10 months gone ... 10 months to go!

It has been 10 months since I busted my femur and I am starting to feel like life is getting back to normal!

The last month has been a good example of that, with a visit to sunny Marlborough to complete the Forrest Graperide, a 100 km circuit taking in Blenhiem, Picton Queen Charlotte, Havelock and back to Renwick.
Rolling up to the start I was pretty nervous starting with hundreds of other riders, but it was fine being able to stay with the group on the flats but fading on the hills ... pretty much expected ... what was surprising was my endurance which lasted pretty well, finishing stronger than expected.

Returning home I finished my job at Fletcher EQR after 4 and 1/4 years, it was a fantastic experience, very satisfying and a great learning experience ... but it was time to move on! I have landed a great job as a Project Manager with a small but growing firm. www.Interex.co.nz

I had a week off between jobs so took advantage of some late summer sunshine and headed over to Banks Pennisula for an overnight trip. The Pennisula being a couple of old volcano cones, doesn't have any flat land so you are either going up hill or going down, until you get onto the plains again.

The trip was 80 km each day, from home through to Lyttelton catch the ferry across to Diamond Harbour pop up over Purau saddle to Port Levy then up and over Pigeon Bay up and along the Summit Road before descending down into Okains Bay for the night. About 2400 metres of climbing.

The trip home I had planned an easier day with just the climb out of Okains Bay to the Summit Road and along to Hill Top and a quick descent down for my morning coffee at Little River, from here I jumped on the Little River Rail Trail for a flat ride home.

A pleasant couple of days right from my front door!

Now if that wasn't enough, @velolassie and I took advantage of another long weekend and headed across to the West Coast to ride the Wilderness Trail which takes a route from Greymouth to Hokitika via historic towns of Kumara and Milltown, approximately 100 kms long 85 kms of it on trail, the balance on sealed road. It is not technical and saw plenty of riders of all ages enjoying the trip. Most complete over three days, we rode for about 7 hours stopping for two of those, one hour to enjoy a farmers breakfast at the Empire Hotel in Kumara, about half an hour at Cowboy Paradise for a cuppa ... the rest were photo stops.

Our plan was to ride there in one day stay the night in a B&B and return the next day by the trail to pick up the car. Soon after arriving in Hokitika it started to rain and rain it did as only it can on the West Coast.

We reassessed our plans quite quickly and blugded a lift of a friend back to Greymouth to pick up the car ... soft! Yes we are, no denying that.

It did rain that Sunday Hokitika got 90 mm in that 24 hour period, while Hokitika Gorge (only 27 km away) got 290 mm!

We spent the day drinking coffee and exploring some of the back roads behind Hokitika.






So ten months have past since breaking my femur and it is ten months to go until the Tour of Aotearoa!

Good Buggers

Throughout my life I have meet a lot of different people, but I have only meet a few Bloody Good Buggers

.

You see, BGB’s are few and far between, they are mates who always have a smile, an ear to listen with, the occasional word … sometimes the word is refreshingly honest … they are always there during the tough times and good times, without judging.

We all know the real BGB … the sandbagger … one who turns up for ride or race saying … “no been too busy to train, haven’t had a chance to get out much this week” … then goes and drops you on the first hill!

We all know the real BGB … the ulterior motive … “Hey you want come over for a BBQ? Oh can you bring your tools and just do this one small job” ... This also worked in reverse too!

We all know the real BGB … the chatterbox … when you are struggling along out of breath on a bike ride, run or hike and BGB is still talking and pushing the pace!

We all know the real BGB … the father … the one who adores his daughters or son, challenging them to enjoy life!

We all know the real BGB … the Family man … always checking in on how the family is doing and helping wherever and whenever he can.

We all know the real BGB … the business man … always having a wise word.

Warwick, Rob and Steve we have shared many adventures, many meals, many hours riding our bikes, paddling our kayaks, spinning yarns, building, laughing, sharing, helping, drinking coffee, beers or whiskies.

