The long term prognosis is that the brain will work around these dead spots. My doc told me that I dodged eleven bullets to the brain, and to consider myself more than lucky. I do.
My list of restrictions includes: no racing, no roller coasters, and NO chiropractors. He also said no tackle football and no getting so drunk that I'd fall down.
Over and out, amigos.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The end of the story
So, to pick up where I left off, eventually they figured out what was going on with this whole stroke business. The MRI showed eleven separate events; five more major, six less so. The five more major ones showed brain tissue death of areas ranging from the size of a large pea, to the largest at the size of a marble. The smaller ones ranged from the size of a bb to the size of a small pea.
Here's what happened: Somehow I developed a dissection, or small tear, in the right side carotid artery going from the heart to the brain. As near as I can tell, it may have happened when Cece jumped on my back at the same time I was standing up. Apparently, it doesn't take much force in a certain way to cause injury to the artery. Anyway, this little tear started to allow blood clots to form, which then would break off, float up into my brain, and get stuck there, causing the strokes. In the investigation of why this was happening, they asked me a series of questions looking for the cause. The first was asking whether I had been in an accident recently, but the second question threw me: had I been to a chiropractor? The answer was no, why? The neurologist explained that this type of artery injury, while not exactly common, can be caused by upper neck manipulation. Hmm, I think I'll stay away.
In the end, the prescription for fixing this problem is to thin my blood long enough for the dissection to heal. That means a few weeks of twice daily Lovenox injections while the regular stuff, Coumadin, gets normalized in my system. Every third day, I have to go to Froedtert for a blood test for the Coumadin until the dosing is nailed down.
All of this goes back to why I can't race this summer: thin blood. I actually rode with my doc yesterday and he said as long as I was riding with him he'd be able to plug the leaks if I crashed, but that he'd much prefer I didn't do that. It would be difficult to plug a leak inside my skull...
So try not to crash me on the Beat Down as I'll blame it on you if I bleed out.
Here's what happened: Somehow I developed a dissection, or small tear, in the right side carotid artery going from the heart to the brain. As near as I can tell, it may have happened when Cece jumped on my back at the same time I was standing up. Apparently, it doesn't take much force in a certain way to cause injury to the artery. Anyway, this little tear started to allow blood clots to form, which then would break off, float up into my brain, and get stuck there, causing the strokes. In the investigation of why this was happening, they asked me a series of questions looking for the cause. The first was asking whether I had been in an accident recently, but the second question threw me: had I been to a chiropractor? The answer was no, why? The neurologist explained that this type of artery injury, while not exactly common, can be caused by upper neck manipulation. Hmm, I think I'll stay away.
In the end, the prescription for fixing this problem is to thin my blood long enough for the dissection to heal. That means a few weeks of twice daily Lovenox injections while the regular stuff, Coumadin, gets normalized in my system. Every third day, I have to go to Froedtert for a blood test for the Coumadin until the dosing is nailed down.
All of this goes back to why I can't race this summer: thin blood. I actually rode with my doc yesterday and he said as long as I was riding with him he'd be able to plug the leaks if I crashed, but that he'd much prefer I didn't do that. It would be difficult to plug a leak inside my skull...
So try not to crash me on the Beat Down as I'll blame it on you if I bleed out.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Been a looooong time
I wish I had a good reason why it has been so long since I posted, but if anyone is still checking this page, and still cares to read it, I actually have some stuff to say today.
Spring and summer have been good for me cycling-wise. I have more miles at this time this year than in years past, the weight that I lost over winter and early spring has stayed off, and I feel like I'm riding at a pretty high level. Sometimes I can actually keep up with Aaron and Jeff...
I should (was) at this time be looking forward to Superweek and racing with my Hollander teammates, but I had a bit of a set back. A little background is in order: four weeks ago, the day after the bone ride, which, by the way, was totally cool, I had what I thought was kind of a weird neurological event where my left hand fell asleep in an instant, and I couldn't speak. I couldn't even form words at all. It was bizarre, but I just chalked it up to the stress of the bone ride and a heavy work schedule.
