Yesterday was my first time back playing volleyball in several weeks dating back to prior my California trip. Since returning I have been going through a couple weeks of my left knee being randomly painful however it had felt pretty stable the last handful of days so I decided to test it.
The playing conditions were not great. It had rained before the start of play and rained lightly off and on while we were playing so the sand was wet and heavy. In a very short period of time I had a thick layer of sand clinging to my body. My team was not great, containing a couple players that I just don’t enjoy playing with. My play was not great either, I struggled off and on throughout the night, partly due to rust, partly due to being conscious of my knee and partly because I was not enjoying myself all that much.
For most of the night my knee held up but towards the end I had a couple shots of pain in the left knee. I walked out of there unhappy with how play went but glad I wasn’t walking with a limp although I did have a few quick ouch moments since then. Today I am scheduled to play pickleball at lunch so that will be the real indicator of how impacted I am by last nights session.
I did bring my V8S to the courts. One of the women I play with is an amazingly good conventional unicyclist. She tried out my wheel at the 4th of July party and was able to get the hang of it very quickly. She had asked me if I could bring it to volleyball so she could try it again so I brought it.
Once again she was able to ride without falling. She really likes it. I told her the next time we play I will bring the charger and she can borrow it for a week or two. She then pulled out one of her unicycles which she encouraged me to try. I got up on it next to a fence but had no ability to stabilize myself using the pedals. It would be cool to learn to ride a conventional unicycle but doing it in flip flops and volleyball gear is not a great idea.
This weekend I have a few things to get done, mostly related to my hobbies. As long as my knee stays intact two sessions of pickleball will likely also be in the cards. Tonight I am going to a happy hour with Juan. We went a month or so together and it was a lot of fun so I am hoping for a repeat performance.
Yesterday I played pickleball for the first time this week. It was the first time in nearly two weeks I got through a session without my left knee going “out”. I also happened to play pretty well which was likely connected. When my knee is hurting I am hesitant to go at 100% which knocks everything down a few pegs. I am hoping this trend continues.
Last night I got motivated to do a quick video on my current paddle collection, somewhat motivated by receiving my latest and greatest paddle, a Holbrook Power Pro. As mentioned in the video I really need to slow down the paddle buying train. I currently have nine in my bag which is pretty ridiculous. Curbing that impulse buying trend can be part of a bigger effort to cut back on my spending somewhat, which has been off the rails ever since I moved.
Tonight I am planning to give my left knee a real test as I try to play volleyball for the first time in a couple weeks. If I get through the session without limping afterward I will feel more confident that the last two weeks of knee issues was just a bump in the road.
Last night was a very mundane evening. I did laundry and then finally got around to washing the Tesla. It had probably been at least a month since I did so. It was overdue, especially since the car had been to Orlando and back since the last washing. Washing cars during rainy season is sort of an effort in futility but I still felt better after removing the layer of grime that had accumulated.
I also spent some time in WoW trying to get things “working” again. They recently released the pre-patch for their next expansion which opens the end of August. Whenever this happens they change a ton of things in the game which result in the “mods” you use breaking or requiring you to change the way some things have been done. I trudged through some of the issues last night to the point where I think have basic functionality going. I got one more character to the current max level, which is going to increase in a month. I still have a lot more to go but have a deficit in time and motivation to do so.
My life in 2023 was one of the more tumultuous times of my life from a relationship standpoint. Now that I am going into my 8th month since my last one ended I have transitioned to just a weird time instead. I have clear patterns and tendencies that create obstacles for me in the big picture. Finding the path around and/or over them is the challenge.
It seems like right now I am in my monthly peak in strength. I have talked before how my strength throughout a month changes, presumably tied to the moon cycle. Yesterday at the gym my chest strength felt really good with weight that can be challenging at times going up cleanly and without hesitation. Now if this cycle would also include realigning whatever is whacked out in my knee I would be good to go.
Last night some strong storms rolled through, sending Elsa into her normal routine of hiding. When she was in her “safety corner” I covered her with a blanket to make her feel better. I wish there was something I could do besides try to comfort her, poor thing.
The storms did give me a chance to verify that the downspout extension I installed over the weekend worked as planned. On the south side of the house the water was dumping and collecting right by the structure which is never a good thing. Now the water is flowing near the edge of the landscape bed where it shouldn’t do any harm. It’s funny how nowadays dong something so simple is a “project” because I typically have very little I need to fix around the house anymore.
