Drat! No trip in 2021!

The universe has again conspired against me and I will not be traveling on the Kennet & Avon Canal this September. I found a breast lump of low suspicion and almost certainly benign, but because of my history of breast cancer, I want to have it removed and biopsied. But that’s not what is preventing the trip. The knee surgery, which I was reassured I’d be recovered from in time for the trip, has been delayed to sometime in August. I might very well be on crutches, or requiring physical therapy in September.

So, I’ve reluctantly notified Foxhangers boat hire that we can’t make the September trip. Two surgeries this summer is a lot more than I can deal with. And this also means my husband, my friend Lee and her brother will also not be going on a narrowboat trip this year.

Thankfully, Foxhangers has graciously reassured me that we can apply our deposit, originally meant for a 2020 trip, for a 2022 trip, probably in the Spring. With luck, however, I should have a functioning knee, although worrisomely, the surgery only has an 80 percent success rate, meaning 80 percent of people find relief afterward. Optimistically, this means I can plan my monster bike ride again for next year, following the Thames, most of the Basingstoke Canal and the length of the K&A including the navigation to Bristol … assuming the other knee holds up. It’s hell getting old.