On the theme of making improvements in my recovery, I went for a bike ride this afternoon. For the first time since the third week of Taxol (when I had to stop biking), I felt strong as I biked 17km (1hr10min). Looking back, I cycled that distance only once a month since September. At the beginning of taxol I was riding 15-20+ km four or five times a week! So, it is a huge signal to me that my body is not only healing, but that I am regaining strength. The last two times that I was strong enough to ride that far, I went into surgery within the week. Today’s ride was on my foldie bike, which is upright. This also signals a return to strength in my upper body. I’m looking forward to several more longer rides before my next surgery. Every bit of strength I can gain will make recovery go that much quicker.

I took a couple of pictures with my new phone (iPhone 6). The camera is much better than my old phone (iPhone 4S), but I clearly I wasn’t using it right. Next time, I’ll need to try with one of the camera apps that gives me a little more control over the image.

Across the river from our house is a grassy field (it is a water overflow area, so nothing is built on it). It was full of these ground hog / ground squirrels that live in it. It seemed that this afternoon, most of the them were standing up at attention trying to soak in the sun!

The white egret was also feeding in the river. You can really see how all the grasses have been pushed down by the flood waters over the last few days. On the weekend the underpasses were flooded. Today, the paved route was clear of water, but the lower tracks were flooded in some places. It is quite interesting to see just how much and how quickly the river floods, but also just how quickly it recedes.