I don’t know if it was the rainy weather but I found myself feeling very tired last night. A little after 8PM I laid down on the bed and dozed off briefly. That does not happen very often.
For as long as I can remember I have always been a pretty avid watcher of the Olympic games, both summer and winter. The Paris games started on Friday and I have watched exactly zero seconds of the coverage so far. It’s a strange thing but I guess ties into how my TV viewing habits have changed since I moved to the new house. I stopped watching pretty much anything I used to watch on big network TV and never watch live broadcasting outside of football for the most part. The Olympics are a special thing and I should pay more attention to it. I always used to watch a lot of that stuff with whomever my partner was at the time. The lack of one has impacted a lot of my routines and this is just another manifestation of that, I guess.
After work on Friday I swung over to Brunina’s for the second time in three days for happy hour. I don’t really fit in with the happy hour crowd there, most of them are very old. The only reason I go is because I like talking to Meaghan. I had three beers but then headed out because I was going to see Deadpool and Wolverine at 9:30 with Brian and Laura.
We met at the Cinebistro at 8:30 and chilled at their beautiful bar for a bit. With as full as all of the movie showings were I thought the bar would be busy as well, it was not. We sat down and ordered food. The Cinebistro is nice but really expensive. My shrimp florentine with a Coke was almost $50 after the per-ordained gratuity was added in.
So of course we weren’t there to drink at the bar or eat overpriced food, we were there to watch Deadpool and Wolverine, a movie that has had an insane amount of hype and anticipation towards for months. In many cases this is a recipe for disappointment, for a movie to live up to this type of hype is rare. This one does it.
The movie is just funny, action filled and entertaining as hell from start to finish. There are cameos galore with references to all sorts of things only real Marvel fans will catch. I absolutely loved the movie and it jumped into the elite class as one of my favorite Marvel movies of all time. A+ I didn’t get home until shortly before midnight but I was happy to pay the late bedtime penalty.
Despite the late night Friday I got up to play pickleball on Saturday morning. I played a bunch of games with Sue in the warm and sticky morning air. My left knee had two or three episodes where I got the weird sensation that I can only describe as feeling like a tendon slips out of place which stops me dead in my tracks. I have been able to work through it by taking a second to do a deep squat and sort of shake the knee out. I really need this to not be a thing. Because of my schedule I have not been able to consistently do a lower body strength session in months. I need to carve out the time to do it.
Early Saturday evening I decided to take my Master out for a ride to the Cabana for a few beers. During the ride I seemed to have a lot to talk about covering all sorts of topics. I got into a discussion about the wheel at the bar with a guy that rides his e-bike everywhere. He told me how his bike can go up to 35MPH but he never goes that fast. When I told him my wheel can go 50MPH plus he couldn’t believe it. It was an enjoyable ride. By the time I got done editing the footage it was yet another late night.
Sunday I once again played pickleball. We started at Talis Park where a fourth person was supposed to meet us to play. He was a no show so we went across the street to the even larger and more affluent community of Mediterra, hoping to find players there. Once again we were the only three playing but we made it work. The courts there were really beautiful. Mediterra is where Christine happens to work but I never saw it first hand. We played longer than I probably should have as my knee went “out” several times once again.
Sunday afternoon I got motivated to finally rip apart to work on my Mten3 which has been out of order for awhile because the tire would not fill or hold air properly. I already suspected this was due to the tire sealant I used on the wheel causing an issue. Boy, was I right.
This is my oldest wheel. If I were to guess it is somewhere around six years old. I never had to do any work on it either. When I popped the tire off the disgusting mess was revealed. I described it on video as looking like the bottom of a mower deck that you never cleaned, a thick coating of green goo on the rim and tire itself.
I took the wheel outside to try to clean the rim up. I first used a flat screw driver to get the thickest spots somewhat cleared. I then used a wire brush to get more of the residue off. It’s still far from perfect but I think good enough. My plan is to go back to an inner tube instead of the tubeless configuration which always leaked to some degree. I ordered a new tire as well to give myself a fresh start. Once the parts arrive I will resume the project.
So today was the one week mark in not drinking coffee. Not having it didn’t appear to have much of a difference on me mentally or physically although I did miss it as part of my routine, especially on the weekends. I decided I am going to add coffee back into my existence although instead of doing it twice a day , just have it in the morning instead and see if there is a happy median there.
