tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323008552024-03-07T03:59:07.590-05:00killing dreams one revolution at a timeHere one can read all about my bicycling endeavorsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger313125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-32113008355170410542015-03-22T20:59:00.001-04:002015-03-22T22:08:41.931-04:00Farm to SSAP<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few years ago I opted to <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/03/where-we-are-going-we-dont-need.html">ride to</a> a few select events. When the idea first came up no one really figured the ride to and from the event would be anywhere close to a century. That was a byproduct of the events I typically used to compete in; none were 'local' and thus at least 100 miles away.<br />
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After doing this a few times I've really gotten to liking it. Last year was the first time someone accompanied me (Mike Maggs). Never would I have thought someone would be interested in joining me yet here was Mike eager to ride with me.<br />
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Last year I only competed in one race (see <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2015/03/something-wicked.html">last post</a>) and didn't ride my bike as much as I used to (still got out and rode at least twice a week). Conversations ensued throughout the year and next thing I knew there was quite a bit of interest in riding to the <a href="https://www.bikereg.com/2015-singlespeed-a-palooza">2015 SSAP</a>. We even wanted to make it a longer ride.<br />
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So, here is the official solicit...<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Farm to SSAP</span><br />
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Since we moved my place of residence further east this makes the ride longer than it used to. I am estimating the ride will be about 130-140 miles out to Newburgh. People can arrive at the Farm on Friday (March 10th) and get their stuff organized. Given the distance of the ride and my desire to arrive around 5pm on Saturday March 11th we will have to leave before dawn (yup, in the dark). <br />
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An option is to meet us in West Hartford (probably Rosey's house) and do only about 100miles.<br />
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Lodging Saturday night is on your own. Options include a hotel or camping behind Darkhorse Cycles. I have a hotel room for the night.<br />
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Return.... We can ride our bikes back or get a ride in someone's car back. Right now I'm thinking we catch car rides back. I heard through the grapevine Chip might have some space. Ginger will have one or two spaces in her car. We'll have to think about the rest as we determine who is 100% in.<br />
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Here is the tentative route:<br />
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Mileage could be shorter yet I felt a few extra miles in exchange for avoiding the hills of eastern CT will make the first 30-40 miles a gentle 'warm-up'. We'll head south to Willimantic and then hop on the bike path to Manchester. Then a few roads in East Hartford to Hartford to West Hartford.<br />
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Roads out to Farmington. Farmington to the NY border is up and down. From NY to Newburgh its basically downhill. The bulk of the effort is Farmington to NY border.<br />
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If you have another option for routes I am all ears.<br />
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Plan will be to ride the singlespeed mountain bike. We can get most of our gear shuttled out there so we don't have to carry a lot of stuff. <br />
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Email me (dougyfresh at vt dot edu) if you are interested so I can get contact info.<br />
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Thanks!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-9495850615783223932015-03-11T22:47:00.002-04:002015-03-11T22:48:42.796-04:00Something Wicked<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back in November I did my only bike race in 2014.<br />
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Lessons were taught.<br />
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Brapp was had.<br />
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Beards flowed in the breeze.<br />
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Then we Got Lost...</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-6619504459699058482014-02-26T19:34:00.001-05:002014-02-26T19:41:23.093-05:00results are in<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Saw my orthopedic doctor yesterday morning to discuss the results of my MRI for my lower back.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Not the news I was expecting.</span></div>
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I was expecting to hear I have a slightly bulged disc that can be remedied via common nonsurgical means. What I did hear is that I have a significantly herniated L5S1 disc which is putting tremendous pressure on my spinal cord and sciatic nerve for my right leg. Hence why my right leg is all jacked up and in quite a bit of pain.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">yay.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">not.</span></div>
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As a practicing engineer, tests and data help me understand problems I am faced with. The MRI did just that. It told me exactly what is going on yet also scared the living daylights out of me. I could see so much of my spine it would fascinate me yet give me this out of body experience all in the same breath. I could see every vertebrae and every disc. Everything looks great except this L5 zone. In fact, the L4 disc just above it is every so slightly bulged. The good news here is all my discs are about the same thickness which tells us there are no disc degeneration we have to worry about [now].<br />
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The section plot (think of a magician slicing his lady in half) through my L5 disc is the real shocker. I should have taken a photo but forgot. So the best thing I could find is this.<br />
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This is pretty much what I have. The disc is protruding into my spinal cavity and in the MRI it basically encompasses the vast majority of the spinal cavity.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">very scary</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is next? </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For now, as with this entire month, I am dealing with near constant pain in my leg and muscles that include a hamstring that is so tight I can barely walk (this is so painful I'd rather go through another broken leg). Based up on my active lifestyle my orthopedic doctor wants to do surgery where they come in through a 1inch incision and remove the herniated portion and clean things up. This is the last thing I wanted to hear so I did not agree just yet. Next Tuesday I am getting a shot in the spine with something along the lines of cortisone in an effort to reduce the swelling and relieve the pressure on my nerves and spinal cord. From there I will see my orthopedic doctor again and discuss the future. I am also planning on seeing an osteopathic doctor to discuss other options.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ironically this is the exact same injury my mother had when she was my age. Back then surgery for this was not as great as today so she opted out of surgery. Growing up I recall many times where she was in pain and could not get out of bed. I do not really want to follow in those footsteps so when I think about that I think I might need to undergo surgery.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Needless to say 2014 is shaping up to be another recovery year. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I doubt I will be racing a bicycle this year and have already signed up for <a href="https://www.bikereg.com/Net/2014-singlespeed-a-palooza">SSAP</a> and <a href="https://www.bikereg.com/Net/bearscat-50-mass-endurance-event">Bearscat50</a>. Anyone interested in taking my place for me? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Needless to say we will get through this! </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-25785826771121516192014-02-24T22:30:00.004-05:002014-02-24T22:37:11.283-05:00birthday resolutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My lower back has been a nightmare the past few weeks. When one thinks things are on the up they quickly do a 180 and smack you down. Nothing like a major mental challenge.<br />
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While the low points are low nothing has been as low as the morning of the 14th when I was shoveling some heavy [typical] new england snow and made a minute movement which wound up sending pain through my body severe enough to make me collapse onto the ground in tears. Just when I thought I was climbing out of the Feb 5th injury I dig myself six feet deeper.<br />
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The rest of that morning consisted of me laying on my back barely able to make the slightest movements. Lots of pondering of how it has come to this. After a few hours and some anti-inflammatory I was able to move again and quickly went to work on my own version of PT. By late afternoon I could walk again and move around the house. The only catch this time was I now had constant nerve pain down my right leg whereas prior to that morning the nerve pain was just about gone from the Feb 5th injury.<br />
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One of my forms of PT: rolling around on a softball</div>
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A week later I convinced my doctor and insurance company to issue an MRI. Tomorrow (25th) I see the doc to discuss the MRI findings and what the going forward plan to recovery is. I doubt there will be surgery as I've regained most of my range of motion on my own but what still concerns me is the constant nerve firing down my leg and the lack of strength in the glute and hamstring muscles as a result. I figure once I get rid of the nerve firing I can get into the gym, more yoga and PT of some sort. That'll be my road to recovery.<br />
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So, as I turn 35 I've come up with a way of life for this year:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(a page out of <a href="http://www.misfitpsycles.com/blog/">Peter</a>'s book)</span> </div>
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This should get me back in shape and the last two items are just major things we need to accomplish this year.<br />
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Another form of PT: walking</div>
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Next up is a detailed explanation of my new bike I got last year. How it came to be. What is so awesome about it. blagh blagh blagh.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ridecommonwealth.com/">Commonwealth Cycles</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-90538998500415700022014-02-11T22:20:00.000-05:002014-02-11T22:28:00.272-05:00Feb 11, 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
January 1, 2014 marked the beginning of the year 2014 for my beautiful wife. She started her own <a href="http://jennedesign.com/">business</a>.<br />
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The beginning of the year 2014 did not begin for myself until today, February 11th. It has been a long cold winter here in New England this year and between the stress at work and everything else going on in life I have been slowly withering away as I quickly approach the beginning of the 35th year of my life.<br />
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We all have our dark places. I found mine this winter.<br />
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Most people gain weight in the winter. I've lost weight.<br />
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Most people try to find some form of exercise to pass the time in the winter. I've refrained and have been focused on wrapping up all kinds of remodeling projects around our West Hartford house.<br />
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This failure to take care of one's self adds up to old <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2007/09/machine-broke-down.html">injuries</a> coming back to to haunt with vengance.<br />
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And here we are; Feb 11, 2014. I had a productive 10.5hr day in the office. Sitting in traffic coming home from work someone decided to swipe the front of my car in the middle of the Hartford Tunnel (escaped unscathed) only to find me spend the next 25mins trying to navigate 4 miles of traffic to our house while daydreaming that I need to HTFU and ride my bike the 10 miles to work no matter how cold it is. (even if I am scared shitless of the traffic on the now narrow snow-covered roads) Enter the house and Ginger forces me to drop everything and head out to a yoga class.<br />
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First yoga class in over 6 months. The residual glute muscle aches from my new sciatica in my right leg hurt but I slowly pushed through it. Let my mind wander to far off places and then come back later in class. Man that felt good.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">I feel alive again!</span></div>
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And so begins my year for 2014. Chin is finally up and going to get this diesel train moving. Should be at full speed later this summer.<br />
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We are going to have some fun this year and can not wait for the snow to start melting. Lots of big things in the works including a new house for us in a new part of Connecticut. A new locale to explore on our bikes. Offroad New England bikepacking rides. Long journeys across the state on our singlespeed mountain bikes. Mazzawy rides into the strange and far corners of our state exploring the unknown. Plans to write more both here and for good friends.<br />
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Racing? What is that? We do not plan on doing much racing this year. You may see me at a few races but we sure as hell won't be there to win but more to have fun and open up some more eyes on what we can do on <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/03/where-we-are-going-we-dont-need.html">bicycles</a>.<br />
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(Listening to some Chuck Ragan and Tim Barry on Pandora's 'Chuck Ragan Radio')</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-50176666814397848742013-04-29T23:13:00.000-04:002013-04-29T23:24:07.531-04:002013 SSPalooza<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Before you get to read my long story of this past weekend's 5th annual Singlespeed-A-Palooza you should all take a few minutes and thank everyone who put in their time to make this event what it is today. Without Darkhorse George, Mike Rave and all the volunteers this event would not have grown to what is has become in the past five short years. It is here to serve all of us bicyclists and racers. The catch is we do it on singlespeed bicycles. So, yes, if you find yourself in the Newburgh NY area stop by <a href="http://darkhorsecycles.com/">Darkhorse Cycles</a> and say hi and thank them!<br />
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Not many events get me excited now-a-days. Partially because my time is limited and partially because I have lost interest in racing. That leaves what races I do attend being events that are special in some form or another. The <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-ronde-de-rosey-13.html">Ronde</a> is just plain fun no matter how you look at it. A bunch of goofy singlespeeders terrorizing 'cross riders? Yes please. Singlespeed-A-Palooza and the [former] Darkhorse 40? Those are also fun yet extremely challenging events. The fun overcomes the pain you feel whilst out on course. Why? They know how to put on a fun event. The Wilderness 101? That was my first 100miler I ever did and, well it seems that this year our Ronde 'band' is getting back together and we're all going to the 101. Might as well throw my hat back in the ring to ride ALL DAY LONG (as <a href="http://rogeremasse.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/101ramponitunnel.png">Ramponi</a> would say).<br />
