You know how some people say that it takes the second day for a bout of physical exercise above and beyond normal to catch up with you? (I believe I say that, says E.) Yes, he does, but for Sparky, it was the very next day that her body said, "You did WHAT? Did you REALLY think you were going to get away with biking 18 miles and not expect trouble?" HA! The photo below is the infamous Giant Slide Loop where Sparky rode it one and half times yesterday, trying to find her keys.
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| Part of the infamous Giant Slide Loop |
Sparky doesn't like feeling like this at all! It reminds her of the time when she was in her thirties and decided to take up road biking...she was going to do some kind of harvest bike ride in South Bend, IN that went all the way up to some harbor/winery town in Michigan, a distance of about 95 miles. Did she train for this ride? Well, sort of....If you count about 10 miles a couple of times a week..Did she have the right kind of bike to do this ride? No, she didn't. Don't remember what kind of bike it was, but it wasn't light....Sparky was working and raising two kids at the time, so bike training was sporadic. Off she went on the wonderful harvest countryside ride...There was a lot of motivational stuff with this ride...A dance at the end, wine, cheese, hors d'ouvres, dinner, a great group of people....It started out really fun!
It's a good thing they had a sag wagon...About 60 miles into the trip, Sparky's knees went into lockjaw mode, whatever it is that knees do when they've had enough. Sparky rode the rest of the way in the sag wagon, and spent that evening with her knees on ice and her feet in buckets of ice water. Everything was swollen up so bad, she had to watch the dance from a sitting position. Sparky had to boogie in her chair, seated. That about killed her....
So today was a brutal reminder, that THE OLD GRAY MARE AIN'T WHAT SHE USED TO BE! (Boy, am I glad SHE said that, says E. I wasn't even thinking it!) Unh-hunh! But she's gonna work herself back into shape just as soon as possible. After the knees get back to normal. No more 18 mile bike rides without working up to it first. Sparky did such a dumb thing in the first place because she thought she knew where to find her lost keys from the first ride out in the morning. She didn't. (I tried to tell her folks, if she can't find her way out of a paper bag, she most certainly isn't going to find a set of keys in Acadia National Park! but NO-O-O-O, she didn't listen.) Sparky thinks she will listen next time, she doesn't like hurtin'!
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| a utillitarian bridge over a culvert, Sparky saw this twice yesterday |
[Sorry about the lack of photos today...I knitted, I rested, we ate ice cream to feel better, (anything to help my Sparky feel better, explains Eldo.) I reported my keys lost to the park service. Fat chance, lady, they said. No, they didn't. Just kidding. They were very nice, and sympathetically clucked their tongues when I told them my story....sigh!] If anybody finds a set of 2 black keys to a Honda with one being a valet key on the key ring, a bazillion grocery store customer discount plastic cards and two small silver keys, and they find it on the Giant Slide 8.2 mile carriage trail ride, it's Sparky and Eldo's car keys!
I think you need a week of R and R. I hope you are feeling much better today and those old knees start working again.
ReplyDeleteWe grew up in Ohio with Appalachian ancestry, so we understood exactly what "stove up" meant without reading any further...;) Also big fans of Aleve (on some right now, in fact).
ReplyDeleteSusan and Mike