By the Bay

Hanging in San Fransisco. I would not ride a trike or bike in the heart of this City. Riding a trike on the downtown streets of SF would be a real challenge to say the least.

Nutcracker

Ending 2015 with the Nutcracker 

(nothing to do with trik'n on a rough rode)

Bro.. Byron and little Sis.. Leili at the War Memorial Opera House in San Fransisco for San Fransisco Ballet's Nutcracker.

A lighted City Hall in the background

Carrie, Byron, Leili and yours truly at the Opera House

Leili wasn't in the cast tonight so she sat with us 

Byron and Leili

 Leili before a performance earlier in the week.

Leili working off the stress before going on stage.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Taking Leili to SF...A Short Trik'n Break

Carrie and I took Leili to San Francisco to train with the San Francisco Ballet. The ole trike stayed at home in the garage to make room for all of Leili's stuff.

Loaded up

Unpacking after lugging all her stuff up to the third floor of her new home. She's living with 28 other SF dancers in the SF Ballet housing.

Leili's new residence in SF. Forgot to mention, we also had to lug her stuff up the stairs to the front door before going up to the third floor.

San Francisco city vibe...trash and all.

When with Leili a Chipotle is always close by. Burrito bowls for all.

Proud of my girl. She models as well. 

Filling In For Santa

Getting ready to deliver gifts to my grandkids. Luckily it's only a 20 mile round trip. 

At the end of the day five of my grandkids have been accounted for. Now three more to go. 

My Boy Has Fledged the Nest

Byron is moving into an apartment today in Santa Monica. Happily it's only an hour drive from home but  it seems so far away. He'll be doing his first two years of college at Santa Monica College and then transfer to a University of California to study the media arts. His blog Entertain An Idea  demonstrates his skill with the written word. Hey Byron, don't forget to come home on weekends with your dirty laundry.

Carrie helping Byron pack up.

My older boys giving Byron a hand.

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Travel Break

I took the family up to Cambria for a little beach time on the Central Coast. I left the trikes at home to give the new hips a break from pedaling. 

Byron, me and Leili

Carrie and me (of course)

Leili pointing out my 4 foot cairn that failed shortly.

Back at the Cambria Pines Lodge, Byron and Leili.

My daily 6:30 (in the morning) tea on the beach.

Trike, Bike and Walk

Taken it easy. We loaded up and went to Westlake Village for a little  family time cruising and walking. Carrie took a walk while I rode my trike and Byron his bike. We ended our day with smoothies at JRA's.

Me and my boy Byron.

Carrie with Byron.

Byron's First Short Film

My son's first short film. Nice work Byron!!

Balance

Over the last four years I have developed a love for recumbent cycling. Sitting a few inches off the ground on my recumbent trike while propelling myself forward using my own energy and determination is a fantastic feeling. It wasn't always this way.

My passion as a younger man was to hike endless hours in the hills wondering nowhere in particular. An occasional overnight backpack always rejuvenated me. In time the many miles on foot combined with many years in the construction business proved to be a little to much on my aging bones and joints. I turn 60 this year and I have had my body repaired six times over the last decade and in 2011 I added a heart attack to my list of momentary setbacks. The clicks, cracks and twangs of pain tell me more repairs are on the way but I won't sit still. 

Before the discovery of recumbent cycling I discovered a special kind of music that took my mind off an aging body. In the year 2000 I met Bill Neal (Elk Whistle-Bill Neal) while he was performing at Satwina in the Santa Monica Mountains. He was playing the Native American flute and I fell in love with it's beautiful sound. Over eight years my days were filled playing my own Native American style flutes. By the end of 2008 and with the help of my friend Franck Bensoussan. I recorded and published a CD of my music under the Mark Tracy and I'm still selling them at CDBABY.

During those eight years of creating music I had given in to a failing body and saw very little hiking or any other real physical activity. After recording my CD my focus changed to getting back in shape and find someone to repair my aching back. In 2009 I started Spinal Decompression with Bruce Shannahoff at the Valley Spinal Decompression Center. Spinal decompression didn't work for me as it as worked for others but Bruce did introduce me to the world of recumbent cycling and it gave me my life back.

I have had all the necessary repairs now to keep me active and even though ibuprofen is now part of my breakfast routine I feel good and my life is in balance. In addition to cycling I am once again hiking and  keeping my flutes close to me. Cycling will always be my passion. Riding in the open air over long distances on a recumbent trike has given me back my health and it's a lot fun! When I need a little break from the pavement I put on the hiking boots and hit the trail. I use trekking poles to help distribute the load of my 6'1"/ 185 pound frame. What a wonderful light weight contraption these  poles are and so effective. If only I had taken advantage of them years ago. My hikes are short, three to eight miles, but I don't have to go far to find what I seek.

A wonderful family, cycling, hiking and fluting...balance is with me.

Uneventful Week

The last week has been relatively uneventful, so I took some pictures of my uneventful ride with Betzi today. Uneventful can be very relaxing.

Byron getting Betzi warmed up for a ride.

Ready to go.

Pushing off from home and headed down our hill.

Lindero Canyon, very little traffic on Sundays.

Photo op at the school pull out.

View from Lindero and Kanan. Time to get over in the left lane and head up Kanan

Back on Lindero in the residential area with nice wide bike lanes.

The view from the seat of a trike...nothing but butt.

MUP through Oak Canyon Park.

Our picnic table awaits us down the path.

Taking it easy.

It's good to know where the bathrooms are, people don't take kindly to a friendly triker watering the shrubs.

Betzi in the mirror.

Almost home, time to take the last 1/3 mile up hill. What a way to finish every ride

At home...I hand off Betzi to Byron while Leili sits on top of Carrie's car and gives it a wash.