A few things I forgot to mention are to follow.
On the last day of the family camping trip, and whilst shredding down twisty singletrack, I bottomed out the rear tyre in a rocky creek crossing. This resulted in a pinch flat. That will happen, and will even be likely given how loaded the Big Dummy can get. While swapping for a fresh tube I noticed the slice in the sidewall. Yikes! I patched the tyre itself and booted the patch with a wrapper, but the cut was high enough that the risk of it spreading across the tread and being a ride-ender was very real. It worked out fine, which is why I was able to forget to mention it, but it could have been a serious drag. I have resolved to bring along a spare tyre in the future.
We have been doing plenty of fun rides under the moonlight, but they have been mostly un-document-able. For one reason and another.
Consider the words "dirt" and "summit", and how they might be combined. Full Pink Moon. As an added bonus, we did find the hole in the marine layer several nights running. It was brief, but moonlit forest singletrack is to be savored.
And I have been struggling with vague knee pain lately. You know as well as I how easy it is to let the self-care slip until something acute forces the issue. I guess my issue is forced. In my 40s aches and pains creep in. I gotta stay ready so I ain't got to get ready. (Go to the doctor?!? Are you crazy? ) It was so bad the morning after the full moon long ride, that my knee buckled in the shower. Scary. I had continued riding because (well, obviously, it's what keeps me happy) it wasn't causing pain to pedal, but that was the real tipping point.
What it has come to is trigger points in the popliteus muscle. Happy day! I was hobbling around last week because it was so tender. Wearing my brace, icing my knee...not riding on my days off. It was no bueno. Bad enough that I was increasingly convinced that it was the MCL, and the potential need for surgery was looming in my mind...anyhow, I was motivated to learn some more about possible causes for that type of knee pain, and there it is. Popliteus. This is video is a real help:
It's simple and it works. After working the trigger points along the insertion (along the top of the tibia, the inner, lower leg as shown) I had a ~75% reduction in pain right away. The next morning, the by-now-familiar tender and constant ache had returned. Upon working the insertion again, the pain receded again, and has not returned!
Now you know.
On the last day of the family camping trip, and whilst shredding down twisty singletrack, I bottomed out the rear tyre in a rocky creek crossing. This resulted in a pinch flat. That will happen, and will even be likely given how loaded the Big Dummy can get. While swapping for a fresh tube I noticed the slice in the sidewall. Yikes! I patched the tyre itself and booted the patch with a wrapper, but the cut was high enough that the risk of it spreading across the tread and being a ride-ender was very real. It worked out fine, which is why I was able to forget to mention it, but it could have been a serious drag. I have resolved to bring along a spare tyre in the future.
We have been doing plenty of fun rides under the moonlight, but they have been mostly un-document-able. For one reason and another.
Consider the words "dirt" and "summit", and how they might be combined. Full Pink Moon. As an added bonus, we did find the hole in the marine layer several nights running. It was brief, but moonlit forest singletrack is to be savored.
And I have been struggling with vague knee pain lately. You know as well as I how easy it is to let the self-care slip until something acute forces the issue. I guess my issue is forced. In my 40s aches and pains creep in. I gotta stay ready so I ain't got to get ready. (Go to the doctor?!? Are you crazy? ) It was so bad the morning after the full moon long ride, that my knee buckled in the shower. Scary. I had continued riding because (well, obviously, it's what keeps me happy) it wasn't causing pain to pedal, but that was the real tipping point.
What it has come to is trigger points in the popliteus muscle. Happy day! I was hobbling around last week because it was so tender. Wearing my brace, icing my knee...not riding on my days off. It was no bueno. Bad enough that I was increasingly convinced that it was the MCL, and the potential need for surgery was looming in my mind...anyhow, I was motivated to learn some more about possible causes for that type of knee pain, and there it is. Popliteus. This is video is a real help:
It's simple and it works. After working the trigger points along the insertion (along the top of the tibia, the inner, lower leg as shown) I had a ~75% reduction in pain right away. The next morning, the by-now-familiar tender and constant ache had returned. Upon working the insertion again, the pain receded again, and has not returned!
Now you know.
