Right knee still hurts.
Wed I continued connecting w/ old friends. N Div serviced my bike. They staunched the oil flow from the fork damper. Successful dentist appointment except I have a tooth just waiting for the wrong placed bite to fracture it for a crown replacement. The insurance policy has a 1 year waiting period for 50% coverage of crown. No elk burgers until May 3, 2013.
Visited Mountain Gear. Brian is heading to Sun Valley soon. I shared w/ him ride ideas which he enthusiastically received. I plan on being down there later in Oct after the fall rains have hopefully fallen to damped the forest fires.
I connected @ Bicycle Butler. Tim was off to road ride w/ Gino owner of Round and Round productions. Gino is 71 yo.
Yesterday I set off for an easy ride in relatively flat Riverside SP. I lowered my ride effort and watched the HR which was disconcertingly too high for the effort. Enjoyable riding spinning trails. Devil’s up and Down is a nasty piece of old eroded single lane road bed over basalt chunks. Devil’s up is where I fell many years ago, the landing tore 2 of the 4 shoulder tendons and put me on the surgical table of the ortho DR I saw on Monday. Still is a dicey climb. Further along on the really nasty Devil’s Down. Years ago Fat Tire Trail riders Club that I co-founded scored an IMBA trail care crew visit did a reroute of the straight down hill run. The last several years of riding here I have shied away from the Down and rode our by pass. This year I stopped @ the top and studied the junk and picked a line that I thought would go. It took me 2 times to finally roll over the edge. I made it down. I rode back up our by pass then set up for another descent on Down. My line and control was better this time. Confidence accomplishment.
Almost at ride’s end did I remember I had a 3:00 appointment w/ Dennis downtown. He invests my $. I called to apologize then pushed the speed limit to make downtown meeting @ Fast Eddies and $1.00 happy hour beers.
Then friend Tom arranged a Lopper’s Ball reunion @ No-Li for beer drinking and story telling. Good buds from days gone by. I satisfied my yearly storage fee @ Tom’s house for a beer. We planned a ride on Sat and a gathering next week. Cal and Dave work for Boeing back in the Puget Sound but live in Spokane. Boeing is earning record profits but is attempting to squeeze the white collar union w/ take aways in the contract negotiations. 12 years ago the union struck.
I scored a Monday AM appointment w/ heart DR. First step to learning what’s up w/ the life pump.
Tonight I will have dinner @ my old favorite, The Elk, in Brown’s Addition. Year’s ago I slept on the street nearby where somebody tried to steal my bike off the rack. I was awakened and chased him away. Rather brazen on both our parts.
Here’s kudos to a restaurant: Last night I ate @ a Thai restaurant. I ordered Phad Tai. Heat level was from 0 to hottest 5. I ordered level 2 which turned out to be way hotter than I could enjoy. The waiter asked how my dinner was. I was still shoveling in the over hot good food. i reported that it was too hot for me but I ordered it. he asked if he could re-prepare it to make it less hot and not charge me for a second dinner. I said i made the choice and would eat it. He insisted on making me another serving. I finally accepted the offer.
Been staying at my old neighbors’ house across the road from my former house. 31 degrees several mornings ago. 2 nights I have slept w/ the heater on low.
Ah, big sprawling Spokane.
I shop @ Yokes grocery store down in the valley. Today I bought beer from their collection, many were beers that I had bought elsewhere in the country. Boulevard brewery from Kansas City. Really?
Smokey here.