A week later, it happened again, in pretty much the same way as the week before. This time, I decided not to say anything to anyone and just hope for the best as I felt a bit pestered after the first time. In short order, I forgot all about it and everything was alright until last week Wednesday when it happened yet again. At that point I finally decided to call a doctor just to make sure there wasn't something seriously wrong.
Interspersed throughout these "events" as I have come to call them, I was having bouts of vision problems that came with mild dizzy spells. Those I figured were nothing more than low blood sugar ebbs, as it seemed as though if I drank some soda or had a bite to eat, they would stop. Little did I know that they had nothing to do with low blood sugar...
Anyway, back to the timeline; the one that occurred last Wednesday afternoon was followed by another on Wednesday evening during a meeting. That time, my hand fell asleep and stayed asleep; worrisome to say the least. I had to get up and leave the meeting as I was getting a bit freaked out. As soon as I got home, I called a friend who is an internist at Froedtert/MCW. She called back later that night, and while I was talking with her, I had another event where the left side of my face went numb, and I couldn't form words properly, like when you have Novacaine in your mouth.
She urged me to go to the ER, but being the stubborn Kraut that I am, I refused and instead opted for her to set something up in the morning. On Thursday morning, she called to say that she had set up an appointment for me for that afternoon with another doctor in her department, but that she had also ordered a CT scan and blood work in the meanwhile.
By the time I saw the doc, the results of the CT were back and were inconclusive. The worry was a possible brain tumor or something, but nothing showed up. He discussed the possibility of seizures brought about by stress, but ordered an MRI for Monday morning as a precaution. Little did he know how prescient that was.
My six am MRI went fine, so off to work I went. I took an easy ride at midday, and on the way back to work from the ride, my phone rang. It was another doc from the internal medicine clinic. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to drive directly to the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. Why? The MRI showed that I had had a stroke. WTF? I thought, me? a stroke? As I would come to learn later, It wasn't just one stroke, but eleven distinct events; five that were worse and six not so. I assumed that they were just what is known as TIA's, no big deal. The docs knew otherwise.
After being admitted immediately, the process of finding out why started. I got hooked up and dialed in with all kinds of pipes and wires to keep track of my sh*t, and bring me back should I decide to disappear momentarily. Here's the list of tests that I remember: EKG, EEG, echocardiogram, CT angiogram and 18, yes 18 vials of blood. Vampires I say. I called the girl taking my blood that and she told me if I wasn't nice to her, she would just let me bleed out right there.
As anyone who has spent any time in a hospital knows, they're no place to be sick, much less well, and they're certainly no place to get any sleep. After reciting my story to no less than 387 doctors, nurses, med students, orderlies and anyone else who wandered into my room, I was finally allowed to get some sleep. That is between hourly visits from other various and assorted people wanting to poke and prod me. Why do they feel compelled to do that crap in the middle of the night? I think it's just because they have to be awake, so you may as well be too. Misery loves company.
Who knew that there were so many people interested in my well being? All in, there were no less than four neurologists and three internists working on my case, not to mention a few radiologists and at least one cardiologist for good measure. Ah, the advantages of a major teaching hospital. the place may not be the Taj Mahal of hospitals, but I feel certain that there is no place I would have rather been hospital-wise. I digress though, and this story is already getting too long for the attention span challenged, so I'll quit here and pick it up in the next post. Before I end this one though, I am ok. A few less brain cells, and considerably thinner blood than before but otherwise ok.
Oh yeah, The Shedmaster has a new nickname for me: Stroker Ace. Thanks Rascal.
Spring and summer have been good for me cycling-wise. I have more miles at this time this year than in years past, the weight that I lost over winter and early spring has stayed off, and I feel like I'm riding at a pretty high level. Sometimes I can actually keep up with Aaron and Jeff...
I should (was) at this time be looking forward to Superweek and racing with my Hollander teammates, but I had a bit of a set back. A little background is in order: four weeks ago, the day after the bone ride, which, by the way, was totally cool, I had what I thought was kind of a weird neurological event where my left hand fell asleep in an instant, and I couldn't speak. I couldn't even form words at all. It was bizarre, but I just chalked it up to the stress of the bone ride and a heavy work schedule.
