Health update

 I thought it was time to post an update on where I'm at with my health.

1. It looks like I've developed Sjögrens syndrome, an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks glands that make moisture.  This explains my swallowing issues (which seem to be due to a dry mouth, and have gone away since I've been a bit more careful about drinking regularly).  The dental hygienist has suggested some products I can try if it gets worse.  It also explains my dry and scratchy eyes.  For that I'm now using eye drops every 1-2 hours, which helps heaps but is a pain to do!  I've been given new drops to try that might work for a bit longer, but I decided to finish off the current bottle before I open those, as they go off pretty fast.
2. It also seems that I've had a recurrence of my concussion symptoms, which is where the brain fog and nausea fit in.  There's some medical controversy as to whether this can actually happen, but my symptoms are responding to the treatment that helped with the concussion, at least.  My GP is of the opinion it doesn't much matter why this has occurred, seeing as I've found something that's helping!

Camping at Waitawa

During our Sabbatical, Martin and I are hoping to go camping every four weeks' or so.  Around 6 weeks ago we were at Ambury Park, and a few weeks after that it was our church camp.  Last week we were off again, this time to a new-to-us regional park called Waitawa.  All the extra exercise I've been doing during the Sabbatical has really improved my fitness, and it felt realistic to try for a campsite 35km away from the nearest train station :-)

 

Back at Ambury Park

Last April Martin and I camped at Ambury Park, the only council campsite we can get to solely by bike :-)  We'd thought it'd be a good place to bring people who hadn't been camping before: it's a fairly flat site, has non-smelly toilets and even hot showers(!), is pretty affordable, and is only a 20 minute drive from where we live, so very accessible for many of our friends.

We tried to get a group from church to join us camping there this past weekend. Various things came up that meant we ended up camping on our own, but friends from church came out to join us on both the Friday and Saturday mornings :-) 

Bird-watching walk with our Saturday visitors:

Camping at Pae o te Rangi

Last weekend, Martin and I had a 5-day break at the Pae o te Rangi campground in the Cascades area of the Waitakere Ranges, near-ish to Te Henga/Bethell's Beach.

We caught the train to Swanson then got on our bikes - as you can see, it had some steep bits!

Biking up the first steep bit, to Waitakere township.  I forgot to take my asthma inhaler when I first got on the train (it takes 30 minutes or so to kick in), so I was struggling with asthma up this bit and Martin had to take over my bike a little before the top.

the gradient of the route as a whole

Camping at Ambury Park

Martin and I are just back from a long weekend camping at Ambury Park.  It's the only Auckland Council campground that's comfortably within my biking range, so no public transport was involved.  There was something magic about getting on our bikes outside our house, and riding off to a different world :-)

Me heading off.  We started on the road but joined the cycleway at Bollard Ave and took that all the way to Māngere Bridge :-)

Holiday in Te Aroha and Auckland

A few weeks back, Martin had two weeks off.  We spent the first week staying with his Aunty and Uncle in Te Aroha.  They borrowed bikes for us to use down there and, on Martin's birthday, we rode from Waikino to Paeroa (through the Karangahake Gorge) on the Hauraki Rail Trail.  It was about 14km, broadly downhill, and we meandered through it over about 2.5 hours.

About to start.  Unfortunately the stunning weather didn't hold, and it was foggy from a bit before the gorge through to the end.

Recent happenings

A few recent bits and pieces from me...  In general, physically I'm getting stronger and stronger, although mentally I seem to have crashed quite badly over Christmas.  I'm struggling to face any 'thinky' tasks.  I was working quite hard on Just Kai stuff in the lead-up to Christmas and am hoping I've just overdone it a bit.  I'm trying to leave the thinky things alone for a while and hoping things will come right soon; it does seem a bit better today and yesterday.

But here's some of what I've been up to before and after our Taupo holiday :-)

Friends who are missionaries in Japan came to visit - and brought us yummy Japanese snacks!

A cycling cap for me!

Over the years I've made several cycle caps for Martin, as well as one for Sarah.  Now there's one for me, too!

front view - and yes, that is violin music in the background :-)

Bicycle rain poncho for Project Glow Wear

I've just finished a huge project: a rain poncho for Martin to wear whilst cycling :-)

It was prompted by Project Glow Wear: a competition put on by the Greater Wellington Regional Council to encourage people to make clothing and accessories that include reflective elements.  They provided reflective fabric to all entrants (something I'd never even thought to investigate how to buy) which was definitely what tipped me over into deciding to enter.

A week of polo

Martin's had a blast at the world championships for bike polo in Timaru this past week!  For a glimpse of the action, check out the video below:

On my way to work

A wee article from our friend and housemate Sarah, about her commute to work.

Friday morning after a wee bit of a night out, do I cycle or take the easy route (and bus).  I know I enjoy the bike ride, once I get going, but it’s still an act of will to go for the bike option.  It’s a lovely day, and even if it’s not, I still enjoy the achievement of making it to work under my own steam.  As well as being good for me, and the environment, and my wallet, it’s also fun.

So off I go (after donning helmet and gloves), avoiding the bus on the way to the cycle path, giving way to traffic, and being given plenty of space by (most of) the cars and trucks in turn.

Up the steep hill to Grey Lynn in low gear, that makes me puff pretty hard, just like the little red engine (I think I can, I think I can), passed by a couple of other cyclists (in full on lycra) who are obviously much harder than me.  I don’t mind if the light at the top is red, then I get a rest, but not today, the light is green so I keep on going (I thought I could, I thought I could).  A friendly nod to the same man at the same bus stop, each morning he’s always there and I wonder about his story.  I’m sure I’ll never know, but it’s nice to exchange a wave.

K Road is a bit of a challenge, it pays to be alert, with pedestrians and buses and lights and traffic changing lanes last minute, but it’s no trouble.  By that point I’m well into the ride and happy I’m on the ridge, it’s all downhill from here.

On the final stretch in Albert Street, catching the green lights and down the (fun!) ramp into the car-park, a brief pause to swipe the wee card and then into the free secure bike-park.  It’s great being a cyclist, and as a bonus, I’m in good time and the shower is available so no waiting for me.  It’s just a pity the stairs are alarmed in our building so I have to take the lift!!