Good news indeed!

I was expecting a fancier brace! Most people I know who use knee braces, including me, have custom ones. Admittedly, they are generally needed thanks to a torn ACL rather than arthritis.

Ooh what good news all around. So very pleased for you. The knee brace idea (although not as fancy a one) was a thought I had also, but I held off since you were seeing your specislist so soon. It looks good and should really help. The folding trekking pole is perhaps also not a bad idea and wheelchair assist through larger airports might not hurt either. Enjoy your time in Portland and your planning/dreaming time of your next trip. Love, Dodie

Hip, hip, hooray!

I think it should be Ok. Once it was fully dismantled he clearly knew what he was doing. He took some time making sure everything including the bearings was tightened securely and correctly. Hope for the best.

Ouch. I predict a trip to Eugene in your future. That part's not supposed to come apart, based on my experience.

Trek is it for downtown now, which is really sad. There are a couple of promising ones on the inner east side we’ll check out next though. The mechanic highly recommended Clever Cycles, which specializes in folders, e-bikes, recumbents, cargo bikes and the like. He says they’re the best bike shop in town, so we’ll give them a try.

Dodie always asks for wheelchair assistance. It helps in getting priority boarding and if the terminal is large it helps save the knees. You might want to consider getting a folding trekking pole for those times when walking distances is unavoidable. REI carries them.

So glad that you found those socks. Without them I have found the swelling from airplane travel to be really uncomfortable. Love, Dodie

I'll have to give GM Jim a call. That's a real loss for the PDX cycling community. Another independent shop closing. When I lived on the north side of the river there were some wonderful bike shops down there that are now closed. Don't know about down there, but in the Tacoma area Trek has been doing a major flex.

Yes! We need and opportunity for you and Jacinto to have a proper meeting.

Ooh! This light reminds me of my visual field eye test this morning..🫣

I’m back home now as well. It was great meeting up with both of you again, and the Branhams. I’m glad my son and my friend Jan were able to meet you this time. Hopefully we can meet again in Tucson next winter, but it will depend on the political situation at that time. I hope your trip to Europe works out the way you have planned. I will be following along with you on your blog. Safe travels.

That would be amazing. They’re really beautiful, colorful birds when you get the right light on them. Ben Park back in MSP told us he had one that lived in the pond behind his back yard too.

I’ve got the mechanics down for removing the pedals, and can always get them off with the heavy duty spanner we carry along. I just need to remember to not walk away and leave it on the ground when I’m done! Seems like a simple enough rule, but in my defense I could hardly see things down on the ground because my vision was so bad at the time. I’m glad I wrote so much down at the time, because it’s getting hard to remember how awful that entire month was now.

Pulling the stem is a real problem though with the newer Bike Fridays. The first NWT’s we got back in 2009 had a leverage point where you could pry the stem up from below with the spanner, but now there’s no option but to muscle it free. Another change I don’t like is that I miss the old split handlebars, which were much easier to pack into the suitcase.