I'm Riding Little by Little

I have been back on the bike bit by bit, most of the rides have been short 6 miles or less but I am working toward building up strength and stamina again.  Between campaigning and time off the bike from a fall I am far far short of mileage numbers like I was able to post last year.  There's always next season. 

I've tried to note any tenativness on the bike and so far the only place that seems to be happening is when it comes to stops and tight situations.  I see that I take less risk when faced with an iffy bit of navigation.  We'll see how much the courage comes back over time.  Maybe courage is not the right word but more like feeling one with the bike.  I think that comes with more time on it.

Happy riding!  

First Ride After Crash

Road rash is nearly all healed and gone but my ribs still hurt like the Dickens, however yesterday after work I braved a short ride just around 4 miles.  I was a bit tenative at first and it was a pretty slow ride around town.  Before I set out I had to readjust my handlebars which had taken a turn for the worse, the fall had knocked them out of alignment so that I could only go straight by pointing to the left.  The sense of accomplishment by doing my own repair set me off in a good mood.  I'd been looking with longing for the last couple of days at my bike and considering getting back on, so last night I did it.

I have to admit as much as I really love my bike and bicycling around, right after the crash I was mad at my bike and had no desire whatsoever to ride.  I had been a pretty fearless rider seldom braking down steep hills, I wonder if I will approach things the same way now?  Time will tell...

Official Road Warrior - Bike Crash

August 1st I had my first official bike crash complete with road rash and bruised ribs.  I had been out on the campaign trail in a neighborhood with asphalt roads and in one particular cul de sac the road had deteriorated to the point where there was a lot of loose gravel on top of the asphalt.  Loose gravel on a paved road is like water on top of ice.  Very slippery.  In a flash my bike skidded out from under me on a turn and I went down with a thud, belly first and ended up with a great deal of road rash on my hands, elbows, knees and had the wind knocked out of me.  Luckily I did not actually hit my face on the ground or knock out a tooth.  X-rays later showed no broken bones, they just hurt like they've been broken. I left a lot of skin behind on that road.

Like all accidents it happened so fast, one minute I was up and the next I was hurtling toward the ground belly first.  I laid there dazed and out of wind for a minute or two and finally got into a sitting position and stayed there for a while.  I reached for my cell phone and called a friend who came to my rescue. 

I've not been on my bike since the accident and really have not had much desire, not so much because I'm afraid, but because I still hurt too much in the ribs that I could not imagine riding right now.  I hope to be able to get back on in the coming weeks because I'd like to build up my strength ahead of a knee surgery that I am planning on.  I have not scheduled it yet but expect to do so today.

As an anti-climatic footnote to this post I was not successful in the primary election and my term of office will expire on November 20th of 2012.  Winning is more fun, however I am at peace with the outcome and look forward to a new chapter in my life.

Stats

This may explain my absence and time lapse with blog posts...what can I say, at times I'm a nut for stats.



156.26 miles pedaled campaigning via bicycle. Now that's not a big number for bicycling in general however this all took place within 36 square miles. Our township is 6 miles by 6 miles.

2100 homes visited and campaign literature dropped off.

1150 pieces of campaign lit mailed out.

750 pieces of campaign lit passed out at the parade.

It's winding down and we have but a week left till the primary election.  I can't wait to go for a ride where I can pedal more than 20 yards without stopping.  It'll be nice to let the wheels go round and round and ride just for the sheer joy of riding.  I do have to say that this has really been fun.

On The Bike Campaign Trail - 100% Green

A big thank you to all the supporters for your encourgament, your friendly horn tooting, shout outs and cheers of support as I bike my way through the township visitng neighborhoods door by door. Your support is appreciated and it makes the hot days and miles fly by!


Last year I committed to riding every road north and south and east and west in the township to get to know the road issues, homes and natural features up close and personal. This year with the campaign I am also getting to ride every side road and side street and greeting every resident on their doorstep. This has been a 100% green campaign by bicycle and a great way to visit every property in the township. Again, thank you for your support. We have a gorgeous and beautiful community to be very proud of.
 

The Green Campaign is rewarding in so many ways, I get to meet our residents while canvassing and I'm getting fresh air and making healthy choices.  Did I mention how much fun bike riding is? 

The Mitten Pedaler

My friend Jim is touring the perimeter of our great State Michigan by bicycle and logging his adventure at the following link Mitten Pedaler.  The photos and journal of his adventure is a worthy read for bicycling adventurers.  His travels take him along side several of the Great Lakes as we are a penninsula state surrounded by fresh water oceans.

Michiganders, celebrate Pure Michigan with Jim!

Peace Jim.

4th of July Parade Photos

Thanks to my team of supporters we had a good presence during the parade.  Not only walking or riding along with smiling and waving but engaging the crowd along the route.  We passed out over 1400 pieces of campaign material and 80 pounds of candy.  Lots of happy kids.  You can see the slide show at http://www.debforsupervisor.com/.  Besides the convertible and golf carts a few chose to ride their bikes along with me.

