Friday, June 1, 2012

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My Doc gave me the green light to get back on the saddle of my road bike; of course with one caveat-“DON’T FALL!” I’m healing and will be working on regaining full range of motion of my left arm & shoulder. I’m scheduled for bi-weekly PT sessions starting next week and am looking forward to making progress towards that goal.

I’ve spent the past 8 weeks in and out of a shoulder sling, spinning on an indoor Excercyle and getting in some flat rides on a recumbent. So, this is very exciting news for me! Finally…………..

The first few flat rides back on the bike felt a little odd; after riding the recumbent for the past 4 weeks, I felt so high off the ground! But now it feels like I’m back in my comfort zone-out on the roads again-YES!

I ride out from home to meet up with a few friends at Heather Farm for a jaunt up Mt Diablo-I haven’t been doing any sustained climbing what so ever so it’ll be interesting to see how my legs feel. The plan is to go slow and steady all the way to the summit.

The climb up to the summit of Mt Diablo is one of my favorite rides in the Bay Area. It’s like visiting an old friend who has no expectations of you-you’re just there! Do what you can-it welcomes you at every turn and it’s very comforting knowing what lies ahead. The road always remains the same while the beauty of the mountainsides is constantly changing with the seasons. It seems like I’ve missed spring altogether up here-the displays of orange poppies are gone and the once lush green slopes are now reflecting a golden hue.

We get up to the Junction Ranger Station and it’s just sunny and warm-a balmy 85F! FANTASTIC! Another thing to take notice is that they now have Mount Diablo State Park jerseys for sale-what a great way to promote and support the park. I’ll have to remember to bring my wallet next time around; hopefully they’ll have my size available.

Okay, it’s only another 4+ miles up to the summit-I’m pressing onwards! I just really love coming up here on a weekday-it’s very quiet with minimal traffic and cyclists on the road. It can’t get any better than this!

Another thing that I’ve taken to using is a rear view mirror mounted on my helmet. It took a few tries for me to get it right but once it’s properly adjusted, it works great! Change is good-we can always learn something new! Besides, the safety factor of it really outweighs the dork factor.

The views are always phenomenal from the summit; even under light hazy skies!

Thanks to Loyd, Jackie & Ron for coming out to join me on my slowpoke ride up Diablo! It’s wonderful to have supportive friends! I’ll be back up again sooner than later to continue rebuilding my level of endurance.

49 miles with 4546′ of elevation gain

Weather: Sunny & warm with temps ranging from the mid 80’s to the low 90’s

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Believe you can and you’re halfway there.
~Theodore Roosevelt

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Follow this route for today’s ride: