I'm Back!!!

Returned from the Camino.  I have over 4000 pictures to sort through and will try to post them by the end of this week - well some of them at least.

In re-reading my last post, I did not explain what had changed in making it possible for me to go.  I apologize for that.  I think it was because now that I was going, it was a real panic to make all of the arrangements.

Here is what happened.  I went to my doctor for a regularly scheduled appointment.  He asked if I was really excited about going to the Camino and I told him that I had cancelled it.  He asked why because I was so excited about going last time I had seen him, which was about 6 months ago.  I told him that my knee was really acting up - some days I was limping pretty bad.

He asked how my arthritis was and I told him it was under control.  So he said that he would just concentrate  his time looking at my knee.  He removed two syringes of fluid from my knee and gave me an injection of cortisone.  He said that I was to take it easy for two days - and then I would be as good as new.  And I was.  So it was off to the races - or in my case - the Camino.

Stay tune for some pictures and a story or two.

Hang on Tight - Here I Go!

No fancy pictures - no jokes.

I am going.  Flying from Toronto to Madrid, Spain leaving on September 9th and arriving on September 10th.  Will make my way to Leon and will rest for two days before embarking on a reduced Camino - planning on covering 319 kms - which is still a good walk!  If everything goes well, I should arrive in Santiago on September 29 - spend two days there - and then fly back on October 1st.  Wish me luck - I will need it!

Time to Face Realty

It has been July 22nd since my last post.  I actually posted again in early August but the blog program crashed just as I went to post it - and I could not recover the lost material which took about 2 hours to prepare.  Actually the same thing just happened tonight - so I am writing this for the second time.

I did not want to write and keep telling you how sore my knee was.  Sometimes, there were bright moments where there was no pain at all.  But when I began to push it a little, the pain came back.  Any distance above 6 kms would cause the knee to begin to swell and at 8 kms, it was swollen enough to make me limp for the next two days.  On top of that my Achilles Tendon started to get very sore beginning at the end of June and continuing until now.  So about two weeks ago I realized that there was no way I can walk the Camino and I actually packed up all of my stuff into a big plastic container and put it in the attic.

Me when I first start out on the bike!

But still not wanting to let go, I started researching about riding a bicycle on the Camino.  Did you know that you can rent on for about the cost of flying your bike to Europe, and included in the price is the helmet, water bottle and holder, lock, luggage rack, spare tube and tools, etc?  They will deliver the bike to the hotel where you are starting from and pick it up from where you plan on ending.  So I got my bike out (which I had not rode this year at all, and maybe 3 times all of last year, and never for the past 30 years - and rode it 12 kms three nights last week.  I did 12 kms in about 35 minutes - and actually enjoyed it.  AND no knee pain or Achilles Tendon pain - just a bit of a sore bum.  You can really cover a lot of distance in a short time. It takes me over two hours to walk that same distance.   I took the weekend off as I was busy doing other stuff (and almost killed myself but that is another story).  So on Monday, I rode 30 kms and everything was fine other than sore bum again.  Feeling quite good about that, I went out and bought padded biker shorts and biker gloves and a helmet!  I did more research corresponding with a couple of people who have rode bikes on the Camino, and also checking flights from Toronto to Europe (Barcelona and Madrid mostly).  The ride yesterday though was terrible.  The padding in the biker shorts seemed to cut off the circulation in my upper thigh, my wrists were sore, and my bum very sore.  So I thought that today would be the final test.  Try 30 kms again and see how it goes.  On the Camino, I would want to average 50 kms per day.  So out I went again, this time without the biker shorts.  The last half was extremely painful for my butt, my wrists hurt, and for the first time, my shoulders began to hurt.  So that is that.  Not enough time to get into bike shape.  I am calling it quits.  If I had someone to bike with, then maybe.

So I want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement and tips.  I am going to continue to train but without a specific goal in mind.  I will have to tell my boss that I no longer need six weeks off in a row for vacation.

Me about half way through the 30 km course

Mind you, I have not checked into renting a horse or a mule.  Hmmmmmmm...........................

