I got one ride to work (17.7 miles one way) a
few weeks ago before it got cold again. It was slow and a little depressing in my current state of fitness. I struggled with
a 13 MPH average, although it was notably windy. I did not ride the Bionx as I found the battery was getting
old and would not make the trip. The extra weight on the bike without the added electric assist
was not an option.
I needed to upgrade the battery to
get some use and back into some semblance of shape. I plan to ride the electric one
day and road bike the next until I drop some weight and get strong enough not to require assistance again. I
shopped around and did find a powerful battery (37 Volt) that could be used on my
bike, but it was a demo model. It
was $750, which is still less than the comparable $1,050 for the battery I
previously used (24Volt). So, I installed the upgrade and hope the weather is acceptable this week so I can ride at
least once. It is 35 degrees for the low and 55 degrees for the high, possibly one day before we have
rain for the rest of the week.
It took two weekends, but my son is settled in his
new place in Golden. I am envious
of the location and unit. It is adorable, and I hope he is happy there. He has decorated it well! He and I built two tables for the bedroom and an
entertainment stand made of old wood from my father’s farm. He thought up the designs, and we could make them together. It is
nice to do things like that together. My ability and confidence to do things with him is much
less as I age. This was nice.
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| Golden Colorado, one block from my son’s place |
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| He built entertainment stands, and the outstanding Bose system is tucked away. |
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| Looking at the patio |
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| Looking into the kitchen |
It was also lovely to leave the office and not lose
vacation time. I lost just less
than 60 hours of vacation last year. I will lose more this fall unless I take some time off. I am considering flying to Denver every
other month to hang out with my son, as long as it is OK with him.
As far as physical health, I really struggle with pain. I recently watched the Barkley Marathon movie, and a quote from one of the finishers made sense. He said all the pain makes pain-free time more enjoyable. I
agree!!! Most of the pain is
associated with my lack of flexibility. My increased awareness of the need to stretch should help. Only time will tell. One point that remains the same is that losing
weight will help!