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So, yes, here we go. This year's SSPalooza through my eyes. Earlier this year my intentions were to ride out to Stewart NY like I did <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/05/singlespeed-palooza-2012.html">last year</a>. While I know that this year is my '<a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2013/03/transition-year.html">transition year</a>' due to <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2013/03/recovery.html">injuries</a> and all, my mind still feels like I can do things like I did last year. I took a stab at <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2013/04/ronde-pt1.html">riding</a> to the Ronde. That was a challenge yet worked better than anticipated. Shortly after that I had a <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2013/04/too-haahd-too-soon.html">heart attack</a> (it was actually a pulled muscle in my chest). That all drove me to deciding to catch a car ride to NY this year.<br />
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Recovering from the pulled muscle in my chest I also revisited my full suspension singlespeed project. This was a project I started before I injuried myself yet have not really spoken about.<br />
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Just last week I figured out how to stop the chain from popping and have acquired a set of <a href="http://teamdicky.blogspot.com/">TeamDicky</a> pink I9 wheels. Looks like SSPalooza will be done on a full suspension singlespeed this year. To add more to the fun factor.<br />
<br />
Maggs picked me up Saturday morning and we high-tailed it to NY. The plan was to do a full lap of the course and then hang out and drink beer. 'Wildman Willy' was a few hours behind us. So was <a href="http://infinite-pace.com/">Mandy</a>. <a href="http://32xfu.com/">George</a> was in spirit. Maggs's friend Donny from PA joined us and we got down to business and went for a ride. With my chest feeling better I felt comfortable enough to ride hard on Sunday. My legs told me otherwise as I began turning that 36x17 up Ridge Road. Throughout the ride I also found a slice in the sidwall of my tire so I either had to buy a new tire or repair this one before the race.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">Lovely</span></div>
Guess that's one good reason to pre-ride the course. The other is I wanted to get some time on the bike. I have found in recent years that my body does better if I get some time on the bike before an event.<br />
<br />
While out there Darkhorse George asked me to take a look at his course markings and let him know areas that need improvement.<br />
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Supposedly this turn needed work.<br />
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So did my chain tensioning device.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Oh, wait. Horses!</span></div>
Yeah. Watch out for horses when riding. They like it if you get off the bike and don't spook them.<br />
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Donny is working on some Horse's Ass joke.<br />
<br />
After the ride I upgraded to a 36x18 and also threw some more Stan's in my rear tire. I then volunteered to go back out and help add more markings to the course. Armed with a local that knew the trails inside and out as well as a huge roll of blue Shimano course tape, we were off to go fix three locations I spotted. Mainly fireroad spinning with some short trail sections to ride over to the areas that needed work. The new gear felt much better. Somehow the tire was holding air so I figured we're all good. Somewhere around 35 miles ridden for the day.<br />
<br />
All that blue tape you saw out there,<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(photo: Darkhorse George)</span></div>
that Darkhorse George had to remove the day after the race? You can blame me. The good news is you could not make a wrong turn.<br />
<br />
By this time I got an email from 'Wildman Willy' stating he's bringing <a href="http://dirtwire.tv/">T-Hom ParSSons</a> with him. Mandy also emailed me saying she was able to grab some <a href="http://www.alchemistbeer.com/">Heady Topper</a> from the cannery in Waterbury VT before leaving town. Oh boy, now we are going to have a party!<br />
<br />
We surprised Darkhorse George with his own 4-pack of Heady Topper in hopes to make his day. Ginger also arrived (and brought a tire for me but I declined to swap tires for some stupid reason). We also then went to get kicked out of Applebees. We pretty much did for as we were paying for our food the fire alarm went off.<br />
<br />
Comfort Inn for sleeping. Yeah, no hammock in 32F weather this year.<br />
<br />
The next morning was race day. Trying to get moving.<br />
<br />
I heard a quote today that seems very fitting to my experience at SSPalooza.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">"You will know within the first five minutes how things will pan out."</span></div>
<br />
or something along those lines. The start was fast and the road was very dusty. I got out up with the front guys sitting right on 'Wildman Willy's rear wheel. The first pitch on Ridge Road I immediately knew what kind of day I was having....<br />
<br />
I started moving backwards and my legs had no gas. I settled into whatever pace I could sustain on this incline. As soon as things leveled out I was able to crank the pedals up to a high cadence and start picking people off again. Next incline? Slid back to some slow pace. Decline to the intersection of Weed Road. Right turn down Weed Road and then a quick right onto Major Mike. Passed more people.<br />
<br />
Major Mike? The first trail segment maybe 5 miles into the 24 mile race. First turn the bike felt very wishy washy. Rear tire was low on air.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">fuck</span></div>
Popped 1/2 a CO2 into the wheel and it was pissing air out the slice in the sidewall that was giving me troubles on the pre-ride. Lesson learned here is never do a race on used tires again. Always use new tires. It'll make the race cost more but I will have that piece and mind knowing my tires are not suspect unless I ride over a rock stupidly.<br />
<br />
I pulled over again and watched the entire Open Pro field (mens & womens) and most of the Sport field pass me as I took my time putting a tube into the rear wheel. Now the plan was slow down and have fun and enjoy the full suspension singlespeed. My intentions all along but my start was quicker than I wanted and I fell into the trap of riding faster than I wanted.<br />
<br />
Sometime later I was back on the bike and now sitting on people's wheels with my brakes locked up because I wanted to ride the trails faster than the people I was surrounded with. For the next few miles I could do nothing but ride my brakes, rub tires and not pass anyone as the trail was so narrow. I did manage to find one or two locations to pass people. Mainly down trees that the trail went around and I went straight and bunny hopped the trees. That only gained me one or two places.<br />
<br />
Now things were not fun for me. I was being forced to ride slower than I wanted as I was the caboose of a 20+ people conga line through the woods. Not even worth it to try and pass anyone and piss anyone off so I just had to grit my teeth and wait until we got back out onto Weed Road. Pass 20-30 more people on Weed Road and then get stuck behind the next conga line on this sweet tight trail segment that brought us back to Weed Road.<br />
<br />
Back onto Weed Road and up the climb to the top of the Orchard / bottom of Major Mike. Passed a few more people and now I was in a place where I had some distance so I wasn't riding on someone's wheel and could enjoy the trail. Now things got fun again.<br />
<br />
I found myself able to spin a high cadence with little difficulty on the flats but the steep climbs in the beginning I had nothing on. Guess this is a by-product of my recovery and winter training. I spent the winter doing some strength and agility work for my ankle and then did 250m sprints on rollers as my LBS. I still need to work on high intensity stuff like accelerations and what-not. In time.<br />
<br />
After coming around the beaver pond I stopped for some beer and water. Realized I was 2 gels in and half a bottle of water. It was an interesting observation but nothing I took action on.<br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by GTLuke. Go check out <a href="http://gtluke.smugmug.com/Biking/2013-Singlespeed-A-Palooza">his photos</a> and purchase them. He does great work at these races and we should be stoked to see him out there.</span></div>
'Wildman Willy', winner of last year's DH40 SS class, on his way to a 5th place finish.<br />
<br />
I was feeling good. Riding hard (as I was on the chase the entire race) but at a point where I was able to sustain a constant pace and still have some fun rallying the trails. I got to the point on singletrack where I gave up passing people and just rode. This bothered some as I was sitting on their wheel but I didn't care. I was enjoying the ride.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo also by <a href="http://gtluke.smugmug.com/Biking/2013-Singlespeed-A-Palooza">GTLuke</a>.</span> </div>
T-Hom ParSSons coming out of 'retirement' and riding his way to a top 10 finish. That's how they do things in Wreck-Tham MA. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo also by <a href="http://gtluke.smugmug.com/Biking/2013-Singlespeed-A-Palooza">GTLuke</a>.</span> </div>
Maggs - loving that Maxxis Minion DH tire he put on the front of his 29er <a href="http://www.ridecommonwealth.com/">Commonwealth</a>.<br />
<br />
My plan was to give it everything once I turned onto Scofield Ln and marched towards the finish. I knew the full suspension would soak up all of those bumps and I'd just float down the hill to the finish line. It worked. I had a few people in the Open Pro class catch up to me on the false flat climb to the peak of Scofield Ln but I then put over half a minute on them coming down the short descent thanks to the big wheels and the big bike.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo also by <a href="http://gtluke.smugmug.com/Biking/2013-Singlespeed-A-Palooza">GTLuke</a>.</span> </div>
Myself - more focused on keeping the tires on the ground and pedaling HAADAH.<br />
<br />
Finished in about 2 hours flat. Good enough for 70th place in the Open Pro class out of over 100 people. Far from last year's top 10 finish but I had fun, tried some new things and felt good despite the recovery winter thanks to last fall's <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2013/03/recovery.html">injuries</a>.<br />
<br />
results are <a href="http://www.allsportsevents.com/Results/mountain_bike_results/SinglespeedAPalooza2013.html">here</a> <br />
<br />
Eyes were crusted over with dirt thanks to such a dry dusty day. Times were so much faster than last year thanks to the dryness we are calling Spring 2013. Winning XC time was 1hr 37mins. Top 10 rounded out at 1hr 44mins. Whatever, I had fun and that is all that matters.<br />
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Those used to be pink wheels. Think its time to retire these WTB Bronsons. Two years of periodic use. Its a shame to retire tires when the tread is perfectly fine but the sidewall is all torn up. Such is live riding New England rocks...<br />
<br />
Wow, such an awesome weekend riding bikes with friends and seeing such awesome people I don't get so see too often. Especially with some of them moving from CT and VT out to CO. I wish them save moves and the best in the next chapter of their lives.<br />
<br />
Supposedly we get to do this again next year. You can count me back. All five SSPalooza's have been so much fun and get more enjoyable by the year.<br />
<br />
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As soon as we got home this old man got out of the car and laid down on our front yard to take a nap. I followed suit but only was asleep for a minute or two. Great times!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-26087326589526543702013-04-23T22:43:00.000-04:002013-04-23T22:43:37.517-04:00too HAAHD too soon?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Ronde was a lot on my body. My legs hurt all last week and I think I did my
body some damage on my Wednesday night ride two days after my Ronde
weekend.<br />
<br />
I somehow pulled a muscle in my chest surrounding one of my lungs. For the past week I have been struggling to breathe and any elevated heart rate really hurts. All my ribs are in tact so I
am quite confident its a pulled muscle.<br />
<br />
This destroys my chances
for riding the 100miles out to Darkhorse Cycles SSAP. It definitely
kills my plans of riding hard in SSAP. Hopefully I can heal up some more this week and will be so-so to ride in the race on Sunday.<br />
<br />
Beyond that my ankle seems to be feeling okay. I did have some aches during the Ronde trip but no pain. Aches come and go. Kind of expect that with where I am at in my recovery.<br />
<br />
Ginger pointed this out to me the other week. Pua Mata from Sho-Air Cannondale is going through the same thing I have been going through. Broken leg in and around the ankle. Here is a story she <a href="http://shoairblog.com/2013/04/16/update-pua-mata-29/">wrote</a>. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-24896782080031913672013-04-21T21:40:00.002-04:002013-04-21T21:45:18.875-04:00The Ronde de Rosey '13<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
This year Thom put together a killer group of singlespeed mountain bikers to take part in Rosey's <a href="http://roseyscot.blogspot.com/">Ronde</a> ride around the Boston area. <br />
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We had:<br />
Thom (who's been riding a ton this spring)<br />
Will (last year's DH40 winner)<br />
Ramponi (the voice of new england mountain biking)<br />
JFW (fresh out of retirement)<br />
Sanidas (crushing it as always)<br />
Maggs (all around strong rider)<br />
and myself<br />
<br />
Such a strong and fun team to ride around with.<br />
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In-between
beers Saturday evening we were figuring out how to use every single
bicycle part in Thom's basement on our singlespeeds for Sunday's
ride/race.<br />
Word on the street was this year's route had a lot more dirt. Perfect for our mountain bikes.<br />
<br />
The
original plan was to ride from Wrentham to the start in Brookline with
the help of mass transit but the weekend schedules do not allow us to
take mass transit that early in the morning. Boo. Piled into the
Miniature Boogie Van we did.<br />
<br />
After getting our act
together we were one of the later teams to start. Maggs was our
navigator as he had his GPS with the route. Not long down the road (a
mile or two?) we were into our first dirt section and didn't really see a
whole lot of road after that. <br />
<br />
The 16T cog was big in
the woods but we eventually got used to it. My legs were very heavy but
somehow they kept on turning the pedals over all day.<br />
<br />
At
one point we stopped for some food and water and I looked down on my
computer and saw we only went 28 miles. 28 miles out of 60 and we were
flying. I was holding on for dear life while Will and Andy kept on
crushing it way off the front. I let everyone know we are only about
halfway into the ride and almost simultaneously everyone gave the look
of horror on their face. Guess we all were not conserving energy and
riding as if we'll be out for 5-6 hours. I thought this would help slow
us down but that was wishfull thinking. We kept on trucking at some high
rate of speeds.<br />
<br />
Around mile 45-50 Will suggested we take a
detour and add on some sweet singletrack for another 5 or so miles.