The Niagara Gorge (Again?) and Up the Hill

On Saturday, I went with a fellow hiker to the Niagara Gorge.  I know this is beginning to sound like a broker record but I love hiking down through there.  It is a tough hike, listed on our schedule as 'strenuous'.  You have to watch every step but time goes by so fast down there because of the beauty of the scenery and the fact that if you are not careful, you could get seriously hurt.  Earlier this spring a guy fell into the fast waters and drowned, and just this past week a police office chased a guy down into the Gorge - the guy fell to his death and the police office fell and broke his leg and had to be airlifted to hospital.

My hiking friend Heize in the Gorge

It is hard to believe but the trail goes across here

Heize climbing the 20 stories out of the Gorge

On Sunday, I joined 20 other hiking club members to walk the 'Up the Hill' hike.  It starts at the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment, climbs straight up, does a big loop through the forests along the Bruce Trail, then heads back down the escarpment back to the start.

Bruce Trail Hikers

I was able to get out twice this weekend with the Bruce Trail Hiking Club.  On Saturday, we hiked from a small town called Dain City along the Welland Canal to a lakeside town of Port Colborne and back.  The hike was 16 kms long and took 3 hours and 7 minutes.  The temperature was 29C, which is funny because if you look back to one of my posts from January, we hiked the same trail - only it was -18 C.  A big difference.

Today (Sunday), the club hiked around the Glenridge Quarry.  I remembered to bring my camera today so there are a few pictures from today's hike.

Oh, and don't let me forget, last Tuesday, by far the hottest day of the year - it was with humidity factored in, 47C or 117F - I led three people from work down into the Niagara Gorge for what turned out to be a two hour and forty-five minute hike.  I really enjoy hiking down there, but I was totally drenched in sweat.  Next Saturday's club hike is down there.

Friday the 13th!

We just had the second Friday the 13th for 2012.  There was one in April.  Every Friday the 13th motorbikers from all over North America converge onto the small lakeside town of Port Dover, Ontario.  The town has a population of about 6000 people, but on Friday, there were over 150,000 bikers there, and some estimates had it as high as 200,000.  It is the biggest one day bike event in North America.  This time, for the first time, we camped there.  My brother, his wife, and our niece stayed two nights.  I just stayed the one night. It was very hot there with the temperature being 35C or 95F.

I have not been hiking much.  My knee still bothers me a bit, and now my achilles tenden is bugging me.  I am hoping that rest will help it.  Here are some pictures of the biking event.

Seattle

Space Needle from far away

Space needle up close

Seattle at night

Convention Centre

Floor to ceiling glass wall at Seattle airport

Light rail service from airport

Mount St Helen from airplane

I was in Seattle 5 days last week for a conference.  I took light rail transit from the airport into the city, which was about a 40 minute ride.  The cost was $2.75 as opposed to $40 for a taxi.  But that meant that I had to walk everywhere I went.  To save some money, I stayed at the Holiday Inn which was exactly a mile from the Conference Center, instead of staying at one of the hotels right beside it.  The savings were about $75 a night that way.  Which meant at the minimum I had to walk 2 miles each day.  But in gathering food, sightseeing, and a 7 mile round walk to look at some shoes I seen advertised, I did lots of walking - mostly in dress shoes!  I did buy a new pair of New Balance running shoes.  At home on Friday, I walked 4.5 miles in the new shoes and regular socks.  No issues other than the bottoms of my feet were a bit sore from a bit of friction -but no blisters.  So Saturday, I gave my feet a generous application of vaseline and wore good hiking socks and walked 7 miles.  During the walk, I could feel a bit of discomfort with my one foot but nothing too alarming.  Upon arriving at home and removing my sock, I had the biggest blister I have ever had on the side of my right foot and it was completely filled with blood.  Just when I thought I had found the right pair of shoes, crap!  It seems that every time I take a step forward, I get pushed two steps back.  It will be a few days before I dare walk again and now I have yet another pair of shoes for my collection of useless shoes.  I have attached some pictures of Seattle.