Gotta harden up

I am going nuts.

The recovery has been going well and I have been pretty positive since I saw the Doc last week and he said everything was AOK. But, now I got word tonight that Bobby Lea*might* be having some issues with one of his legs again. I know its only through the grape vine, but it scares the living hell out of me. We are a small group of people, cyclists who have had iliac patch angioplasty, and little data is available about our condition, what to expect, or how to recover properly from surgery. So when I hear one person has an issue, it freaks me out.

I'm pretty sure I have been doing most everything in the way of recovery correct. But, Jesus, I am scared. Maybe I just have to harden the fuck up and learn to be positive and just keep going forward with the faith that I am doing everything I can to make sure I am good to go. But am I really? I just need my own ultrasound so I can look at the patches and look in my arteries 15 times a day. I check the pulses in my feet like 35 times a day. It's getting tiring.

And every time I feel tightness in my legs or a little crampy feeling somewhere I think its all over. The surgery failed. I am going to be like I was before. Damnit!

See, my brain thinks shit like, "what if you get scarring inside the arteries from where they were cut? will that block the arteries up like before?" and, "maybe you have been doing too much and are going to screw up the patches," and my favorite, "You're gonna fuckin' die!"

Yea, I just gotta harden the fuck up.

Finished Wheels

So I finally finished those wheels I have been building up. Aluminum nipples suck. Building with them sucks. These wheels shave nearly 200 grams off of my Mavic Ksyrium SSL's. The Chris King rear hub is actually quieter on the road than I had thought, but I'm sure it'll get louder as the grease thins up in the freehub. Here is some eye candy. Blue was the right color. And yes, I know I need to cut the rear skewer axle. Damn Salsa making one size fits all rear skewers.

Wheel Building

There are few things more awesome than building a wheel. I am not sure why. It's just damn cool.



I started building up my new wheelset. King hubs laced to Reflex CD Tubular rims via Sapim CX-Ray spokes. Aww yea baby.

Phoenix

Blogging is like training- You have to slowly get back into it if you have been away from it for a while.

It has been 3 weeks since the surgery and I have started to ride again! Here I am on my first time back on the bike this past Monday. Like the Phoenix, I am rising from the mother f'ing ashes a new man.

I rode for a 2nd time on the trainer today. Just 30 minutes, but damn it feels good. I feel amazing on the bike. KNOCK ON WOOD. Seriously. Everyone knock on wood right now. 3 times.
I'll explain the Cervelo logos taped on to my bike later. So, perhaps the surgery is going to work. Feels promising so far.

That is all. There is much more to update and the updating will increase (linearly, so don't get too excited) with the increase in training.

Peace

Might as well update

I have so much to talk about. Graduation, Collegiate Cycling Nationals, and surgery.

We'll start with the surgery since thats what I am currently dealing with. I am sitting in a bed at the UVa hospital. It turns out that many of the problems I have been encountering this year with my training have been caused by narrow Illiac arteries. So basically, I just have not been getting blood flow to my legs. I heard that Bobby Lea had this surgery done so I came down here and did a stress test and the found that during intense efforts, the blood pressure to my legs actually dropped!

How about that shit. So, they cut me open and cut open my arteries and made them the correct size. They also cut a grove in my inguinal ligament to allow the artery to pass though without being pinched. You see, because of being on the bike, the ateries get stretched, and that causes them to narrow (imagine stretching a staw).

It turns out that they think 1 in 5 elite level cyclists are affected by this. Well, thats all I got for now. Will update about Nats and all that stuff next.

Escape Artist

My new profession in 2007 will be as an escape artist:

Goat Races!

I was forced to take a couple days off of my bike following my encounter with the ice (see below), not because of injury, but because in the fall my saddle broke and I couldn't get a hold of another one. But, yesterday I was rewarded with this on my first ride back:


This was a little town right near Three Mile Island. A connection perhaps?

Fuck Ice

Ex-Wanna-be baseball players

So, I had a great ride out to Gettysburg and back today, but something happened on the way home that really pissed me off. On the way back I was riding through a green light and opposing traffic was stopped waiting for their light to turn green. So I pass this GOLD Nissan Altima and glance over and this old fuck was giving me the finger. For absolutely no reason.

He was that old guy that you know used to think he was going to be a Major League baseball player. You know the type. The middle-aged, heavy-set man with the blue mirror frameless Oakleys and spikey crew-cut grey hair. Like a washed up pitcher from the 90's. Remember them?

Anyway, just as he did this his light turned green and he took of. I signaled for his fat ass to turn around, but I guess he's too washed up to have any balls left.

Which brings me to baseball. Baseball really does seem to breed assholes. Maybe its becuase its not a sport, rather it is a GAME. Maybe it is due to the fact that there is no athleticism involved. Oh, and they get paid ridiculous amounts for being overweight and having 'roid rage.

Another Year Down

Another year under the belt. I could go on highlighting the ups and downs, but thanks to the girl of my dreams, the downs were softened and the ups were highlighted. So, I dedicate this past year and the one to come to Kathryn Elizabeth Ann Stevens. She is my driving force. She is the best support system I could ask for. She sticks with me through the hard times and creates some real magical times. I couldn't ask for better.

So, thank you, my love.