A week later, it happened again, in pretty much the same way as the week before. This time, I decided not to say anything to anyone and just hope for the best as I felt a bit pestered after the first time. In short order, I forgot all about it and everything was alright until last week Wednesday when it happened yet again. At that point I finally decided to call a doctor just to make sure there wasn't something seriously wrong.
Interspersed throughout these "events" as I have come to call them, I was having bouts of vision problems that came with mild dizzy spells. Those I figured were nothing more than low blood sugar ebbs, as it seemed as though if I drank some soda or had a bite to eat, they would stop. Little did I know that they had nothing to do with low blood sugar...
Anyway, back to the timeline; the one that occurred last Wednesday afternoon was followed by another on Wednesday evening during a meeting. That time, my hand fell asleep and stayed asleep; worrisome to say the least. I had to get up and leave the meeting as I was getting a bit freaked out. As soon as I got home, I called a friend who is an internist at Froedtert/MCW. She called back later that night, and while I was talking with her, I had another event where the left side of my face went numb, and I couldn't form words properly, like when you have Novacaine in your mouth.
She urged me to go to the ER, but being the stubborn Kraut that I am, I refused and instead opted for her to set something up in the morning. On Thursday morning, she called to say that she had set up an appointment for me for that afternoon with another doctor in her department, but that she had also ordered a CT scan and blood work in the meanwhile.
By the time I saw the doc, the results of the CT were back and were inconclusive. The worry was a possible brain tumor or something, but nothing showed up. He discussed the possibility of seizures brought about by stress, but ordered an MRI for Monday morning as a precaution. Little did he know how prescient that was.
My six am MRI went fine, so off to work I went. I took an easy ride at midday, and on the way back to work from the ride, my phone rang. It was another doc from the internal medicine clinic. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to drive directly to the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. Why? The MRI showed that I had had a stroke. WTF? I thought, me? a stroke? As I would come to learn later, It wasn't just one stroke, but eleven distinct events; five that were worse and six not so. I assumed that they were just what is known as TIA's, no big deal. The docs knew otherwise.
After being admitted immediately, the process of finding out why started. I got hooked up and dialed in with all kinds of pipes and wires to keep track of my sh*t, and bring me back should I decide to disappear momentarily. Here's the list of tests that I remember: EKG, EEG, echocardiogram, CT angiogram and 18, yes 18 vials of blood. Vampires I say. I called the girl taking my blood that and she told me if I wasn't nice to her, she would just let me bleed out right there.
As anyone who has spent any time in a hospital knows, they're no place to be sick, much less well, and they're certainly no place to get any sleep. After reciting my story to no less than 387 doctors, nurses, med students, orderlies and anyone else who wandered into my room, I was finally allowed to get some sleep. That is between hourly visits from other various and assorted people wanting to poke and prod me. Why do they feel compelled to do that crap in the middle of the night? I think it's just because they have to be awake, so you may as well be too. Misery loves company.
Who knew that there were so many people interested in my well being? All in, there were no less than four neurologists and three internists working on my case, not to mention a few radiologists and at least one cardiologist for good measure. Ah, the advantages of a major teaching hospital. the place may not be the Taj Mahal of hospitals, but I feel certain that there is no place I would have rather been hospital-wise. I digress though, and this story is already getting too long for the attention span challenged, so I'll quit here and pick it up in the next post. Before I end this one though, I am ok. A few less brain cells, and considerably thinner blood than before but otherwise ok.
Oh yeah, The Shedmaster has a new nickname for me: Stroker Ace. Thanks Rascal.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Po-lice is your friend, or the case of an enraged motorist.
Newsflash: MPD officer stands up for cyclist' rights to ride two abreast!
Now here's the dope. Fearless leader Steve and I, having been summarily dropped by our teammates and left to fend for ourselves, found out the hard way that some people just don't like cyclists. We were riding along on Lake Drive just minding our own business when by what chance we happened upon another rider of the opposite sex. Having noticed our flash new team kit, said rider of opposite sex felt compelled to inquire of our very handsome selves. As it happens, the woman was freshly installed in our fair city from where else but Amsterdam. You know, that cool city in Holland, as in Cafe Hollander... So it wasn't really our handsome selves she was inquiring after, but her desire to find out more about this Cafe Hollander place we were advertising.
