Goolsbee News – chuck.goolsbee.org

Reverse Cannonball, days 2 & 3

Left Green River Wyoming at dawn and drove through Wyoming and all of Nebraska stopping in the Omaha area. Just me, and the big trucks rolling down I-80. Weather was perfect. Clearly a big snowstorm happened a day or two before, but now just a mix of high clouds or sunshine. It sprinkled on me once or twice the first day. I knew this was the last of the 80 MPH speed limits, as the landscape changed from “western” to “midwestern”. From Omaha to Chicago I had nice clouds keeping the sun from being too intense. Stopped to hit the gym in Des Moines. Then rolled on across Illinois, where I met Christopher for dinner. We went to a BBQ restaurant for some REALLY good BBQ (something impossible to get in the PNW!) He had a pulled pork sandwich and I had a Rib & Sausage plate. It was delicious and the company was excellent. Always nice to see him.

The hotel near his work where I usually stay was charging over $300/night for some reason, so I found a much more reasonable hotel, that happened to be downtown. He met me there after work and I drove him to the BBQ place and then home where we exchanged gifts (some LED lights for his bike from me, and he gave me some gifts he brought home from Japan for his Brother Nick, and his wife Izzy whom we are seeing in Portland next weekend.)

Slept like a log and planning on another dawn departure. Shooting for somewhere in Pennsylvania for Saturday night.

Sears Tower from the walk to my hotel from the parking garage.

Subaru is home and whole again.

A bit of drama, as my insurance company declared the car a “total loss” despite the damage being very minor (grille, hood, and radiator and it’s bracket being the extent of the damage.) This meant that the body shop the insurance company chose could not fix the car. They paid me about 75% of what I had paid for the car just a few months before, and I brought my flatbed trailer and took the car to an independent shop.

That shop was willing to work with used parts, the most expensive and majority of the repair being the hood. He found one from the same color car, with a similar patina. I think it looks great.

Since it is my ski car it will likely spend the summer just being a dog hauler.

Spring Shop Projects

I stupidly committed to going to a car show this weekend. Now I’m trying to get some projects done on a compressed schedule. I was hoping to bring (and registered) the Jaguar. However it has spent the past couple of years atop my four post lift snugly slumbering. I pulled the M6 out from under it, which was a project in and of itself. Both cars had their batteries out and sitting on tenders. I didn’t want to start either up right now, so I had to push the big coupe out. Initially wasn’t able to move it more than a few centimeters. Aired up the tires, which were all low (~16psi) and it rolled much easier. Reinstalled the battery and checked that the dash lights up.

The three foam pads under the hood/bonnet are very dry and will disintegrate instantly if touched. I have had a new set for a while, and I guess it is time to install them. Should be a quick job, just vacuum off the old ones, remove the left over adhesive underneath and apply the new ones. Amazing how fast the old ones suck right off the underside of the bonnet with the shop vac!

Meanwhile with the Jaguar I remember that I have to replace the carburetor floats. I bought some new ones made out of some high-tech synthetic material from SNG Barrett a few years ago. I go to my stash of Jag parts upstairs and for the life of me cannot find them. I remember exactly where they were in my old shop! Oh well. I will search for them in the morning.

In other car news, I helped my little sister sell my mom’s old Benz Wagon on BringATrailer this past week. I had considered buying it from her, but my use would be for a ski and dog shuttle, and this car is just way too nice for that task. My old Subaru is a far better option. Anyway, my pitch to sell it on BAT rather than any other method worked just as I promised my sister; those wagons have a cult following out there and I knew BAT was the place to find them. We experienced the best possible outcome with multiple parties very interested in the car. It is going to its new home soon.

A matter of “when” not “if”…

That is, hitting a deer when living in Central Oregon. I have been living here for over fifteen years now and have somehow avoided hitting one, despite probably a thousand close calls. Well, I finally ran out of luck.

