Waaa, Here Comes Another Tunnel!

December 6, 2018

In the previous post in this blog, we said we saw light at the end of the tunnel That is to say, at last Dodie was beginning to pedal confidently on roads near home. The post said we were thinking of sneaking off to Mexico while waiting for the second operation, but it admitted a further month of rehab near home would be best. Well, that month has gone by, and happily Dodie's strength has grown. She signed off with her physio, and we began to increase the distance on our daily rides.

Given that situation, our gaze turned again to Mexico. Two sets of friends were already there, tempting us with their reports. (One set is still there - follow Sue and Jim Price in "We'll Follow the Sun"). I even started to prepare a blog for the trip. The title: "Grampies' Poc Chuc Pursuit", refers to our favourite Yucatan food. To be sure, Dodie's left knee did some worrisome collapsing at the grocery store yesterday. But were were getting increasing focussed on cycling, maybe with a January 4 departure.

That was all up to yesterday. This morning the hospital came through! Their date for the operation is January 2. Cycling in Mexico January 4 would have be done on one leg. Ha ha.

This time around Dodie is confident it will go better. She knows what to expect, so maybe pain will be better controlled. Now we know what amount and type of physio is appropriate day by day and week by week. And the left leg is starting out from a better state than the right did, since it was the right that got hit by that car in Apeldoorn.

In one sense, we know we will be entering another dark tunnel, with pain and uncertainty. But then again, we have seen it all end once, and we are already looking to the light at the end.

If Dodie can swing a recovery in three months (a reasonable prospect) then we will be in the Alps and the Dolomites promptly thereafter. We have our role models for that, as we did for Mexico: The Andersons, An Autumn By The Sea; The Classens, Poking Around Europe 5.0, and the Gibsons, Alpe-Adria Tour 2018. We watched these all go down while Dodie was stuck on the sofa. Now, except for this small detail about the coming operation, we mean to follow in as many of their tracks as we possible can.

Hold that Poc Chuc, we'll be there eventually!

Austria needs to start warming up those schnitzels!

Oh, oh that schnitzel is 345 pesos - six times more costly than a poc chuc!

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Bill ShaneyfeltGood they got an early surgery date! Looking forward to the recovery!
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5 years ago

Scott AndersonI’m so glad to hear that she’s getting in so soon. It seems likely that this time through will go much better for many reasons, including going in with more realistic expectations this time.

The Alps so soon afterwards though?
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5 years ago

Keith ClassenGlad to hear Dodie is in fighting shape, ready and able to get that next surgery underway. Positive thoughts going your way for a speedy recovery. K&K
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5 years ago

Sue PriceHappy to know that the operation is a go and Dodie will be fully functional sooner, but we will miss seeing you down here in sunny Mexico!
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5 years ago

Ardell SiegelExcellent news! All good wishes to Dodie and her support team/nurse😊
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5 years ago

Suzanne GibsonOne knee done, one to go - and it's bound to go much better this time. Janos has two total knee replacements, and the second time around was a completely different story, no complications, quick recovery. Conscientous rehab but not overdoing it is the key, and a little bit of luck.
We wish you happy cycling this summer, wherever your tour takes you!
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5 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Bill ShaneyfeltThanks Bill, we are eager to get out there to discover more things in nature to try to stump you with!
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5 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonOf course, except for the passes, you can go around vs. over the mountains. But it turns out you are right. Dodie is now talking about some easier routing for two months (April/May) then back in August to begin following some of your tracks and the other routes in Austria/Italy. It's tricky, because mid August would not quite offer three months out of the Shengen zone.

Since in any event we need to start in Austria where the bikes are, avoiding mountains would mean heading up to the Donau. Then it could be Vienna to Prague to Leipzig? We might be able to then leave the bikes with friends in Leipzig...
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5 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Sue PriceOh well, at least we can follow your blog. Last entries were exciting, as you struggled to reach Ticul and Santa Elena. We shared your sense of relief in the two great places you found in those towns.
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5 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Ardell SiegelThanks Ardell! Dodie seems ready to go on this operation, but I feel I need to build up strength and resolve!
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5 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Suzanne GibsonThanks Suzanne. Instead of heading straight to the Alpe Adria region, we are now thinking about a quick two months, starting at Bregenz and just getting onto the Donau to Vienna, then to Prague and north east from there. We would return to Austria/Italy in the Fall. We can only stay in Europe for 3 months at a time.

We like the uncrowded shoulder seasons, but always struggle with whether a given month will be too cold. In "Costco" today there was a giant pack of chemical handwarmers on offer. We thought about it!
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5 years ago