Old Lady, New Bike

Every once in awhile I think about coming back here but the moment usually passes quickly and I'm on to other pointless stuff.

This past year however was a little less pointless. I spent it, in large part, losing some weight and, more important, regaining strength and bone density.

I'm pleased with my success but even happier to be able to demonstrate to others that it's possible to get fit at 65.

A year and half ago I was despondent when I put my old road bike in the attic. I simply couldn't ride more than five miles without pain and/or numbness in my hands and/or feet. Fortunately I could still ride my town bike but not on any major roadways or too far afield.

Several people had suggested that I could get a hybrid bicycle that would put me more upright like my town bike and get me back on the road. I wasn't sure about spending money on a new bike but once I felt leaner and stronger I wanted to do more cycling than I could on my town bike.

2013 was, for me, the year I got Medicare and a Bianchi camaleonte tre for my birthday.

A Good Griddle

I guess the best way to sum up the past year on these two acres is to say it was one of transition. The process is ongoing but at this point we are pretty much 'retired'.

One of the changes we've made in the past year is the way we eat. We used to eat the conventional three meals every day but now most days we are eating a larger breakfast around 9:00 and a main meal around 2:00 with a light snack in the evening.

As breakfast became more important so did the problem of a griddle. Since I gave up my favorite griddle years ago because of the Teflon coating, I hadn't been able to find a replacement I liked. I had been using a large skillet but sometimes there were tell-tale flavors from previous heavily seasoned dishes and even a hint of garlic is not something I want in my banana pancakes, thank you.

A few weeks ago we made what I expect to be our last investment in high-quality cookware. We used our Christmas gifts from The Mister's father to buy a Swiss Diamond griddle. It is absolutely perfect and the first breakfast of sour buckwheat cakes was delicious as was the sourdough French toast on New Year's morning.