Athens 200 km Ride

Yesterday I rode a 200 km Randonneur event which meant I've now completed at least one 200 k or longer RUSA ride for 58 consecutive months. This one was special because it happened exactly 4 weeks after I crashed on my bike and had surgery to repair a fractured femur. It was also special because I had tremendous support from other riders. Kevin Kaiser volunteered to ride a tandem with me even though he had never been on one before. Jeff Dilcher, John Drummond, and Wayne King hung with Kevin and I all day and helped us get through intersections with a minimum of unclipping or stopping. They also helped us with starts since we sometimes had concerns about getting going without falling. Four other riders ahead of us must have tired out all the dogs that can chase cyclists because all the dogs we encountered seemed too tired to care.

Many of my friends think trying to ride a bike 4 weeks after a fractured femur is crazy. Maybe it is, but after many orthopedic surgeries including 3 total joint replacements I believe that movement and rehabilitation along with staying in good physical condition are vital to recovery. The biggest concern is the risk of falling, but my rationale is an individual is at risk of falling at any time. The biggest part of managing that risk is to be aware of it all the time and take appropriate precautions.

The scariest thing about my injury is during the recovery process realizing how hard performing simple tasks can be. I have to negotiate 3 flights of stairs to my condo and that can be very challenging lugging groceries, walking my energetic new dog, etc. I am fortunate to have many friends who offered and provided support. However, I found myself on many occasions not asking for help and just figuring out how to get things done on my own. Maybe that comes from being 68 years old and taking several gerontology course. It make me think about what life could be like years down the road if I gave up being active and somewhat stubborn. Nevertheless, I worked hard at restoring flexibility and function to my leg, and it paid dividends.

Anyway back to the ride. It was a chilly beautiful morning as we gathered in Watkinsville for the 7:30 start. After making final adjustments to the tandem we headed out. The first few miles were nervous ones mainly for Kevin who was brand new to tandem riding. It wasn't as unnerving for me as I had ridden tandems many times both as a captain and stoker, but it had been a while. My hardest task was mounting and dismounting the bike. I was glad to be on the back where the top tube was slanted down because I could not have gotten on or off the front. As the miles rolled by we both settled in and by the end of the ride we both were much more comfortable. One issue was neither one of us were able to pedal while standing which we both do quite a lot on our regular bikes. Staying in the saddle over 128 miles left both of us with pretty sore butts. During the day it was far easier for me to ride and peddle than to walk around during our stops. Even though both Kevin and I are experienced cyclist we are constantly learning from these rides. One mistake we made was using over sized water bottles. They were almost impossible to take out of and put back into the cages on the tandem because of space.

Looking back on the ride, I am grateful to have the ability to ride a bike long distances. There is so much wonderful scenery, along with a lot of great roads without much traffic. I think the vast majority of vehicles I encounter are very accommodating. Personally I'd rather take my chances on roads than ride on multi-use paths where traffic principles are not always followed. So what's next? Another 200 k ride next month on the Silver Comet Trail.

4 Years Sober

As of July 8th I have abstained from alcohol 4 years. That's quite an accomplishment for someone like me who drank pretty consistently for well over 45 years. i certainly tried to control my drinking over the years, even stopped completely for a few months at times, but always went back to drinking. I'm grateful for the friends I have met in AA meetings, along with the insight I get from going to an average of 5-10 meetings each month. When I initially quit I worried that friends who knew me as a drinker would give me grief over not drinking, but that just did not happen. At social functions it's clear to me that no one really cares what I drink (or don't drink). Family reunions, post ride parties, and my recent high school reunion are just a few experiences that I've weathered without any real temptation.

I have over 20 cousins and as I've spent time with many of them it's clear that alcohol was an issue on my mother's side of the family. Several cousins like me no longer drink, and there are at least a few who still do but probably should not. In retrospect genetics plus building up a huge tolerance were the main reasons behind my addiction. The comments I originally posted after 15 months still ring true today. Whenever, I think about whether i could drink normally it's easy to remind myself that I can't and the urge passes fairly easily. However, I have learned that it is very dangerous to get too cocky or complacent about this since I've seen individuals with much more sobriety than me slip off the slope.

Back to the Future--High School Reunion

Last weekend I drove to my hometown of Danville, Virginia for my 50th high school reunion. This was the fifth reunion for the class of 1964 and I have attended all but one. I enjoyed reconnecting with classmates, and there were a few at this reunion that i had not seen since high school graduation. There are several though that seem to have disappeared and about 50 have died. My brother mark also came back and we had a chance to ride bikes all over town on the roads we road on so many years ago. Whenever i visit Danville I'm reminded that it's a better place to be from than at. The Dan River runs right through the town and it has always amazed me that the town has never really taken advantage of that. on the north side of the river there is now a paved bike path/trail that is pleasant but otherwise the river is wasted. Now that Dan River Mills is gone there is a lot of river space that could be developed especially near the old downtown area. Danville just doesn't seem to be able to take advantage of it, but that's always been one of the problems with Danville.

