Tamara Unleashed

Another beautiful day ended with a movie, Together Together, in the Latches Theater in downtown Brattleboro, VT. It seemed like a pretty ideal circumstance to see a movie – in a small. old theater in a small town in a highly vaccinated state on a Monday night. There were 4 of us in the theater so our guess was correct. It was an enjoyable movie with a interesting story. There was a recorded Zoom with writer/director and main actors after the movie which added some interesting context. There is nothing about this movie that made it better on the big screen versus streaming but it was another step towards normalcy.

We cycled in New Hampshire today around Spofford Lake – having a lunch lakeside. Part of the route was pretty hilly and I am practiced slow deep breathing going up hills. I think it helps and with time I may be able to get over the anxiety I feel as I hit steep sections and start to run out of air. Going to a higher gear and peddling faster only seems to exacerbate my shortness of breath. Temperature was in low 70s – perfect. There was a whole geese family swimming on the lake – 2 adults and at least 5 goslings. Very cute.

Tomorrow is my last full day here. Weather is supposed to be beautiful again and it may be a day for kayaking and paddle boarding.

Today was cooler and we set out for our ride along the Green River around 1130 AM. The temperature was in the 70s and it was partly cloudy. This is the weather I was expecting. It was a lovely ride with many people enjoying the river and the properties were very interesting along the road. The road was packed dirt with some gravel with minimal traffic.

It started raining just as we finished our ride. After we got back and I had taken off my cycling shoes, I realized I had forgotten something in the car. I slid my feet into some sandals that were by the door. As I was walking back I looked down and say my mother’s feet.

It used to drive me crazy when I would see my mother in sandals with white socks on.

Tomorrow is another ride at Spofford Lake. I think I will go back and ride along the Green River again before I leave – not too much of a drive to get there and well worth it.

I borrowed a helmet and took off on my bike this morning to see what I could do on the side of this big hill. The house is up a hill on packed dirt/gravel. It was fine going down with a few places of loose dirt/gravel. I negotiated that fine and got to the pavement and decided to go uphill first. The climb was reasonably gradual. At the end of pavement, I could go straight on some packed dirt/gravel or go right and stay on pavement. I went right and shortly encountered the first hill of the day that I had to walk up. I walked up the hill and found a lovely pasture, a dead end and some good natured kidding from one of the home owners that had witnessed my failure.

Once back to the main road I chose the pavement downhill and came to the spot that we had walked up last night and thought it was not quite as steep so I decided to try it. I almost made it. Walk #2. Back down to the road to continue down hill. I came to the short inexplicably steep part that I thought would be challenging from driving up it but hoped I was warmed up enough to do it. I rode a short distance below it and turned around. I made it exactly to the spot I was concerned about and had to walk a bit. Walk #3. As soon as I got above that spot I was able to ride to where the road changed to gravel. I only had about 3 total miles of cycling at this point so I knew I was going to have to include the gravel. I heard gun shots in the distance and was relieved to discover a sports club along the road. I felt OK on the gravel but turned around before a hill. Back to the pavement and down the hill again. This time I decided I would go even further beyond the menacing steep hill and visualized “the little engine that could”. No such luck – at almost exactly the same spot I had to stop and walk. By now I had about 6 miles. I was hoping to get 12-15 miles but adjusted the goal to 10 miles. Back up the hill and onto the gravel road, past the sports club and up the hill and beyond for another half mile. By the time I got back to the driveway of where I was staying, I was still 1.3 miles short of 10 miles. So I rode downhill .7 miles which was just shy of my nemesis hill and turned around to climb uphill again. I hit 10 miles about half way up the driveway to my destination.

After a bit of a rest we were off to Hogback Mountain where you can see New Hampshire to the east, Massachusetts to the south and New York to the west. The photo does not do it justice.

The day ended with a picnic at an outdoor concert sponsored by Next Stage productions held in a open area behind the Inn at Putney. They had it set up with cones where “pods” of people could sit at a safe distance from other pods and flags marking aisles where people could walk to get to the cones. It was well organized and it seemed to work well at the beginning. By the second set, people were milling around between cones. Masking out of pods was done reasonably well.

Sofia Rei was the latin artist that performed. The music was great. The dancing increased as the evening progressed. The community seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening as did I. My biggest concern was avoiding bug bites as I am a bug magnet. I was successful.

A truly Vermont evening.

My new helmet and mirrors arrived today so I will be all set for the ride along the Green River tomorrow. And by the way, I did my checklist.

