"Hi Gampa"

I jynxed us in my last blog post when I spoke about our mild winter. A strong depression came through Saturday night and into Sunday morning, bringing with it about 15" (38 cm) of snow, single-digit temps, and winds gusting in excess of 40 mph (65 kph). It's pretty out there, I'll say that! But a warmup is on the way! My WeatherBug app is forecasting 68°F (20 °C) for Saturday, just two days from now. 

As someone who charts the progress of my rides and walks, and has for decades, I've occasionally pondered how I'll cope with diminishing returns as my pace and distance both ebb with age. I'm 68. With respect to cycling, I've mostly moved beyond the pondering stage and to the acceptance stage. I'm not the rider I was just a few years ago. But having said that, it's possible, and likely, that I'll gain speed and distance on my rides compared to recent years now that I've mostly recovered from knee replacement surgery. I'm looking forward to my right knee being able to take on its share of the work when I'm in the saddle, grinding out miles—something it's not been able to do due to pain from arthritis. 

When I bought my first dual-sided power-meter pedals thirteen years ago, I was surprised to learn how much power my left leg (my healthy leg) was producing compared to my right. It was generally in the 60/40 to 55/45 range. Also, my right quadriceps muscle has always been noticeably less developed than my left. Since my gravel bike is my main ride, I've recently equipped it with a set of Favero Assioma power-meter pedals so I can more accurately track the disparity between my legs' power as I work to balance them. 

As for my walks, my knee isn't holding me back at all; in fact, I'm walking faster than I was in the years before my knee replacement surgery. I walked 8 miles (13 km) today at a pace of 13:55 per mile. That's a decent clip.

I biked with Tim and Bruce recently. I met up with them in Northfield and brought my drone along to see how well it did tracking us. We were all impressed by it. 

As I write this, I notice the date is March 19th. It was on this day, 27 years ago, that Tammy and I had our first date. I picked her up at her home in Maple Grove and took her to dinner at Sawatdee Restaurant in Minneapolis. We both knew very early in our relationship that we were right for one another. My only regret is how fast time has flown by. I would give anything to live these last 27 years over again. 

We video chat with Rachel, Drew, and Cliff nearly weekly. I'm surprised Cliff can make a connection between our small images on Rachel's phone and us. But he can. And to hear him say, "Hi Gampa", is often the highlight of my week. That little man is so special to us all. 

I went to a bar in St. Paul Park a couple of Saturdays ago to attend a gig Drew was playing. Cliff brought me out to the dance floor at least four times to dance with him. I held both of his hands as he swayed around the floor while watching his dad perform. It was so sweet.

As much as I'd like to not pay attention to what is happening with our government under this fascist regime, I can't look away. I feel it's important to stay engaged and ready to defend our democracy against those who have embraced Trump, the likely child rapist masquerading as our president. His war in Iran is in its third week, and it's not going well. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which 20% of the world's oil passes, has been blockaded by Iran, driving up pump prices by nearly a dollar per gallon since the war began. That price is only going upward with no end to this boneheaded move to strike Iran in sight. None of our allies is interested in offering their assistance, nor should they. Trump has done nothing but ridicule them while at the same time cozying up to the world's authoritarians. 

Trump has successfully shifted the public's attention from talk of him being a pedophile. But we can multitask. And we will. 

Only One Man to Blame

We're about to go through some things. 

That's all I've got.