Guys, I have appreciated your advice, your support and valued your friendship!

Warwick Martin, Rob Daly and Steve Redden … You’re a Bloody Good Buggers! RIP

Dad and Anjas Adventure Week 2015

After last years Otago Rail Trail Trip Anja and I set our eyes on heading to Abel Tasman National Park to go sea kayaking but some silly old git goes and breaks his leg and turns that plan on it's head. So an alternative plan was decided upon about three weeks out waiting to see how strong my leg would be and what limits that would impose.

We had five days up our sleeve and great weather forecast for both sides of the South Island. We talked about doing an overnight hike ... Anja had done a few good day trips but never an over-nighter.

It wasn't hard to chose a couple of trips as a couple of my favourite wee hikes are over in the Paparoa Range and are great introductory trips. 

Anja also wanted to visit the newly open Tree Tops Walk just south of Hokitika over looking the stunning Lake Mahinepua, this man made walk way takes you around the trees at between 20 and 47 metres of the ground.

Fully mature Rimu trees about 400 years old with Anja standing at the bottom

Anja holding a Rimu sapling probably the same age as herself!

Part of the walk way and look out tower

The afternoon was spent looking around this walkway enjoying being upclose with the birds and looking at what grows in the tops of the trees.








The West Coast is a beautiful part of the world and you can't beat having a meal down the beach, so a pizza from Fat Pippis ...

In the morning it was time to load our packs and head to the start, This was to be Anja's first overnight trip where she needed to carry her own gear. We stopped at the Formly The Blackball Hilton for one last meal then drove up to the car park ... with this being Anja's first overnight camp and into wilderness back country ... there were a few nerves! So we talked about other challenges she has faced and how it may have some tough moments but the rewards were huge that feeling of satisfaction cannot be replaced.

Right Dad ... Let's go!

Snack time!

Snack time again!

Wow we are getting up there!

We here!

No internet here ... can't beat reading a book with that view!

Just over four hours up the hill to Ces Clarke hut, we chilled out taking in the view over the Gray Valley and Lake Brunner, Watching the sun set it was time for dinner ... You did bring dinner ... didn't you Dad? Whoops forgot to pack the main course! Bad parenting there haha! Fortunately we still had alot of cracker cheese and salami so we just filled ourselves on that ... I don't think I will live that one down for a while!

South Island Robin

 With a good nights sleep we packed up and headed back down the hill, three hours later, lots of chatting and we were back at the car.

Pancake Rocks

Lunch was back in Greymouth we drove up the coast to Punakaiki, where we enjoyed a nice dinner some chill out time and got to watch a west coast sunset, these are pretty special as the sun dips below the horizon line.

Anja at Punakaiki

Sunset at Punakaiki

This drive must be one of the most spectacular drives in the world ... I never tire of it!

West Coast

The next day saw us continue our road trip further north up to Tauranga Bay for some lunch and a walk out to the seal colony, before heading up the Buller Gorge then onto Reefton.

West Coast

Only in New Zealand ... Watch out for Penguins!

Walk at Charleston

Lunch at The Bay House Cafe Tauranga Bay

NZ Fur Seals at Cape Foulwind

Buller Gorge

Reefton is a quirky little town where you can get huge ice creams, great coffees and fresh goods from the bakery! The locals are friendly and let us in on where the local swimming hole was ... 31 degrees at 4 pm ... it was welcomed!

Swimming hole in Reefton very hot day very nice swim!

Our last day was to drive from Reefton back to Christchurch via Arthurs Pass on the way we stopped off at Waiuta, this is a ghost town, once a thriving gold town, with it's own hospital and two churches, it is slowly being overgrowing by native bush!

Old mining town at Waiuta

Brunner Mine Bridge

Another week of adventures was ticked off ... but more importantly a week of Dad and Daughter one on one time ... PRICELESS!!!