Speaking of my existence I just realized we are about to click into August and I have not done any conventional dating in 2024 which is going into it’s eighth month. On some days I feel it’s an issue as I feel I have a lot going for me and having a partner to share that with would be a good thing. Other days I appreciate the simplicity of only having to account for myself and Elsa in my decision making process. Then finally there are days where I step outside of myself and try to view the situation from the eyes of an observer. When I do that, a lot of things don’t make much sense.
If you read my entries regarding my trip to California and/or saw any of the videos you will know that one of the things that surprised me was how well I held up physically to the riding conditions I encountered. One thing that may surprise you was the entire time I was in California I did not have one cup of coffee. It wasn’t really a conscious decision. There were no Dunkin Donuts real close to me and I just didn’t think about it all that much.
At home I am normally a two cup a day DD guy with coffee in the morning and then again after work. Luckily I don’t appear to be one of those people that develop nasty caffeine withdrawal symptoms like bad headaches. So anyway, the thought popped into my head that perhaps part of the reason I felt good out in California was the absence of coffee. So I decided to do an experiment.
Since I returned from the work conference in Orlando I have gone coffee free. Now it’s only been a couple days but so far so good. My plan is to give it a solid week and see if I notice anything different. The biggest impact is grabbing coffee is embedded into the core of my daily routines. It’s omission will feel weird.
Part of the reason I wanted to do this is related to how my left knee started hurting significantly last Friday playing pickleball. After returning from California I went right back into my coffee habits. For three days I was getting random stabs of pain in there. Today will be the first time in a week I try testing it again on the court. I never drank coffee until my early 30s after moving to Florida. Perhaps it’s a habit I would be better off without. Time will tell.
Yesterday the last part finished for a cool color shifting stand I printed over the last few days. I used the filament to make some other models but had a bunch left over. I made the stand not to sell but to hold onto for a special occasion.
Tonight I am doing something that is extremely rare, going to the opening of what is going to be a very popular movie, Deadpool and Wolverine. I am going to see it at the fancy Cinebistro with my friend Brian and his wife Laura. I bought these tickets last Sunday and even doing it that early I had to pick the 9:30 showing if we wanted to get three seats together that weren’t in the front rows. It’s going to be a late night for sure.
On Saturday there is a possibility I am going out on a boat with my same buddy I did months ago. If that doesn’t happen pickleball will step in as the activity of choice, as long as my knee holds up.
After going into the office a couple hours on Monday I headed out to head to my work conference in Orlando. I was a little annoyed because I forgot to charge the Tesla to 100% prior, it instead was sitting at it’s normal 80% level. I figured this meant I would have to charge to complete the three and a half hour ride to Orlando. Surprisingly I didn’t although I did hit a supercharger when I got there. On the way I dropped Elsa off at Ali’s place. It was the first time I had her in the new Tesla. I had her small dog bed in the back so she was fine hanging out in the back for the hour long ride to Babcock Ranch.
I have been to this Hyatt several times now, it’s a beautiful hotel. When I checked in they offered me a glass of champagne, I accepted. This was the first of my consumption of five different types of alcohol during the reception evening. I also had two different type of beers, a vodka and soda as well as a mango White Claw. The alcohol kept me functioning in the sea of people where it tests my ability to be randomly social. The end result the next morning however was my waking up and feeling like shit. I had a headache for most of the morning.
Tuesday the vendor did introductions of all of their staff that were in attendance. Each person would say their name and describe the picture they had chosen to represent them. I was surprised to see a picture of a guy on an electric unicycle. He said he just started riding within the last year. Later on I tracked him down. When I told him I had been riding for 8 years and have a YouTube channel he stopped dead in his tracks and said “OMG, you’re Duf!” He has seen a bunch of my videos and is a channel subscriber. We had a good time talking about wheels and his experiences. He asked me for some tips and advice on several things which I was happy to share. It’s always bizarre when I meet someone randomly that knows me from the internet.
The conference itself was ok. My main focus were the IT Coalition meetings where people from other counties talked and exchanged ideas about a variety of tech subjects. Tuesday evening I met up with Todd, Mindy and Mackenna who were down at Disney for the week, just like last year. We had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, a place I had not patronized in quite awhile. It was good to catch up with the three of them. It sounds like they were having a good vacation so far. After leaving there I met up with my group at Twin Peaks which is a more modern day Hooters from how it was described to me with T&A being a highlight. The place was much less full than I expected and I just drank a beer while everyone else ate. I was not overly impressed in any regard.