Being the helpful, sponsor mindful and all around swell guys that we are, we were more than happy to ride along with her and tell her all about this wonderful Cafe Hollander place. Besides, what's better than riding along the lakefront on a lovely day talking with an attractive Dutch girl? Too bad it was about to turn as ugly as a hatfull of arseholes. The setup was that I was on the inside, nice Dutch girl was in the middle, and Fearless Leader Steve was on the outside. As Fearless Leader Steve was riding just on the lane line, a car coming up from behind decided to slow down before passing us. This all happened on the stretch of Lake Drive across from Lake Park where there is a full curb lane as well as a full traffic lane- just so you get the story straight. Anyway, as soon as the car slowed down to pass us, the next car, a Ford Explorer XLT, Wisconsin licsense plate 646435 as it happens, started to lay on the horn. He was apparently in a big ole' hurry to get to the golf store. How do I know that, you ask? 'cuz he was wearing a hat that said PING, which is crap for the world's most useless "sport".
Mr. PING, as he will now forever be known, felt it his duty to inform Fearless Leader and myself about the "rules of the road". Mr. PING was EXTREMELY sure that cyclists MUST ride single file no matter what, and clearly was EXTTREMELY upset by the fact that we were not actually riding single file. Being the informative guys that we are, we tried to explain to Mr. PING that this was not the case, and that Wisconsin Law allows us to ride two abreast so long as we are not impeding traffic. Mr. PING reeeeeeally didn't like being told this. In a flurry of invective, he gunned the accelarator, and turned on to Park Street where he promptly gunned the brake pedal as he decided he wasn't done telling us about the "Rules of the Road" yet. I'm still unclear on what rules he was trying to get across by screaming, as loud as he could in Steve's face, spit flying, that we were IGNORANT. Ignorant !@$%^& (*&%# (&^$#9! And that we were all dressed up gay like in our tight colorful clothes. Of course we know that. Duh.
Mr. PING was by this time so upset that it appeared his head might just explode if he kept screaming. Or maybe his heart would give up seeing as how his "sport" is golf which means his heart just doesn't get much of a workout. Except maybe when he screaming about the golf cart ahead of him or something, but I digress. Mr. PING then gunned the accelorator again, nearly clipping my wheel; now I was gonna get upset and whipped out my phone to threaten to call 911. Mr. PING didn't like that prospect ONE BIT, and, I'm not making this up here, slammed on the brakes, threw his truck in reverse and aimed directly for us. Thanks to my cat-like reflexes, I was able to jump out of the way before becoming one with the Explorer, as was Fearless Leader. Now it was time to call 911 for real.
As I was speaking with the 911 dispatcher, Mr. PING must have concluded that indeed he was STILL not done explaining the "Rules of the Road" to us, and showed up again. I just held out my phone so that the dispatcher could have a nice listen to Mr. PING. Admittedly he was calmer by this time, but clearly still upset. I invited him to stick around and have a chat with us until the police arrived but he though the better of that idea, jumped back into his car, and gunned the accelorator once again. I think he used up about ten gallons of gas repeatedly doing this.
After a short time, Officer Friendly arrived on the scene to investigate the altercation. This is where the news flash comes in. The first thing he said to us, after hearing a brief description of what happened, is that WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO RIDE TWO ABREAST WHERE WE WERE. Ooooh, vindication feels so good. He obviously had better things to be doing, but appreciated us taking the time to call in. He promised to have a nice chat with Mr. PING and perhaps direct him to some anger management classes. Or maybe to play a real sport which would no doubt help with his issues as well. At some point in the conversation with Officer Friendly, who really was friendly, we got to talking about an officer's right to use lethal force. I asked him whether Mr. PING's vehicle qualified as a deadly weapon, and he assured me that it did. I then asked whether it would have been OK for me to whip out my Glock 9mm from my jersey pocket and shoot the f*cker dead. He was amused, but told me that he just didn't want to write up a report for that today.
Oh, and the Dutch girl? I think she decided take her bike right back to where she bought it, and grab the next flight back to Amsterdam where this kind of stuff JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Spring is Sprung
It just keeps getting better.