Heading into town for an appointment, driving down Northwest Way and this buck came running full speed in front of me. I was maybe three car lengths behind an SUV and two other cars were heading the opposite direction. I never saw the deer as he jumped between the two northbound cars and then right in front of me. I was full on the clutch and brake pedals as fast as I could, but physics won. I hit the buck broadside. His hip hit just above my driver-side headlight, his shoulder hit the grille just inside the headlight on the other side (pushing a bracket into the radiator.) Grille destroyed. Hood buckled. Radiator leaking. Poor buck was in shock. Compound break of his femur. Head injury from hitting the ground (or maybe that mailbox, I’m not sure.) I was fine. I immediately called 911 and asked for the Sheriff to come euthanize the buck. The tailing northbound car stopped, as she saw the whole thing. Checked on me. Within a few minutes another car stopped and asked if I needed a gun. I said I had called the Sheriff but if she had one, it would be helpful. She walked from her truck and handed me a pistol. So within a few minutes of his injury, the buck’s suffering was gone. Lady took back her pistol and drove off. The other lady came and gave me a hug. I needed that. Sheriff showed up about ten minutes later. A while after that Linda came with the truck and a tow strap to get the car home. I didn’t want to drive it due to the coolant leak. Now it’s just insurance and body shop. And time of course. Sort of ruined my day.
Oh, guy in a pickup came by and took the buck home (legal in Oregon.)

Update: Insurance company being difficult, declared the car a total loss, despite the minor damage. ???????

I had to retrieve it from one body shop and bring it to a different one. The car will now have a salvage title, but since I plan to drive it like every other winter beater Subaru I have owned, that is until it mechanically expires. (The last one was hauled the the wrecking yard after a year of ominous knocking coming out of the driver side cylinder bank, at well over 250k miles on the odometer.) This one is just too nice a spec (full leather, manual, wagon, top spec) to let it go due to this level of damage. Hell, I don’t care about the paint, so long as it gets me around in winter until I can’t drive anymore!

Knee Update: Culmination

I finished Physical Therapy and had a final* post-op appointment with my surgeon. My range of motion has returned to a tiny bit better than what it was pre-op, which is around 4°—110°. I would like to keep working on improving it but it has stopped being the limits of post-op swelling and more the limits of pre-op soft tissue extension. That is going to take time. I need to keep walking and biking in the short term. My leg strength is finally coming back due to some gym time.

Linda and I went to Palm Springs last weekend to visit her brother-in-law and I spent quite a bit of time swimming. I feel really good in the water and swear my RoM was better submerged than on land. Who knows?

The real test will arrive in late November when ski season begins. Stay tuned.

*I still have to visit my surgeon at the one year mark so not completely done with him.

Knee Progress.

https://vimeo.com/1104162416

“Look at me, I’m clipped in!”

It’s taken almost two and a half months to get here, but I finally have the range of motion to clip into my recumbent bike’s right pedal, and stay that way throughout a ride. I’ve been able to clip for short stretches of road, usually uphills and by shifting up/back in the seat of the bike. But now I can clip after a short warmup and just stay in for the duration of the ride.

My Physical Therapist says this will accelerate my progress quite a bit, so I try to ride at least 30 minutes a day. Sometimes with Ripley, sometimes alone. I meet with my doctor on August 6th and am really trying to avoid another procedure on the knee and just keep working it through exercise, and PT. Wish me luck!

https://vimeo.com/1104162416

Knee Update

So, with the threat of an “MUA” from my surgeon I’ve doubled down on my PT to improve my range of motion. Progress has been made! I can finally pedal a bike so I have gone on morning rides every day that I can. Some days I bring Ripley the Aussie Shepherd along because she has energy to burn. Dottie the Corgi is not ready for bike work (yet). The bike riding (and soaking/bending in the hot tub) have done wonders for my range of motion. I went from being “stuck” around an 80° bend to 110° at my most recent PT appointment. I think the doc won’t be happy until I am at 120° so I’m keeping at it.

I can’t clip in with my bike cleats on my right foot yet (not enough bend at the apex of the stroke) but I’m getting closer every day.

I’m also back at the gym. It is amazing what two months of being sedentary does to muscles at my age. It’s like starting over again.

The plan is to be back on the slopes in November.