Wednesday morning I only had one session that I attended before I packed up and headed back to Naples. The drive back had less maddening I-4 traffic. Once again I got home after starting at an 80% charge level. I picked up Elsa along the way and got back home a little before 4PM. Unlike the California trip, recovery from the conference didn’t require much more than throwing in a load of laundry.
I decided I didn’t feel like making dinner so I headed over to Bruninas to grab food. I had not seen Meaghan in few weeks so it sounded like a good idea. The place was pretty dead. For a period of time I was the only one at the bar which was nice in a way as I got to talk with Meaghan more than any other time I can recall. It felt like a good way to slide back into my Naples existence.
While I was gone I was voted in as the new secretary of the small HOA our community has. The current secretary recommended me to do the role as she thinks I’m a good fit. I felt obligated to accept. I don’t think it will be a very big deal. They had a meeting on Monday night where they made all of these signs for the vote and then videoed it to send to me. It brought a smile to my face. It was nice to feel embraced, accepted and appreciated by my new neighbors.
So my return from the conference signifies the end of what has been a very busy and very social July, starting with my attendance of the 4th of July party, the trip to California, and finally the work conference. I am looking forward to a return to more normalized schedules but I do appreciate what I gain from pushing myself out into the current where I am forced to adapt to new situations, interactions and experiences.
With the trip to California I went cold turkey without playing pickleball for over a week. On Friday/Saturday I made up for it and inadvertently paid a price along the way. My first session was Friday at lunch with my crew. It was sweltering hot but that is the status quo for many months to come. However while I was playing I suddenly got this uncomfortable and painful sensation in my left knee. It sort of felt like the tendons along the outside of the knee were suddenly out of whack and incredibly tight. I tried to treat it like the Fonz, smacking on the area several times. The sensation subsided but would come and go during the games, unexplainably. It’s not like I did anything out of the ordinary that would have tweaked it that I could remember.
Friday night I had ANOTHER pickleball session with my friends that I play with semi-regularly. All of them have been out of town for close to a month so I did not want to skip out on them. I again had knee pain episodes where the pain sort of floated around but would be enough to send me into an immediate limp. Brian’s back was hurting so we stopped a little early which was fine by me.
Finally I had my third pickleball session in less than 24 hours Saturday morning, this time playing with Sue. We had fun playing with a couple sisters, one of which is actually a pickleball instructor. The knee pain continued to randomly make an appearance but now it felt more centered inside the knee. Since I have been dealing with knee pain for roughly the last 25 years my theory is I have some loose meniscus or other cartilage material floating around in there that is causing the discomfort when it gets pinched the wrong way. I have had this scenario often. At this point I just have to wait it out until whatever is causing the pain moves to a better spot.
I have spent a lot of time this weekend going through all of the various pictures and videos I have connected to the trip and posting stuff to my various social media. I also made a video Saturday where I talked through my overall thoughts regarding the trip. Getting everything sorted, edited and posted consumes a LOT of time. Luckily my schedule this weekend has been on the light side so I have had time to do it.
I have to pack for a very quick work conference in Orlando. I drive up there tomorrow afternoon and will be reversing direction Wednesday around lunch so it will be a brief stay. My brother is in Orlando with his family this week so I am going to meet them for dinner Tuesday night. I last saw them in January.
Once I get back from Orlando that will be the last significant event in what has been a very busy July. I look forward to a more “standard” daily pace, at least for a little while. The trip to California reminded me of the benefit of putting yourself out there, taking risks, and not allowing past decisions to dictate choices in the present. The worst that can happen is you fail, so what…..
Last night I played volleyball for the first time in July. I had a little rust as my muscles and joints re-acclimated to the various stresses the game puts on them. Overall I played pretty consistently and escaped without hurting myself in an appreciable way. I call that a win nowadays. Our team went 4-2 so I can’t complain.
I just released the 90 mile ride up into the mountains on the new Sherman L. I think it’s a good video if I say so myself not only because it captures the essence of the new wheel and the beauty of the area we were riding in, but also some expanding of my feelings during the ride. Despite getting all three videos posted I still have some smaller/shorter content I would like to get out there as well.
