Chino Hills State Park, August 20, 2016

August 20, 20161 Comment

My core coach Stephanie was again out of town, so I had another free Friday and I decided to spread my hiking wings again. My right ankle has been acting up a bit again since last week’s hike, so I cut back a bit on my ambition (minimum 10K and 1000 feet of elevation gain) and try something a bit more modest. I lived in Placentia from 2007 to 2013. The downside of living there was the 30 mile one-way commute to work, but there were a couple of pluses, and one of them was the easy access that I had to Chino Hills State Park, so I decided to revisit the park.

To get to the park I took the 91 freeway to the Tustin Ave exit, and then proceeded north on Tustin until it became Rose Ave in Placentia/Yorba Linda, and then Rose to Valencia, right on Valencia to Carbon Canyon road, and right to the Carbon Canyon Regional Park (CCRP). This park is adjacent to Chino Hills State Park (CHSP), and my usual modus operandi is to buy an annual pass for OC Parks and Beaches and park in the last lot in CCRP which is only a couple of hundred yards from CHSP.

Path from Carbon Canyon park to Chino Hills State Park

On a side note, my house in Placentia was off Rose Avenue just about a quarter mile north of Orangethorpe, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad tracks are parallel to Orangethorpe and were always a major headache. Long freight trains occur on those tracks about every 10 minutes and I had to spend a lot of time waiting for trains. At the time I moved the OCTA had embarked on a major project to create either under crossings (at Kraemer and Placentia Avenues) or over crossings (at Tustin, Orangethorpe, and Lakeview avenues) to improve traffic flow. When I moved in 2013 construction had just begun for the Tustin and Orangethorpe bridges, and I was very happy to see that those bridges were now both open. That should really be a boon for home values in areas affected by those bridges.

North Ridge trailhead, currently closed

Chino Hills State Park was a lifesaver for me when I was stuck out in the OC. There are miles of hiking/biking trails in the park, and I spent many an hour doing both of those pursuits. When I was short on time (which was almost always) I would hike the North Ridge trail where a 5K walk would get me up to over 1400 feet the 10K round trip with 1000 feet of elevation gain was something I could complete in less than 2 hours. Unfortunately, that trail has been closed for a couple of years due to a washout about a quarter of a mile up the trail, something that the park service lacks the resources to fix. If I were truly committed to hiking that trail, then the fact that it is closed would not have stopped me, but given the circumstances I was happy to pass it by.

The hills are still showing the signs of the last fire that came though here.

Instead I proceeded up Telegraph Canyon Road with my destination being the Easy Street trailhead, about 3.1 miles up canyon. Didn’t see any animals along the way, although I did see some signs of them.

Something rather large slithered across the road

Coyote scat I think

It was a rather hot and dusty hike, and on a weekday I only saw a scant handful of other hikers and bikers. Had I been a bit more ambitious I would have taken the short hike up the Easy Street trail. That trail makes a steep but short ascent through a small canyon into a meadow and connects to another entrance to the park at the end of Rimcrest Drive (off Fairmont) in Yorba Linda.

Easy Street trailhead–over the creek, up the canyon to the south edge of the park

Once I am back in full hiking shape my next plan will be to park by the Rimcrest entrance and hike down Easy Street to Telegraph Canyon road. From there it is just a short hike up the road to the Gilman Peak trail, a very steep trail that that will take me to the summit at 1680 feet. From there a mile along the North Ridge trail will get me to Sycamore Canyon and a descent back the the road. That is a hike that is up to my full standards!

Urban Hiking, August 12, 2016

August 14, 20161 Comment

Long Beach is not the ideal place for me to live. I have found that the best exercise for me is walking uphill, and when I talk about walking uphill I’m referring to uphill stretches measured in miles, not meters, and those kind of hills just don’t exist in Long Beach. Now that my gait is pretty well straightened out, and my feet/knees/hips are getting back to being pretty reliable, I decided that it was time to do some trudging. I also am trying to avoid using my car, so I hopped on the Blue Line, transferred to the Red Line, and got off at Hollywood and Highland. The plan was to walk to the next station, at Universal/Studio City. It’s only 4 minutes by train, and a couple of miles as the crow flies, but also on the other side of the Hollywood Hills.