Since we weren't 'racing' for first place we figured what the hell. Lets
have some fun.<br />
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Got
some sweet views but Will's loop was mostly climbing. Something my body
was not liking seeing as my legs felt like cinderblocks and my body was
cold all day. We thought the sun would come out behind the clouds but
that never happened. Instead we were left riding in cloud cover and 45F
weather. No matter how hard I worked my body was still cold. This scared
me all day for I thought my body was shutting down. Somehow I just kept
on pedaling since I was still able to turn the pedals over.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
photo: Andy</div>
<br />
Somewhere
in the woods goofing off. This photo pretty much sums up the entire
ride. No matter how much pain each of us was in and how fatigued we were
we continued to have a smile on our face and make the best of what we
had.<br />
<br />
Rarely do I get to ride in a group this strong
with such a positive outlook on the ride. This is why I choose to do
this ride/race. This is why I chose to do the events I do. People like
our team. We do this stuff because it is fun and this group makes it
fun. Guess there is something about mashing such large gears in the
woods while everyone is goofing off.<br />
<br />
At one point we
were riding with Matt Roy and The Wilcox. Turns out they went on to win
the race. Guess we were in first place at some point. Yeah, the seven
crazy singlespeed mountain bikers that couldn't group up and ride a
paceline on the road sections if we wanted to (there was always one of
us popping onto the sidewalk and ripping through someone's front yard).<br />
<br />
After the ride we were starving so we spent the better part of the rest of the day at the bar where the start/finish was.<br />
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Big plates of food and many glasses of beer.<br />
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Supposedly
the Strava people also stopped by. I should have told them I stopped
using that website last year and have no desire to continue with it.<br />
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Reminiscing
about the ride and talking about our plans for this year's Wilderness
101. Yup. With the exception of JFW, we'll all be converging in PA later
this summer to crash the W101. My first 100miler mountain bike race
since 2008.<br />
<br />
Despite having almost zero snap in my legs
to accelerate, but the end of the day (64miles and 5.5hrs of moving time
(6-7hrs ellapsed time)) my right ankle was quite achy. I was kind of
expecting that since this was the largest block of effort (and hardest
effort) I've done since before my accident in October. My body was also
ready to shut down. Later that Sunday evening I made the commanding
decision to not ride back home and catch a car ride. Maggs was kind
enough to give me a lift (and my house was completely out of his way).
This allowed me to sleep in a couple of hours on Monday and take my time
going about my Monday.<br />
<br />
By the time Maggs and I got
back into Hartford it was mid afternoon and the sun was shining (for
once). It was too nice not to ride and I figured I'd give Maggs a taste
of my local trails.<br />
<br />
A slight re-gearing (he favored his
19T cog while I threw an 18T on) and we were off to do a casual and
relaxed loop around the West Hartford Reservoir. <br />
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Monday's post Ronde ride was much needed. Even though I was achy and sore my legs needed the exercise. Active rest they call it.<br />
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And just like that the weekend was over. Almost 172 miles in three days. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-22454888911784862632013-04-17T22:01:00.003-04:002013-04-17T22:02:32.264-04:00Ronde pt1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This past Saturday I hopped on the bike to make my way across Connecticut and over to Wrentham MA. The plan was to log some 93miles to Thom's house and then do the 60ish mile Ronde 'race' on Sunday and ride home. I did this <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/04/ronde-v3-and-ride-home.html">last year</a> and wanted to do it again.<br />
<br />
Given I have not logged too many miles this year and have been recovering from a broken leg in October I felt this was going to be a significant challenge but a challenge worth accepting.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=217330181150944423199.0004da344927488d56d51&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=41.918435,-72.03959&spn=0.31065,1.3973&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
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This year I tried a different route. I was excited to ride something different.<br />
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30 miles into the ride I realized this new route went right through the hills of eastern CT. While this route was 8 to 10 miles shorter than last year's route it wasn't as flat.<br />
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I opted to keep on going no matter how much it would kill me. Some of the steeper climbs on back roads I actually got off the bike and walked some to reduce energy consumption.<br />
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Despite the hilly terrain the views and ride were beautiful. I also got to first hand experience a part of CT we are looking to move to next year.<br />
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While in NE CT I found some dirt roads that I rode a few years ago. It was a great change of scenery.
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Vermont?<br />
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Nope. CT still.<br />
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Given the rural area I was riding through I did have a long way to go without refilling my water bottles and stopping for lunch. In fact, I finally got to refill my two bottles about 60 miles into the ride when I got into MA. <br />
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This took quite a bit of the wind out of my sails but once I had a foot long tuna sub in me I kept on going.<br />
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Not too long later I rolled into Thom's driveway. 93miles for the day and I was a bit tired but nothing some rest wouldn't cure.<br />
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Got cleaned up, Put some more food in me and relaxed a bit before Maggs and Whittingham arrived.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-88273628058208736032013-04-13T07:23:00.002-04:002013-04-13T07:25:09.843-04:00next stop: Wreck-Tham<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hopping on my bicycle in a few minutes. This is a difficult feat as my body is worn out from another week's worth of stressful meetings. Add in how the rainstorm we just had has been wreaking havoc on my right ankle and left knee thanks to the low pressure. Its also sub 40F right now.<br />
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I keep telling myself, once I get 10 or 20 miles in I'll warm up and so will the air. The sun should also come out. <a href="http://roseyscot.blogspot.com/">Tomorrow</a> is also going to be a ton of fun. <br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=217330181150944423199.0004da344927488d56d51&ie=UTF8&ll=41.557922,-72.658081&spn=0.31065,1.3973&t=m&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small>View <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=217330181150944423199.0004da344927488d56d51&ie=UTF8&ll=41.557922,-72.658081&spn=0.31065,1.3973&t=m&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">hartford - wrentham 2013</a> in a larger map</small>
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<br />
Trying a slightly different route from <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=217330181150944423199.0004bcbc4c4bb1f57531e&msa=0&ll=41.902277,-72.0401&spn=1.159062,2.340088">last year</a>. <a href="http://beatbikeblog.blogspot.com/">Brendan</a> gave it to me. Shaved off 5 to 8 miles from last year's route. Think I added climbs but my bike is lighter since I mailed all my gear out to T-hom. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-8061857694629454772013-04-10T22:56:00.000-04:002013-04-10T23:16:06.892-04:00the perfect chainline<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Always searching for that perfect chainline on your singlespeed, huh?<br />
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Most people just eye-ball it.<br />
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I was doing that for years and then one evening last year I decided to put some science to it and take advantage of the laws of physics.<br />
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Been meaning to take photos and write about this for quite a while. While setting up the Superfly last night for this weekend's <a href="http://roseyscot.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ronde</a>, I finally broke out the camera [phone] and snapped some photos.<br />
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The theory behind this is my taking advantage of gravity. You'll need a bike stand, as shown above, a level and some patience.<br />
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<b><u>Step 1<span style="color: #cc0000;">)</span></u></b> Get the bicycle oriented in the bicycle stand so that the rear wheel (properly seated in the drop-outs) looks somewhat <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plumb">plumb.</a><br />
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<b><u>Step 2)</u></b> Take your mason's (or carpenter's) level and rest it against the rear wheel. Rear wheel can be without a tire as shown in the photos or with a tire. I've found accuracy to be similar in both cases given the high volume tires I tend to ride.<br />
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Adjust the bicycle so that the level shows the wheel is perfectly plumb.<br />
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Once the wheel is perfectly plumb then your bicycle's chainring and wheel are aligned to a common reference. The common reference we are using in this case is the vertical plane and will be taking advantage of gravity in relation to said plane.<br />
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<b><u>Step 3)</u></b> Place your chain over the chainring and let it hang down over the rear freehub body. Since the wheel and bicycle are now perfectly plumb then gravity will place the chain where it wants to be on the freehub body. This location is your 'perfect chainline'.<br />
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Note the location on the freehub body. Remove the rear wheel from the frame and space out your cog to get the cog as close as possible to the chain position. Tighten down the cog and spacer kit on the freehub body and re-install the wheel in the drop-out.<br />
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<u><b>Step 4)</b></u> Double check that the rear wheel is plumb and reinstall chain so it is hanging over the cog on the freehub body of the rear wheel. If done carefully the bicycle will not move in the stand and you will not have to double check if the rear wheel is plumb.<br />
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<u><b>Step 5)</b></u> Place your mason's (or carpenter's) level on the side of the chain spanning the chainring and the cog on the rear wheel. If the cog is placed in the proper location than the level will show that it is plumb.<br />
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In the example image above, I was off slightly on my first try. I therefore repositioned the cog and tried again.<br />
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VICTORY!</div>
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The second time I got the chainline perfect.<br />
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<b><u>Step 6)</u></b> With the cog spaced out the proper distance on the rear wheel freehub body the bicycle can now be brought to the upright position and chain tension set via whatever means you are using to maintain chain tension. My Superfly uses sliding rear drop-outs so I moved them to get the proper chain tension.<br />
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And there you have it, perfect chainline with some science behind it.<br />
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Tomorrow I will talk about my first mountain bike ride this year on a 61.6inch gear and revisiting an old [not so quite] friend.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-50716350167836356732013-04-08T06:00:00.000-04:002013-04-08T06:00:01.675-04:00decisions. decisions.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Busy weekend.<br />
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Started off with putting my foot back in the 100miler mountain bike race ring Friday night.<br />
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Good old fashioned Snail-Mail. After all, the last time I did one of these things we didn't have anything like the internet. Oh wait, it was only <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2008/07/wilderness-101.html" target="_blank">2008</a>.<br />
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I have no idea what I am thinking but why not ride your bike in the woods for 100miles with a bunch of <a href="http://dirtwire.tv/2013/03/your-first-hundred-miler-the-wilderness-101-ride-your-bike-all-freaking-day/" target="_blank">friends</a>? <br />
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Saturday. Labored over a friend's Audi changing the timing belt and a few other maintenance items.<br />
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Sunday. Hop Brook Dam mtb race. Last year I <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/04/testing-and-more-testing.html" target="_blank">rode out there</a> testing the trailer set-up. I wanted to ride out there on my singlespeed CX bike but never made it. Our day started off with Taxes. ugh. I hate doing taxes. Then the sun finally came out and took some edge off to the crazy wind that was blowing. I swapped the summer tires onto all of our cars and then went for a mtb ride. 2 hours at Case on the full suspension singlespeed. Added some more air in the shocks and now am no longer bottoming them out but still getting 99% of the travel out of them. Sweet.<br />
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Also started thinking about what tires to run for the Ronde next weekend.<br />
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Kenda <a href="http://www.kendatire.com/en/home/bicycle/mountain/kozmik-lite-ii.aspx" target="_blank">Kozmik Lite II</a><br />
WTB <a href="http://www.wtb.com/products/tires/29er/nano-29er/" target="_blank">Nano</a><br />
Bontrager <a href="http://bontrager.com/model/08308" target="_blank">29-0</a><br />
Geax <a href="http://www.geax.com/en/products/?cat=2&prod=2" target="_blank">Barro Race</a><br />
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I ran the Bontragers <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/04/ronde-v3-and-ride-home.html" target="_blank">last year</a>. Flatted on them (they are a super light tire). I used the Nano's to ride out to Stewart for the <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/04/riding-out-to-southern-ny-for-ssap.html" target="_blank">SSAP</a> last year. Thinking about the Nanos or Barros.<br />
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Also debating on a 65.7inch gear instead of the 61.6inch gear I used last year. (That's 34x15 instead of 34x16.) Already coming into this with a handicap of not riding or doing anything this winter. Why not make things more difficult with a bigger gear?<br />
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So, gotta figure out those two problems out this week as well as mail <a href="http://dirtwire.tv/" target="_blank">T-Hom</a> a USPS Priority box of gear so I can go even lighter than last year (basically just carry food and a jacket instead of all the gear I need for the weekend). </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-10280734124174185802013-04-03T21:20:00.003-04:002013-04-03T21:20:57.943-04:00anniversary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Exactly 6 months ago on a weekly Wednesday night mountain bike ride I <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/10/when-you-least-expect-it-snap.html" target="_blank">broke my leg</a> in a freak crash. Today I met back up with the Wed crew and revisited the forest I last pedaled with one leg out of in that cold rainy Oct evening. We did not venture down that fateful trail (now dubbed "Two Plates") but did ride the rest of the forest. There was an eerie feeling in the air coupled with such a bountiful feeling of excitement for being back on the bike and back in the Meshomasic State Forest.<br />
