http://www.Amazon.com/books I just read a really good book for patients on rehabbing spinal stenosis, by physical therapist Terri Night: "Rehab Your Own Spinal Stenosis: Strategies to Improve the Health of Your Spine". First of all it is very encouraging, pointing out that a lot of older folks have spinal stenosis and have no symptoms. She … Continue reading Good Book On Spinal Stenosis Rehab →

I saw my new orthopedic doctor for the first time today (my previous one had retired). I got surprising news: I have sciatica from my back (not the hip, such as piriformis muscle). An mri of my back shows bulging lumber disk and spinal stenosis, right where the sciatic nerve comes out on the left … Continue reading Surprising News From Ortho Doc →

I've made quite a bit of progress this last week. I now seldom have the sciatica pain down my leg. There is still some soreness in the left hip and S.I. joint but at least the nerve is not being squished. My easy rides are up to an hour, which is plenty enough for relaxation. … Continue reading Careful Continued Rehab →

It's been a bit over a week since I posted about my setback when I got overconfident and started exercising too much. This time I've been more careful coming back. I'm now about back to where I was before the setback. This time I will be much more careful not to overdo. I can ride … Continue reading On The Mend Again →

http://www.Amazon.com/books This is an entertaining book by Helen Summer about some of the most difficult ultramarathons in the world. It is a combination of jaw-dropping descriptions of the courses and first-person accounts by people who have run them. Most of the events are ultra-running, but there are some other adventures like kayaking and triathlons thrown … Continue reading Mental – The Toughest, Bloodiest And Hardest Challenges In The World →

By last Tuesday my sciatica symptoms were feeling a lot better so I got a bit too confident. I went for a 90 minute ride, and for about 50 minutes I rode my upright instead of recumbent, including a good amount of standing pedalling. It all felt great. Then when I got home my sciatica … Continue reading Setback! →

After my recent flareup of sciatica, I took a week off from riding or other exercise. It was painful to walk for a few days, then I tried using a walker that I had laying around from a previous injury and that helps a lot. Conventional walkers don't work as well outside, even though I … Continue reading Fighting My Way Back →

On Sunday I started having pretty severe sciatica on the left side. I think this might be a delayed reaction to my back injury from September 18. This is the opposite side of where I've had piriformis syndrome and an injured SI joint in the past. I was having trouble walking much more than a … Continue reading Out Of Commission Again →

I have always been a fan of breaking glass ceilings, whether based on ethnicity or gender. I think it started because I was raised by a single mom. She struggled to make ends meet working as a secretary, but gave us a good life. Back then it was very hard for a woman to rise … Continue reading Breaking Glass Ceilings →

I took it easy with my riding on Sunday and Monday and my back continued to improve, so yesterday I was able to go on a longer group ride. Sunday I did an out and back to Gilroy on the backroads through San Martin on the east side of our valley, for a pleasant 80 … Continue reading Group Riding Again →