Six and half months on … Six months ahead

Happy New Year!

So what has been happening during the last seven weeks … well it has had it’s ups and downs!

Progress continued at a slow rate for a few weeks, a little despondent waiting to visit the Consultant mid-December. While being a little nervous waiting to talk to the Consultant as the last conversation was quite frank around rate of the bone was healing and the consequences of it not doing it’s thing properly.

But this conversation had a totally different tone about it! It ended with … “You are properly the wrong person to tell you this … but you can and go and do whatever you want … your strength and endurance will limit you so I am quite safe in saying that!” Just what I wanted to hear … straight off to the Physio c’mon Ryan we have work to do!

Sure enough … Ryan change my rehab program to some serious core workout oh how it hurt!

With two weeks off over Christmas and New Year, we spent it at home catching up on gardening, building my rides up, enjoying the odd glass of wine sitting in the sun! Longest ride 45 kms. Progress is being made and in a really positive way.

I am back at work now trying to find that balance between work and fun … so here are my goals for the next six months

March 28^th – the Graperide         101 kilometres road ride – goal to finish

Late June early July to join a couple of Australian friends in a wee jaunt from Cairns to Karumba 708 kilometre’s over seven days.

Otago Rail Trail December 2013

The Ball Room - Fox River - Punakaiki

With that in the back of my mind … it is that time of year where it is Dad and Daughter Adventure Week. Anja and I are heading to the West Coast for five days with a couple of small goals of heading into the hills for Anja’s introductory overnight hikes, which is a bit of a change from what we had planned after last year’s trip, but life would be boring if everything went to plan.

Half Way! 20 of 40!

Wow 20 weeks!

It has been six weeks since I wrote anything, for the most of the time it has been good and positive! With the occasional bit of down time.

Progress has slowed a bit but that was expected ... big gains early then tapering off.

The mobility is nearly the same as my good leg, the strength is way less!

The couple of times were I felt down about it, has been when I have been with a group and they have headed out to do something i.e. a run or ride which I would normally be on. This has been balanced out by remembering that twenty weeks ago I needed two other people to help me out of bed or looking back at my rehab log and seeing the progress!

We went for a x-ray at 18 weeks

You can see the pin which goes down the centre of the femur and the two top screws which hold it in place pointing into the ball of the hip. The green line in the top picture is the line of the break. The bone is slowly knitting together and on the 11th December we will go for another x-ray so should see some progress.

So what have I been up to?

I got back into my kayak! for 30 minutes
I have been for my first road ride! 19 kms 1 hour
I have walked for an hour at a time
I did my first race ... the swim leg of a Half Ironman Triathlon in a team
I have been hunting Giraffes

In between all that I have been back at work full time setting up a new team as we enter the final stage of the EQR Residential Rebuild in Christchurch, which also means I am looking for a new job come 30 April as the Project finishes.

It has been twelve months since we did the second part of the trilogy of rides which make up the Southern Alps Tour. The third part, finished last part completing the 2400 kilometres of riding throughout the South Island.

Heading up Takaka Hill

Riding into The Portage in the Marlborough Sounds

Well done guys!
It was a pleasure to look after you.

14 of 40 ... a busy month! Some ups and some downs.

Yes! it has been a whole month since I last posted anything and a busy one it has been too!

Chris has been home to Edinburgh and returned, so had left me to my own devices for three weeks, fortunately being down to one crutch has made it easier to get around. With a bit of help from Anja when she came for her weekend visits, I was able to get most tasks completed!

In the middle of the month I had a return visit to the Consultant, after twelve weeks, I was pretty pleased with the progress, with one exception, with one particular movement I was getting an impingement in the hip, it was a little bit unusual as it was in the middle of the movement and not at the extremes.