As I was falling asleep last night I suddenly realized I didn’t remember putting my bike helmet in the car as I was packing up. in Margate City. I should have had it on the handlebars to avoid this but I had laid it on a stack of old cushions inside the garage. Yesterday morning the stack of old cushions was put out for trash collection and my helmet would have had to have been set aside. I didn’t notice when I got my bike out and put it on the car. This wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that I already left my tire pump in Lewes. The pump was kindly mailed to me and was here when I arrived in Vermont. Amazon to the rescue – a new purple helmet with a flashing light in back will arrive tomorrow. I am only two weeks into this adventure so I think a checklist is in order.

I had the opportunity to support the local Brattleboro economy today. Charming town with locally owned businesses. I got new cycling gloves (that were inside the helmet), sandals with good arch support and several pieces of summer clothing from a shop called Malisun. All of the shop owners were extremely friendly. We then had a drink at the Whetstone Station that is built on the Vermont/New Hampshire border. I bought the beer in VT and drank it in NH.

Vermont has 70% of its eligible population vaccinated. Indoor mask mandates remain and there is still a fair amount of masking outdoors. As I have been moving around through different communities and states that past 2 weeks as CDC guidance is changing, it has been interesting to observe each communities response. There is no question that I have seen much more outdoor masking since I left Tennessee. Masking or not needs to become a personal choice. No CDC guidance based on the best evidence will guarantee any individual will not get Covid. Even though I am now 2 weeks past my second vaccination and fully protected, there are going to be circumstances that I am feel more comfortable masking even if I don’t have to. It will not be a political statement, it will be a health decision. Now that we know what we look like in masks, wouldn’t it be nice if we made a choice to “mask up” the next time we feel a cold or flu coming on? No need to share.

We took an evening walk (without my phone unfortunately) and I saw 2 adult geese with their goslings. It was last Friday that I saw the same thing outside Philly. Rather than taking time to smell the roses, perhaps for me it is taking time to notice the baby geese.

Today was a travel day. I had a lovely walk on the boardwalk next to Atlantic Ocean in the middle of a relaxing morning. At 2 PM I loaded up and took off for Brattleboro, VT. There was about 30 minutes of slow traffic on Garden State Parkway south and west of NYC but overall not too bad.

While it was over 80 degrees as I was driving into Vermont, the trees are not in fully filled out with leaves yet which seemed like a bit of a disconnect. My hosts live about 3 miles up the side of a mountain. I will be here 6 days so I will see how many days it takes me to do the full ride without stopping. I am OK if I don’t make it, but it will be a nice contest for myself.

I listened to “You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience” on today’s drive. The book consists of essays read by the essay authors about their own experience of being black in America from many different perspective. Their ability to articulate their experiences in such a reflective manner astounds me. What I am starting to be very clear about is that as much as I want to understand the Black Experience, living with white skin and privilege makes that impossible. The body-cam videos of Ronald Greene are shocking. The ridiculous initial story about that he was killed in a car crash during a chase is a manifestation of white privilege. While the state troopers knew the explanation was unbelievable, they knew there was a chance and hope that it would be enough.

I remain hopeful that by the time I finish my car trip, that I will have a better idea how I be anti-racist and make a difference in my new home city.

Yesterday turned out to be a less active day because of a neck spasm. I was able to walk on the Boardwalk in late afternoon after a 5 hour nap. Today my neck was much better and I got out on my bicycle by 1030 AM. I decided to ride south to Ocean City, NJ. I came across this sign and was disappointed I didn’t see any turtles.

I rode to the south end of Ocean City along bayside and along the boardwalk back north. There were a lot more people out on the beach today. An boardwalk observation is that the Atlantic City Boardwalk is a smoother ride. The only difference I could see is that the wood planks on the Atlantic City Boardwalk run at a diagonal and the Ocean City planks run horizontally.

My friend’s 20 month old granddaughter came to the beach today. She helped make a salad for dinner and this was her idea of how to add apple to the salad. Her way was faster than mine.

Today I reflected on how much better my life has been since Neutrogena SPF 100 sunscreen came on the market. I have vitiligo (no pigment) which started 35 years ago. Consequently, I hid from the sun for decades. With the heat and humidity, it was too difficult to stay fully covered. I would burn with SPF 50, 60, and 85. The SPF 100 was like magic and I have been able to cycle in hot sun for hours without burning. Life changing for me.