I enjoyed cycling with my brother and another classmate (Dick Smith)and was reminded that since there's a river in the middle of town there are plenty of hills on either side. it also seemed like I could ride from one end of town to the other in a matter of minutes. I saw virtually no other cyclists the entire weekend except on the river trail. It reminds me of how many folks in Atlanta favor cycling on the Silver Comet Trail which like the trail in Danville is fairly narrow. The difference is that there are a lot fewer folks on Danville's trail which makes it somewhat more tolerable.

So it was an overall good weekend ecept for the actual drive up and back. It was my first road trip without Greta and it was pretty lonely. Even now i'm still adjusting to life without her.

My Girl Greta

Greta showed up in my life on March 01, 2002. I had recently lost a great dog named Shadow to liver cancer (see Papa's Little Girl post from 02/13/2005) I was torn over losing her but missed the companionship of a good dog. A friend who volunteered at Atlanta Pet Rescue asked if I would foster a puppy named Greta they had just picked up from the Spalding County Shelter, but couldn't offer for adoption until she was spayed. I picked up Greta on a Friday after work, and within minutes knew I would keep her.

Greta was exactly 4 months old that day, weighed 19 pounds, and was full of energy. At first she loved to chase squirrels and once she treed them she would stay at the base and bark at them as if to say "why wont't you come back down and play?" Of course I worried she would chase one into the street but in parks trees were the preferred escape. One day I noticed a dead squirrel that must have just died. It looked like it was taking a nap. I called her attention to it and she charged over expecting it to flee. When it didn't move Greta kept circling it and barking at it. When the squirrel still didn't move she began nudging it with her nose and barking incessantly.

Fortunately we discovered a more enjoyable activity. I started tossing a tennis ball and of course Greta would fetch it, actually bring it back and drop it at my feet. If I didn't pick it up she would pick it up,toss it at my feet again, and bark at me to toss it until I did. One day it bounced over a neighbor's fence out of sight. Just like with the squirrel she sat there and barked, but when I tossed her a different ball she caught it and immediately spit it out. Not until I climbed over the fence and retrieved the one we started with would she be happy. Whatever ball we started with was the only one Greta would retrieve. If we were walking in woods I could threw the ball into the deepest brush or even in a direction when she was looking elsewhere not seeing the actual throw and Greta would starting working her way around until she located it. Sometimes that could take 15-20 minutes, but she almost always located that ball. Of course tennis ball retrieval became her favorite activity for her entire life. She especially loved retrieving it from ponds, lakes, and rivers and became a very strong swimmer.


Since Greta loved riding in a car road trips were memorable times together. The longest one was to Oklahoma for a family reunion in 2009. It was 870 miles each way and of course Greta had a great time chasing tennis balls and swimming in the lakes on my cousin's property. She also could recognize many places we frequented and as we got close she would stand up, wag her tail and bark excitedly. She was extremely friendly with every person she met, but there were some dogs she just did not like. Most of the time they were dogs big or small that wanted to jump at or on her, and she would let them know that was totally unacceptable. I never saw her back down from an aggressive dog either but she would ignore them if they weren't close.

Greta followed my orthopedic journey with two canine cruciate ligament surgeries on her rear legs. The procedure is called Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. When she injured her left rear leg in 2010 she was referred to an orthopedic vet surgeon. He told me she would not be able to walk up or down stairs for several weeks after the operation. Since Greta weighed 45 pounds, hated being picked up and lived in a 3 story condo this looked like a challenge. I ordered a special leash for dogs with hip issues; when it arrived I brought the package into the living room where Greta was resting. I opened the package,she took one look at it, hopped up on the couch and gave me a look that said "don't even think about using that thing on me." As it turned out she was able to negotiate stairs with just a normal leash. After 12 weeks Greta gradually resumed all her normal activity including ball retrieval. I was jealous; her surgeries and rehab were more successful than the many I've undergone. Two years later she injured the other rear leg but again still chased the ball, but wanted time outs more frequently. I think her age also began to slow her down. Nevertheless, trips to the forest trail and river were meet with excitement, tail wagging and ball retrieval.

Last November Greta developed a sinus infection which was turned out to be cancerous. I consulted with 2 vets; because the treatment was invasive, and the prognosis was not great, I decided to just keep her comfortable. She remained comfortable and normal until the very end. I went to participate in the Race Across America and left her with a friend who always kept her whenever I was gone and could not take her with me. Two days later I got a call that she was at the vet and seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. While driving to California I consulted with the vet and made the painful decision. In a way it was a blessing since I have always had a difficult time being present. My friend Jeannette was there and it was a peaceful passing. I also had 2 weeks of being involved with the Race Across America (RAAM) to help divert the pain.

Now I am home and about to embark on a road trip that Greta made with me several times. Reality has set in. I miss Greta's companionship, but she will live the rest of my life in fond memories. To again reflect on the quote in the book My Dog Skip, "she's not really gone; a part of Greta lies buried in my heart."