The Registrar and the Consultant spent some time discussing the x-rays ... always worrying when this happens ...  so the outcome was that they had expected the bone to have fused together more than it had but this was quickly followed by the comment it is a long break so will take longer to fully fuse. It did leave me on a downer the next day, which I have few off, I suppose I had been basing the successful progress of the success we had been having with the mobility of the leg, which is around about 80 % of my good leg, the lack of pain and the ability to weight bearing to some degree.

They did answer some questions but you always think of other questions to ask after you leave.

So yes, the pin will be permanent the only time they remove it is if an infection occurs. Yes, it will set off the alarms in the airport. No, they did not know what was causing the impingement, but suggested to the Physio to cap my riding on the wind trainer to a max of 30 minutes a day and to do less work on mobilising the hip.

The other good outcome was I am allowed back to work ... it has been a while, since the 12th of June! So I have one full week back, although not a very big workload it was definitely tiring. Being back is good for me mentally as the social aspect of work is great, I have pretty much been spending the dya by myself and no doubt when have meet up with someone during the day have talked their ears off!
Secondly it will allow my brain to be engaged and to focus on something different.

Even though I am back at work, my rehab is the most important task, I still have a long way to go!

So how do I stay motivated? I want to get back riding my bikes, paddling my kayaks, walking in the hills, competing in events, basically to be active ... simple really!

Sure it is hard, especially sunny days and people are heading out for a ride or run.

What I have realised and have known for a while is it is the interaction with people, sharing adventures which makes these activities fun. Certainly there is a (and sometimes HUGE) sense of achievement with completing some of these activities!

I can still enjoy the after ride coffee with my friends!

We are lucky to have our garage set up to make it easy to train on the wind trainer and stretch, with carpet and underlay on the floor, a tv hook up to the sky recorder, maps on the walls for inspiration and I added two white boards ... one with the weeks recovery plan on and the second with my major goal of the Length of Aotearoa brevet in 2016 including other missons!

Also just like any training programme I have kept a record of my rehab sessions, to remind me of where I have come from. I just need to think during week one it took two people to help get out of and into my bed!

10 of 40 - Wahoo! ... A quarter of the way there!

It has been ten weeks since I connected with a tree root in Rotorua, the last two weeks has been a mix of frustration and progress.

The frustration of struggling to get the basic tasks around the house completed satisfactorily, having spent eight weeks balanced on one leg and two crutches I have developed a lean, which isn't good for my back, meaning tasks that require rotation and bending (e.g. unloading the dish washer) are a pain in the back!

On the positive side, we have gone from about 100 degrees of leg flexion to 135 degrees, which means by passing the magical 120 figure I am able to get back on the bike (as it is set up on the wind trainer) this is a huge milestone! Ryan, my physio started me on two five minute session a day increasing by a minute a day.

While at the Physio we have been working on not just the leg flexion, but also the hip movement which has stiffened up over the last ten weeks, along with stretching the back out. The exercisers I have been given have started to change from simple stretches for individual muscles to include groups of muscle with some strength work. Every two weeks Ryan seems to push the limits, which does leave more sore for a day, but has the ability to push through to the next level of progress.

I like to have some goals as I find that it helps me stay focused, so I decided to form a team to enter the Rolf Lake Hood Half Ironman in November. A quick note of Facebook to find some team mates was answered within minutes, so Jo is racing bike leg and Tara is running, which means I will be leading the team on the first leg with the swim. This means I have been to the pool every second day and built up from 300 metres to 1500 metres over the last month, pretty pleased about that!

People ask how have I been fulling my days in, priority has been the Physio, massage, swimming and exercises. Certainly that doesn't full my whole day and as the Tour de France, the Commonwealth Games are finished, so it is a bit of reading, going to the movies, a wee bit of surfing the net ;-) and generally pottering around the house trying to sort out small jobs.

One of the books which I have read was Christophe Bassons biography of being the pro cyclist who spoke out against drugs in sport, a different and interesting view point, well worth the read. Makes a change from those who have been caught and are cashing in on the fame!

Oh well, better get back to watching Vuelta a Espana!