My route was to walk west on Hollywood to La Brea, north on La Brea to Franklin, west on Franklin to Fuller, and north on Fuller into Runyon Canyon Park. Runyon had been closed from April through July, but is now open again.

There are several routes to the top. When you enter the park from Fuller, if you continue straight ahead on the paved surface it will rise, and then double back up the east side of the canyon before reaching a relatively short but very steep section up the top of the ridge to the middle level of the canyon. In the picture below you can see where the paved road ends at the right before the steep section. There is a flat area with a good view at this point, and those who are exercise-challenged often just make it this far before heading back.

Road to the East Ridge trail

If you do go for the steep ascent up the east ridge you will come to another plateau with excellent views. This will also connect you with the main Runyon Canyon road as a descent option. Going down the steep section can be a challenge if one is physically or mentally challenged by very steep descents.

View from the middle plateau

I took the unpaved but well traveled path that goes up to the left and leads up to the gate at Vista and the paved Runyon Canyon road. If one is feeling very energetic, there is an option to head off the road to the West Ridge trail. That trail is quite steep, quite long, and fits my definition of a good trudge, but I decided to take it a bit easier for my maiden trudge and stick to the road for this trip.

Runyon Canyon Road at bottom, West Ridge trail above

Looking to Hollywood

Runyon Canyon road meets Mulholland Drive, and I turned left on Mulholland and headed towards the intersection of Woodrow Wilson Drive and Mulholland. Woodrow Wilson intersects Mulholland in two locations, with the second intersection at Laurel Canyon Blvd. I lived for ten years (1992 – 2002) in a house at that intersection, and a couple of years ago I discovered the Harry Bosch series of police procedurals by Micheal Connelly and got hooked on them. The first one came out in 1992 when I moved to the hills, and Harry was a police detective living in a precariously cantilevered house on Woodrow Wilson Drive. In addition to providing a fascinating chronicle of how the work of detectives has evolved over the years with the advent of technology (in the first few novels they spend a lot of time looking for pay phones), it was very cool to see Harry traveling over areas very familiar to me. One of the objectives of this hike was to see the Harry Bosch house, if indeed it exists. According to Connelly, there was no real house, but when he was looking for locations he saw the foundation of a house that had been condemned and demolished and built up the house in his imagination. I did find that foundation at approximately 7203 Woodrow Wilson

Above the foundation

Then it was on down the hill to Ventura Blvd, and a short hike to one of my old favorite haunts (and a favorite of Harry Bosch as well), Poquito Mas, for lunch.

The service area and the menu at the Mas has gone through a lot of changes, and I know that a lot of the old Poquito Mas crew will be disappointed by the missing menu items. It is still good, but not quite the same! After lunch was the short walk up Lankershim to the Metro station. The walk, with a couple of short side excursions, came to a total of 8.1 miles, with a total elevation gain of about a thousand feet. Just about perfect for right now!

Gretchen’s Automotive, August 11, 2016

August 11, 2016Leave a comment

Back in the spring of 2002 I had gotten myself out of debt and had accumulated enough cash that I could actually think of making a down payment on a house. I drove my car up to the Mt. Baldy ski area for a day hike, and when I returned to my car it would not start. Having no other options available I had it towed in to the nearest Pep Boys. They checked it, said the timing belt had failed, and replaced that. Since they were already working on the car (1995 Dodge Neon Sport Coupe) I also had them do a tune-up on the car.

Fast forward a couple of days, and on my way home from work there was a loud bang and a lot of smoke from the engine compartment. On investigation it turned out that one of the spark plugs had blown out of the engine, an event that ruined the engine and required me to spend almost $3000 to have it replaced. That both set me back a bit on my plan to move to Long Beach and highlighted the importance of having a mechanic and a repair shop that one can trust.

Happily, just a few months after I moved to Long Beach one of my good friends, Todd Kelm, opened up a repair shop in town and I was his very first customer. Since then I have had an easy answer to any question about where to go for automobile service, and that answer is Gretchen’s Automotive. Yesterday I needed to take my car in for routine servicing. I arrived at 7:30, had to wait about 10 minutes until the service writer appeared, left the car, went for a walk, and got a call just after 10 letting me know that my car was finished; that kind of service turnaround is par for the course at Gretchen’s. When I was still working I would drop my car in the morning and would be given a ride to work on the other side of town, and when it was done I would be picked up and delivered back to the shop. That kind of service makes life much easier!

