Port Townsend

We're here in  the Airstream with Kelly (Devall) for a Pacific Seacraft Rendezvous. The weather today (Friday) was cloudy until about 2pm, when the fog finally burnt off ... then it was spectacular! We're here for three or four days, then Laura and Kelly head off to Las Vegas for five days. I'll stay in the trailer, in the US, if the weather looks promising.

Driving

An interesting phenomenon I've noticed in the last year or so ... most kids don't want to drive. Neither do I. If given a choice (and distance isn't an issue), these people (myself included) would rather walk or ride a bike versus drive. This may purely be a Vancouver thing, but I'm pretty sure anywhere where you have a thriving center (meaning all the things you need are there ... banks, pubs, restaurants,etc) people would prefer NOT to get into their cars.

A blessing and a curse

I read an article yesterday about brain injury. It got me to thinking ... this has turned out to be the longest, most frustrating, depressing thing that has ever happened to me. It's really easy to wallow in "why me"?
On the other hand, I would be the first to say, "why not me", and expect somebody else to get on with life. After all, I've now known two people who've died around my age, and neither of them was "asking for it" either.
That's the perspective I really need to have, in that as a whole, I got off light. Most of my function is back, and I'm only slightly limited in what I can do. Overall, the world is my oyster, and I've been given an extraordinary chance to both (a) see it for what it is (a second, more aware, chance), and (b) the freedom to go and do something with (a). There's a line that  Stephen Covey has in "Seven Habits ..." about how you should strive to "live, love, laugh, and leave a legacy". I have the first and third covered, the second is always a work-in-process, and the last is why we have religion. Being an arrogant atheist, the "leave a legacy" part is the hardest. What I can only hope is that my grandchildren one day will say "my grandpa was crazy, and did a lot of strange, interesting things".

Brodie bike decision

I finally "bit the bullet" and got a bike that I hadn't even considered until a few days ago ... a Brodie Elan. Supposed to be strong enough to take whatever damage I can dish out, and the price was considerably lower than what I expected to pay. I ordered it loaded up with x-county tires, rear rack, kickstand, fenders, an adjustable head-stay (to fine tune the fit without cutting lots of metal), and water bottle cages (3). I hope I'm happy about the decision a month from now.... I go on Thursday to have the bike fitted to me.

Life, the universe, and everything

Have been on the bike for many days in a row, and I think that having a day off (today) is probably a smart thing to do. Sleep has reared it's ugly head again - no sleep in the past two nights ... so I hope tonight is different (will change up the meds a bit). I feel so much better after I've had some good, quality sleep - without it the day just drags. Either way, I both anticipate and dread going to bed at night. If I fall asleep it's great, if I don't it's awful.

Have pretty much decided on a new touring bike for yours truly. I was ready to travel all the way to Seattle to get a semi-custom bike made, but have read enough reviews to be OK with this one (plus its cheaper). I hope that this bike will last me the rest of my life - I do have to say that I tend to wear out this stuff, rather than have it gather dust in the corner. Laura is looking at either a new bike (cruiser) or I'll see what we can do with my (worn out but with $100 put into it just fine) mountain bike.

I feel torn between not being able to fully enjoy the summer (sleep, walking, hiking) and being grateful for the mobility that I DO have. Regardless of how far I can walk or hike, I seem to be able to bike just fine. Still some problems with balance on the bike. I get nervous around small gaps, like a gate, and tend to "overthink" the thing and have to stand (ie: not ride) the bike to get through. I haven't really fallen off in several weeks, so I guess that's improvement.

I told you about going to the speech pathologist a couple of weeks ago, and she mailed me some exercises to try and reduce the "nasality" of my voice. I have to admit I probably haven't done the exercises as much as I should - mostly because I can do them all (no challenge at all), and she wasn't sure that they'd help regardless. This, like everything else, seems to be a matter of time. Anyways, I do them whenever I think of them (which is a couple of times a day).

Bikes and boats...

OK, I'm pretty sure that Laura won't let me have another boat. So here's the latest plan. How about a new bike (at about 1/50th the cost of a boat). I'd be looking at a touring bike, useful if I wanted to load it up and travel some distance (let's say ... Prince Rupert, or Alaska, or Cross-Canada). Anybody interested in biking for a long while?

I have to admit, this long term biking idea came to me when I watched "Long Way Down". Motorcycles are not very environmentally friendly, and do nothing for your fitness. I figure if you start out out-of-shape, you would finish a long ride in incredible-good-shape. Plus you'd see stuff you've never seen before.

Bikes...

Today I threatened to take the 22km bike ride that I did the day before my stroke (PoCo Trail). Laura convinced me otherwise, because I'd be gone too long, and we were invited out to the Plymouth Crescent Annual July 1st BBQ in the Rain. I'll try for tomorrow, and maybe convince someone tonight to come with me.