This weekend I still have some clean up to do from the trip. Things feel a bit out of sorts right now and that isn’t a feeling I like to live in. Monday I head north for a quick three day work conference which will wrap up a July that has been very eventful in some good and less than good ways.
I have little interest or ability to completely recall the insane amount of experiences and thoughts I have had about them over the last 5 days but I will do the best I can. My day of travel on Thursday was long and had a large level of suck. My flight out of Fort Myers did not leave until a little after noon so it was nice to not have to get out of bed at the crack of dawn to grab a flight. That positive was one of the few for the rest of the day.
My flight out to LA was fine which went from Florida to South Carolina to LA. One of the nice things about American is they have free in flight wifi to connect to their streaming service which includes TV, music and movies. The second flight was very, very long at over 5 hours. I did not splurge and get seats with more legroom which in retrospect was not a great idea on such a long flight. I also was chilled to the bone for a good portion of the flight as my t-shirt and shorts was inadequate for the very cold temperatures on the plane. When I landed I was hoping to warm up a bit in the terminal but again it felt on the cool side. After waiting a very long time for my luggage I emerged outside to wait for my rental car shuttle, yearning for the “hot” temperatures that have been baking the area for a couple weeks. Instead it was 70 degrees outside, wtf?
I rented from Avis this time, hoping to avoid the nearly two hour rental car clusterfck I went through last time I was in LA. It did not start out well as the van to the lot took a long time to roll around. I saw vans from other carriers roll by 10 times until I finally saw a single Avis van. Once I got to their office it was better as I signed up to be a “preferred” member meaning my pick up process was less than 5 minutes. I had rented a Tacoma or equivalent, in this case I got the equivalent, a Jeep truck.
I have seen these around for a few years but I never liked the look of them which is literally like someone welded a truck bed onto the back of a normal Jeep. The driving experience did not change my opinion. It rode like a Jeep with uncomfortable seats and awkward controls. I would never buy one. I headed straight to a nearby area to meet Larry for a meal at a Japanese place.
Again the cool air outside had me chilled. I beat Larry there so I sat down and had a beer and was unhappy to feel it was even colder in the restaurant. I worked on the Japanese beer while I waited for him. We caught up on the latest and greatest even though we communicate on a regular basis thanks to the wonders of the internet. Afterward I pushed eastward towards Riverside where I was staying, it was not a fun drive.
LA traffic is in a word, atrocious. 12 lanes of traffic at a dead stop is commonplace. My drive out there was a slog. I was so tired from the three hour time change as is, driving in that mess for a couple more hours and a couple other things just had me feeling pretty miserable by the time I arrived at the hotel somewhere around 11PM local time. It was not the vibe I would have chosen for my first day in LA however, things improved from there.
I woke up Friday morning after a poor night of sleep to a beautiful sunrise. The main plan for the day was to go ride Mount Baldy, a ride I did two Decembers ago that really beat me up. Dawn, who lives out in the same area my hotel was at, picked me up so we could carpool in to the ride together.
When I met up with Marty and the gang it was like riding a bicycle. There is no awkwardness as we already feel like we know each other well, despite being 3000 miles apart. Even people I never met before greeted me warmly because they feel like they know me via my YouTube channel. It’s a weird thing but in a good way. A common commentary I will get from people that meet me in real life is that I am just as I appear on my videos and that is a positive thing.
I was using Larry’s wheel for the ride, a Veteran Lynx, which I was familiar with from demoing one for a couple weeks a few months back. It’s a fast and powerful wheel with good suspension. It did not take me long into the ride to realize I felt different than before. Twisting mountainous roads are not a thing in Florida and require a very different riding style than what I am accustomed to. When I did this ride before I rode very conservatively and was unsure of myself. This time I did not.
Instead of being the anchor on the group I kept myself right in the middle for most of the ride and felt increasingly comfortable doing so. My leg strength and endurance felt much improved as well and it isn’t because I am riding my wheels at home all that much. I actually think my regimen of pickleball and volleyball the last couple years has made a significant difference. One of the common comments I got from those that last saw me in 2022 was I looked good and stronger, that’s because I am. Back then my weight was in the low 170s. I have now been able to rebound back up to a solid 185lbs. It felt good to have people able to notice the results of my consistent efforts to improve.
We rode up to the Baldy Lodge where the group enjoyed a nice lunch while our wheels charged outside. I talked to a number of people but primarily Marty. It was good to have real conversation with him. There were some silly moments when we were outside where I was demonstrating elbow planches to the group as well as frog stands.
