LIVING WITH MCL

Finally, after trying to squeeze one months worth of exercise into the last two weeks, and lose at least a portion of the 6 pounds I gained on vacation, I've decided my body needs a rest. I did manage to get in 350 miles during the last 14 days, but I've only lost 1 pound. (Maybe 2 if I look at the scale from the odd angle). Anywaze, why is it so much easier to gain weight than it is to lose it? Maybe it's the fact I stuffed myself with food and wine yesterday, at the monthly Sunday Afternoon Wine Group (SAWG) gathering. This is the first SAWG we've attended in a long time, for exactly that reason, not to mention the fact the wines aren't usually that good. The wines this week were from Northern Italy, so you can make your own assumptions. It was still worth attending. I've always believed SAWG's were more of a social gathering than anything else, and in that regard it didn't disappoint. It was also good to see those we hadn't seen in a while, ...

Follow up from this mornings mini post . Well, I made it to the ride, and for some reason decided to go out with the 1st group. It was fast! 31.3 mph heading out on Westminster. That's when I got dropped for the first time. With the help of a stronger rider, who was left behind, and the fortuitous traffic light, we managed to get back on to the back of the pack. I even managed to hang on for another mile, but got dropped again on Lampson. This time, I was close enough to take a minor short cut, and get back on again at Valley View, and even managed to stay on half way through our second time on Westminster. But by that time I was pretty much "toast", and decided enough was enough, so I just headed to the coffee shop for tea. I was reasonably pleased. Not bad for a 60 year old man with a hemoglobin of 11.9 (reference range 14-18), I figured, and I might even have enough energy left over to do tomorrows ride.

and I haven't even started getting ready for my bike ride. I actually slept till 7 AM, which is very unusual. So here I sit, after leisurely eating breakfast, sipping my tea, trying to drum up enough energy to go meet the club. I won't make it to the start, but fortunately I have till 8:45 AM to meet the club, at the alternate starting point, for the "hammer zone" portion of the ride. (The first part of the ride is just a warm up, so I haven't missed much, or so I tell myself.) [BIG SIGH]

Last Wednesday around 6 PM, I was sitting in front of the television eating pizza with Edie, when the phone rang. The phone actually rang twice, but the first time no one responded when I answered the phone, so I hung up.  But a few minutes later it rang again. This time the person asked where I was, and how come I wasn't at the meeting? Meeting! Our monthly ASM International Southbay chapter meeting that is (a professional organization I belong to and which I am the chairman) . I had absolutely no idea. I had thought since I was gone the first 3 weeks of the month, and no one informed me about a meeting (I never bothered to check the website when I got back), I assumed we weren't having a meeting. Plus, I'm usually the one who has to spearhead everything to get the information out, and ensure we schedule the meeting, so I was shocked, to say the least, when I was asked why I wasn't at the meeting. Clearly I'm not as indispensable as I thought. Oh well, this mig...

I was in Mammoth Lakes, California, and I'm guessing it was the last Whiskey Creek Stage Race I ever participated in. How do I know that? Garry just sent me this picture taken in 1990 or 1991.  It was so long ago, not even he knows for sure. From left to right, that's Darrell, Me, Albert (hiding behind Joan), Troy and of course Garry. It's hard to believe we were ever that young, and [I was] that good looking. :)

Ever since getting back from New Zealand, each day it's been more difficult getting up in the morning. And then getting going is getting tougher as well. This morning was particularly bad, as I didn't get out of bed until 6:40 AM, and now it's after 7, and I haven't finished breakfast, nor brushed my teeth. There's just no way I'm going to be able to catch the group at the marina this morning, so I've decided on a change of pace, and ride with the group that starts a lot closer to my house. At this pace, I'm going to need another vacation, just to recover from the first vacation!

I've just finished uploading all the photos and movies to my Picasa Web Album. You can view them in thumbnail format on the right (but the movie clips won't play), or in the larger version , where the movie clips will play. The photos are mostly in chronological order, but Picasa didn't upload in the order I specified, nor did it upload the photo titles. I've rearranged them as best I could, and tried labeling some of them, but it is getting late, and I don't feel like working on it any more. Plus it was a lot of work just getting them sorted and uploaded. I'll work on that, and also getting rid of many of the very similar photos tomorrow, or some other time, if ever. :) I just hope you'll be as impressed how beautiful New Zealand is, as I was. Enjoy!