I found out today that a friend from grade school had a sudden death over the weekend. I had been in frequent communication with him recently as he was having a health issue that was not life threatening. My heart goes out to his family who were not prepared for this in any way. This reinforces my decision to spend time decompressing and catching up with friends and family. During my last call with Ed, we were talking about the bike ride we would do when I am back in Iowa in June. Rest in Peace, Ed.

Tomorrow I will be take off for Vermont. The 10 day forecast has the temperature as high as 85 degrees with only one possibly rainy day while I am scheduled to be there. Fingers crossed for an uneventful trip around NYC.

Margate City is the second town south of Atlantic City. I am currently staying in Marven Gardens – a piece on the Monopoly Board. It is in the very north part of Margate. The Atlantic City boardwalk extends just beyond Ventor into Margate. Today I cycled from here to the north end of the boardwalk in Atlantic City – round trip was 13 miles. The south end of the boardwalk had limited pedestrians or cyclists and was very pleasant. The boardwalk in Atlantic City had a reasonable number of people – enough where I had to pay careful attention. They apparently restrict cyclists on the boardwalk at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend which I think makes sense. With too many more people, a cyclist can simply not keep tract of all of the possible random motions of the pedestrians so everyone can be safe.

The only other time I was on the boardwalk was after my freshman year of high school when our high school band took a trip to the East Coast – Atlantic City and Washington DC. I don’t have strong memories of the experience except I remember feeling claustrophobic as we drove across Pennsylvania – I was used to seeing the horizon in the distance and there were low mountains in Pennsylvania. I remember “swimming” in the Atlantic Ocean in Atlantic City with vague recollections of the boardwalk. In DC, I remember the humidity and that I had a hard time understanding people when they spoke. The boardwalk was easy riding There was a significant headwind heading south. As I was in the midst of Atlantic City, I couldn’t help singing the tune Under the Boardwalk by the Drifters.

I quit high school band early in my sophomore year (1971) when I felt uncomfortable in one of my private lessons. The band leader started commenting about how I dressed and about my nylons. Believe me I did not dress provocatively in any stretch of the imagination. I was did not have great self confidence but knew this was not appropriate and decided to report it to the Principal. I spoke with the Vice Principal, a youngish man, and was told that I must have misunderstood. I quit band and didn’t think much about it. I knew his comments were NOT appropriate.

After my sophomore year of college, I was contacted by the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation asking for an interview. They visited me on campus. Apparently the Vice Principal had made record of my complaint and the same teacher had been caught crossing state lines with a underage student. It was very odd. To some degree I felt validated and on the other hand I was angry that I had not been believed.

I had not thought about this in years but it came back to me today while riding on the boardwalk.

I made it out of Center City Philly without incident. I drove to the address that I used to live and it was as it seemed from afar yesterday – the building had been updated and a new section added. I drove along Kelly Drive but did not go all the way to 3300 Henry Avenue which used to be MCP Hospital in East Falls. MCP stands for Medical College of Pennsylvania but it was founded around 1860 as Women’s Medical College. The hospital was closed about 2 years after I left. It was a really special place. When I interviewed for the position there in 1996, I could tell immediately that there was something different about it. All of the oil portraits on the walls that would typically be men were women. It was an academic hospital within a community that it served. The focus was more on patient care and student and resident education than research.

I met with Denise and Helen for brunch. Denise was my admin and Helen was my nurse. They were both extraordinary in their roles. It was fabulous to catch up with each others lives and reminisce about our shared experience at MCP. While we are all older and in different places in our lives, it didn’t feel like 19 years had passed. We talked about how we could all work together again in some way.

I spent the afternoon with a colleague from my Pfizer years and his family. His son is about to start his anesthesia residency and his daughter is going to start medical school in the fall. It was interesting to get their perspective on the state of medical in the US.

I safely arrived at my next destination – Margate City NJ, just south of Atlantic City. It is supposed to be sunny and in the 70s for the next few days and it appears like there should be some easy bike rides as well as the beach walking to do.

It was a very special day.

I walked the 2 miles to where my car was parked this morning with trepidation – hoping it would not have a ticket. It did not. I changed out the day pass and walked home.

I decided I would see appreciate more of the city if I were not on my bike worrying about cars and potholes. After brunch with a friend, I took out on foot again to walk the areas I used to walk all the time when I lived here. Rittenhouse Square was as packed with people as I had ever seen it – still maintaining social distance to some degree and probably 60% unmasked.

I walked up 18th street and had the perfect angle on the Wm Penn statue on the top of Philadelphia City Hall – what appears to be an erection is a “welcoming hand” poorly placed.