When Todd’s not out tooling around in the Gretchen’s racing boat, a boat which has done quite well over the years in the Catalina Ski Race with Todd at the helm, he runs a very tight ship at Gretchen’s. The shop is thriving, and the reason for that success is the repeat business generated by the friendly and reliable service it provides. It’s great to have a master mechanic in the family!

Change vs. Transformation, August 9, 2016

August 10, 2016Leave a comment

It’s been a frustrating week or so since I returned from my road trip! When I left I had gotten myself into a very positive routine. My daily practice was consistent and DAILY, my activity level was high (goal: be active until I fall into bed, exhausted), and my eating was very much under control, with my weight moving slowly down toward levels I haven’t seen since my 30’s. Since I returned, though, it has been really difficult to get back in that groove. I pushed it too hard on the first day back and over-stressed my knees, which are still recovering, and since then my afternoon naps have been stretching from 20 minutes to an hour and a half, I have developed more of an affinity for melting into the couch (the Olympics do not help in that regard), and worst of all my sweet tooth and my lust for bread have gotten the better of me (very sad face emoji here) and the daily tale of the scale has not been a happy one.

Then today someone posted a meme on Facebook that had this quote from Iyengar:

“Change leads to disappointment if it is not sustained. Transformation is sustained change, and it is achieved through practice.”

Given my current state of affairs this quote resonated with me, and I now see the reason for my frustration/disappointment. I also see that there is a cure, and that is to just get back on the wagon and keep on pressing forward. Transformation is a process, not a place, and if we discontinue our practice we get stuck in a place; a changed place, but a place nonetheless, and disappointing if ones objective is transformation!

I am happy to report that today matched up better than the last few. I did my full morning practice, rode my bike to the gym for a yoga class, rode to my mat Pilates private with Stephanie (usually on Friday, but Stephanie is going out of town), took the long way home on the bike (total for the day 22 miles), and did a much better job of keeping that sweet tooth under control! Still a bit heavy on sitting on the couch time (damn you, Olympics), but nothing that a late afternoon walk couldn’t have cured. The process continues!

Yoskay Yamamoto, August 4, 2016

August 4, 20161 Comment

When I am at Steelhead and have been sitting for a while, my habit is to get up, walk around the corner to the parking lot, and do a bit of stretchy flow. There has always been a plain white wall, which I have used as the backdrop for a short video. I went out today, though, and this is what I saw…

Actually, I didn’t see all of it as there was a car parked in the spot next to the handicapped spot. I went back in to grab my phone, and as luck would have it as I looked for a good position that car left. In the corner you can see the credits…

The name yoskay Yamamoto jumped out at me, and I recalled that he was the artist for the indoor wall mural pictured below …

That mural appeared seemingly overnight on the wall of the Fox Coffee House on Willow in Wrigley. The Fox is another one of my hangouts, and they are a valuable community resource. There are open mic’s on Thursdays and Saturdays at 6:30 pm, and they are usually well attended by talented and interesting people, so you can hear some music AND see Yoskay’s work! Wow!

I have only the briefest of excursions into Yoskay’s website, but that was enough to impress me greatly in terms of quality, presentation, and quantity. Definitely worth further exploration!

My Body Mechanic, August 3, 2016

August 3, 2016January 22, 20192 Comments

My body is very different than it was 5 years ago, or even from where it was 6 months ago. I have shed 60 pounds, remediated a foot problem that had hobbled me for more than 10 years, and made tremendous advances in core strength, flexibility, and stability. I have not accomplished all of that alone, and in fact all along the way I have availed myself of the services of experts in various fitness regimens. In short, I have assembled a team, known henceforth as “John’s Team”, and one of the purposes of my blog is to highlight those individuals who both currently and in the past have made valuable contributions to my progress.