Funny thing, I still cannot go over a sidewalk curb (up, not down ... down a curb is no problem because gravity takes over). When I try to go up a curb, my brain says "lift the front fork of the bike and stand up", but my body just sits there, waiting to fall of the bike. So I fall of the bike (it's no big deal, since I'm going 1/8 mile/hr). Sometimes, I feel just like a kid who's five, learning to ride a two-wheeler for the first time. Hmmm.

Doctors, sleep, and boredom...

Went to the doctor again today ... have probably seen him more in the last 6 moths, than in the preceding 15 years. He gave me a renewal on my sleep meds (which are finally working) and tended to think that my speech progress is more me, than it is the drugs. I do notice that I seem to talk better in the evening time, and I know that the half-life of Ativan is somewhere around 20 hours - so I put two and two together and declare that they must be related. My speech has, however, progressed to the point where people think I have some strange foreign accent ... I can live with that. The bike riding has progressed to the point where an 11km route I've worked out is now pretty easy for me to do. Time to ramp it up a notch.
"Semi-retired" life takes some getting used to. I get really down when the "todo" list is "sit on couch". Need to find something to occupy my day while this recuperation project continues. I'm not yet strong enough to manage a full (or even part-time) job.

It's Hard To Sit Still

I rode my bike again this morning, and walked with Laura again this
afternoon. I have a "todo" list I'd like to get to, but the pragmatic
side of me says "the only important thing right now is exercise, and
trying my hardest to increase my strength and endurance". Easy to say,
but not so easy to do. When you've spent your whole life checking
things off lists, the sitting around "getting better" is harder than
it sounds (I can only bike/walk so far before I "shut down").

BTW - Dave sent us this postcard from Rome ... kind of an inside joke.

Sleep. Drugs or Bike - pick two...

Seems I have a bit of a dilemma - if I take lots of drugs at night, I sleep well, but my bike-riding abilities are diminished. If I ease off on the drugs, I don't sleep as well but I can ride the bike better (ie: single track poses less of a problem). I use my bike riding ability as a good gauge of progress ... the better I manage on single-track, and the more comfortable I am in riding with one hand, the better I'm doing. I'm surprised at the improvements I've made despite lack of good quality sleep ... I can only imagine that it could be even better with sufficient rest. I also noticed that, when I do get a good nights sleep (like last night), my attitude about life is improved as well (I find that if I'm tired, I'm also depressed). This stroke thing has definitely been the biggest struggle I've ever faced. I can only hope that I continue to improve...

Better bike ride...

First full day at home in a long while, and the first bike ride in a month or so. My brain must be healing, because I no longer find the long, flat dike overwhelming. I can even ride with one hand to scratch my face, and singe-track is almost doable. My right side is still affected, though, because after the ride I can barely walk (all I can manage is about 12km on the bike before my energy is gone). Overall, not too bad. Another few months of this (thinking all summer), and my energy should be up, as well as stamina. I'm still envious of the people who go on long hikes though. I hope I get back to "almost infinite" hiking/walking (note that I'm now biking what I used to walk).

Home again...

We arrived home again about 3pm this afternoon. We stored the trailer in Lynden, Wa - they were the only people who got back to me when I inquired about storage via email (here's a hint - 90% of success is just showing up). In all, a long trip, and we're both happy to be sleeping in a real bed tonight...

Bozeman, Montana

OK - we really like this town. Unfortunately, tomorrow, we're out of here.Got the oil changed in the truck this morning, and Laura got a couple of Verizon phone cards. We were going to go down to Virginia City today, but storm clouds are brewing, it's raining now, and the forecast is for hail. So, we've hooked up the trailer so all we have to do tomorrow is pull out the wheel chocks and disconnect the power and we're gone.

Something we've been noticing, and it continues, is that all the campgrounds/attractions we've been to are empty. This photo is of the main level at the parking lot at Mount Rushmore. It should be full this time of year (all the US kids are out of school). It isn't. Nothing is.

Lewis and Clark Caverns

There seems to some inverse law of quality at work here in America ... it seems the less we have to pay, the better the tour/exhibit is. The Lewis and Clark Caverns, just outside of Bozeman, are the most recent example. $10 each got us a two hour, two mile guided tour of the caverns. The views (inside and outside) are incredible. Photos on Picasa.

Three Forks, Montana

So we didn't get to Missoula today ... Three Rivers will have to do. We're at a lovely campground, and it's been sunny (no rain) all day. Tomorrow morning, we'll go by and see about the "Lewis and Clark Caverns" and if they look promising, we'll go inside. Then we'll try to make it to Missoula.

PS: Dave left some Pabst Blue Ribbon beer in the trailer ... I had one tonight and it tastes exactly like the stuff I drank in 1978 at the BCIT SUB and the Sheraton Villa (and every other place that served draft beer). Funny how we remember tastes and smells?