I’d decided that the only way I was going to get the new tires on the Jeep was to take a day off and spend some time there waiting. Juggling cars is too difficult with everyone working and besides, it would be a good excuse to get in a long ride…something my knee really needed.
Savannah had gone to work before 6 a.m. and was leaving from work to go right to Columbus to see her boyfriend. She loves Patterson’s Dutch Apple Pie and I normally get one for her on any special occasion, but it would be impractical considering the circumstances. Instead, I decided to do the next best thing and went to Spudnuts where I picked out an apple fritter the size of my head…which is big. I drove it over to Parker and called her from the parking lot.
“Hey Savannah. I’m in the parking lot and I’ve got something for you,” I said.
“You’re here?” she said, a little perplexed.
She came out the door to the parking lot with a look of trepidation on her face. I’m not sure what she thought I was going to do to her…she must have known that I knew it was her birthday and she’s clever enough to figure out that I might have gotten her something, but you couldn’t tell it by her face. I held up the bag.
“Holy cow! This thing is the size of your head…which is abnormally large!” she said when she pulled it from the bag.
“Yes. I know. It’s a gift…my large head, that is. But so is the fritter. Happy birthday,” I said as I hugged her. My little girl…twenty-one and all growed up.
I arrived at Kolson’s Tires at the appointed time with my bike in the back of the Jeep. Jimmy, one of the laborers, was trying to keep things together. When I’d called the previous evening to schedule a time to have the tires mounted that I’d paid for two weeks ago, he informed me that Ken…the owner… was in the hospital and would be out for a month. He assured me he’d take care of me though.
“Hey John…um…I don’t have your tires here right now. I called the truck though and they’ll drop them off by two. I’m really sorry,” he said. It was 1 p.m.
“No big deal. I’ve got my bike and I’ll go for a ride. When do you suppose you’ll have it done?” I asked.
He promised that it’d be ready no later than four. “4:30 at the latest…and I’m real sorry.”
I told him I’d ride the whole time so not to worry. He looked at his watch and figured only a fool would ride in the mid-day heat for over three hours so he knew he’d have to have it done sooner. He didn’t know just how much of a fool he was dealing with. Well…I’d show him.
The shop is on the corner of Route 306 and Sherman Road in Chesterland, which is good since as soon as I got my bike on the road, I was in the middle of nowhere fast. I rode east until I started passing Amish folk in their buggies before turning around and heading back for the Jeep. I was about 5 miles from the shop when my knee began to act up. I had sharp twinges of pain on the outside of my knee which radiated up through my thigh and into my hip. I immediately backed off the pace and pedaled easily the remaining distance.
The Jeep was done when I arrived. I was subdued as I packed the bike into the Jeep though. Things were getting worse. My knee was going and I couldn’t lift anything with my bum elbow. I was starting to feel like my buddy John. One surgery after another. Well…whatever it takes, I’ll do because the sidelines are just not an option.
Bike Duration: 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2300.
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