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My theme for the 2hour ride was to keep the tires on the ground and not do anything stupid. I was successful in that achievement and finished the ride with the bike upright at all times.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Small Victories!</span></div>
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Tonight marks my 5th ride outside in 2013. 3rd ride offroad. Each ride I am getting stronger and stronger and can ride longer without my thighs wanting to cramp. This past Sunday morning I went back up to the WH Reservoir to do a lap.<br />
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My goal was to get under 2 hours but that disappeared once I ran into Dave Cormier. Dave and I have not seen each other since before my accident so we joined forces and rode together. I totally lost focus on what my legs are telling me and wound up doing two laps around the reservoir and was out there for over 3 hours. By the time I got home I was fatigued just right. Just on that edge of cramping my legs and passing out but not quite doing that.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Perfect! </span></div>
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This tells me my endurance is slowly coming back (as expected). We are excited about that.<br />
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Speaking of endurance.<br />
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Next Saturday I am hopping on the <a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8019/7104363451_cfb737a506_z.jpg" target="_blank">loaded 29er singlespeed</a> and pedaling 100+ miles east to Wrek-Tham Massachussetts to meet up with T-Hom and our crew. Sunday we are riding in the <a href="http://roseyscot.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ronde V4</a>. I had so much fun <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/04/ronde-v3-and-ride-home.html" target="_blank">last year</a> that I'm doing it again. We also have a much larger 29er singlespeed crew to scare all the cyclocross folks. I have been afraid of the ride out to Mass as it is the longest ride I have done in over 8 months but after tonight's ride and this past Sunday's ride my fears are behind me. Now I am super excited and stoked to see everyone in Boston again.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-74828049048141563362013-03-22T16:53:00.001-04:002013-03-22T16:53:59.306-04:00Transition Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With everything that is going on we have dubbed 2013 as the Transition Year.<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">What do you mean?</span></div>
<br />
Well, no matter how hard I try I can not seem to cut back my hours at work. My weeknights have left me a vegetable lately which makes weekends even more difficult on me. We also plan on selling our house and moving to eastern CT a year from now and I still have a ton of projects to complete around the house. <br />
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To top that all off, quite frankly, I do not feel like racing my bike right now. Bicycling is supposed to be fun and the whole process of planning out a
year of races with travel and such pretty much doesn't peak my interest
right now. The plan is to get back on the bike after almost a 6 month hiatus and go out there and ride. Ride some new bikes and maybe even some new locations local to me. Ride with friends and just have a fun time not caring about fitness or who gets to the top/finish first.<br />
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There are two events planned thus far. I had so much fun riding my bike to Boston from Hartford and then riding around the Boston area with a huge group of such wonderful bicyclists and then riding home that I plan on doing it again this year. Yes. T-Hom has organized another SingleSpeed 29er posse to engage with all the people on cyclocross bikes and ride the <a href="http://roseyscot.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ronde 4.0</a>. I can not wait for this one.<br />
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The fifth and final DarkHorse Cycles SingleSpeed-A-Palooza will also take place this year. As with last year, I plan on riding my bike out to Newburgh NY from Hartford to race. Not sure if I will sleep in 32F weather in a hammock again but I am quite sure I've recruited at least one other person to ride out to Newburgh with me. That makes me so happy. Not only did the <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/03/where-we-are-going-we-dont-need.html" target="_blank">experiment</a> last year turn some heads and make people think twice but it actually got people interested in joining me or doing it for themselves. That is f'n awesome!<br />
<br />
Transylvania Epic is out (even though I tried to get Kuhn to move the venue to the 49th state) and so is the Bearscat50. During that time we will be in Alaska exploring the glaciers and Denali National Park. This trip is so worth passing on a few bike races.<br />
<br />
Last weekend I got back on the bicycle outside.<br />
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I really meant to go out for a road ride but the wind was hollowing and it was quite cold (35F?). I found the courage to get back on the trail. First trail ride in five and a half months and it was a great success (no broken bones)!<br />
<br />
I rode the bike that I broke my leg whilst riding and took it up the street to the West Hartford reservoir. There were some patches of snow and mud but the ground overall was cold enough that my bike did not leave tracks and large ruts in the ground.<br />
<br />
While a normal loop around the reservoir takes me 1.5hours on a good day this one took me over 2 hours. I was suffering. I noticed I had top end high cadence (probably from my winter of roller racing) but I did not have the fitness and endurance. The whole time I kept telling myself its the giant gear I put on the bike but when I came home I ran the numbers and realized the gear ratio (36x20) was very similar to what I normally ride (34x19). Yup. got a lot of work to do but regardless I had fun.<br />
<br />
To my surprise there really wasn't much of a mental block to overcome on that ride. I thought I'd be paranoid about fallen trees and rocks and other obstacles but the first fallen tree encountered was met with a smooth bunny-hop right over it. I didn't even think, my body reacted after seeing the tree, and I went right over the tree and kept on down the trail. My balance was also there too. One trail had some planks down to get over a river and I rode them without thinking. This gave me great confidence.<br />
<br />
As you can see, that is not a hardtail. Last autumn I put together a singlespeed full suspension (Gary Fisher Superfly 100) and only had three rides on it when I broke my leg. This winter I've tweaked it some and as a result it rode perfectly on this ride. More to come on this bike.<br />
<br />
Not sure when I'll be back on the trail again. This week we saw a few more inches of snow so now everything's covered again. Ugh. This winter has to end.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-3656711195369319172013-03-18T06:00:00.000-04:002013-03-18T06:00:12.808-04:00Recovery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Catching back up around here.<br />
<br />
We are now into March... The month of such confusing weather. Five and a half months since I broke my leg.<br />
<br />
My winter has been spent going to physical therapy twice a week, working way to many hours in the office and catching up on remodeling projects around the house on the weekends. I ended physical therapy in January and began riding my road bike on rollers twice a week since then. One of those days was spent just spinning to get some mileage back in me. The second day was a my LBS roller racing. The busy weekends remodeling the house are in hopes to not have to do much once the weather warms up. <br />
<br />
Ginger had her ACL reconstruction surgery in early January and she has been in physical therapy and making great recovery strides.<br />
<br />
Omega, our Siberian Husky, joined us and at the end of last year he partially tore his ACL. The beginning of this year were spent keeping him calm and relaxed in hopes that it will heal and we won't have to go through surgery (he is 12 now). Looks like it healed but he lost a lot of muscle mass so now we're in the rehab phase (lots of walks and what-not).<br />
<br />
Found some photos from the recovery. Here is when I first got into the ER.<br />
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<br />
Here is one afternoon within the first two weeks post surgery. Taking a nap.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
After my cast was removed my leg was very sensitive to elevation. If it was down for a while my whole ankle would swell up a ton. I spent a lot of time on my back with my feet up against the wall to help minimize swelling. <br />
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<br />
Over the Christmas/New Year's holiday Ginger and I went down to NC like in years past. Unlike year's past there were no bicycle riding in Pisgah nor any hiking. She had no ACL in her knee and I was only walking without a cane or crutches for a month. We hid in the mountains and just relaxed. We spent this relaxing time visiting some relatives and did get to ride her aunt's horses.<br />
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<br />
Morning walks up the driveway with the dog. Turns out he partially tore an ACL while we were in NC as well. Whole family is injured. Yeah. It was one of those winters.<br />
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<br />
Have not had a winter like this, ever. Somehow we have found a way to cope with everything and keep on moving thanks to our strong mental capacity. I braved the cold winds this past weekend and did get out on the bike outside. It was difficult but fun. Stay tuned..</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-32784891489735249002012-11-13T11:02:00.004-05:002012-11-13T14:08:27.691-05:00progress<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Six weeks ago [tomorrow] I did <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/10/when-you-least-expect-it-snap.html" target="_blank">this</a>. Today I saw my orthopedic doctor for my 6 week post-op check up.<br />
<br />
X-Rays look great. My bones are still aligned and have begun to fuse back together. Bone positioning within the ankle joint looks good too. <br />
<br />
Foot/Ankle range of motion is slowly increasing and movement of the ankle joint feels good. (I've been spelling out my alphabet to exercise my ankle.)<br />
<br />
Dr. Burton is pleased with what he sees. <br />
<br />
He has given me the green light to start weight bearing of my right leg, learn how to walk again and begin physical therapy. I will admit, I have been cheating some and have already started some weight bearing and walking but I have to be very careful. There is always that risk of rolling the ankle and blowing all of the past six weeks to smithereens. <br />
<br />
So, for now, time to take things easy and very slowly come back to normal life. I've read anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks for full bone growth recovery so we have to be careful probably through the end of the year to be safe. Not sure when I can get back on a bike. I'm hoping in a week or so I can start pedaling my road bike on my trainer with light resistance and probably platform pedals (the act of rotating my ankle/feet to clip out of my pedals still scares me). I start physical therapy on Thursday so we'll see what my therapist suggests.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The morning that I hurt myself [six weeks ago] Ginger and I were also just beginning to think about what we wanted to do for our Honeymoon.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Coincidence? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">I think not. </span></div>
Well, last night we booked our trip. We are going to Alaska! I can't wait. Always wanted to go there.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-91442907373828085842012-11-05T08:04:00.001-05:002012-11-05T08:26:56.128-05:00The Journey to Recovery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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During times like this you become
to realize how much of an amazing support network one has through family,
friends and neighbors. Our parents sent us cooked meals so all we had to do was
re-heat them in the microwave. A few friends have stopped by here and there to
help Ginger off-load the burden of me and also help with some wedding preparations. Our next door neighbors
volunteered to walk our dog and also left meals with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could not believe the help we were getting
and never asked for any of it. This support certainly made our days go by much
easier. We are eternally thankful for the tremendous support!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first few days back from the
hospital were difficult. My leg was very sore and our house as-is was difficult
to navigate with crutches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
critical that I also keep my foot/leg elevated so sleeping was difficult. With
everything healing, and having two six-inch long incisions in my leg, I
struggled to sleep through the night. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the days ticked along I found a
rhythm I set into. Since I was not sleeping through the night I would sleep-in in
the morning. Normally up around 5:30/6AM I was now up around 9AM. Ginger would
make me some breakfast before she left for work and I would carefully find my
way down the steps onto the couch in the living room. This couch would become
my ‘home’ for more than a month. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By late morning I would find my
work laptop and log into work to get some stuf done. Somewhere around noon I’d
hobble into the kitchen with my crutches and reheat some chicken parmesan for
lunch. Then back onto the couch with my right leg elevated ontop of a few
pillows.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the week progressed things got
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most difficult part of the
first week was the blood thinning medication I was on. This required me to give
myself a shot in the abdomen every morning. The medicine also made me nauseous
at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not one to like needles, I
cringed every morning when I had to shoot myself in the stomach. All I could do
was look at the supply and keep counting down as to when I had the last dosage.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most significant achievement in
the first 12 days post-surgery was the ability to lift my toes up without any
pain. This was the first thing the doctors had me try before I left the
hospital and I could not do it. I had a lot of pain in my foot/ankle and did
not see my toes move. The doctors said they moved and were pleased with what
they saw. It was not until almost a week later when I was able to do this and
physically see my toes move and not feel any pain. That was an exciting day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10 days post-surgery, a Sunday,
Ginger was heading out on a mountain bike ride. We spoke about this and did not
have any concerns about her riding her bike given I am hurt from riding my bike
and our wedding was less than three weeks away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Within half an hour to forty five minutes after she left the front door
swung open and she was standing in
the doorway still in her kit and in hysterics. While I somehow rushed over to here I also noticed she was not placing any weight on her
right leg. First thing I thought of was broken bones. She said she thinks she tore her ACL (through an
awkward dismount of her bike). My heart sank.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">“This can not be happening.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had to go to the ER but she
wanted to change into street clothes first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was okay enough to get upstairs and change without any assistance.
