I went with my meetup friends to Wilder Ranch, just north of Santa Cruz, about an hours drive from where I live (it helps to carpool as we did). If you head inland, this state park is hilly, a mountain bike mecca. But we stayed on the coastal side, where it is a beautiful fairly … Continue reading Great Day Hiking at Wilder Ranch →

I'm finally back riding with my group. I belong to San Jose's Almaden Cycle Touring Club. They classify their rides as "billy goats" if there's lots of climbing, or "grizzly bears" if they are flatter. My subgroup likes to ride in the Morgan Hill area, southern Santa Clara County or "south County", we are all … Continue reading Riding With The Old Goats →

You hear about mindfulness all the time these days almost as if it is fashionable. Perhaps that is because many people have reached an all time low in mindfulness, especially because of over-preoccupation with cell phones. But it is not a fashion, nor something that can be dabbled in, it is an important practice for … Continue reading Taking Mindfulness More Seriously →

I did about a 40 mile ramble today, starting with riding down Santa Teresa Boulevard to South San Jose. There I continued on through the Santa Teresa neighborhood, which is nice where it backs up against the foothills: Eventually this leads to Almaden Lake park, which is the southern end of the Guadalupe river trail. … Continue reading Saturday Ramble, Including Guadalupe River Trail →

The big bank of fog in the marine layer off the northern California coast is part of our natural cooling system. When it gets hot in the summer, we get cooling breezes coming inland, or even more effectively, the fog comes inland. That starting happening again this week after the heat spell last week. It … Continue reading Watching the Fog Burn Off →

Two days ago was my longest ride of the week so yesterday I did an easier ride. For recovery I like to do easy spinning at high cadence. I went out and back on Santa Teresa Boulevard, the "bicycle highway" between Morgan Hill and San Jose. On the way out I felt really strong, but … Continue reading Summertime, and the Spinning is Easy →

The full story is here. I've previously discussed the breakthrough TAVR procedure for aortic stenosis where the new valve is deployed through the groin. This is minimally invasive, does not involve opening the chest, and does not require the patient to be on a heart-lung machine. Clinical trials have shown good results, with faster recovery … Continue reading Great News- Fda approves TAVR for low-risk patients after two successful clinical trials →

I really missed biking outside during rehab. Yes, you can get a good workout on a stationary bike (or in my case a trainer). But for me it is nowhere near as fun as being outside in the fresh air and scenery. And I really missed standing up to pedal which, as I've mentioned previously, … Continue reading Biking Outside Again! →

There are some exciting things coming down the road in heart valve replacement technology. This first is Edwards "resilia" aortic tissue valve. I have a very similar Edwards valve but there are two advances here. The most important is that the tissue does not calcify as quickly. Calcium build-up is the main reason these replacement … Continue reading New Heart Valve Replacement Technology →

On Saturday I went with my meetup group to Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge and Coyote Hills Regional Park, both in the East Bay near Fremont, California. Some good friends that I hike with were there that I hadn't seen in more than a couple of months because of my injury so it was a nice … Continue reading My First Hike After Shoulder Surgery! →