I was looking forward to an appointment that I had with one of those team members, my body mechanic Donna Place from Long Beach Gyrotonic, for this past Monday, but she had gotten overbooked. Fortunately, though, she was able to squeeze me in for an appointment today. Donna knows the body inside and out; she knows what’s in there, how it all hooks together, and things that can be done to correct existing problems and prevent future issues. Donna has certifications in Pilates, Dance, and Gyrotonics. She teaches Kinesiology at Orange Coast College and also is a trainer of prospective Gyrotonic practitioners. Donna is a master of all things fascial, and I don’t mean cosmetics, but that stuff that holds your muscles together. Most importantly, though, she has the requisite “thumbs of steel”. And elbows, knees, or whatever it take to make an impression on stubborn tissues.

Long Beach Gyrotonic itself is a space shared by several lovely ladies who practice a variety of healthy arts, Gyrotonics, Pilates, and Rolfing among them; it is a full service body shop, well equipped with Pilates, Gyrotonic, and sundry other equipment. My philosophy about keeping fit is that it is important to invest in yourself. All too often I hear people balk at doing something like yoga classes because “it’s too expensive!”, but I think that money spent on fixing myself is money well spent. It is well worth the investment to develop relationships with professionals who can get to know your body with all of its quirks to help you work out all the kinks!

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

August 2, 2016Leave a comment

Let’s see… The last couple of days have been pretty low energy output. My knees have been pretty achy after stressing them out a bit too much on Friday, so I have been taking it relatively easy. I went to Ramona’s class on Sunday morning as usual, but she was stranded in Colorado and there was no sub, so I just did some walking in Belmont Shore, picking up my obligatory mushroom and sausage pizza slice at Z Pizza. No yoga, but I did manage to get in about 14 miles of bike riding. Monday was a walking day and I used it to take care of some business, like walking to the post office to pick up my held mail, and accumulated about seven miles, all of it with good form.

Today was a very special day as my friend Renate met me for breakfast at Steelhead Coffee with the twins, Kit and Dot, in tow. They just turned 3 months, and while I have been happily deluged with extremely cute pictures on Facebook, this was only the second time I have gotten to see them live and in person. Kit was out like a light the entire time, but my repertoire of funny faces for babies managed to elicit some smiles from Dot, a treat that is apparently only bestowed rarely.

One of the purposes of this blog is to highlight those individuals who I think exceptional, and one of those is Renate. Renate eschewed the typical path to college–I am not even sure that she even graduated from high school–and instead went into cosmetology. Apparently she handled that quite well as she eventually wound up teaching cosmetology. Then she met Kenny, a rocket scientist (seriously, he works for SpaceX), and they married. Renate went back to school and is on the verge now of graduating from UCLA with a degree in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS). She would have been done by now if not for the fact that she was busy with other matters for much of the past year. Renate is extremely bright, a very hard worker, and has also proven to be an excellent mother; she is also getting ready to apply to graduate programs in that field. Remember, it is never too late to change the course of your life, and I hold Renate as a prime example of what can be accomplished if you set your mind to it.

There was a bit of extra excitement across the street from Steelhead. A car in the parking lot of the liquor store was smoking badly, and a couple of folks wound up running over there with fire extinguishers. Their efforts were for naught, it seems, as shortly afterwards the car reached a stage which I believe is best described as “fully engulfed in flames.” A few minutes after the photo above the firemen arrived and quickly put an end to the fire.

Next stop for me was LA Fitness where I have very much missed the Tuesday morning yoga class taught by JR Johnson. JR is an outstanding teacher, and is a master at using his voice to set and maintain an atmosphere conducive to fostering the mind-body connection. It is not easy to teach in a room the size of that at LA Fitness, but JR manages easily and provides a challenging and invigorating experience that I always look forward to, and today was no exception.

Roger and Judy and I, July, 2016

August 1, 2016August 21, 201912 Comments

In requiem, Wednesday, August 21, 2019

I received a message third-hand last week from Roger Gedney indicating that Judy had stopped eating and drinking and that the end of her journey through this life was approaching. I have also been seeing a lot more hits on this post, and finally today I saw this obituary from Clugman-Tibbets Funeral Home in Macomb, IL:

“Judith M. “Judy” Gedney, age 78 of Macomb, Il., went to be with her Lord and Savior at 7:05 a.m. Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at Wesley Village Healthcare Center in Macomb. ”

Clicking on this LINK will take you to the full obituary with a wonderful tribute to Judy. Memorial service is scheduled for September 7, 2019. Full details are in the obituary.