While doing that I went next door to see if my neighbors were home to take us
to the hospital. Figured I’d try this first before having to figure out how to
drive a car with my left foot (I haven’t driven since before the accident). Neighbors
were home and took us to the ER, where we spent the next four hours.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
X-rays showed no broken bones and
we were discharged with the request we call our orthopedic doctor and have him
look at it. Monday morning we did such and were able to get an appointment on
Tuesday. An appointment about an hour before my first post-surgery doctor’s
visit. Luckily our doctors are in the same practice so the following day (now
12 days post-surgery for me) we did not have to travel far between doctor’s
visits (20 feet?).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a really good chance
Ginger tore her ACL and an MRI a few days later would confirm this. She was
instructed to start physical therapy to strengthen her leg, which would help
the recovery post-surgery. We also pondered the best time for surgery (sometime
after I was recovered).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After visiting Ginger’s doctor we
hobbled the 20 or so feet over to Dr. Burton’s office. By now my cast was so loose that I could move it around an inch
in either direction. The itching of my leg was also very difficult at times so
I was excited to hear they would be removing my cast. With
the cast removed I went over for x-rays to see how the bones are aligned and
healing. Dr. Burton was very pleased with what he saw. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Without a cast my leg was much
lighter. It was still quite swollen and I was now able to see the long
incisions on either side of my leg. Moving my ankle was tricky. I could point
and flex my foot without pain (another great achievement) but my movement was extremely limited. Dr. Burton liked what he saw and told me I can continue working
this range of motion whilst laying on the couch. Before I left I was fitted
with a walking boot to keep my ankle and lower leg stable but was informed to
continue using the crutches and keep weight off my right leg.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
With no more cast and a lightweight
boot it certainly was a bit easier to get around the house. This also meant I
could take showers now and not have to put my leg in a trash bag and take a
bath with my leg elevated out of the bathtub. Great news all around.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A week later (around 3 weeks post-surgery) I was back in Dr. Burton’s office for another
follow-up visit. More x-rays to check up on things. The bones are still holding alignment and it was actually quite difficult to find the bone fracture
surface. The sutures in my leg were removed and Dr. Burton checked the
range of motion of my foot. The discoloring of my skin from surgery was also starting to disappear. He was very pleased with how the swelling has
come down thus far and was impressed with the range of motion I have. The news was very
positive. This meant I would be
able to weight my leg and learn how to walk again sometime soon. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I left Dr. Burton’s office with
another appointment in three weeks. That would make six weeks post-surgery and
he said if things look as good then as they did at this appointment then I will
be given the green light to start weighting my leg, learning how to walk, and
begin physical therapy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today marks 8 days until that
appointment. The swelling goes up and down depending on whether or not I have
my leg elevated or down in the boot while walking around with my crutches. The
only medicine I am taking is aspirin to help with the feelings I get from the
nerves in my ankle rebuilding (along with thinning my blood some to prevent
blood clots). I have been taking vitamin C and D supplements to help my bones
rebuild themselves and continuing my healthy eating habits. Still ordered to stay off my leg and keep it elevated. This
means I am still at home on the couch working via a laptop and getting around with
crutches.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did also have another achievement
shortly after that last doctor’s appointment. I figured out how to rotate my
ankle in circles. The rolling ability is still very slim but the rotation gives
me a giant smile. I can not point and flex my foot and rotate my ankle without
pain. Imagine that! Less than four weeks from breaking my lower leg and
dislocating my ankle and I can now move it without pain! It brings a huge smile
onto my face. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other good news, the pain Ginger
was feeling in her knee was due to a bone bruise as a result of her torn ACL
injury. This pain has pretty much subsided and so has the swelling of her knee.
She purchased a <a href="http://www.asterisk.com/" target="_blank">knee brace</a> that motorcross racers use and it has allowed her
to walk without any crutches. She is also making significant strides in the range of motion of her knee. Surgery is scheduled for early
January, after I am recovered and mobile again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also found a way to hobble
through our wedding and had such a wonderful day with family and close friends.
This also occurred a day or two before Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Things are looking up for us!</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-22018242571386651282012-10-28T20:19:00.000-04:002012-10-30T20:21:40.375-04:00we did it<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Despite my broken leg (3.5weeks out and is healing quite well) and Ginger's torn ACL (still torn), we are now married!<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Photo: Marion</div>
<br />
We got it all done (and cleaned up) before Hurricane Sandy. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-60286307686302190382012-10-24T10:21:00.001-04:002012-10-24T16:10:48.081-04:00A long painful night in the ER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that I have made it <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/10/getting-out-of-woods-alive.html" target="_blank">out of the woods</a> and the paramedics
arrived the wheels were set in motion to get me fixed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I was transferred to the ambulance stretcher everyone
(paramedics, fire fighters, homeowner, etc..) were in awe as to how well of a
splint we made to keep my leg stable. Bruce and I thought nothing of it. We
figured it was ‘all in a day’s work’. I was thankful for this splint for once
or twice out on the trail I could feel my foot shaking independent of my leg
even with the splint tight and aligned properly . That is not a feeling you
want to have.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was eventually transferred onto the stretcher and placed
into the back of the ambulance. Bruce orchestrated with the firefighters where
to take my bike (down the road to Bob’s house) and I bid him farewell. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the ambulance the first order of business was cranking
the heat to warm me up and then they could get my vitals. Both paramedics were
apprehensive in cutting my cycling shoes off so they very carefully took my
right shoe off together. They did a great job for there was little movement of
my ankle/foot in the process. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the
shoes were off my socks were cut off. The next order of business was a splint.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Do you have a <a href="http://www.sammedical.com/sam_splint.html" target="_blank">SAM splint</a>?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">I know what you are talking about. We used them in the
Military. Sadly, We do not have any.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Really? They are super easy to use and will brace my leg much
better than our tree branches and bicycle tubes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">CT does not require us to carry them and our employer
refused to purchase them for the ambulances.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He then began to fold some cardboard apparatus thinking that
will splint my leg. I laughed and told him I’d rather keep the tree branches on
my leg. The cardboard was abandoned and he then began to fumble through just
about every compartment inside that ambulance. Just as I was about to tell him
to stop and just take me to the hospital he found two splints a few feet long
wrapped in plastic. They then tied those splints to my leg and we were off to
the hospital.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ambulance was now warming up and I was no longer
shivering. The paramedic put an IV in my arm.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Should we do that before we start moving?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Nah. I do my best work when the ambulance is in transit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With an IV then came some Morphine to ease the pain. By the
time we reached Hartford Hospital I had two or three doses of Morphine. Didn’t
really notice a tremendous difference in pain level though. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alert and talkative the entire 15-20min trip, the paramedic
and I swapped stories as he took my vitals and make sure I was alert. The
driver did an amazing job navigating the bumpy roads to the hospital. None of
the bumps made me cringe in pain from my leg. Or was it the Morphine?</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
That foot is not supposed to be twisted like that...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once at the hospital, I was wheeled into the ER and was
eventually transferred into an ER room and bed. Moments after entering the ER,
Ginger arrived. The paramedics bid me farewell and told Ginger to take care of
me. Various nurses and doctors and such came and went as they tried to
establish my situation and what to do from there. At some point I got out of my
cycling clothing. Nurses were apprehensive in cutting my bib shorts so Ginger
helped me get out of them. Somehow we managed that without knocking my right
ankle and foot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laying in the hospital bed with my foot slightly elevated
was much nicer than sitting on my bike in the dark woods. The elevation helped
the pain slightly. I still didn’t really notice much relief from the Morphine
but just dealt with the pain. On the 1-9 scale I was sitting around a 5-6. The first
time we went through that the nurse gave me a look and all I could do was </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Guess I have a high threshold for pain?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First order of business were X-rays to determine the extent of the damage. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we knew what we were up against, an Orthopedic doctor took me into another room
to try and re-align my ankle and foot. I understood this to be the first
attempt before any decision is made for surgery. If this is successful then
surgery may not be needed. Ginger and her sister were left to fend for
themselves in my ER room.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The re-alignment consisted of a lot of physical movement. At
one point my foot was hanging from string tied to my toes and the doctor was
pushing down on my shin and twisting my ankle. In-between movements she would
take an X-ray of my ankle to see how things were adjusting. The X-ray machine
was really neat. It consisted of two small plates suspended by arms coming off
the machine. She could position these plates anywhere she wanted. As soon as
the X-ray was taken the image instantaneously appeared on her computer screen
which she then used to gauge progress. Real-Time X-Ray. Pretty neat.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Throughout the re-alignment process all I could do was lay
there and focus on breathing. The breathing helped me cope with the pain. I
thing I was given a local shot beforehand to numb my ankle some but there was
still quite a bit of pain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The re-aligning process was going well for a while and then
it was determined that as she got one bone aligned well (lets say Tibia) the
other bone (Fibula) was not aligning properly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was left alone for a while. The doctor was probably consulting with
other doctors during this time.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Tibia is lined up well now, Fibula is still off..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laying in a bed with my foot hanging from some string tied
to my toes got unpleasant rather quickly. It did give me time to scan the room
and also chat with the various nurses that would come into the room, grab
something off the shelf and leave. It was through these observations where I
dubbed the room the ER Closet. With me in there this room also doubled as an
X-Ray room for fracture re-alignments. Quite humorous when you think about it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a few hours and several consultations with the
Orthopedic Surgeon on call that evening it was determined that I will need
surgery to properly align my foot ankle and leg. Surgery consisted of placing
addition objects to align the bones and keep them together. This is called
fixation. Fixation consists fo internal and external. The former being all
pieces (plates, screws, etc) staying entirely internal to my body. External
being some pieces protrude out into the cast. Internal is desired as external
fixation can, possibly, present infection down the road where the fixation
device protrudes outside the body. The method used would not be determined
until they had me open and were seeing the broken bones first hand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My stay in the ER Closet was over and I was wheeled back to
my ER room for the remainder of the night. During this time Ginger made her way
back to the hospital. She left sometime before midnight to pick up a few things
at home and go get my Jeep which I left at Bob’s house. While at Bob’s, in the
middle of the night, she caught him up to speed with what was happening in the
hospital with me. Bob also told her what happened out in the woods (another
story I have to tell you). </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Notice how the toes on my right foot are rotated to the right relative to my kneecap. Not good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time seemed to move quickly in the ER. By the time I got out
of the ER Closet and back into my room within the ER it was around 2AM. I was
hungry but was not allowed to eat for I was scheduled for surgery later that
morning. Lovely. I purposely did not eat a large lunch knowing Ginger and I
would have a great home-cooked dinner that evening. Seeing as I was in the ER,
dinner never happened. I did everything I could to fight off the hunger. After
dealing with the pressure and pain of my broken leg the hunger was an easy
fight. The exhaustion overpowered the pain my leg and I eventually fell asleep for a few hours.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5AM arrives and doctors began coming in and out of my
room talking to me about surgery for later in the morning. Groggy eye’d I did
my best to answer their questions and figure out what was going on. I was first
on the docket for surgery that morning, sometime around 9 or 10AM. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around 7 or 8 I was greeted with a pleasant smile: Ginger
arrived. It was difficult for her to see me in this condition and difficult for
me to face reality that I was laying in a hospital with a broken leg just three
weeks and change before our wedding. We both wanted to ask the Whys and the
What-Ifs but independently knew it was not worth the effort. We could do
nothing about it and had to focus on the current situation and how we would
continue moving forward. These kinds of thoughts take massive willpower.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As 9AM came and went I was getting antsy to get out of the
ER and into the OR for surgery. Surgery was the next milestone and my sights were
set on that. Unfortunately, as the suggested hour came and went, my mental game
was falling apart. I did my best to try and ignore this and focus on something
else but it was difficult. Eventually I was moved upstairs to the OR. This was good news. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Surgery was supposed to last a few short hours but
ultimately lasted a lot longer than anticipated. Before I went into the OR I met all the doctors and everyone
had me confirm from my own two lips which foot/leg they will be operating on.
