Two Years Living On Two Wheels...And Counting

[Judoka]

I would be wearing this contraption for a while as the tendons would mend. This trapeze suspends he fingers and the rubber bands simulate the tendons which extend the fingers. when you contract the fingers like closing your hand it makes the tendons "glide' and pulls them a bit as they synergistically counterbalance the tendons used to contract the fingers.

 

[Judoka]

I had begun to realize how lucky I was that my rehab started within just days of surgery. I wanted to get back out west so bad it is not funny! The faster I could finish healing and get my function back, the quicker I could return. I was also learning new ways to work with just one hand. I was learning that I could wire receptacles by using the Trapeze to stabilize the boxed my thumb to hold the receptacle as I tightened the screws with my right hand. Plumbing too was possible if I used the back of that Trapeze as kind of a hook to cary and hold. It was a lot of adapting and figuring things out but one thing was for sure; I was never getting this time back so I was going to make the most of it!

 

[Judoka]

My friend was going to Cambodia for several weeks and asked me if I would like to have some wheels while they were gone. I cannot express enough how grateful I am for that time! I was able to visit family and to get out exploring again.

 

[Judoka]

About a month had passed and I was getting the itch real bad! I had been living on the road and on the move for many months and being stagnant with an occasional excursion was starting to take a toll. I was struggling to understand why I was feeling so uneasy. I was not really "homeless" any longer. I may not have been living exactly where I wanted to be but I had a place to stay and rent to pay! It didn't help that friends I hade made on the road were sending me pictures of places they here going and life they were living.

 

[Judoka]

After sending me that picture I gave him a some $h*+, then told him that I was struggling hard and going stir crazy so he invited me to hit the road with him. He was making a run to the North East and would swing by to pick me up! It may not be Overlanding but at least the scenery was changing!!!

 

[Judoka]

After riding a few days it was time to head back to Louisville KY for therapy. I hopped out near Saratoga Springs and after hiking a few miles I was in town. I stopped to have a little refreshment and found a local favorite that I had not had in more than 20 years!

 

[plumber mike]

This thread is full of adventure and gratitude. Thank you for sharing it.

 

[Judoka]

This thread is full of adventure and gratitude. Thank you for sharing it.

Thanks for taking time to read along!

 

[Judoka]

I had not been in Saratoga Springs in more than 30 years! It had grown as everything else has but it still maintained that charm I remembered as a kid. I was planning to take a bus to Louisville but busses are far and few between from Saratoga so I ended up spending a night on the bench outside of the AmTrak station.

 

[Judoka]

The next morning when the station opened I went in to find out about tickets but the bus window was not open yet. I spoke with the ticket agent at the Amtrak window and he informed me that it would be faster to take the train to the city and then fly out of JFK. Totally not what I had planned and to be honest, I did not like the idea of switching subway trains in New York City, but he assured me it would all work out fine. I found a cheap flight from JFK to Louisville on Priceline and thought, "Why not?".
Here is the best part. That Amtrak agent just handed me a ticket and said, "Enjoy the trip"! As in, he did not charge me! This was another day when my plans were just not good enough and by being open I was blessed with a whole new adventure!






Station after station, we passed through all these towns I had remembered as a kid growing up in and around the Adirondack's. It was somehow spiritually healing I guess you might say. So many years ago and another lifetime! I had never seen the Hudson River like this!

 

[Judoka]

I found out that there was a dining car on this train and made my way to find something cold to drink. I don't like soda but I LOVE a good Craft Beer! I asked for a beer and once again, they did not charge me! At this point all I could think is that life really wanted me to be on this journey!

 

[Judoka]

New York Is such a pretty state! Its beauty always seems to be underestimated and overlooked. Albany is hardly what people envision when they think of New York but it is the Capital !

 

[Judoka]

This was a fairly long train ride along the river. The wider the river got, to more densely it was populated.
At one stop someone got on the train with a bicycle. Ding! Ding! Ding! I mediately my mind was racing about the possibilities!






Then in the blink of an eye...we were underground.

 

[Judoka]

Popping out of the tube at Penn Station was like a bomb going off in front of my eyes! Tall buildings, lots of people, everything was alive and bustling! That was not a bombshell for me though. The place was very cleaned the people were NICE!!!

 

[Judoka]

This is probably my favorite photo I have ever taken in a city! One day when I was looking at it I noticed something beautiful in that huge busy scene. I cropped it down to discover a magical moment of two people just celebrating...life.