Easing off the throttle...

This is quite an unusual Sunday for me. Typically, I would find myself working out at the gym before a hockey game with my men's team or running errands on the motorcycle. But right now I am hobbling around between my table here at Panera and for refills of my bottomless cup of iced tea. This is thanks to an onset of plantar faciitis in the right foot that has let me writhing in pain and unable to travel long distances by foot. Fortunately another member of my hockey team moonlights as a goalie so they're not short a netminder for the second consecutive game in a row. In fact, they're also looking forward to my return! This also gives me some peace of mind - the last time I had plantar faciitis (in the same foot, mind you) was about four years ago as a consequence of a twisted knee I injured in a game, and the team I was playing for at the time cut me permanently from the roster after I had served as their top goaltender for three years - I think they just needed an excuse to give me the boot.

What an insane two weeks this has been. After sixty hours of driving from here to Utah and back followed by five straight days of springtime insanity at the store and catching up with e-mails and special projects in between, I guess something is reminding me that I need to slow down just a tad until the rest of me catches up.
Regardless of this very temporary pain, it is a nice feeling to be back in the normal grind of the motorcycle "season," but it looks like I have to get my legs back into the routine of sitting, standing, and lots of walking while I settle service calls and sell accessories! It'll be interesting returning to work tomorrow as I have to reduce my time on foot and willfully keep myself at my desk in hopes that this pain will subside by mid-week.

On a side note, Eleanor, my two-wheeled counterpart, is doing just fine. She's managed to get through the entire winter and is ready to continue with her fifth year of service. As part of regular maintenance, she'll be receiving new front/rear wheel bearings, a rear brake caliper rebuild, and replacement brake pads. For a motorcycle that has just surpassed 123k miles, that's not a lot of work to be done.

Here is the list of other work she's expected to get done in 2012:

• stainless steel brake lines
• steering stem bearing replacement
• Corbin seat leather seat cover refurbish
• (maybe) a wash and detail

That is all for now. I will leave you with Coach Jules Winnfield and his advice to the goalie (which also harkens to my current physical status):

"Just because you look like the gimp doesn't mean you have to play like the gimp. Give him the GOURMET SHOT! Be a bad motherf**ker...!"