Challenges getting ready for this year's STP

Preparing for this year's STP (our 6th) has been fun.  We have been on our bikes around 110 times, including 35 times on the trainers when the weather was bad early this spring.

We have completed more miles than we ever have, and have gradually improved our times on all of our standard rides.

In terms of muscles and endurance we are in better shape than ever.

So far so good!

But, sadly, other parts of our bodies have not cooperated.

The first and most important set-back was Vicky's back.  Over 20 years ago she was rear-ended, resulting in a fracture of one of her vertebrate.  She now has a titanium disk there.  She was told at the time that this meant she would never be able to engage in the physical activities that had been important to her.

The physician was mistaken.  She returned to running, to horse back riding, to hiking, and now has become a cyclist.   Knowing Vicky it is hard to imagine her slowing down. 

However, these kinds of back problems never really go away, and the arthritis that inevitably sets in has gradually become more of a problem, until at times this year she was in real pain.  That was unacceptable. 

We dealt with this by getting her a new bike, one known for its comfort--the Specialized Ruby.  And it has really helped.  She has about 250 miles on it now, and rates the improvement as being about 75%.  That's the difference between being able to ride 15 miles a day and being able to ride 100 miles a day.

The other thing that happened is with my reconstructed right foot.  I have had three surgeries on it.  These surgeries have kept me going for over six years.  I frequently have pain in that foot, but not enough to slow me down.

But this year was different.  Twice I have had serious pain in the toes.  If you have ever had toe pain (ever broken a toe?) you know that it is quite bad.  I assume I broke or seriously strained one of them mowing the yard with my DR mower.  Using the DR mower requires a lot of physical work when I mow our hilly back yard because it isn't really a mower---instead it is a brush cutter that I use as a mower because no real mower will cut the grass back there.    There are only two wheels, for example, so turning it involves heavy pushing.   I think I pushed against that toe too hard. 

The toe didn't improve with time, so I started wearing a post-surgical boot, the one I wore after my third foot operation that involved breaking and straightening toes.  That made it so I could cycle, because the bottom of the boot does not bend at all.  See the boot in the photo?

But I thought that boot wouldn't get me all of the way to Portland (besides I would look ridiculous and I still have some of my dignity remaining), so am trying another solution---I took my sneakers to a cobbler and had a steel shank inserted into the sole.  Now the sneaker doesn't bend at all.  That seems to work OK, although there won't be time to give it the kind of test drive that I need.  And why, you may ask, can I not try the new sneaker out some more?

BECAUSE, on our last ride (60 miles) I got the worst blister on my sit-upon I have ever had.  It is a total mystery why I got it.  We are having to rest for several days, instead of riding, so it can heal up before we try to get 210 miles to Portland.  Sixteen hours of rubbing one's skin raw doesn't sound like much fun, at least to me.

Now, here is an example of what happened to the rest of my dignity:  How do you recover from a blister on your butt when every time you sit down you are resting on the sore spot?  My solution was to remove the top of our camper's toilet and sit on it.  It feels so much better.
 

While I could, in a pinch, cycle to Portland wearing a surgical boot, I could never cycle to Portland sitting on a toilet seat, so MY BUTT BETTER GET WELL FAST!

There are all kinds of reasons we could come up with to just not do any more STP rides.  We are in our late 60s, we have a normal amount of body issues that are seen in people in their late 60s who do things that push their bodies, and sometimes we are in considerable discomfort.

But the rewards are too great.  Riding the STP gives us a focus for several months that keeps us healthy.  Some days we feel more like cycling than we do on other days (particularly if the weather isn't all that great), and having a goal like the STP tends to give us an added push to get out onto the bikes.

And it is an awful lot of fun on the ride, fun staying where we do in Napavine halfway to Portland,  fun doing it with Jules, and fun crossing the finish line.

So, a week from tomorrow we will head out of my son's family's house at 4:45 a.m. with my son Jules, and we will cycle to the start line.  We aren't going to let little things like arthritis, a broken back, three foot operations, a broken toe, and a blister on my butt stop us!

If you are on the STP route, look for us and cheer.  We'll be easy to spot---I'll be the one on the toilet seat.