It was during this time where I met Dr. Kevin Burton whom was the attending
surgeon and was running the show in the effort to fix me. I also had to fill
out the paperwork a second time for the paperwork I filled out in the ER got
lost and never made it upstairs to the OR. Dr. Burton got Ginger’s phone number and
told her how things would pan out and that he’d call her when they were done.
She then wished me the best and went off to work. I was subsequently wheeled into the
OR. Once in the OR I was transferred onto the operating table and the
Anesthesiologist placed my arms out in a T on supports. I moved around a little
bit to get comfortable and do not remember anything after that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many hours later (2 or 3 PM?) I awoke in the
post OP area. Lots of people coming up to me once they saw me moving around. I
do not remember much of anything as I was still drugged up from surgery. I do
remember something about asking if I wanted a shot into the knee area to numb
my leg if the pain was too much. I told them the pain was fine and the concept
was dropped. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An hour or so later I ‘officially’ woke up and was alert and
could see straight. The nurse was very nice and made sure I was comfortable. A
while later they wheeled me out of the Post OP and across the hospital to my
own room. The orderlies thought it was a race and were running my bed across the
hospital. Watching ceiling tiles flash before my eyes and the bed moving
side-to-side made me very nauseous thanks to the anesthesia still in me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The nurses then popped in to say hello and check up on me. I
think it was now around 5 or 6PM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr
Burton also came in. He said they found a few additional fractures
not noted on the X-rays so that took them a little longer to get everything
aligned than anticipated. He was pleased to tell me everything worked with
internal fixation. Two permanent stainless steel plates and a total of thirteen screws to
put this Humpty Dumpty back together again. I also had a giant cast on my foot
that came up to just below my knee. This meant I could bend my knee which was
an added bonus.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Ginger stayed for a little but and then went home. I was
left trying to shake the anesthesia out of me and try to go to the bathroom. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8119114474_2cea9a66e1_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8119114474_2cea9a66e1_b.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bright and early the next day I was greeted by Dr. Burton.
Everything felt okay. I had some pain in my leg from
all the work they did but a steady IV drip of some pain killers kept things
comfortable. The pain at one point tipped 6 or 7 on the scale, higher than when
my leg was broken. Guess it was the price to pay to be fixed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Friday morning in the hospital consisted of learning how
to use crutches (I was very apprehensive of getting out of bed but forced
myself up and moving around) and eating some hospital powdered egg breakfast. I spent the afternoon watching Vanilla Ice
flip homes on HGTV with a break for more learning with crutches. By late in the
afternoon I met all my objectives for dismissal and was able to leave the
hospital. A few friends stopped by and helped Ginger get me home.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday night was early to bed. My bed, finally...</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-82686476104374636532012-10-23T06:28:00.000-04:002012-10-23T06:28:15.572-04:00Getting Out of the Woods Alive<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Continuing from where I <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/10/when-you-least-expect-it-snap.html" target="_blank">left off</a>...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There I
was, sitting on the ground with a broken leg in the middle of the woods trying
to breathe and forget about the pain. None of us has cell phones so we have to recall
back to our Boy Scout days of what to do in a situation like this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Build a
<a href="http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads21/madmax1344816579.jpg" target="_blank">helicopter</a> out of sticks and leaves and fly out of there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
That is
what MacGyver would do and three Engineers who are also Eagle Scouts are
completely prepared to do such a thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before we
could do any of that we had to splint my leg. Stability and lack of movement
were the key given both bones in my lower leg were now in two or more pieces and my foot was effectively just floating in space. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bruce found two tree branches about an inch in
diameter and we placed one on either side of my ankle (inside & out)
spanning from my foot up to just below my knee. We then used his long sleeve
jersey to tie the splints together around my ankle. We grabbed my spare tube
from my <a href="http://www.backcountryresearch.com/" target="_blank">Awesome Strap</a> and did the same with my shin just above my knee. I wish
I had photos of this splint but we had no cameras or phones with us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bob
cleared the trail ahead of us from debris that may have fallen in the previous
day’s storm. Both Bob and Bruce then then helped me hobble the 50 feet or so
off this piece of singletrack and onto the doubletrack that intersects it. Picture one of them under each arm of mine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the
doubletrack we figured out a game plan. We needed a plan to efficiently get me out of the woods.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">~ build
that helicopter and fly Doug out of the woods.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">~ build a
stretcher and carry Doug out of the woods.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">~ Stay
put entirely, one goes ahead to get help.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">~ Ditch
Doug’s bicycle in woods, plan which trails to walk out, one goes ahead for
help, Doug and the other start walking out of the woods with makeshift crutches
from tree branches.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of
course, we were probably at one of the furthest points from the forest service
road on our ride that night, about three or four miles...<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQEQZnp3YYLtsmMqtCmIer9g3Mw3vPxxeIdEMPD6efs2trmaseCBtaYW9FAWghClfkUOCMtyHsgs8I1HtAgoRYhNHH1JNPfq9bHkwqs-74III9vMBBT6-M5ce5QKL5i4lnq9o/s1600/intended_route2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQEQZnp3YYLtsmMqtCmIer9g3Mw3vPxxeIdEMPD6efs2trmaseCBtaYW9FAWghClfkUOCMtyHsgs8I1HtAgoRYhNHH1JNPfq9bHkwqs-74III9vMBBT6-M5ce5QKL5i4lnq9o/s320/intended_route2.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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The
agreed upon plan was something along the lines of the later. We agreed on which
trails we would get out of the woods (One Hill to the Blue Blaze trail [aka Portland Res Road] to the
Singletrack [down] to the forest service road). Bob would go ahead and get help
while Bruce and I would figure out how to keep moving (if we could).<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVZRsnsNVFogc1u63pr_1Av0aXx1DF7Fhp7fFM70E6Fnnh2b6kBAi_hVDB0JBWW-j28Sy2kCAfKw8MMkdPnhtAINJNUwJekJM5mm_cSRN_cH9NlC_IUO19K9O400yZfo_52Lh/s1600/escape_route2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVZRsnsNVFogc1u63pr_1Av0aXx1DF7Fhp7fFM70E6Fnnh2b6kBAi_hVDB0JBWW-j28Sy2kCAfKw8MMkdPnhtAINJNUwJekJM5mm_cSRN_cH9NlC_IUO19K9O400yZfo_52Lh/s320/escape_route2.jpg" width="208" /></a> </div>
</div>
Sitting on the trail focusing on breathing and trying to ignore the pain, Bob
turned on my HID headlamp on my helmet and took off for
help. Bruce and I looked at each other hoping the other would know the right way to move me. I stood
up again and tried hopping on my left leg with a tree branch Bruce gave me as a
crutch under my right arm.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Bruce,
this one crutch is not going to work. It uses so much of my energy to hop on my
left leg and I am making very little progress down the trail. My hip hurts a
tremendous amount from hopping.</span></div>
<br />
Whilst standing I could feel all the blood rushing to my right foot and it
hurt. I needed a rest from hoping on my left leg and we only made it a measly five feet down the trail. I then layed down on his bike with my stomach on the saddle and hands on the
handlebars<a href="http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2011/04/28/news/photos_stories/superman--300x300.jpg" target="_blank"></a>. Laying on
the bike in a Superman like state, I haphazardly started pushing off with my
left leg like a scooter. The bike started rolling forward and I
more than doubled the distance traveled via bicycle. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Hmm… We
have an idea here…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
downside to this was all the pressure on my abdomen from laying on the bike. I
tried sitting on Bruce’s bike (his bike is smaller than mine) and it was more
comfortable but the saddle was waay too low. I couldn’t keep my right leg<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the air high enough to avoid hitting my
foot on anything. Bruce
then took my bike, lowered my saddle some and we carefully switched bikes. I
turned the Pro-Pedal off my rear shock so the ride would be softer and tried it
again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Perfect!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">This was
working. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Working
so well that I started riding away from Bruce and he was yelling at me to
slow down for he was worried about me and my leg. That was
when I realized that even though I can move on my bike with my left leg I
really should slow down and take it slow and safe. The last thing I need is to lose my
balance and fall over onto my broken right leg.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruce
caught back up when I came to a fallen tree we had to get over. Normally I
would ride it but in my state I did not want to risk trying to ride it with one
foot clipped in. I can do some wild things but this was not the time nor the place. We worked together to hop me over the tree. This consisted of
me dismounting my bike and using my bike as a ‘walker’. While standing on my leg
adjacent to the tree, Bruce lifted my bike over the tree while I held onto his
shoulder. With my bike on the other side of the tree I could hold onto that and
Bruce helped me hop over the tree with my left leg. I could then remount my
bike and start pushing off with my left leg. We are moving again!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Early on
I was able to lean my right leg backwards in a horizontal fashion, rotate my
pelvis forward on the saddle and kick off with my left leg. This worked for
about half an hour or so and then the pain in my right leg worsened. The blood was pooling in my foot and both my foot and ankle were swelling at a rapid pace. More
pressure. I then resorted to riding in an upright manner on the saddle with my
right knee up near my elbow so as to keep my right foot off the ground and away
from obstacles near the ground. This worked great but used a lot of energy in my right thigh to keep my leg upright. I had no choice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Negotiating
my bicycle very slowly (slower than a hiker) through trails I ride weekly was
difficult on my mind. My mind knows I can ride these trails well but I kept
having to remind myself that I have a broken leg. The pain in my leg was constantly there and I was
fatiguing quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere down the
first trail Bruce and I stopped for food. I ate my package of Shot Bloks and
drank half my waterbottle of water.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I knew we
were making great progress but we still had a long way to go. Bruce kept reaffirming how much we’ve
covered and how well we are moving in an effort to keep things positive and
keep my momentum both mentally and physically. I knew I had to keep going so I
tried to block out all those negative thoughts but twice I failed and broke down in tears and hysterics. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">How
could this happen? I am getting married in three weeks and now I can’t walk.
