On Monday I did my upper body workout. Everything went fine except during the horizontal pull with resistance bands, the strap attaching the bands to the handle snapped while under a lot of tension. This sent a twinge through my lower back. It felt fine at the time so I finished the workout, and went on a bike ride with no issues. But later in the day my back got sore and stiff. I think it is just a muscle strain, as it got a little better overnight. I’ll take it easy over the next few days and see how it goes.
I replaced the handle and this time I backed it up with a rope. I occasionally inspect my bands because they can snap when they get old and worn, but I’ll now add inspecting the handles.
Things had been going well up till this setback. Saturday I did my upper body workout and then an easy ride. Sunday I did a long hard ride, with intervals, and it felt great. Yesterday I just did an easy 30 minute ride. Saturday’s ride is posted on Strava here, Sunday’s here.
Beautiful sky over southeast Morgan Hill, heading towards San Martin
Sunday I also went with my friend Joseph to some garden railroads in our area, one in Gilroy and one in Hollister. The owners are passionate about their hobbies and put a lot of time and imagination into them, and it was fun talking to them.
Train Coming Out of a homemade tunnel in Gilroy backyard. The owner’s son is a civil engineer who specializes in traffic projects so was able to plan the layout using Autocad.Backyard train in Hollister. The engine in the foreground is a Challenger (slightly smaller cousin to the famous “Big Boy”). In order to have enough steam power to get up mountain grades, these had very long boilers. That made the engines so long that to go around curves the chassis had to articulate under them. In the background is a Shay engine pulling up a steep grade. These had to be geared so low to get up the grades that they had a top speed of only 15 mph. There are still some running on the historic Roaring Camp and Big Trees railroad near us in Felton.
I am a Mechanical Engineer born in 1953, Ph. D, Stanford, 1980. I have been active in the mechanical CAE field for decades. I also have a lifelong interest in outdoor activities and fitness. I have had both hips replaced and a heart valve replacement due to a genetic condition. This blog chronicles my adventures in staying active despite these bumps in the road.
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