August Recap

August was a crazy month for me. In July I rode almost every day. It was wonderful! But August was an entirely different month, cycling wise. On August first Joe and I left for his home town of Havre, Montana to attend his mom’s 90th birthday celebration. We drove the entire way in one day. A 13 hour drive not including rest, meal, and gas stops. We brought along our bikes thinking we might get an opportunity to do some riding while visiting but it did not work out that way. Instead we sat and visited with all of Joe’s brothers, sister, and relatives and talked and ate and ate and talked. It was good to see everyone but I missed my daily ride. Oh well sometimes you have no control and just have to live with it. We stayed through Tuesday and decided since we did not get any cycling done while in Montana we would stop in Idaho and ride the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. A great plan but my back thought otherwise. With all the sitting in the truck and sitting in Montana my back went out. I was in pain and we had to forgo our ride on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and get me home asap. Perhaps next year.

The birthday girl!

We pulled into our driveway on Wednesday afternoon and I called my chiropractor immediately. I saw him on Wednesday and Friday. I did a lot of stretching and icing on my back and I was beginning to feel like my good old self again. Just in time for my flight to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

My daughter and I flew back to Pittsburgh to visit my parents and siblings. We were there for ten days. We also drove to Sandusky, Ohio to visit my niece. Jackie and I did a lot while in Pittsburgh. We went to Cedar Point in Sandusky, to Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Zoo, and the Carnegie Mellon Museum of Natural History. We went out to eat with my parents and with my brother. We were on the go from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. The weather was hot and humid. Jackie and I were not used to it and it did take a lot out of us.

My nieces private beach on Lake Erie.

Cedar Point in the distance from niece's beach.

My dad, my mom, and my daughter at Carnegie Museum.

Baby elephant with her mom at Pittsburgh Zoo.

We returned home to Seattle on Wednesday, August 20th. As much as I enjoy going home to visit my family it still feels wonderful coming back to your own home. We returned to rain. So I did not get to ride my bike immediately, I had to wait until this morning.

It was beautiful today. Sunny, clear, and warm; it feels more like an autumn day then a summer day. Joe and I got up early so that we could get our ride in before he had to go to a meeting at 1 PM. We left the house at 7:30 AM and finished at 10 AM. We started with our jackets on but after 5 minutes we were warm enough to remove them. The back country roads where we usually ride were deserted and we had the roads all to ourselves. Mount Rainier was out as were the local farm animals that we passed. We rode by fields of corn and other crops. It was a good ride. After almost three weeks without a ride it felt wonderful to be back on my bike again.