Monday, December 26, 2011

Escape...

From December 2011
Escape the cold, and the wintry conditions of Sanpete County, where we are spending Christmas. We headed to the closest place without "much" snow...the San Raphael Swell.
From December 2011


From December 2011
How "much" snow was the big question of the day. Would Andy and I get there only to find too much, or harldly any? That question seemed to be answered as the day wore on. It was tooooo much! At first, when our legs were fresh it seemed like not a big deal, but as the hours ticked by, the constant soft trail, sand and snow wore us down. We needed an escape from our escape.

From December 2011
Dinka wasn't bothered by our slow pace. She would routinely look back to see if we were still coming. Then she'd turn and move ahead, effortlessly, her 12 pounds floating from rock to sand to snow to rock.

From December 2011


From December 2011
It wasn't long after this spot, that I suddenly found my-self with only one pedal. The threads were badly stripped and it was touch and go whether we'd get it back in the crank arm or not, especially since we only had my Leatherman Supertool to work with and this particular pedal had no allen key on the pedal shaft. I was lucky, Andy filed out the boogered threads with the file and then got the pedal started back in...luckily straight!

From December 2011


From December 2011


From December 2011


From December 2011
Calling this a "ride" is being a bit optimistic. We rode some, we walked a lot. We marveled at the bleeding rocks, and the maze like trail that seemed to never end.

From December 2011


From December 2011


From December 2011
The mountain ranges seemed to at once be far away, and then suddenly right on top of us, as the light changed with the passing clouds.

From December 2011


From December 2011


From December 2011
After 5 hours, we came upon our last chance of escape...and with no shame we happily took it.

From December 2011


From December 2011
OUT! Escape!

From December 2011
We crunched our way back toward the truck, our drive-trains wearing with every sandy pedal stroke. But happy to be pedaling at all. Happy to not be pushing a worthless bike with a missing pedal.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Shortest Day's of the Year...

From December 2011
It's been six months since I posted this... http://commandonlandon.blogspot.com/2011/06/longest-days-of-year.html

Quite a lot has changed since then, and it's not just lower temperature's and a lot less sun each day. Looking back the longest days of 2011 were a turning point. They weren't just the tipping of the year back toward winter, but a tick back toward good health. It was during the longest days of summer that we found out that Mary had been approved for medication that would allow her to live life more pain free. Mary has Rheumatoid Arthritis...the bad kind, not the kind you get when you are old. Things most of us take for granted Mary couldn't do, like open a door, grip a pen, or hold onto a handlebar. There is no cure, but new medications have recently been making RA a lot less devastating, IF you can afford them. These new biologic drugs can run as high as $30,000 a year. And having no insurance, due to having a "pre-existing condition", we were left out in no mans land. Not poor enough to get everything for free, but not near rich enough to afford the meds. Thankfully we were approved for assistance through the Abbott Patient Assistance Program. http://www.abbottpatientassistancefoundation.org/ We are really thankful for this assistance. We do our best to honor this help by living each day to it's fullest. And this time of year that means packing as much as possible into every sunlit minute!
From December 2011

I've noticed, as Americans we sure do think we have plenty to complain about, but I promise that recovering from an illness or injury that has left you wondering if you'd walk or ride or LIVE again will change the way you view your life. We appreciate every day, even the cold, grey, and windy ones! Not that we've had many of those yet. We had a great year everyone! Thanks to all of you who shared it with us, from customers, to friends, to family and to little and big dogs everywhere! Here's to 2012! May it be as fantastic as the last half of 2011!

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