Cruzin...

I finally escaped Los Angeles for a little Bay Area R and R. I first visited my friend Kim in Truckee and spent a couple days with her and her two future pro athlete sons. We spent an afternoon at the recently built bike park watching kids get airborne. It was brutal watching and not being able to ride, but I got to live vicariously through Jack as he launched off some sick jumps!

Jack going big!

I managed to squeeze in a short hike with Kim, but the terrain was a little more rugged than I was ready for. Lots of steep, rocky sections that required me to go slow. After a couple miles I had to call it a day and cash in my chips. My back just isn't ready for an unbalanced hike yet. Kind of disappointed I'm not further along at this point. I would have hoped by 4 months I'd be traversing rocky trails with relative ease. Patience, grasshopper. 

Kim taking a break from her normal 100 mile bike days to humor me with an easy stroll.

After leaving Truckee I stopped at the home of the one and only Drew, a future disc replacement patient I've been speaking with for the past few months, but haven't yet seen in person. He's scheduled for surgery in Barcelona in a couple weeks and is the most prepared any person could possibly be for a procedure like this. It's been a long time coming, but he's going to come home a new man. I can't wait to see you walking around pain free, Drew!

I'm currently in Santa Cruz staying with my friends Paule and Julie at their chateau in the woods. They live near mountain biking nirvana in the shadow of the Santa Cruz mountains. Paule is a master chef and knows his way around meat. If you don't like meat, this ain't the house for you! After a week at Chez PauleJulie, it's gonna be hard to return to Los Angeles.

It's what's for dinner

I was most concerned about spending hours in the car, and the drive up was a little rough. I stopped a little less than planned mainly because I just wanted to get the drive over as soon as possible. A quick stretch helped settle down my back and I was able to sit in relative comfort for about 30 minutes before the burn started to settle in.

I'm meeting with friends spread out around the Bay Area, so that means a lot more driving. Then on Monday I leave for Bend, Oregon. That's gonna be a tough stretch. My back was feeling somewhat decent until yesterday. I woke up with a deep, penetrating burn in my low back and it got worse with exercise. I attempted a walk in the woods yesterday, but got a couple miles in and felt an all too familiar tingle in my back, so I turned around and came home. I'm still doing my daily rehab, which consists of a series of light stretches and contractions. Otherwise I'm listening to my body and only doing what it tells me I can do. And at the moment that's not much. Dr. Bierstedt told me it's the ligaments and muscles still feeling strained and that I need to continue taking it easy for another month. 

The level of discomfort isn't too intense, but it's a nagging pressure that makes me nervous because it feels like a prelude to something bigger. So I'm going to wait for this to pass until I start pushing it again. It just feels like yet another slight backslide I have to wait out. I keep needing to remind myself that 4 months isn't that long since surgery. I had hoped I'd be one of those lucky few who are back to running marathons by now, but that's just not going to happen.

I had a goal of being on the bike by Summer Solstice. I've now changed my plans for fall. Big picture! Gotta think Big Picture!