Ginger is going to kill me. I am never going to get out of here. My foot is
destroyed. Months, if not years, to rebuild myself. What am I going to do?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Somehow,
as quickly as I fell into that funk I jumped right out of it and kept on moving down the trail. I
kept telling myself, verbally, that things are okay.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The next turn
we’ll see the medical help coming up the trail and then everything will be
okay.</span><br />
<br />
Out of
One-Hill and onto the Blue Blaze Trail (aka: Portland Reservoir Road). This trail was fairly flat in the direction we were going (north towards Glastonbury) except one
short very loose rocky climb we had to go up. I was able to clip my left foot
into my pedal and actually pedal my bike on the flatter sections. I would hear Bruce yelling at me to
slow down which I then forcibly told my mind to slow down. It was
also pretty much dark now. Probably close to 7pm. The accident happened around
6pm and we covered 2 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
the rain the previous day the fog was rolling in. Our HID
lights sucked in the fog. We couldn’t see<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>more than 5 feet infront of us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Need to
keep on moving.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Through
the flat section of the blue blaze trail and all that was left is this rocky
climb. Beyond that we can descend down the Singletrack trail and onto the
forest service road. Need to get through this climb…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I
certainly was not riding up this rocky climb. The rocks are the size of
softballs. Its difficult when you can pedal and I sure as hell did not want to
fumble on these rocks and damage my right leg any worse than it already is. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best thing to be done was dismounting and hopping on my left leg whilst using my bike as a
walker to keep me upright. I’d push my bike out a foot and then hop towards it
while holding onto the handlebar and saddle. One foot after another we went up
this climb. Partway up I had to stop for more food and to rest my left leg. My
left hip was killing me from the impact of hopping on rocks. We could not see the
top but knew it was coming up soon. Bruce kept giving me words of encouragement
that helped fuel me to keep moving.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We knew
we were at the top when the rocks slowly dissipated and the terrain flattened
out. Back on the bike pushing off with that left leg. A couple hundred feet up
ahead was the left turn onto the Singletrack trail which descended off this
tiny ridgeline down to the forest service road.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Besides
the focus on moving down trail, both Bruce and I were starting to
wonder where the medical crew was that Bob went to get. We knew Bob would
follow through but where was the help? By now
it is dark so we would easily see flashlights and headlights of any help coming
up the trail towards us yet all we saw was darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This weighed on us and our frustration increased. With the two of us frustrated, we could not feed off each other to
keep encouraging each other to move forward. Our mental game was falling apart
and falling apart fast!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meanwhile,
as we ventured down the Singletrack trail light rain began to fall. It is now dark,
foggy and rainy and we are in the woods with a hurt bicyclist. The
Singletrack trail did signify that we were ultimately getting closer and closer
to the service road. Getting closer to the service road meant we were out of
the woods. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">The end was in sight!</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
feelings of just about being out of the woods drove me to move a little quicker
and make mistakes. The big mistake came when I was entering a little gully in
the Singletrack trail. The whole time I was descending I tried to keep my left foot
uphill and my hands on the brake levers. I would let the brakes out inch by
inch and crawl down the hill atop the bicycle. Going into this gully I somehow
lost my footing with my left foot and my weight shifted. I now found myself
tipping over to the right side. Natural instinct is to put your right foot out
so I did that (forgetting about my broken leg). As soon as weight transferred
onto my right leg I toppled over in pain. I fell off the bike and let out a loud scream. I laid there clutching my leg in agony.
Bruce grabbed my bike and took it down the gulley (which was about 15 feet
long). I regained my composure and slide down the gulley on my backside whilst
keeping my right leg up in the air. A minute or so later I was comfortable enough to get back on the bike and keep moving.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By now it
was around 7:45PM or so. Almost two hours since I broke my leg and we still
were not at the service road. Help was no where to be found. We were also
beyond the halfway point on the Singletrack trail so we knew we were almost
there. Learning from my previous mistake I slowed down no matter how eager I
was to get out onto the service road. A few long minutes later we were out on
the service road. The rain also subsided.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I never
thought I would see this gravel road. I wanted to lay down with my foot
up on the bank to get the blood out of my foot. My foot was now fairly swollen and I
could not wiggle my toes and it hurt to move my leg. We looked both ways on the
service road and saw not one light nor did we hear any vehicular noise.
Bruce insisted we keep moving. We had about a mile of smooth road that was
predominately downhill. Beyond that were residential houses. We were close to
help! As much as I wanted to lay down I knew the ride out on the road would be
a few more minutes. I dealt with two hours I could deal with a few more
minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Downhill
in the foggy dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the road
flattened out I clipped my left foot in and we pedaled comfortably out into the
residential neighborhood. Immediately there were headlights coming towards us and I thought ‘ambulance’. The headlights then turned into someone’s driveway. It was
a car. I told Bruce to ride ahead and flag them down for their phone. I’ll
catch up. While
Bruce was trying to explain to this family our situation I rode up to the driveway
and dismounted my bike and proceeded to lay down on the ground. My left hip was sore and I needed to lay down and get my right foot
elevated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruce
called 911 and they confirmed there was a call out for us already. He then told
them the address of the house we were at and that we were safe but needed
medical attention. The family came over to ask me how I am doing. Next thing I
knew two or three firefighters arrive. I was laying on the wet asphalt driveway
shivering because I got cold from the rain and tired from the two hour effort to
get out of the woods. The firefighters covered me in their jackets (those
things are amazingly warm!). They said help is on the way. I
had to call Ginger but I completely forgot her phone number. The only number I
could remember was my parents’ in NJ so I had Bruce call them and I told them my leg was broken and had them call Ginger so she could me at Hartford
Hospital.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The news
media arrived during this time. The firefighters kept the media on the other
side of the road and I covered myself up completely with the firefighter’s
jackets. Everyone was in awe at our splint on my leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometime thereafter an ambulance came and
they got me on their stretcher and into the back of the ambulance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One step
closer to finding out how bad I screwed myself up and one step closer to being
fixed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I had a long night in the ER and then a few days in the hospital. More of that to come....</i></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-48568975719274885532012-10-22T17:25:00.000-04:002012-10-22T18:31:01.932-04:00When you least expect it... Snap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
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--</style><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back on Wednesday October 3<sup>rd</sup> I was out on my
weekly Wednesday ride. Pretty much my only ride during the week this fall given the demands at work and the wedding planning. It rained cats
and dogs on Tuesday of that week. Bob, Bruce and I felt it was still okay to
ride mountain bikes Wednesday so we tried. Whit stopped by on his road bike
thinking the trails were too wet. We told him a Mazzwy ride can be done on a road bike but he opted to not join us for fear of ruining his tubulars.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Staying high in elevation the trails were perfect. Not 'hero
dirt' but tacky. Leaves started falling (it is Oct in New England) so the trails
were changing. This is my favorite time of the year to ride. The trails are
different from what you remember thanks to the leaves. Keeps you on your toes.
So I thought…</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First 30 to 45minutes was fun. Very technical
trails without any issues. The <a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8113795676_3e1f6cec28_b.jpg" target="_blank">SF100SS</a> was amazing. I wasn’t even
hot dogging anything either. Just riding along getting a feel for the fit on
the bike how it reacts on the terrain. Since the previous ride, I added a
longer stem to open up the cockpit some and also replaced the worn rear shock
DU bushings with needle bearings for a silky smooth operation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next section of trail is what we call Two-Hill. A short
little up and down over a knoll. On the descent there is a chicane where you
make a quick left around a big rock and then a quick right around a tree to
avoid another rock. Earlier this year I learned to wheelie drop off the big
rock and straighten the trail out rather than riding through the chicane.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKIOYEewcOeBD8whShyphenhyphenpvBWK8VlFUdYe5mdgkmQj5zKyJBk3DLAm37F6on6HUzdloURuTlc32bAml-abr8aPWkxLhVubpnl3u7tXSXIdhWXefCPlvJtrbwqeSirc8bdyscYao/s1600/rock3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKIOYEewcOeBD8whShyphenhyphenpvBWK8VlFUdYe5mdgkmQj5zKyJBk3DLAm37F6on6HUzdloURuTlc32bAml-abr8aPWkxLhVubpnl3u7tXSXIdhWXefCPlvJtrbwqeSirc8bdyscYao/s320/rock3.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Glenn) </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On this day I did the same thing. One hour into our ride, I came up over Two-Hill and
on the descent rode up and over the rock with a 1-2ft wheelie drop off the
backside. Exactly like I have been doing all year on my hardtail, only this
time I did not ride away from it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPi3z75mlvu77mQDtFz_X0mbFNvQCPR_CBmLb0F8qG4-c1b0_5LVl7nWDXLKwj2tfiVN8SF8FVwImQvu7H2UrEkLMStOWByU27nOtSGoJtdEAUy8ZeqIgZhjJRdjOVkMOkMnX/s1600/rock1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPi3z75mlvu77mQDtFz_X0mbFNvQCPR_CBmLb0F8qG4-c1b0_5LVl7nWDXLKwj2tfiVN8SF8FVwImQvu7H2UrEkLMStOWByU27nOtSGoJtdEAUy8ZeqIgZhjJRdjOVkMOkMnX/s320/rock1.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Bruce)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The fall line points towards the right, in the direction the
chicane directs you. Coming up and over the rock places you a few degrees off
the fall line in a partial traverse setting. Not a big deal. You work the bike
into the trail as you come off the rock. Not a big deal. Brand new Schwalbe
Racing Ralph 29x2.35 with 18psi of air in them. The caveat this day was the wet
leaves.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I still do not know exactly what happened because I went
from wheelie droping the rock to sitting on my ass in the dirt in a split
second. So fast that if you blinked you would have missed it. So fast that all
it takes is one <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMwDaUIJsXWDGbk9H97HCFhW3d_KiDp1Wl344wjmSnoUZLYjm86ANYAUTmqG6sRvZo35b3Q0G5fBUpy57E6qPxegnv4Lk8hOpd-nU4Cmha7HpERp2E1Y75r8jB4Lv64NZ87eChg/s1600/snap+fingers.jpg" target="_blank">snap of the fingers</a>.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Snap indeed. Not my fingers though. My Fibula and Tibia in
my right leg just above my ankle. Add in a dislocated ankle for good measure too.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That is right. What appeared to be a simple crash turned out
to be probably the worst crash I have ever had from a bodily damage standpoint.
