Attack of the Giant Tumbleweeds and Heavy Gagging...

Yesterday, I took the bike up to Boise to get serviced and fixed up. I had to leave at 6:30 am to get there by 8:30. It was a good ride up there. It wasn't too hot and all went well. It was the first time I had ridden over 10 miles in a couple of years, but the yoga keeps my in pretty good shape and all went well. I got in touch with an old friend, Dennis, from the Boise area an he picked me up and we hung out and played pool until about 4 pm when the bike was done. We had big fun and it really saved me from having to sit at the bike dealership for hours. Thanks Dennis!

The ride home was MUCH less fun. It was well over 100 degrees and was way too hot. Then, as I got closer to home, there were gusts of wind in the 30 mph range that were really blowing the bike around. I was 'attacked' by many 'giant' tumbleweeds blowing into and in front of me on the freeway. I had to get behind a truck to keep out of the nasty side winds. Being behind a truck is always really windy and 'bouncy', but it is a constant pressure and keeps the gusts at bay. By the time I got home I was 'done' and it was a very long, but good day, all in all...

Then, this morning I had to go to the hospital and get a Barium Swallow test. I have had one before and they are gaggy. Basically, they put you infront of and on a table/x-ray unit and have you swallow big gulps of Barium and film it going down. It was really concentrated stuff. The nurse handed me an 8oz doubled paper cup of the thick, white, chalky stuff and said it was heavy. I took it from her and almost dropped it from the weight. It must have weighed 2 lbs or more. If it was a fish, it would probably have been in the 5 lb range...

I was able to watch the first part of the test when I was standing up and it was weird. I have this 2-3 inch 'pouch' that extends down from the back of my tongue. When I would swallow the Barium, the pouch would fill up and enlarge to probably 2 inches around and then get cleared out by the swallowing action. It sorta looked like the red 'snouts' on a large tom turkey, when it was empty. I wonder is this is some type of family turkey 'curse', or something I picked up from the ranch when young... It was pretty weird to say the least.

Tonight is the weekly 8-ball tournament and I am still the highest handicap and will have to spot most everybody lots of points, no matter how good they are. So, wish me luck as I will probably need it...