The STP 200+ mile ride is getting closer (July 13-14) and my son had to back out of his role as captain on our tandem. Fortunately, one of the organizers of the Erickson ride volunteered and promised she won't kill us. Go Jan! Go Nan! My shoulder is worse but Doug and I were happy to ride 27 miles this morning in greater Vancouver, BC. Raining a bit, but beautiful out along the UBC campus. I stopped in at the YMCA to see if they might be interested in PFP. Maybe. At least a seed is planted.

The Wisconsin Parkinson Assn meeting at the Dells on June 28 is fast approaching. I hope those of you who attend will introduce yourselves.

Yesterday we decided to work on our hiking so, even though it was raining, we climbed the Grouse Grind here in Vancouver. I hadn't slept much the night before and I could barely move my shoulder. But I figured I didn't need much range of motion, just forward and back to move the hiking staffs. The Grind has a 2,610' elevation gain over 1.8 miles, average grade of 31%, much like climbing a ladder with rocks and roots instead of rungs, referred to as "Mother Nature's Stairmaster". Doug did it in 2hrs 5min; me: 2hrs 11min. The unofficial record is 23min 48 sec. I passed one person and was passed by all the many others. At the 25% mark Doug asked if I wanted to turn around. Glad I didn't have a mirror as he said later I looked pretty wretched. Funny how much more able I feel when I push beyond personal limits. (I'm stiff today, believe it!)

geez your're a glutton for punishment. was there a chair lift back down?

Gondola. Some people RUN up and down.

I guess it finally had to happen. Yesterday was a glorious day for a ride in Seattle, so I decided to go for 35 miles. I was going as fast as I ever have and feeling great! I took a right turn up a little hill and on to a bridge, didn't turn sharply enough and hit another lady coming off the bridge. All quite slow motion. The odd part was that my right shoulder just wouldn't pull the bike around like it normally does. I've been having therapy for that shoulder but obviously wasn't strong enough to do it correctly. Fortunately the other woman was not at all hurt and we were just a bit of a tangle in the grassy bank on the side of the bridge. Some kind men stopped and untangled us. At mile 15 I turned around to ride home and realized after another 7 miles that my ring finger was not in good shape. My husband took me to the hospital where they had to saw off my wedding ring and x-ray and splint the broken finger. So I won't be riding the STP after all! I'm just very grateful that the other woman was not injured and that my only injury is one broken finger.

Nan, you are an amazingly strong, brave woman. Heal fast and I hope you are back on your bike soon!

Warm wishes,
Jill

unlucky to get injured, lucky it wasn't worse. take care of yourself.

So sorry to hear about your accident. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt and hopefully you'll be back on the trail again soon!

Hey Nan! I have to say that even though your travails are true trauma, how I appreciate the vicarious exercise and especially the adventure (!!!) I imagine in reading your posts. Here's to a speedy recovery and hope you'll leap back in the saddle just as soon as you heal.

Background: After about four GREAT months of results from Jan's twice weekly forced cadence exercise at OHSU's physical therapy clinic -- she's determined to keep on rolling. Medicare won't pay further and there's no open access to a Theracycle or other such machine.

Question: Do you know if the cruiser-style tandem is suitable for getting the 85 rpm or do we need to find a racer tandem? Do you work out on a stationary training wheel with your tandem?

So real and exciting...

Trisha

First off, my finger is doing great! Yesterday I went hiking up in the mountains for four hours and held the pole in my left hand (with the broken finger) all the time. I felt no pain. It was good exercise for it I think.

The bike problem is much more simple than you envision. The only time I have ever ridden a tandem at all was when I was learning how to do it in preparation for the STP. I have not ridden more than 2 miles on a tandem. I ride my road bike outside when my hands are both working and I put my road bike on the trainer in the basement when my hands are not working. So now with my finger in a splint, I can't trust it to operate breaks so I'm inside all the time. I ride an hour every other day and climb steps on the off days in preparation for our trip to Machu Picchu. On Thursdays I hike with my hiking group.

If Jan can ride a solo bike at 80 to 90 RPM for at least 40 minutes, she can take care of her biking needs on her own, either on the road or most likely, on a trainer. If she needs someone to help her maintain that cadence, you can get a tandem bike and put it on the trainer. Be sure that the stability blocks in the front and the back are wide enough to make sure the bike does not tip over. You can buy tandem bikes on craigslist and you can buy stability blocks there as well as trainers. When looking for a tandem for a person with Parkinson's, be sure that the back bar is low enough so the person can step over it and climb onto the bike rather than throwing a leg over the back saddle. The PWP gets on first.

Please let me know if this helps. I see several appropriate tandems on the craigslist for Portland.