Here's a couple of photos of parade.

 

Back In The Saddle

For the time being I am back in the saddle, having another flare up and taking more steroids to combat it allows me the opportunity to ride again.  However my riding has been confined to my door to door candidate campaign.  Leisure and exercise power rides are on hold, mileage is eeking up in a cumulative way but it's all "stop and go" miles.  Riding up and down neighborhood streets and up and down people's driveways.  It does make the campaigning go quicker and give me time on the bike and exercise too.

I do enjoy the very most getting out and talking with our citizens about what's important to them and the things that impact their day to day living.  Mostly it is roads, taxes, the economy and having more places to shop and dine locally, people don't like having to drive far for services and goods.  Falling home prices due to the economy concern some people as they watch their investment dwindle.  Personal safety and security for their family is high on their list of priorities along with good schools and neighborhoods, fortunately we are blessed with providing good servies in those areas. 

So far the support has been widespread and encouraging.  People have noticed improvements in the township and are appreciative of the fiscal responsibility and restraint that has been evidenced.

So far I've logged over 65 miles campaigning and visited about 950 homes.

You can visit my campaign website at http://www.debforsupervisor.com/

Reader Contest

I invite readers to share their best bicycle ride story.  If you're following this blog you've read about my favorite bike ride now I'd like to read about yours. 

Rules:
1.  Your favorite ride (yeah, I know it's hard we love them all) and a short story about it, photos appreciated.

2.  Respond via a comment to this post.

3.  Deadline is July 6th, 2012.

4.  Readers will be the judge by voting after all entries are in.

5.  Prize is bragging rights! and a feature on your blog if you have one.

I'm looking forward to reading about your rides whether recent events, childhood memories or something in between, share the fun!

St. Joseph Hospital to Ford Lake

Overlook at Ford Lake

Observation Deck at Ford Lake

Boardwalk over lake, water on both sides Eagle Crest Golf Club on the left

Series of islands with arched bridges jutting out into North Bay on Ford Lake

Very nice colored concret bike trail crossing markers

Me down below



This trip was taken with my bike writing friend Deb A, we began at the campus of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, the trail winds around the grounds and where the trail crosses a driveway they have really neat color concrete markings to help alert drivers.  I'm going to call our engineers tomorrow who are working on phase II of our non motorized path and discuss this type of marking for where the path crosses the US23 freeway exit and entrance ramp.

After winding around the campus the trail passes by Eastern Michigan University football stadium, the Convocation Center then veers off through the woods for a straight mile or more and then it's onto city sidewalks around the Eastern Campus, along Huron Drive, some residential neighborhoods and into Riverside Park and Frog Island.  Up above the river at street level is downtown Ypsi where we wandered around for a bit then headed south out of town and to Ford Lake near Bellville.  Ford Lake was created by Henry Ford (the auto mogul) who damed the river into this made made lake to use the hydro electric power for one of his plants.  The lake and area affords ample recreation opportunities with a trail around much of the lake, picnic and hiking areas, boating, kayaking, canoeing and a spectacular golf course Eagle's Crest.  It was a great ride and on Thursday the weather was perfect around 70 degrees, no humidity and abundant sunshine.  Round trip was just a hair under 15 miles.

If you'd have asked me two weeks ago, this ride would have seemed like a far away dream as I had not been able to get around much at all on foot let alone on a bike.  I saw the orthopedic surgeon last week who did total knee replacement on my left knee in 2007 and the xrays showed bone on bone with my right knee.  I had asked him if I was a candidate to get gel injections so that I could have some relief until after the campaign is over but he did not think that they would be of any help as the cartilage and cushioning is gone.  The pain is caused by rough bone edges against rough bone.  I'd just had a cortisone injection into the knee joint a couple of weeks prior and also an injection of steriod system wide and am taking a prednesone dose pack.  When that ran it's course I got on a low dose of prednesone daily for a short time until I can schedule surgery.  It sure is difficult to schedule surgery while I am feeling so very well at the time, however I don't believe this will last more than a few weeks and if I'm lucky a few months.  I am thinking right before the election in the fall of having this done.  Much will depend on scheduling surgery and my over all health.  If I can wait as long as December or the first of the year I will, however I believe that is being overly optimistic. 

It's a tough call right now, I am in the throes of an active political campaign for an August primary election and a November General election.  I run an aggressive door to door campaign and visit each home in the township, it's tough to abruptly halt that, however where I was a couple of weeks ago I wasn't doing anybody anygood, now I'm semi on the mend and got several hours of campaigning in this weekend.  One good thing is that I get to ride my bike, exercise, keep flexibility and range of motion up with my knee/leg and campaign at the same time.  Double duty...  Decisions, decisions...what is a girl to do?