July, 2016

I was on the boy’s gymnastics team at East Leyden High School from 1965-68. In my freshman year I still had not realized that I was blind and was mostly in my own little world, but that changed my sophomore year. As the girl’s team worked out on the other side of the school I don’t know that I was even aware of the existence of a girl’s team until my sister Alice entered school and joined that team. She would come home with tales of the beautiful and very cool young coach, Mrs. Gedney.

Mrs. Gedney (aka, Judy) and her husband Roger, were both recent emigres from LSU. Roger and Judy are graduates of the University of Iowa, where they had been gymnasts, dabbled in circus arts, were around for the birth of the trampoline, and other sundry accomplishments. Roger was the boy’s gymnastics coach at one of our rival schools, Glenbard East. Over the next three years I got to know Mrs. Gedney a bit and she lived up to the picture Alice had painted, and then some!

I graduated in 1968 and received a half-scholarship for gymnastics at Western Illinois University. 1968 was also the year that Roger and Judy Gedney began what would become quite long tenures at that institution as the assistant men’s and head women’s coaches. The setting was one where both teams shared the same workout area, and so everyone who came through that program, men and women, got to know both Gedney’s for the beautiful people that they are. As a matter of fact, my handle “Captain Univac” was created by one or both of the Gedney’s back in those days!

I have managed to keep in touch with the Gedney’s over the years and was able to almost keep track with developments. In her late 30’s Judy took up powerlifting as a training tool and found that she could be quite successful as she was always an extremely powerful person packed in a tiny frame. Judy set world records, won world championships, and is in the Powerlifting Hall of Fame. She continued to compete and to win well into her 60’s. Roger had always been involved in weightlifting and fitness and he began a community weightlifting center in the basement of the Salvation Army building that has provided training opportunity for locals for over 30 years now. Both Roger and Judy were also heavily involved in the charitable work of the Salvation Army; Roger spent several years in Haiti around the millennium doing relief and missionary work.

It had been several years since I had seen the Gedney’s so I routed my trip so that I could pass through Macomb, IL and visit with them. On my last trip all was well with them. They had sold their house in the country and moved into a small house in Wesley Village, a retirement community that provides appropriate levels of care from retirement through the end of life. At that time Roger was approaching 80 and still lifting very heavy weights (see the video below, with Roger at 80+), and Judy was in her early 70’s and doing very well. They were joking that Judy would probably have to be caring for Roger sometime in the future, expecting some kind of cognitive decline on his part.

When I arrived in Macomb I tried to call Judy’s number, but it was disconnected. As that was the only number I had for them, my next course was to go over to Wesley Village and look for them, but I decided to stop by the weight room at the Salvation Army first. The weight room was still running and still populated, and I saw Roger’s protege and partner in keeping this endeavor running, Tim Piper. Tim gave me Roger’s number and informed me that things were not well for Judy. Some years earlier she had begun exhibiting cognitive deficits, and was found to be suffering from corticobasal ganglionic degeneration (CBGD), a rare progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks cognitive and motor functions.

I called Roger, found out where they would be, and made my way to the Wesley Village where I found them finishing up their dinner. Roger was hand-feeding Judy the vegetables that he had finely chopped for her that morning. Judy appeared tired, as it was the end of her day and bedtime was approaching, and there was very little in the way of recognition or response on her part. I made another visit the next day, earlier in the morning, and this time Judy seemed to recognize me and made some efforts to talk. I gave her a kiss on her forehead, and her face lit up; for a few moments I could see the old Judy shining through.

Roger told me that Judy is still physically in very good shape, and he expects that she may outlive him. He also said that she has been making some gains in physical therapy and has been close to walking on her own. I was also very heartened by her response to me. CBGD was only identified in 1968, and so there is a lot to be learned about it. Who knows, it may be possible for patients to make comebacks, or for new therapies to be developed. Any of you out there who believe in the power of positive energies in whatever form (prayer, meditation, etc.) are invited to send some of that energy to Judy and Roger. Life goes on for Roger, and it’s quite lonely for him as old friends disappear over time, so any visits to him would be greatly appreciated. For now, as he gently stroked her forehead as she lay in bed, he told me “I finally feel like a complete husband.”

The Gedney’s and the Westberg’s.