This week:
154 lbs
215 miles
12.5 hours of saddle time
All outdoors.
Life is good.
Some solo, some with the new team and some with aspiring pro Sam S. and the Shedmaster. You gotta love the first days of spring for dialing up the saddle time and stretching the legs.
My number one observation this year compared to years past is what a difference starting out the season 15 pounds lighter can make. It takes a whole lot less watts to hump up the hills at 154 than it does at 169.
I'm looking forward to a great year.
This week:
154 lbs
215 miles
12.5 hours of saddle time
All outdoors.
Life is good.
Some solo, some with the new team and some with aspiring pro Sam S. and the Shedmaster. You gotta love the first days of spring for dialing up the saddle time and stretching the legs.
My number one observation this year compared to years past is what a difference starting out the season 15 pounds lighter can make. It takes a whole lot less watts to hump up the hills at 154 than it does at 169.
I'm looking forward to a great year.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Long time coming
158.
Not since 2004.
Back feels better.
Clothes fit.
Ab definition.
Life is good.
Should have done this a long time ago, but lifestyle is hard to change sometimes. I finally had to admit that I'm only getting older and I've got to work harder than ever to achieve/maintain what was taken for granted years ago. Better late than never as they say.
Not since 2004.
Back feels better.
Clothes fit.
Ab definition.
Life is good.
Should have done this a long time ago, but lifestyle is hard to change sometimes. I finally had to admit that I'm only getting older and I've got to work harder than ever to achieve/maintain what was taken for granted years ago. Better late than never as they say.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
R.I.P. Sheldon Brown
A truly helpful person and all around master of all things bicycle. You know that he loved what he did- a vocation as well as an avocation. (kind of like Russell...)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A nifty web site
It is not my intention to get political on my blog right now, but I came across a site that I feel compelled to post. Actually, I don't think it's even political, but deals with political figures.
Draw your own conclusions.
Iraq: The War Card
Draw your own conclusions.
Iraq: The War Card
Monday, January 21, 2008
winter so far
So, I am now fully entrenched in my winter/ off season fun. I'm on the trainer/rollers 4 days a week but not with much intensity. In my last post, I noted that I have some goals: flexibility, core strength, weight loss and making my back feel better. I am actually being successful in three of the four goals, and am really psyched to keep seeing more progress.
Flexibility: The main problem has been my hamstrings, an I am happy to report that with my foot up on a table, I can alllllmost touch my toes now. Don't laugh your beer out your nose- I couldn't get within 4 inches when I started.
Core strength: This has been cool. The gains are quick and evident. At the start, I couldn't hold a plank for 30 seconds, and I can hold one for 4 minutes now. I also feel like my posture is getting better with stronger muscles to support my torso and I think I can start to see some muscle definition (under the rest of the spare tire anyway :))
Weight loss: With the exception of the party boat episode, I have been diligent at restricting my intake. Chief among the restrictions has been alcohol, which after the holidays and my brother's visit, has not been hard to cut back on. Starting weight: 169, now 164.5. Good progress by all accounts. Not quite like this guy, but hey, he's a lot yunker than me...
Back pain: So far, this has been a disappointment. I thought for sure that it would be feeling better now, what with the progress in the other areas, but no avail. Worse yet, I seem to have developed a case of mild sciatica. Bummer. I will keep going though, in hopes that it just hasn't been a long enough period of time yet.
OK, enough of that stuff. For Christmas, Santa brought Sam a real snowboard. I provided a pair of boots and goggles and he was off and running (or sliding). We went to the sledding hill a few times but all that did was make him want to try a 'real' hill, so off to Sunburst we went a few weeks ago. He had a lesson, and picked up the moves quickly. His passion over the summer/fall was skateboarding which translated well to the snowboard.
As a kid, I lived for skiing. Just the mild threat in August of skiing sanctions for being a punk had me back on the straight and narrow, that's how much I loved it. As soon as the weather started to turn crisp in the fall, I was dreaming of skiing night after night. Suffice to say, after my college years and on into dad-hood, I left it go, but always had it in the back of my mind that I would return to it someday. I think you can guess the rest!