It's amazing how exhausting a 3 week vacation can be. And this is despite the fact I was feeling good before we left New Zealand, and we flew business class, and I got what I thought was a good nights sleep on the plane coming home [at least it was no worse than the amount of sleep I normally get at home]. Today, I am feeling worse than I did on Wednesday, after my first bike ride in three weeks, and thinking I was recovered after feeling so horrible on Tuesday. Hopefully it's just the accumulation of todays ride along with Wednesday's ride that is catching up to me, and not something more sinister. Oh well, at least this gives me a good opportunity to go through all the pictures I took on the trip, and upload them for anyone and everyone to see. I know you're all waiting anxiously.

when I awoke at 6:30 AM, and realized it was still dark outside. It wasn't like that (still dark at 6:30 AM) when we left for New Zealand 3 weeks ago. I thought something must have been wrong with the clocks, but then I realized daylight savings time went into effect while we were gone, and that our niece, who spent one night at the house to keep Sylvia company, must have changed all the clocks. Still that didn't change the fact I overslept, and missed meeting the club for my much anticipated first bike ride in 3 weeks this morning. In retrospect though, that was probably a good thing, since I wasn't feeling too good yesterday, and needed the extra rest. So I got up, had a leisurely breakfast, and then headed down the coast by myself, hoping to meet the group on their way back. I did meet the group in Newport Beach, but a little sooner than expected, and after turning around, and bridging the gap (fortunately for me [or maybe not so fortunate] they caught a red light),...

The end of our vacation is finally close at hand. In just under 3 hours we should be heading home. I am a little disappointed, as well as being happy. You know what Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, there's no place like home Anywaze, as a continuation on my last post, and since I have lots of time on my hands right now, I thought I would take the time to reflect a little further on our trip, and provide some more thoughts and impressions from New Zealand. New Zealander's love Americans. The don't love some of the things are country stands for now (at least our government), but they definitely love American culture, especially American oldies, and country western music. In fact on the south island that's all you heard from the one station that broadcast on all the air waves, in ever city, as we traveled through the south island. It varies a little more on the north island, but at the most popular bars in Auckland, that's pretty much all you hear. If you...

Well this is it, Auckland, New Zealand, the last leg in our tour of New Zealand. We turned in the rental car, and checked into the Westin Hotel, were we plan on spending our last 3 days, before returning home. And as I was sitting in my room after a hearty dinner, I starting contemplating the last two weeks, thinking about the similarities and differences between the US and New Zealand, all the experiences we've had, and what if anything I would have done differently. One thing that stood out was the lack of Americans in New Zealand, and the abundance of Europeans. Contrary to popular belief, the US is no longer the dominate force in the world, it once was. The other thing that stood out, and which I commented on previously , was how different the two islands are. The most notable thing being how sparsely populated the south island compared to the north. The towns are smaller, and the roads are far less congested. Prices are typically more expensive as well in the south, especially...

I've downloaded a few new videos and photos . Check them out if you like.

I started writing this post this yesterday, feeling a little down, and thinking about how I preferred the south island over the north, but due to internet connection problems, I was forced to delay this post. I'm sort of glad I did now. Mainly this feeling was precipitated by our stay in Taupo. The hotel we stayed at was mediocre at best, and the food was less than spectacular, and the town of Taupo just seemed like any other big city in any other country in the world. But then we arrived in Rotorua, and just by chance, found this spectacular B&B right on Lake Rotorua. Now, Rotorua isn't much different than Taupo, it might even be bigger than Taupo, and it definitely seems more congested, but for me, it's all about where you stay, and the Kawaha Lodge exceeded my expectations. This lodge is even nicer than the chateaus we stayed at in France, and the food was as good as and maybe even a notch better [if you can believe that]. We're even staying an extra day to ...