The ride down again went much better than previously. Before I was scared to go very fast down the long twisting descent but this time I was comfortable carrying almost 50% more speed. At the bottom of the mountain we headed to the Cogswell Dam area. Along the way we wound up playing around in two waterfall areas.
I had used up all the water I had packed so it was suggested we just refill using water coming down the falls that was supposedly safe to drink, or so we think. I was very thirsty so I partially filled my bottle and drank away, hoping to not ingest anything particularly harmful. It was a fun diversion where a bunch of us played and explored almost like kids would. We finally reached our last turn around point and headed back towards the area I was parked. I was feeling very pleased that I was able to hold up as well as I had while performing at a higher level. The road back had very narrow to non-existent shoulder with a pretty consistent amount of traffic. I am very used to riding with traffic but I also am used to having a few feet of wiggle room to do so. Then, it happened.
A car passed that felt a little close and I instinctively drifted a bit to the right. As I did I glanced at the abrupt edge of the shoulder and found myself heading that way I was looking which is a thing. In the blink of the eye I dropped off the abrupt shoulder a few inches into soft soil. The wheel spun out and I wound up bouncing off the embankment at somewhere around 20 miles an hour. The video of it looks pretty bad.
When I hit I did a quick physical assessment and determined there were no major injuries. My right side took the impact and the areas that hit were covered by gear. My selfie stick had a 45 degree bend in it but the camera itself seemed ok albeit dirty. All the riders near me of course immediately stopped and made sure I was good, which I was. I dusted myself off and hopped back on the wheel to ride the remaining miles back to cars. The video I made on the ride turned out pretty well and includes the footage that was shot by one of the other riders of my crash.
After the ride Roger, Aaron, Dawn, Jeremy, Dustin and myself went to grab dinner nearby. It was a good meal where we got to chill out, talk and recap the days events. After the meal Dawn suggested we go to a nearby famous donut shop that she used to frequent when she worked close by. We split a strawberry donut that was unique and very good.
On Saturday I spent some time with Dawn riding as well looking at a house she was considering buying. It was a wake up call to just how obscene the housing prices are in California. If you spent what I did on my place you are lucky to get a 40 or 50 year old house that was never updated. It’s sort of nuts and was yet another reason I feel fortunate living where I do.
Saturday night was Larry’s party which was the initial fulcrum for the trip. He has moved since I last saw him. His place was old and interesting with a lot of character. I had a good time enjoying the food and company although most of my time was spent hanging with Dawn and Roger. Near the end of the night this picture was taken of the five of us which I thought turned out well.
Sunday it was back on the wheel, riding a much shorter but much more challenging mostly off road course called the Fullerton Loop. The last time I did this ride I again was physically destroyed even though I took the “easier” path. This time I was willing to try more difficult sections of the trail. Before the ride started i both completed and failed a challenge. There is a very steep hill that a lot of riders will shoot up. I bowed out of trying it before but decided to give it a go this time. To my surprise I made it up without a huge issue. Ironically I fell going back down it which is supposed to be the easier part of the challenge. I braked too much in the loose dirt.
The fall further damaged my recording gear, breaking off the mount for my wireless mic. One of the riders gave me some sports tape which I used to half ass reattach it temporarily.
Dawn was my guide for most of the ride, leading me on the tougher routes on the trail. There were several situations where she told me to go a certain direction where I had little time to think about it which may have been a good thing. I took on many, many challenges I bypassed the first time I went. There were a number of other falls along the way but I just kept getting back up and and trying to push myself.
There was a big drop section later in the ride which looks crazy from the ground. You drop off a nearly vertical face which is probably 7-8 feet tall and land in soft ground below. I was not going to do it but Marty encouraged me to try it. I had already taken on so many challenges I figured whats one more? I did the drop and landed but then spun out in some soft sand as I got a little sideways. It was close enough for me to call it good.
There was a horrible crash that Aaron had where his wheel shot off while he was going over a jump, launching him upside down like a rag doll. He definitely had concussion symptoms and his body was hurting from getting thrown around so violently. His wheel rolled at least 50 yards down the hill and onto a golf course and actually survived with negligible damage. He took the rest of the ride slow and steady.
