No riding, some cooking

Three months post knee replacement and I'm still not riding except for a quick jaunt around the block on the tandem two weeks ago.

I am way behind on my rehab. First there was AIDS Lifecycle where I was a roadie. I was on my feet most of the day for a week, setting up and then serving lunches to riders. Immediately thereafter, I was headed to Oceanside CA to crew for Team4hivhope, a four-man relay team, three of whom are HIV+, competing in Race Across America. To read about our adventures go to our blog on thebody.com at: http://www.thebody.com/content/62386/race-across-america-team4hivhope-cycles-to-raise-a.html

I spent the week mostly sitting on my behind, driving or navigating one of our vehicles. I am proud to say our team came in fourth out of 32 four-person teams. At least two of the racers are planning to do it again next year. I am already working on getting sponsorships.

So now I am working very hard to get my quads strong and my legs in riding shape, and I'm almost there. Jerry and I will soon start on some short rides, but then we will be going to Balkan Music and Dance Camp back east in mid-August, but I am going to take my thera-band and bathing suit with me so I can keep up with my exercises.

I hope to ride in a fundraising ride for brain tumor research in October, and I want to be able to do that. I have known many people who have died from Gliablastoma Multiforme, and have a friend who has really beaten the odds by surviving more than five years. I want her to continue to live and thrive despite this always fatal diagnosis.

We're having a blissfully cool day today and I know how lucky we are. Most of the country is having sweltering temperatures. I'm going to take advantage of this lovely weather by doing some baking. I have a potluck to go to this weekend and my plan is to make a berry custard pie. It's an incredibly simple recipe, using eggs, yogurt, sugar and vanilla, and lots and lots of fruit. I've made this pie with apples, pears, plums and even bananas. I have some figs and I'm thinking of experimenting with a small fig custard pie to go along with the larger blueberry/strawberry pie.

I have done some cooking these past couple of weeks, as well. Nothing extraordinary, though did experiment with making a meat loaf out of ground turkey and chicken sausage. It was quite tasty, but a bit too firm. Next time I'll up the ratio of ground turkey to sausage and I think I'll be happier with the texture.

I've bought cherries with the plan of making a clafouti, but they have been so delicious I haven't wanted to use them for baking. Maybe the next batch.