The worst part about being on vacation [although some might add it's the best part as well], is the greater tendency to over indulge. Couple that with no exercise, and that spells disaster, at least for the waistline. And I have managed to do just that. Even though I have managed to get three, 3+ mile runs in, I don't think that is enough, and I'm still certain I've gained a few too many pounds. It's gonna really be hard to get back into my routine when I get home.

Since crossing to the north island two days ago, I have found it amazing just how different the two islands are. It's like we entered into a different world altogether. While everyone is still very friendly, with only one exception so far, there are just so many other differences. The south island is noticeably less populated and congested, and full of spectacular beauty and things to do, but the accommodations are sparse [or at least the more luxurious accommodations are harder to find], and the food, while very good, is for the most part very simple. Of course you don't go to the south island for the food and the accommodations. You go there for the adventure. On the other hand, the north island is more for the less adventurous. There is still a lot of beauty to take in, and things to do, but not like on the south island, nor is it as unique as on the south island. But the food, and the accommodations are a step above [at least more abundant, and easier to find]. So if ...

Well here we are sitting in the private lounge of the Interislander Ferry between the north and the south island of New Zealand, after which we'll be on our way to Martinborough, about an hour and a half from Wellington. We decided to upgrade to the private lounge, despite the upgrade costing more than the tickets.  There is free food and drinks, nice comfortable sofa style seats, and even wireless internet access. So far the crossing (about 3 hours), has been fairly calm, but I can see that the waves are starting to pick up slightly, and the boat is starting to rock a bit, so I think it best I end this post before I give back all that free food and drinks I've had.

After two days on the west coast with its beautiful glaciers, and spectacular sunsets, it was time to head over the pass towards Christchurch on the east coast. We decided not to stop in Christchurch, as we were told it was just another big city, instead choosing to head north towards the wine region of Marlborough. We stopped at a few wineries in the Canterbury region, but they were not of the quality of wines we experienced during our first few days in New Zealand. Given this region is known more for it's Rieslings [not our favorite varietal], it wouldn't be fair of anyone to make any conclusions based on our evaluations. Still, as has been the case everywhere in New Zealand so far, everyone has been extremely friendly, informative and helpful, and additionally, in the case of the winery personnel, very passionate about their wines. [I'll give them a few more years in the wine making category.] By this time it was starting to get late, and we ended up traveling a little ...

Well this morning we are blessed with clear skies, and an expected high temperature of about 69°F, for our trip to Greymouth today.  Just about perfect. Tomorrow we were planning to drive over the mountains to the east coast, but have learned about the

Well, we weren't able to get to Milford Sound, from Queenstown, on Monday either [because of the weather], so we decided to head to Wanaka, and then over to Haast , one of many very small towns we have encountered so far during our travels in New Zealand, where we spent the night. In Haast we met up with Dave at Heliventures who agreed to fly us down to Milford Sound on Tuesday. Fortunately the weather cleared up significantly, and we had a remarkably smooth and safe trip. To the right you can see Edie and me standing atop Olivine Glacier, and if you click here , you can see a few videos I took during the ride. We decided to spend the night in Frans Joseph Glacier, we're we finally have internet access and cell phone service again.

it's 44°F outside, and it's only expected to get to 48°F for the high today.  We just didn't bring that many warm cloths. On the bright side, it is mostly clear, and the winds are reported as being light, so we might still get to Milford Sound after all.

Well yesterday didn't turn out too bad after all was said and done. The further we drove into the Central Otago wine area, the better the weather became. The sun didn't shine much, but the temperatures were quite comfortable, and we tasted quite a few very nice pinot noirs and a couple sauvignon blancs. Even bought a few. We even came across this nice running stream I thought worth taking a video of. I'm really liking this new camera. Anywaze, we're still concerned about getting to Milford Sound [I'm hoping to take some fantastic videos]. Even though right now it appears dry, and I can't hear or see much wind, the forecast doesn't look promising for today. Tomorrow looks more promising, but it's only supposed to get to a high of 48°F . Not what we were hoping for :( Oh well, time for breakfast! Hopefully things will look better after my stomach gets full.