I rented some of the new parabolic skis and wow! what a difference from my old boards. At a whopping 5'9" I was on 205's, now I'm on 165's! they are great fun and make me feel like I never left the sport they're so easy to ski. It didn't take long before a nice pair of Atomics with some new Solomon boots were in my possession. After that first night, I figured I would be sore for a week, but I didn't have any after effects at all. Except wanting to go again and again. The great thing is that I can do it with Sam, instead of just watching him. Now Maddie wants to get in on the action, but she wants to ski not board so I will take her for lessons as well. It's a good thing that business is good, because it's an expensive hobby. At least the season is relatively short.
That's it from the home front. Enjoy the winter wonderland.
Flexibility: The main problem has been my hamstrings, an I am happy to report that with my foot up on a table, I can alllllmost touch my toes now. Don't laugh your beer out your nose- I couldn't get within 4 inches when I started.
Core strength: This has been cool. The gains are quick and evident. At the start, I couldn't hold a plank for 30 seconds, and I can hold one for 4 minutes now. I also feel like my posture is getting better with stronger muscles to support my torso and I think I can start to see some muscle definition (under the rest of the spare tire anyway :))
Weight loss: With the exception of the party boat episode, I have been diligent at restricting my intake. Chief among the restrictions has been alcohol, which after the holidays and my brother's visit, has not been hard to cut back on. Starting weight: 169, now 164.5. Good progress by all accounts. Not quite like this guy, but hey, he's a lot yunker than me...
Back pain: So far, this has been a disappointment. I thought for sure that it would be feeling better now, what with the progress in the other areas, but no avail. Worse yet, I seem to have developed a case of mild sciatica. Bummer. I will keep going though, in hopes that it just hasn't been a long enough period of time yet.
OK, enough of that stuff. For Christmas, Santa brought Sam a real snowboard. I provided a pair of boots and goggles and he was off and running (or sliding). We went to the sledding hill a few times but all that did was make him want to try a 'real' hill, so off to Sunburst we went a few weeks ago. He had a lesson, and picked up the moves quickly. His passion over the summer/fall was skateboarding which translated well to the snowboard.
As a kid, I lived for skiing. Just the mild threat in August of skiing sanctions for being a punk had me back on the straight and narrow, that's how much I loved it. As soon as the weather started to turn crisp in the fall, I was dreaming of skiing night after night. Suffice to say, after my college years and on into dad-hood, I left it go, but always had it in the back of my mind that I would return to it someday. I think you can guess the rest!
I rented some of the new parabolic skis and wow! what a difference from my old boards. At a whopping 5'9" I was on 205's, now I'm on 165's! they are great fun and make me feel like I never left the sport they're so easy to ski. It didn't take long before a nice pair of Atomics with some new Solomon boots were in my possession. After that first night, I figured I would be sore for a week, but I didn't have any after effects at all. Except wanting to go again and again. The great thing is that I can do it with Sam, instead of just watching him. Now Maddie wants to get in on the action, but she wants to ski not board so I will take her for lessons as well. It's a good thing that business is good, because it's an expensive hobby. At least the season is relatively short.
That's it from the home front. Enjoy the winter wonderland.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
A Good Time
The 2007 WCA cyclocross banquet was held last night at the Fitchburg Community Center in beautiful Fitchburg Wisconsin. There was an armed policeman type posted outside the door to our hall the whole time. I'm quite sure that it had something to do with Cale, Andy and the rest of the Pegusussy crew. They was just itch'in fer trouble and Johnny Law was gonna be there to bust heads if need be.
Renee Callaway and J.P. Ericsson really put on a great event from the super tasty fajita bar to the fresh kegs of beer. There was a nice presentation by Ben Turner of Cycle-Smart and the Clif Bar Development Team. He had some great ideas about making our events more environmentally friendly and about bringing more kids into cx racing. I'm pretty sure Jay was zoning out bad during the "green" stuff. Damn tree huggers :)
Other notables in attendance were the proprietors of the Rusty Tool Shed and The Darkness himself. Representing Team Polska was a trio of ne'er do wells by the names of Maciej, Marcin and Abby. The Pegasussies threatened to blow our ears out with a cowbell and flugle horn orchestra. Kind of like being at a race except it was colder in the hall we were in. Someone forgot to tell the Fitchburgers to turn up the heat. Don't they know a bunch of bike racers don't have the extra layer of blubber to keep warm in winter?