My <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2010/06/crash-and-burn.html" target="_blank">faceplant</a> a few years ago could be comparable but this one will be much harder
and longer to recover from.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I came off the rock my front tire washed towards the
left. The whole bike went down on the drivetrain side. My handlebars twisted
around completely (almost as if I was doing an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHTBPcep9w8" target="_blank">X up</a>) and I went down. I am not
entirely sure of the sequence of events but I think the angle my bike was
falling down at versus where my body was position was enough to snap my leg in
half. Somehow after that my right foot clipped out of my pedal. I then landed
in a seated posture in the dirt with my legs straight out infront of me. Bike
to the left of me about a foot (ie: I was not tangled in my bike). No head
impact. No upper body impact. In fact, not a scratch anywhere on my body except
my right ankle/foot/leg…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So there I am sitting in the dirt feeling tremendous
pressure on my right leg. Pressure I’ve never felt before (never broken a bone
before). My kneecap is aligned with my hip but my right foot is pointed out to
the right about 45-60deg when it should be vertical up towards the sky. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPjm3Z4cvrWpi7kMVWnoGOayuqO2LzxA2tog1MeRSTbBMGoHpXVApMzpoHYFNfHDXus21lG_TDR8p7YmJYX3wS7M-VLeXn_Z288YTyM_3gkT6lxjZv6OnimbL999rrsKbGOy2/s1600/adjusted_foot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPjm3Z4cvrWpi7kMVWnoGOayuqO2LzxA2tog1MeRSTbBMGoHpXVApMzpoHYFNfHDXus21lG_TDR8p7YmJYX3wS7M-VLeXn_Z288YTyM_3gkT6lxjZv6OnimbL999rrsKbGOy2/s320/adjusted_foot.jpg" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“This is not good.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I felt my shin and there was a huge bump just above my
ankle. No skin punctures though. Just a huge bump. I couldn’t move my ankle
either.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“Fuck”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I heard Bob and Bruce coming so I yelled at them to slow
down for I need help. Not a scream. Just a casual yell to alert them I am on
the ground infront of them.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I then felt myself going into shock.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spun myself around with my feet uphill from me and then I
laid down so the blood would flow to my head and I would not pass out.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #e06666;">“What are we going to do? I think I just broke my leg. I can
wiggle my toes but it hurts and I can’t move my ankle. My foot is not where it
should be. Freaks me out!”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bob and Bruce took one look at me and immediately knew I
could not ride and needed medical attention.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">“Where is your cell phone?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“In my Jeep.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I said while tipping my head down knowing I just destroyed
all immediate chances of getting help.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Stay tuned... There is more to this coming....</i> </span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-35052106972500635752012-10-22T16:05:00.001-04:002012-10-22T18:31:25.132-04:00August & September<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A very quick re-cap of the past two months:</div>
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<br /></div>
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Early August - <a href="http://darkhorsecycles.com/" target="_blank">DarkHorse40</a> – Great start. Flat on lap one. Cramps
on lap two. Turned my race into a fun ride and the frustration of flats and
craps disappeared and bike riding was fun again. Stopped to help Tom from Niner
with his flat near the end. Finished the race just outside top 10 singlespeed
but had a huge smile and helped people along the way. Fun!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3Qoy9aesLtLLugkPslNYOxX-bxWvj44r3rfDfuzrdQzC7ycxCdDakRk1NExCJ4DBBhENGRs91jP4o_iU8bjEnw0HQdk-qJXJelS9kHYJOk2r3wkKWMhYGtKyl4qDvGusLVT7/s1600/424310_10151088833431726_168983308_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3Qoy9aesLtLLugkPslNYOxX-bxWvj44r3rfDfuzrdQzC7ycxCdDakRk1NExCJ4DBBhENGRs91jP4o_iU8bjEnw0HQdk-qJXJelS9kHYJOk2r3wkKWMhYGtKyl4qDvGusLVT7/s320/424310_10151088833431726_168983308_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Photo: Ed Burgess</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Work got in the way of bike riding. 15hr days. No time to
ride. Body was exhausted. Ontop of that, Ginger and I got engaged in July and have been busy planning our wedding for late October 2012. </div>
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Kingdom Trails trip with Ginger over Labor Day weekend by way of a stop in Stowe VT.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkmdVbjwblRyv-HwZxh0peSZ3xzD2QeI1ejt4e-6SKFzQ2qeyjyXppSkrXMcdsPPKywqbuuNYdajNmpXjrpqUgMR4Ezdffmqs1hd6mNqqdCBvAMTxQRA1z4v_Z1PZKGb511hM/s1600/377179_10151044576420920_271996673_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkmdVbjwblRyv-HwZxh0peSZ3xzD2QeI1ejt4e-6SKFzQ2qeyjyXppSkrXMcdsPPKywqbuuNYdajNmpXjrpqUgMR4Ezdffmqs1hd6mNqqdCBvAMTxQRA1z4v_Z1PZKGb511hM/s320/377179_10151044576420920_271996673_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Stowe Trails (photo: Ginger)</div>
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Early September – Business trip to Atlanta – Big thanks to
Mike Stanley from Niner for letting me borrow an <a href="http://www.ninerbikes.com/air9carbon" target="_blank">Air9 Carbon</a> while down there. Another thanks to Eddie & Namrita (race promoters) for letting me stay at their cabin the night before the race. Almost
went from couch to <a href="http://www.55nine.com/100.html" target="_blank">FG100miler</a> but was worried I wasn’t going to finish the race
in time to catch my flight home so I did the 50miler.</div>
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FG50 – Good start. Lots of fire road climbing at the start.
Dicky and I played games off the front with the locals. I faded on the first
long climb a few miles in but recovered. Legs completely blew up at the 2<sup>nd</sup>
aid station. Full on cramps. From there to the finish I tried to ride and had
no gas for ‘racing’. Rode some awesome singletrack. Really loved how snappy the
Air9C is in acceleration. Rigid fork in Georgia is not bad at all. Nothing like
rigid in New England.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QEguKEAoKc0g2d_11T6iiCJPM-YLoIsd71uW-OPAGcT1awvKyG37146gKSeEDTC4DTQurgaJ1dVEm9F2osvU3WKwKRfpB8QLx2eJ4wN4YaGNRmLSeW7MA6VGsPSHG4zZ1JY_/s1600/218082_457360897620453_216096382_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QEguKEAoKc0g2d_11T6iiCJPM-YLoIsd71uW-OPAGcT1awvKyG37146gKSeEDTC4DTQurgaJ1dVEm9F2osvU3WKwKRfpB8QLx2eJ4wN4YaGNRmLSeW7MA6VGsPSHG4zZ1JY_/s320/218082_457360897620453_216096382_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Photo (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/regularjoephotography" target="_blank">RegularJoe Photography</a>)</div>
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</div>
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Photo (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/regularjoephotography" target="_blank">RegularJoe Photography</a>)</div>
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T-Hom's driving drink of choice.<br />
T-Hom's coverage of the<a href="http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/249720-Fools-Gold-100-Kenda-NUE-Series-Finale" target="_blank"> event</a>. </div>
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New Bicycle….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite
working insane hours, trying to plan a wedding and not riding I found time to
sell a bike and buy another bike. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
2010 Gary Fisher Superfly 100 Singlespeed. RockShox SID 100mm travel 15mm
thru axle fjork. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>23.5lbs with spare tube and multi-tool. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Replaced the worn rear shock DU bushings with <a href="http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id275.html" target="_blank">needle bearings</a> from Enduro.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still working the chain tension. B-tension on
Shimano road derailleurs is not enough (currently have a Shimano 105). When I can ride offroad again I am
going to try a SRAM road derailleur as they have a higher B-tension. SRAM works
great in this application for friends of mine.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Three rides on the bike and was having a lot of fun. Think
this might be my race bike for 2013.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-8260744794517809332012-08-04T10:52:00.001-04:002012-08-04T11:00:07.326-04:00on our way to the DH40 / more SSUSA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My plan was to ride out to NY to race the Darkhorse 40 and then ride home. Just like <a href="http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2012/03/where-we-are-going-we-dont-need.html" target="_blank">the theme</a> I envisioned for this season.<br />
<br />
Well, plans are plans. Sometimes they don't go as planned.<br />
<br />
Big Brother kicked my ass this week. I felt great on my Wednesday mountain bike ride but Thursday and Friday put me over the edge. I barely had enough energy to ride a short 1hour ride Friday night so I decided not to ride to NY. <br />
<br />
It sucks but my body is telling me no. The extreme humidity and heat does not help either. I do not do well when the humidity climbs. Makes me wonder why I live in New England?<br />
<br />
It sucks even more because I had a great plan this time too. With Ginger racing DH40 in the duo category with <a href="http://www.bike29.com/" target="_blank">George</a> and the two of us staying out in NY tonight, I was going to have her bring all my gear and my mountain bike. I would then ride out there on my singlespeed cyclocross bike with just two bottles and food. Basically a 100mile point to point bike ride rather than a loop. I was excited to go for a long bike ride. I like point to point road rides. It gives you an objective. We'll have to save this idea for next time.<br />
<br />
The good news is that Ginger is riding strong so she'll have a good time at the DH40 on Sunday. We'll see how I fare. Looking at it as a 40 mile bike ride rather than a race.<br />
<br />
So, alas, we are driving over to NY today and driving home on Sunday after the race. I still took Monday off from work but I will most likely be catching up on the many open ended chores around the house that I can't seem to finish due to the hours I have been working..<br />
<br />
Found some photos from <a href="http://www.singlespeedusa.com/" target="_blank">SSUSA</a> I took.<br />
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First turn.</div>
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We were definitely in Vermont...</div>
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Sure!</div>
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Yes Please.</div>
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Vermont is beautiful in the summer (amongst all other seasons).</div>
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Kick Ass descent!</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Dejay cooks a mean turkey burger.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
See you tomorrow. We're going to have a nice bike 'ride'.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-20178331317730774822012-07-31T23:12:00.001-04:002012-07-31T23:19:23.463-04:00a weekend of SSUSA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SSUSA up in Stowe(eeee) Vermont was a big hit. Just about everyone had a smile on their face and were super ecstatic about riding the trails that the fine folks at <a href="http://bike29.com/" target="_blank">Bike29</a> have linked together. Make sure you thank George & Mandy and the <a href="http://www.stowemtnbike.com/" target="_blank">Stowe Mountain Bike Club</a>.<br />
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Think of an event that had everything from kick ass trails to 40s of Old English to shots of Whiskey to any rider costume you can think of to fireworks to 2nd degree burns to dogs taking a swim over 20ft waterfalls to machetes and sausages on the trail to pints of Vermont maple syrup. Yup, it was one of those events..<br />
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I did not compete but rather was behind the scenes helping out keeping the event going. Directing racers through the first turn to high-tailing it across town to pick up last minute supplies to helping the mid-point aide station and setting up the finish.<br />
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It was different being on the other side but it was fun nonetheless. Definitely an equally as tiring weekend without even racing or getting on the bike.<br />
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All in all, everyone had a blast including myself. That is what it is all about. Ginger and I did get out on a ride Sunday afternoon which was much needed. Being around a couple hundred cyclists and not riding your bike will make you go crazy. We did a short 10 mile loop covering almost half of the race course. Got to ride some awesome trails such as Pipeline and Kimmer's while picking up the trail markers.<br />
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Speaking of trail markers and cleaning up. I could NOT believe how clean the trails where. I did not find any debris on the trails from the racers (food packets, etc..) and could barely tell that upwards of 200 racers came through the day before. That is how pristine the trails looked. How is this possible? I can think of two things. 1) the racers had a lot of respect for the local bicyclists and the trails they have created and 2) the local bicyclists (<a href="http://www.stowemtnbike.com/" target="_blank">Stowe Mountain Bike Club</a>) built some highly sustainable trails. Congratulations! Everyone wins out in this case.<br />
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T-Hom was up doing cyclingdirt coverage so you can find some video and interviews <a href="http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/249636-SSUSA-2012" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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As in similar fashion to the SingleSpeed World Championship, this event travels from host family to host family every year. The deciding factor to whom will host for 2013 was a maple syrup chugging contest.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/embed/MjgxNjUyMDk3?related=1" title="Selection Event - Maple Syrup Chugging Controversy" width="375"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/249636-2012-SSUSA">Watch more video of 2012 SSUSA on thom.cyclingdirt.org</a><br />
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Up next is the Darkhorse 40 this coming weekend. Our bikes are all set and I just need to get another singlespeed cog for my commuter. If the weather holds I'm riding the 100 miles out to Newburgh New York, racing and riding back.<br />
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See you in New York this weekend!<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32300855.post-9637927938888309492012-07-27T15:32:00.002-04:002012-07-27T15:35:44.517-04:00see you in Vermont<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="211" src="http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/embed/NDE1NjUxODUw?related=1" title="SSUSA 2012 Preview SWEET!" width="376"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/249636-2012-SSUSA">Watch more video of 2012 SSUSA on thom.cyclingdirt.org</a></div>
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If you are not in Vermont this weekend, you are missing out.<br />
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That means you, <a href="http://www.teamdicky.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dicky</a>.
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0