like a big challenge to get more production with the incredibly short season. Snap peas got eaten by rabbits, the green beans were very small, and runner beans never even got beans on them, but I had some very happy kale and chard plants when they weren't getting eaten by the chickens. My winter project is going to be mixing up some good rocket power compost for next year in hopes that might help things along. A hoop house or some other insulating structure is also imperative to stretch the growing season out here in Meyers where I think the nights above 30 degrees only lasted for a month or 2 in the summer. My big hoop house got blown away nearly every time it got windy here and I had to convert it to 3 smaller structures as a last resort to keep things happy. Perhaps a green house next year if we can collect some more old windows. Abundant sun might make a passive solar heat system possible to keep warmth circulating around the plants through the cold nights.

Peppers and tiny green beans. They only got to 3" long and stopped growing.

   Things have gone amazingly well with physical therapy; I'm still incredulous that I spent all summer being dumb before finally going to see this therapist who has pretty dang near fixed me already! I have been able to pedal for 5 to nearly 10 miles with just a bit of stiffness and have luckily enjoyed a few good "brown pow" days in the last few weeks with some rain to make the trails nice. Corral Trail in my backyard is quite a hoot but I'm hoping I work up to riding a few other trails before snow buries it all. I also did 2 days in a row on the moto last weekend and was a little bit sore after but nothing too unbearable. Motos are fun on a whole different level and yet another challenge I'm happy to tackle. Additionally, it feels like a good trip to the gym for the legs and upper body but is a heck of a lot more fun. A mountain bike feels so small and light after muscling around one of those heavy beasts--the 125 is already feeling a little bit underpowered too, wait till I get on the 230 that Kit is working on right now. Eek!
It gives me a little more hope that things are going to return to normal soon. My therapist told me to basically go do things as I would normally and call him in a couple of weeks. If it hurts again I'll go back in and get worked on some more, but things are definitely progressing incredibly well. He thinks that all the pain was from the muscles at the front of the hip being all wound up in an angry tight ball from being overworked, compensating for weak butt muscles. How did I get those? Oh, maybe a miserable winter spent on the couch, perhaps... more reason to get back on the telemark gear this winter and build them back up! Before then I have to stay diligent with my stretches and exercises and work back into normal behavior.
  I'm still hoping that there was no irreversible damage done to the hip joint and that I will be able to go back to life as usual but the MRI will tell a lot about how the joint is looking and if there is any arthritis developing (ugh...don't want to think about that!) The MRI is now scheduled for October 24th thanks to getting a cold right before the first appointment I finally succeeded in making a few weeks ago.

Cucumber!

   Getting excited for next season already, I hope to pick up my new ride from Lichen Bikes up in Washington in the next month or so during my annual pilgrimage homeward. I have plenty of fun cruising around on the 'cross bike here in the meadows, but I've taken every opportunity for snagging Kit's Yeti for a spin on Corral to smash through rocks and hit the jumps. In the apparel department it sounds like Vanderkitten has come up with some ideas to expand their MTB presence; though details have yet to be confirmed, there may be some ski-bike multi sport video fun involved with that. In addition I'm still planning to complete some kind of instructor certification so that I can coach and lead rides throughout the year. With some successful fundraising in this past year all I've got to do now is get healthy enough to sign up for the training and then find a good one to attend!
   I'm trying my hardest to get back on the horse without getting bucked off again; let's hope this time I finally have more success!

A calm evening on the river.