This morning's bike ride was only 5 miles. The six miles that I did on Saturday wore me out so much that I had to take a two-hour nap that afternoon.

Today we drove to Steigerwald Lake for our walk. It's a new nature trail just east of Washougal, along Highway 14. We only did part of the walk and we didn't see much in the way of wildlife. My chest and neck were sore during the night and this morning, so I decided not to go for a bike ride today. I was okay during the walk. Then we went to get an oil change for one car and went to the car wash with the other car--mundane errands but ones that needed to be done.

Dave and I just got back from a bike ride. We took our bikes to Marine Park in Vancouver and rode along the Renaissance Trail. We rode for over 6 miles, which isn't too bad for my second time out on my bike since my surgery. We went early to avoid the heat and the crowds.

Today's blog entry is not medically-related. Sinclair Ferguson quoted the following passage in his book A Heart for God. I find it very inspiring:

The goal is God Himself
Not joy, nor peace;
Not even blessing.
But Himself, my God.
'Tis His to lead me there,
Not mine, but His--
At any cost, dear Lord,
By any road.

I should have added that the last time I rode my bike was in February. We took our bikes to Seaside, OR for the day and tried to ride along the promenade, but I was dismayed to find that I had to stop every 100 yards to rest. That bike ride was an effort for me, but even then I didn't realize that something was physically wrong with me. I just thought that I was REALLY out of shape.

Yes! I rode my bicycle this morning. I just rode around our quadrant of houses and I only rode for 30 minutes, but it felt really good to be whizzing around. I didn't get too winded.

Another piece of good news is that I don't have to get my ProTime blood thinner level checked at the lab for another three weeks. Last time I went for two weeks, the time before that for one week and before that I had to go twice a week. This means that I am taking the correct amount of Coumadin to keep me at the level that they want me at which is 2.2 or 2.3.

8 weeks since my surgery! Today I got the official word from Kim that now I am allowed to swim and ride my bike--but not at the same time, ha ha. Seriously, I don't even care about swimming, I only wanted to do it because I wasn't allowed to do it. My bike is another story. I can't wait to get back on it and ride around. Walking is okay, but soooo sloooow. Dave is going to give my bike a quick oiling and checkup and then I will be good to go. Now if only my pedometer would work while I pedal!