Early Fall Non-Velo News

Saturday was a blustery fall day in Olympia with rain and wind.  Lots of leaves were in play throughout the afternoon as the wind sent swirls of leaves in all directions.  Trees still have a great deal of foliage some of  which is still green but mostly an infinite palate of reds, yellows and everything in between.  We're still a few  weeks away from the Big Drop when Olympia's trees seem to shed all remaining leaves at once bringing us face-to-face with the coming winter.

The day was also notable in that I took my first solo walk since my hip surgery five weeks ago.  Up to now, Maggie has always accompanied me out of concern for my stability and to keep me from overdoing it.  Last week we walked about three quarters of a mile.  Today's solo walk was probably double that and my longest since the surgery.  It was also my first  without the durable medical equipment (walker and then cane) I've been using for the past five weeks.  I used trekking poles for stability and walked a good pace with no trouble.

The walk did me considerable good.  It felt great to be out on my own and feel steady progress toward healing.  The blustery wind slammed into me as I walked south and pushed me home on my return.  It wasn't the same as feeling the wind on my face during a bike ride but I was out in the weather and engaged with my environment after weeks of very restricted activity.  It felt good.