You Know You Are Retired When ...

It’s been almost a year since I ended my medical career and embraced retirement.  Here are a few things that I have observed that are sure to indicate one is retired.

Become a Snowbird.   No, not a pilot with the Canadian Forces’ aerobatic team, but one who spends the winter months migrating from the northern cold to warmer southern climes.   Our home in La Quinta, California provided lots of opportunity to ride our bikes, not indoors on their trainers, but outdoors on the roads throughout the winter.

Heading out for a ride Christmas Morning 

Enjoy alternatives to driving in traffic.  Not working means not having to participate in the frustrations of rush hour traffic. Ah, the freedom.  Now mornings are relaxed and there is more time for other important things. 

Time for a morning snuggle with Rockie and Benny

Partake in daytime outings.  When people found out I was retiring, the most common question I was asked was, “What are you going to do with all the time?” Wow, there are so many things to fill the day, only limited by one’s imagination. Time to finally enjoy all those hobbies, activities, and adventures that one puts off when work occupies so much of one’s time.  When we are healthy, of course there will be lots more cycling to do (hopefully that will pick up soon), books to read, courses to take, new skills to learn, and as far as the dogs are concerned, more time at the dog park. 

Meeting lots of new friends

Try new things.  My sister gave me a family favourite bun recipe my mom used to make. Having never made bread from scratch before (if we don’t count the one whole wheat loaf I made in about 1983 that is probably still serving as a corner stone for someone’s house), I decided to try my hand at baking buns.  One of the people I met at the dog park is a retired baker. He examined the buns for appearance, texture, rise, colour, fragrance, and taste. His conclusion? “Not bad for a first effort.” The good news is, he is a willing teacher and has offered to give me a seminar on the art of bread making. Who knows what this might lead to! 

First go at baking buns

Attend afternoon matinees.  No problem finding a good seat at the theatre when going to a movie in the afternoon.  No more having to look around the person seated in front. No more standing in long concession lines.

No line ups at the West Edmonton Mall cinema concessions

Join the RV crowd. What? What was that? An RV?!! Didn’t we just buy a nice new big tent last year? How did this happen? Let’s see. First, it started with Sandy tuning into TV shows all winter about buying RVs, which got us looking at a few when we got home.  Then my accountant said I could start spending some of the money I had been squirreling away for forever.  I figured I was safe though, as my money guy never likes to see my spend any. When my sister was babysitting me during Sandy’s Rocky Mountain ride, we accidentally found the perfect unit, and Sandy agreed. For some reason, my money guy thought it was a good idea, too.  The next thing I knew, the money was in my bank account, the deal was signed, and the money flew right out of my account faster than it went in!  Introducing Boxy (her license plate starts with BXY), the little van conversion RV that came into our corral last month.  We think she is just right!  We have had her out for a few adventures, already, likely the topic of future blog posts.

                          Introducing "Boxy" the RV

Boxy is a 22 foot Coachmen Crossfit van conversion RV on a Ford Transit frame. 

Boxy with her swing-out bike rack, of course.

Sandy demonstrates some of Boxy's interior features.

The living room space, by day.

Having two single beds makes it easier for our old bones

to get up and down. Off course, we close the back doors at bedtime.

Our own bathroom ... need we say more?! 

Sandy toasts Boxy on her maiden voyage to 

Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, just east of Edmonton.

Playing cards with the dining table set up when it was too smoky to be outside

at Jasper National Park.

Two happy campers, very happy with the new addition to our corral.

Summer of Medical Adventures

You may well be wondering why two old retired girls, with nothing but time on their hands, haven't been getting their blog updated. Well, we have had some unexpected adventures, so let's get you caught up. 

As you know from a previous blog update, I had surgery on my knee in early June that took me off the bike. While I was busy doing my knee rehab, Sandy was busy getting herself fit for a one week ride she had booked in the mountains of southern Alberta and British Columbia, starting in mid July. The week before she left, and five weeks after my knee procedure, I was under the knife, once again, getting some of the hard ware that had become bothersome removed from my spine.  

Some screws removed at the top, and the rods shortened.
(sorry,  no post op X-rays at this time)

Two surgeries that close together took a lot more out of me than I anticipated, so my sister, Patti, came up from Calgary to babysit me while Sandy went on her trip.

Sandy isn't too crazy about riding uphill, so it remains a mystery to me why she took on a ride in the Rockies. Having said that, it wasn't all the hill climbing that got to her, but rather the sustained high winds (“horrible,” she reminds me) and the smoke from the BC forest fires.  

Sandy watching out for a Big Horn Mountain Sheep during her ride

Combine all that physical exertion with a number of nights of poor sleep, and by the time she got home, she was prime bait for a nasty ‘flu bug. I can honestly say I have never seen her so walloped by a virus as she just put herself straight to bed the day after she got home.

After two days of being sicker than sick, she started to get electric jolts up the side of her head. As these seemed to be getting more frequent and severe, the morning of the third day of jolts, I asked if I needed to take her to emergency.  I knew she was in a pretty bad way when she said, “yes.”

Timing is everything. We got to our local ER just after four ambulances arrived and as a cardiac arrest occurred.  As we waited, Sandy, who is not known for her patience, said, “They better be looking after someone worse off than me!” The old emerge doc in me assured her that they were.  After getting some high powered pain killers in her, the jolts finally abated, and off home we went. 

As Sandy wouldn't allow me to take any photos of her in the ER,
this is my artist's impression of her in agony.

Unfortunately, the blasted jolts came back two days later, so we went back to emerge. This time, a hallway consultation with a neurologist lead to a different treatment concoction and I am happy to report that the jolts seem to be gone.

If you want my medical opinion (but then, again, I am retired so what do I know?) I believe the fatigue from her days riding in the mountains caused her to be quite run down. This let the virus she contracted really beat her up. While it was at it, just for fun it caused some inflammation in a nerve which then kept firing off for no reason other than to cause major discomfort and havoc.

The consequence of all this medical excitement is that I have been of the bike for over two months and Sandy for over one. We are now just getting back onto our two wheeled friends. We are both feeling the loss of fitness, nonetheless, any bike ride is sure to bring a smile to our faces!  

I have decided that my racing days are over and we are decreasing the size of our bicycle herd. From a high of 13 bikes in our corral, we are now down to 10 with my track bike and cyclocross bike the next scheduled to leave home. I may be in need of more medical attention as I deal with the departure of these trusty steeds!!