and the last few nights have been cold, with warmer temps during the day, making for prolific sap flow. I am still amazed at the amount of sap it takes to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. 40-50 gallons to make a gallon of syrup. Then of course there is all the boiling and stirring. A few weeks ago a friend brought us over some homemade maple syrup. We enjoyed and appreciated every drop of it.
Feels like the recovery of my right foot has been slow. My knees were pretty sore too, they were actually bothering me last riding season, which is part of the reason I decided to go ahead and have my bunions removed. After a long ride, I would get pain in my right knee, that would be much worse when I went up the stairs. Only way I could get up the was to turn my foot slightly to the outside, and do a little penguin walk with that foot. Once my podiatrist released me for exercise., I went to my sports medicine Dr. to see if i couldn't get some physical therapy going for the knees. Turns out I have petellar femoral syndrome, AKA runners knee. Basically my knees aren't tracking right when I bend them. The right, is worse than the left. The grooves are slightly off, causing pain and inflammation. I am in PT 2 days a week, plus doing exercises at home. The hope is that if my quads are stronger, things will tend to wander less when I'm using my knee. So far improvement is slow.
There is a new 24/7 fitness center that opened up, about 8 miles from us and it has recumbent bikes. There is no membership fee and we can do a month to month membership for a very reasonable cost. We joined until mid April, figuring that we can at least start getting some miles in, while we wait for real riding weather to arrive. First visit, I made 1 mile on the bike, before my knee started acting up. (my PT told me to take it slow.) Next visit, I was up to 3, along with a cool down on the treadmill, after that I went up to 5. With this membership, at least we can build our base, even if it is a rainy day, or too cold to ride.
My feet are still too swollen to get my biking sandals on with my orthotics in them, so my first ride on Rollin will have to be with just my sandals. I have been able to wear a pair of old tennis shoes to ride at the fitness center, but they are still tight on the right foot.
The last 2 days have been very nice. Sunny and in the low 50's. Our woods are still full of snow, but at last the main roads are clear. There is a half mile of gravel between our house and where the pavement starts, and that half mile is slushy, muddy, and rutted. So today, after checking Rollin over, and topping off the tires, we loaded him up into the cargo trailer,
and drove a mile to the township hall. We parked the car, put the ramp down, and escorted him out. After blinking a bit in the light, he seemed ready to go, and so were we.
Wish the grass was already green, like it is in this photo I had on file.
The easiest route with the least amount of hills was towards Dighton, so that is where we headed. I wasn't sure if my legs and knees were strong enough to go 16 miles roundtrip, so we decided to turn around, if we needed to.
It was sunny, 52 degrees, with 10 MPH winds, although they felt stronger. What a feeling of freedom to pedal down the road, listening to the mourning doves coo, feeling the sun on our backs, and enjoying the blue sky. Life is good, indeed.
Rollin seemed to be in good shape after slumbering the winter away in the garage. My feet felt and looked different on the pedals with my bunions gone. Even with the swelling that is still there, my toes don't feel so jammed and squished together. My downstroke feels stronger, because I can put the weight evenly on the bottom of my foot, instead of rolling my feet in, like I used too. Maybe riding with my feet straight, will be easier on my knees. Part of what causes petaller femoral syndrome is pronation, and I certainly did that before my surgery.
My sister who has knee issues told me about L-glutamine, a natural amino acid.
L-glutamine is an amino acid found in high levels throughout the body (primarily in skeletal muscle). L-glutamine is also available in a number of foods and in dietary supplement form. L-glutamine supplements are often used to increase muscle mass, as well as treat certain health conditions.
L-glutamine has many functions in the body, including protein synthesis. L-glutamine is also essential to proper function of the immune system. In addition, L-glutamine appears to play a role in brain function and digestion.
The body produces it, but not always in adequate amounts. Tony and I started taking it about a week ago. I could tell a marked difference in the swelling and pain in my foot within 48 hours. It took Tony a bit longer to feel any changes. We are taking it in powder form. 1 teaspoon about an hour before exercise. It is supposed to help our body build muscle too. We also take 1 t. before bed. We mix it in a glass of water and take it on an empty stomach. Hoping it will help us get in shape sooner and help speed up healing in my foot. My last surgery, to remove the screws, and straighten my big toe, was Feb 8, 2013.
Tyson, the boxer, that I had to pepper spray in the mouth last fall was out when we rode past, was out.
Of course he wasn't on a tie out. He barked like mad at us, started off the porch and changed his mind. I'm hoping it was because he remembered our last encounter and not because he was simply not in the mood to chase.
At the 5 mile mark we decided to turn around. A 10 mile ride would be plenty for today. We only needed to use the mountain drive twice and that was when we hit the hills coming home. That was also when I was glad we had made the choice to keep the ride shorter. Neither of my knees were very happy and my right foot was telling me it was time to get back to the car.
For some odd reason my computer has decided it will not upload pictures anymore, so I didn't take any today. I hope to find a way to post some soon. For now you'll have to settle for pics I find online, or from old albums. My apologies in advance for the inconvenience.
Predicted weather for tomorrow is cold and rainy, with lake effect snow in some places for Monday and Tuesday. Looks like some riding in the fitness center is ahead of us. Wishing you all a blessed and Happy Easter as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.
