Friday, 24 November 2006 through Tuesday, I haven't written anything since Thanksgiving day, so I'll catch up all at once. Last Friday I packed up and rode downstate from Jacksonville to Boynton Beach, just south of Palm Beach. A buddy of mine down there put me up for a couple of days. Went to a few meetings with him and caught up. Good time. While I was there, it so happened that the Delray Beach Artwalk was taking place, so I rode on down there to see what was going on. It took place on the Pineapple Grove Promenade, where for a solid half mile one could walk amongst booths sheltering all kinds of artists and their wares. These ranged from the sublime, to the whimsical, to the absurd - at least as I saw it. In case your taste varies from mine, here is another possible subliminity. I rode on back to Tampa on Monday the 27th. After carefully checking the weather forecast along my projected route (partly sunny and warm with only a stray chance of precipitation), I dressed lightly and packed the heavy stuff away in the bag. I got lost at first, mistakenly going west on SR 704 until it petered out in the boonies. That was just as well, as had I been able to go further I would have drowned in Lake Okeechobee. Retracing my steps, I finally got on SR 710, as originally intended, and got going OK. All went well until just past Sebring. The sun had long set and it was pitch dark, and suddenly the heavens opened and blessed me with a torrential downpour. I got thoroughly soaked, but luckily it remained warm and I just rode on. I arrived in Tampa looking like a waterlogged panda bear, but no harm done. Oh yeah, one other minor inconvenience. I suffer from sleep apnea - you know, I stop breathing about once every 90 seconds during the night. I was diagnosed a while back and was successfully treated with a CPAP machine (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). In effect, this device blows me up like a balloon so my nasal airway remains open, and ever since I got it I have been sleeping as well as one can for a man in my circumstances. On Sunday it malfunctioned in the middle of the night, beeping and not blowing any air. I could not get it going again. For the last two nights I have been waking up repeatedly through the night as my brain stem detects that I have stopped breathing, and it screams, "Wake UP, you're suffocating!!" I called my medical equipment provider and they are overnighting me a replacement machine, should arrive tomorrow (Wednesday 29 November). One more night to get through... I'm going to try a couple of straws up my nose to see if I can keep the airway open. Go ahead and laugh if you like, but this is not a whole lotta fun. Click here to return to the Lone Rider home page. |