Update on 9/24/2017–Shortly after I published this post last year a couple of former gymnasts from Western went out and visited the Gedneys. Colleen Westberg was on the women’s team, and her husband Jerry Westberg was a teammate of mine. They commented “These are our college gymnastics coaches, Judy & Roger Gedney. We visited them today in Macomb, and even though Judy has a form of dementia, she had her beautiful smile and I believe she recognized us. They were a tremendous influence on us.” They also posted the picture above.

The Westberg’s weren’t able to make a return visit until last week, and this time they noted that Judy was very unresponsive and they were very concerned. I am hoping that they just caught her at a bad time of the day. When I had visited last summer I first stopped by at dinner time, and at that time she was also very out of it, but when I caught her early the next day she was in much better condition. The difference was like night and day, and I hope to be able to get out there in a month or so to see for myself. In the meantime, please keep on sending that love and healing energy their way.

Sunday Morning, July 31, 2016

July 31, 2016Leave a comment

As usual, my Sunday routine started with riding my bike to George’s 50’s Diner for breakfast. It is another of the places where I am known and welcomed. I have a usual spot at the end of the counter, and on at least one occasion I saw Helen, the waitress, actually reseat someone who had had the nerve to sit in my place when she saw me coming! The cooks are already making up my mushroom and cheese omelet before I even take my seat. There was a minor crisis, however, as my Kryptonite bike lock was refusing to unlock, but an application of WD-40 provided by the staff solved that problem, at least for now.

I am now at another of my coffee shop regular stops, DRNK Coffee House in Bixby Knolls, where I get my Sunday morning caffeine fix. It’s a big day for the DRNK family as the wedding of DRNK manager Mildred and her girlfriend Michelle will be happening later this afternoon. That is an event that has been eagerly awaited for months by DRNK staff and friends!

In a little bit I will ride back home, shower, and then it is off to the highlight of the day, class with my yoga muse, Ramona Magnolia Tamulinas at Yoga World Studio!

Resetting, Day 1, July 29, 2016

July 31, 2016Leave a comment

I am back and re-establishing routines. Some things will remain the same, and others will change for various reasons. Started my day at 5:00 am with the morning weigh-in, the official result being 143.2 lbs, which was a very happy state given the length of time I had not paid attention to that statistic.

Then there was the venti sized cup of French Pressed coffee, some time atop my throne, some browsing of the Internet, and then I began my morning practice at about 6. Did an abbreviated version that only lasted about 90 minutes. Left out ab work as the plan for the day included a workout with Stephanie, so it was into the shower, and then prepping for the days expeditions.

First it was off to SteelHead, where the first thing I discovered was that I had forgotten to pack any money! Ouch, system failure! Luckily my friend Manfred was there and willing to cover the cost of my meal! I was very happy to hear that his Netflix series, “Bail”, will be going into production at the end of August. Steelhead was very busy, and I managed to have several interesting conversations with former complete strangers before heading off to LA Fitness for some light weight work and therapeutic treadmill and elliptical work.

From the gym it was back home to collect my wallet, and then back on the bike to my weekly workout with my core coach, Stephanie, who put me through a combination mat Pilates and barre workout, a combination that I had been missing very much while on the road. From Stephanie’s I took the long way home along the beach and up the LA River, stopping off at the Fox Coffee House on Willow for a bite to eat. Unfortunately my favorite, the vegan pot pie, was already sold out, but they did have a very tasty salad with kale, quinoa, hummus, avocado, and other goodies that made for a good replacement. Then home for a bit of a nap and a chance to ice my aching knees! After not riding my bike for three weeks they were not happy about having to do a vigorous 25 miles on the first day back.

Next stop was Yoga World Studios where I took the 5:30 pm strong Vinyasa Flow class with the lovely Ashley Corbin-Teich. Ashley is making a conscious effort to up the difficulty level of her class, and that, combined with my already very much fatigued legs pretty much wiped me out. Her peak sequence strung together a long series of asanas targeting hamstrings, and mine were pretty much worked out about halfway through. Ashley, by the way, is also a gifted photographer and has the photo credit for the picture on my Home page.

Last stop for the day was Lazy Acres grocery store where I stocked up on veggies and also made use of their ready-to-eat food bar to get dinner out of the way. Then home, where I was in bed by about 8:30. It’s good to be back!