Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Biker

I was standing on the bike trail bridge looking down at the recently flooding Upper Iowa river, when a biker zipped on by behind me.




She looked vaguely familiar so I hurried to catch up. Coming around a bend there she was standing in the trail.

"Hi Sweetie," I hollered. Ok time to fess up. It was Barb, my wife, a.k.a. Mrs T.
This was a special day for us. She hadn’t been biking for several years. It had been a rough period actually. First, there was cancer surgery. This was immediately followed by a serious wound infection, where I had to learn how to "pack it." Then came gall bladder surgery. Then a year later an artificial knee replacement. She had carried on bravely and with great resolve thru all of this. We continued to travel, go for lots of "rides" etc. but biking seemed a little much. This day the tide turned. The sun was shining and after getting our sea legs, we raced down the trail together. Life is good.

15 comments:

  1. Awesome Barbara is doing well enough to speed by you!

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  2. There is a certain freedom with that wind at your face on the trail. I try to ride as much as I can, have been on our cross state rides a number of times.You picked a good prairie,Hayden, it is the largest remanent. Saw some plant mounts she did, along with some other greats like George Washington Carver at ISU. I have a ed degree from there.I take it you fished Coldwater up there, or Bohemian.

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  3. My congrats to Mrs T!! After all of that I am sure she will still be able to beat you Ray. Women make excellent come-backs. :)

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  4. Waving at your intrepid biker from the north left coast, with a smile.

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  5. Great to see your loved one back in the saddle – she is an inspiration!

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  6. Lapped by a lady with a bum knee! How wonderful that Mrs. T is back on the circuit. AND, (unlike some I might mention) she is wearing her helmet.

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  7. What a nice post. The patient always gets better with good care! Kudos to you, too. :-)

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  8. That's wonderful! Glad you got to go riding together.

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  9. Awww... look at her go!!! That's so great that she has been able to persevere and now is riding again. I can imagine it felt wonderful to her.

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  10. Kia ora TB,
    Fantastic! That is inspirational stuff. And as a fellow "artificial" joint person I salute you both. Kia kaha.
    Cheers,
    Robb

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  11. So glad your wife is able to enjoy bike riding. Nature and the outdoors is a great place to heal.

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  12. Wow, your wife has gone through a lot! It's good to know we can come out on the other end energized and ready to get back on the bike again!! And yes, kudos to you for your care.

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  13. So glad your wife is able to enjoy that bike ride!

    Jane

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  14. It's wonderful to see your wife riding her bicycle again after all she has been through. I hope this is just the first of many more rides you'll have together.

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  15. Every time you write about Mrs. T, it is always with deep love and respect.
    I don't know at the time if you married your best friend, but it seems the trail you have taken, still together- made it so. Now I have to go forgive my best friend after reading this...he tilled up my perennials. Life is good, though life without rhubarb makes it a bit more intense! Lovely, inspiring post- thanks.

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