The building where I used to live has undergone a dramatic facelift and expansion – it has been 19 years since I left so I guess that is not too surprising. I lived in the white building in the background and it had a great view of the Center City skyline. By the construction in the foreground, I think it will not have a great view much longer. During the 5 years I was in Philly, I lived in 4 different apartments in the building. I started to with a 2 bedroom but when the Allegheny System started to go bankrupt, I downsized to a studio because I didn’t know day to day whether I was going have a job. When things stabilized, I upgraded to a 1 bedroom and then back to a 2 bedroom just a few months before I ended up moving to NYC. This was my first experience with high rise living with a someone at front desk 24 hours and a well equipped work out room and I loved it. There was a parking lot with the building so NO STREET parking. It was a great “warm up” for living in NYC.

I walked back through Logan Circle – fountain and the azalea trees were magnificent. I logged another 4 miles on this walk.

I had dinner near where my car was parked and decided to take a chance by bringing it back up to where I am staying to facilitate my departure tomorrow. My fingers were crossed the entire 2 mile drive and miraculously, the space just around the corner that I parked the first night was available. I had won parking bingo.

I am having brunch with the nurse and admin extraordinaire from my practice at MCP tomorrow morning and then meeting up with a good friend I worked with at Pfizer NE of Philly before I head to Jersey shore – just south of Atlantic City. It promises to be another wonderful day.

I am posting early today as I hope I am too tired from too much fun later to be capable of writing a post. I am having drinks/dinner with 2 special friends and I intend to enjoy the evening.

I spent about an hour on computer searching for affordable ways to park my car until Sunday.. I was communicating with another friend about plans for tomorrow night and shared my frustration. She has guest passes for street parking so the car does not have to be moved, but there are for Zone 5 which is a mile and a half away. So first thing the morning I drove to Society Hill and we went looking for Zone 5 parking space. It took about 15 minutes but we found one. I was failed at parallel parking under pressure so my friend ended up parking the car while a city bus had to wait. I will have to go change out the guest pass early tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night I may bring the car to this neighborhood because there is not 2 hour parking restrictions on Sunday. Hopefully I will be able to find a place not too far to facilitate loading the car for departure on Sunday.

Once car was parked, I took Lyfr for the first time since Feb 2020. Fortunately I had a friendly driver who was able to drive through the entire pandemic without getting Covid. He said he never had any problems with passengers not wanting to wear masks – even at the beginning.

It was a gorgeous day for biking here. I took off in search of the Schuylkill River Trail which is 2 blocks away on the map. Trail access as a pedestrian is much easier than trail access with a bicycle. I asked a couple of people before I got usable directions. I enter on the South Street ramp which was easy, but about a half-mile into the easy ride, there was construction blocking the trail with limited detour lineage. I was able to find a ramp to get off of the trail, but it was not clear how much was blocked off and where I could get back on. I rode around and asked a few people and eventually found a way that had bicycle access without stairs.

The trail was nice and there was a fair amount of walkers on the city portion but it thinned our pretty quickly once I got to the Philadelphia Art Museum and Boat House Row. I commuted along this route for 5 years and thought it would be great to cycle along it. 19 years later, I did it. The Stonesbury Regatta was getting set up as I rode away from the city and in full swing when I rode back in.

After negotiating the trail being occupied by many, many young people warming up for the regatta, I found myself on the streets of Manayunk for about a mile. The drivers seemed to be used to sharing the road with cyclists and I didn’t feel unsafe. After Manayunk streets came a canal towpath – much of which was not paved but was hard packed and easy riding. Along the towpath, I spotted a mother goose and her baby geese walking along. Another cyclist coming from he other direction had stopped to watch when a lawnmower came along and they all disappeared into the bush. Bad timing. They were very cute. The towpath was followed by paved trail with almost no pedestrians or cyclists that went on for miles and miles. I rode out a total of 16 miles and turned around. It was an uneventful ride back. When I got back to the access point for the trail in the City, I was confused because there was a closed gate that I didn’t notice earlier. Suddenly a very long train came by on the tracks on the other side of the gate. No one is going to accidentally get run over by a train here.

I negotiated the streets back to my room with less difficulties than earlier in the day. I think Philadelphia had done a good job making an old city as bicycle accessible and safe as is reasonable and I thought the drivers were respectful to cyclists. I will validate this observation tomorrow when I do more street riding around the city. I rode 31.5 miles. I am content with that.