I got this cool life-size trophy to take home. Had to strap it to the top of the car. I'm not sure where to put it at home though as my trophy room is getting too full for something this big. Oh well, such problems to have.
As you can see, Russell was starting to question his choice of seating. I'm glad he was between me and the obviously deranged Pole.Sunday, January 06, 2008
back to normal
So now the holidays are finally over, I weigh another extra five pounds and it's definitely time to get back to it.
So first some news: After flying the Hayes colors for five years, I'm moving on. I have joined the Cafe Hollander Racing Team for '08 and beyond. Just so there's no misunderstanding, I have nothing against the Hayes Team, or any of the people involved with it. I appreciate the opportunity that the team gave me to race for them, and they are a good bunch of guys. Why then the move, you ask? Well, in the first place, Hollander is much more of a road and 'cross team, whereas Hayes is mostly a track and mtb team. Being that my racing interests lie in road and 'cross, that was the first draw. Secondly, they are more involved with the local racing scene, and also get involved with bike advocacy and the Urban Playground Foundation. Any hey, who wouldn't want to race for a team whose sponsor is known for their beer and french fries??
So, I do have some goals for this year. They are few, and simple: 1) Get down to optimal weight. This used to be an easy thing to do; of course that was before I turned 40. Now it is hard to do, but is something that I must achieve. Goal weight by spring:159. Weight now:172. 2) Strrrrrretch. Stretching is an activity that I start every winter, and then leave behind as summer approaches. Not this year, no sir. 3) Strengthen my core. This, I think, is imperative to having a better season. Perhaps all of the above directly relate to the lower back pain that has bothered me for most of the past year. It is never bad enough to stop me from activities, but it is a day to day limiter on my overall performance and physical well being. So that's it. Simple, eh?
2008 is off to a good start:
48 miles with the Shedmaster today in the fog. We hit Elm Grove, Pewaukee (where's the lake?) Lake, Hartland, Delafield and almost Nashotah. We ran into new teammate and current master's 40/4 cx champion Tim T. on the way back too. Something tells me that he thought we were nuts for going nearly 50 miles on January 6th. Russell is doing Trans-Iowa so he'll be doing lots of early season long rides. Just what I need for burning off those pesky extra pounds...
So first some news: After flying the Hayes colors for five years, I'm moving on. I have joined the Cafe Hollander Racing Team for '08 and beyond. Just so there's no misunderstanding, I have nothing against the Hayes Team, or any of the people involved with it. I appreciate the opportunity that the team gave me to race for them, and they are a good bunch of guys. Why then the move, you ask? Well, in the first place, Hollander is much more of a road and 'cross team, whereas Hayes is mostly a track and mtb team. Being that my racing interests lie in road and 'cross, that was the first draw. Secondly, they are more involved with the local racing scene, and also get involved with bike advocacy and the Urban Playground Foundation. Any hey, who wouldn't want to race for a team whose sponsor is known for their beer and french fries??
So, I do have some goals for this year. They are few, and simple: 1) Get down to optimal weight. This used to be an easy thing to do; of course that was before I turned 40. Now it is hard to do, but is something that I must achieve. Goal weight by spring:159. Weight now:172. 2) Strrrrrretch. Stretching is an activity that I start every winter, and then leave behind as summer approaches. Not this year, no sir. 3) Strengthen my core. This, I think, is imperative to having a better season. Perhaps all of the above directly relate to the lower back pain that has bothered me for most of the past year. It is never bad enough to stop me from activities, but it is a day to day limiter on my overall performance and physical well being. So that's it. Simple, eh?
2008 is off to a good start:
48 miles with the Shedmaster today in the fog. We hit Elm Grove, Pewaukee (where's the lake?) Lake, Hartland, Delafield and almost Nashotah. We ran into new teammate and current master's 40/4 cx champion Tim T. on the way back too. Something tells me that he thought we were nuts for going nearly 50 miles on January 6th. Russell is doing Trans-Iowa so he'll be doing lots of early season long rides. Just what I need for burning off those pesky extra pounds...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