I had an incident towards the end that had me wondering if I had a concussion as well. I was on a narrow trail with a steep edge. I got too close to the side and the wheel started to slip down it. I tried to correct and point the wheel back up the ledge but in the process wound up falling flat on my back with my head facing down the incline. I banged the top of my head hard, hard enough that my head hurt afterwards. I don’t think I had a concussion but I took it easy the rest of the ride as well.
Overall the ride once again went much better than the first iteration and I felt good about it. The video captures some but not all the crazy moments I encountered along the way.
After the ride we again met up for lunch at a sports bar where I had a couple margaritas to dull any pains I was still feeling. I couldn’t drink too much because we were having my 100th live stream nearby at Roger’s office after lunch.
The live stream went well and I think I did a good job ad-libbing with absolutely no planning going into it other than lets all get together and talk. The stream included myself, Dawn, Marty, Larry, Aaron and Roger. During the nearly two hour long broadcast there were lots of stories and laughs exchanged. I thought it went well, all things considered.
Monday was my last big ride of the trip, a 90 mile ride up into the mountains which would eclipse my longest ride ever by a large margin. The ride was also special because I was going to be the first person in the country to ride the new Sherman L for a long distance. Marty was just sent the wheel to demo the day before. I knew it was going to be a very long day and I was unsure how I would hold up after getting through the first two rides. The other issue was I would have to do the entire ride standing where as the other five riders were able to ride seated which is a big help.
Before the ride we took turns trying out the Sherman L which is a more powerful version of the Sherman S which I already own. The initial impressions were almost all universally positive, it seems like a really good wheel.
The ride was beautiful as we zig zagged up the twisting mountain roads. It was hot for most of the ride but eventually we reached elevation where things cooled off significantly. At it’s peak we were around 8000 feet high. The scenery was breath taking and beautiful. We kept a slower pace than the Baldy ride because of the possibility of the electric outlets at the visitor center being dead.
We reached the visitor center where we rested, charged and talked. Jeremy even packed a hammock that we took turns laying in. Marty had said the visitor center had ice cream which we were all looking forward to. Unfortunately the center was closed so I just relied on my Pop Tarts I had packed for sustenance.
The ride down was equally beautiful and at a much faster clip which I appreciated. Being the only full time standing rider had it’s challenges. The last third or so my legs were definitely getting more tired but I kept grinding it out. The Sherman L was a very enjoyable wheel for the trip. It felt familiar as I already own two Veteran suspension wheels. I can definitely see myself selling my Sherman S and moving to the L in the future.
It felt great to finally return to the parking lot where our vehicles were. I hung out and talked for awhile with Marty both on and off camera. It was really nice, hopefully you will catch the vibe when I post that video. After the long drive back to the hotel I had one more dinner with Dawn where we had some good thai food. She exposed me to a lot of new things while I was there, which is always a good thing.
On Monday morning I woke up early to get all of the stuff packed. My suitcase was stuffed, requiring me to really lean on it to get it closed. Dawn stopped over to enjoy a final free hotel breakfast with me before seeing me off. I told her I overall was very glad how the trip turned out, despite the slow start and she had a large part in that. I appreciate her.
I left for LA around 8 and at first thought I was going to have an issue. With rush hour the GPS was predicting a nearly 2 hour travel time. When I ran the numbers through my head I saw the potential for a scenario where I would be running to get to my departure gate on time. Not only did I have to drive back but I also needed to gas up the rental, return it and then get the shuttle to the airport. I was genuinely concerned. In the end I made it to my gate with time to spare because the return process at Avis was very quick and I was able to catch a very short line at airport security. I was in the boarding area with over an hour to spare.
The flight back went LA to Dallas to Fort Myers. The flight from Dallas was delayed over an hour which pushed my already late arrival in Florida even deeper. By the time I got back to my truck it was after midnight. Despite it being so late I still threw a load of laundry in and did some quick unpacking. I didn’t get to bed until closer to 2AM.
Despite the late bedtime I still woke up without an alarm, knowing I had a bunch to get done. I ran around all morning but still carved out time to play pickleball with my lunch time crew in the blazing heat and humidity. When I got back home most of my time was spent on a marathon editing session where I did all three videos I shot from the trip. I didn’t get to bed until stupid late, once again.
As I look back on the trip I do so with a good vibes. There were challenges overcome, new experiences had, new friends made and lifelong memories created. It’s hard to argue with those results. I return to Florida with realigned focus and an even deeper desire to do what makes me happy in life and worry about the rest as it comes.
