Man, I am still very sore from that crash. Ribs, Chest, Back - all on the left side. Swimming was painful yesterday - had to do back stroke and breast stroke... forget about freestyle... also did kicking... lots of kicking... I hate kicking, but I know it is good for me.
Trying to do yard work, but that hurts too. Finally taking some ibuprofen - maybe that will speed things along.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Riding home after the big storm
We had a crazy storm on Thursday afternoon. Killed power, took out some major trees, traffic was terrible.
Fortunately I took my bike to work. It was really kind of cool in a 'end of the world, major catastrophe movie' kind of way. Wish I had my video camera.
There were more cars that usual trying to avoid the main roads and taking my favorite back roads. I had to take it easy, because everytime I got some speed up, I'd find a tree laying half across the road.
One time I went through a closed road and found the tree across the road, but about 6 feet up - I rode under it. Another time, I had to get off my bike and climb over a fallen tree. I've done that plenty off road - not used to it on my road bike.
There was debris all over the road, making it slippery and nerve wracking. Having recently crashed, I really wasn't in the mood to go down again... and fortunately didn't.
When I did get to the main roads, many of the traffic lights were out. That sucks for everybody, but especially cyclists. Fortunately, the drivers were mostly being pretty cool (except for that one moron lady that nearly hit me while she chatted on her cell phone).
Strange ride, but pretty cool experience.
Fortunately I took my bike to work. It was really kind of cool in a 'end of the world, major catastrophe movie' kind of way. Wish I had my video camera.
There were more cars that usual trying to avoid the main roads and taking my favorite back roads. I had to take it easy, because everytime I got some speed up, I'd find a tree laying half across the road.
One time I went through a closed road and found the tree across the road, but about 6 feet up - I rode under it. Another time, I had to get off my bike and climb over a fallen tree. I've done that plenty off road - not used to it on my road bike.
There was debris all over the road, making it slippery and nerve wracking. Having recently crashed, I really wasn't in the mood to go down again... and fortunately didn't.
When I did get to the main roads, many of the traffic lights were out. That sucks for everybody, but especially cyclists. Fortunately, the drivers were mostly being pretty cool (except for that one moron lady that nearly hit me while she chatted on her cell phone).
Strange ride, but pretty cool experience.
Strange bike ride on Wednesday
My ride home on Wed was strange - I left work early - 90 degrees.
About 7 miles into the ride home (out of 20), I my rear derailleur cable broke leaving me in a hard gear for the remaining 13 miles and the next 10 miles had some bad ass hills and my back and side are killing me when I get out of the saddle to ride due to my crash 4 days before (bad news), but I was only 1 mile from a bike shop (good news), then mechanic said it probably couldn't be fixed (bad news), but he gave it a shot and was able to pull the broken cable from the shifter (good news), it was only going to be $22 (good news) and my 'points' had accrued to pay for it (nice).
On the ride home, I'm thinking about this lady that lost it at work and 2 miles from my house, I see her standing on her front lawn having a glass of wine. I stopped to make sure she was ok, and she apologized for losing it.
Another mile on, a kid comes flying down from the left, blows through a stop and nearly takes me out, but doesn't even see me. I go to pass him on the left and he keeps drifting across the road until he nearly hits me again! I two feet from him (wondering if he is blind or something) and tell him to look out - he turns and is completely surprised to see me "where did you come from?" he asks. "Uh, you almost took me out twice kid".. "Sorry dude"... must have been 13 years old... no helmet.
About 7 miles into the ride home (out of 20), I my rear derailleur cable broke leaving me in a hard gear for the remaining 13 miles and the next 10 miles had some bad ass hills and my back and side are killing me when I get out of the saddle to ride due to my crash 4 days before (bad news), but I was only 1 mile from a bike shop (good news), then mechanic said it probably couldn't be fixed (bad news), but he gave it a shot and was able to pull the broken cable from the shifter (good news), it was only going to be $22 (good news) and my 'points' had accrued to pay for it (nice).
On the ride home, I'm thinking about this lady that lost it at work and 2 miles from my house, I see her standing on her front lawn having a glass of wine. I stopped to make sure she was ok, and she apologized for losing it.
Another mile on, a kid comes flying down from the left, blows through a stop and nearly takes me out, but doesn't even see me. I go to pass him on the left and he keeps drifting across the road until he nearly hits me again! I two feet from him (wondering if he is blind or something) and tell him to look out - he turns and is completely surprised to see me "where did you come from?" he asks. "Uh, you almost took me out twice kid".. "Sorry dude"... must have been 13 years old... no helmet.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Bike Crash
I shouldn't have gone for the ride yesterday - I was tired from traveling the week before - then I rode the day before - and I skipped the long ride the previous Saturday - I just wasn't feeling it... and yet I went out for a group A ride.
It was a large group to start, 20+ riders - several very fast riders - a few that would just hang on. At some point we would break into two groups and I would be with the faster group.
We started easy, then got faster as the day went on. The stronger riders rotated pulling at the front, many just hung in the back and took advantage of the draft. A tight paceline is a beautiful thing and we were in a pretty good groove with a nice solid pace on a road with gentle hills.
When we got to the bigger hills, the group broke in two and met a while later at a rest stop. I bought a bag of ice and shared it around - it was a hot day and the other riders seem to appreciate the idea.
After the turn around point, we hit Shed road, a 2 mile long climb - not too steep, but tiring. Another strong rider joined us and helped pushed the pace to the top. I couldn't keep up with the top 3 guys, which was a good signal that I wasn't on my game, but did lead the next group to the top at a steady, strong pace.
At the top, 8 or so of us went ahead, while the rest regrouped. A couple of minutes in, I lost my chain, recovering quickly, only to lose it again on an uphill, requiring me to dismount and put it on. The rest of the group slowed allowing me to catch up - this wore me out a bit. We then picked up the pace, and got faster... and faster...
Over 55 miles into the ride we are hammering down 282, going between 25 and 30 mph... I was pretty tired and had just finished pulling at the front and was at the back of the pack. I was drafting really close and a loud Mustang drove by - the rider in front of me swerved to the right and caught my wheel. The rest happened in slow motion...
My front wheel twisted and jerked the handlebars in my hands - I lost my balance and before I knew it, I was skidding along pavement with the wind knocked out of me. I could hear the other riders yelling 'rider down!'. I got up and moved my bike and my body to the side of the road as I watched the other riders turn around to help. I was having a hard time breathing and my back, left side, and chest were aching... the shaper pain from scrapes and road rash were a bit more acute, but familiar.
Eventually I was able to breath, but couldn't take deep breaths without pain in my back and chest. The first couple of times I tried to get up, I got dizzy spells, with tunnel vision, but after about 10 minutes was feeling like I could ride home. The other riders were checking my bike, looking over my helmet, trying to decide what to do next. There was a widespread 'AUGH' when I pulled up my shorts to show off my road rash. They weren't sure if I could ride back (because of the dizzy spells). There were several ideas on how to get me home, but I eventually assured them that I could ride. They kept a close eye on me for the first few miles, then realized I was ok (I was riding pretty good, except any climb or bump was a bit painful).
I came home and took a painful shower, fell asleep, then put some second skin on (tegaderm).
Still sore today, but glad it wasn't worse.
It was a large group to start, 20+ riders - several very fast riders - a few that would just hang on. At some point we would break into two groups and I would be with the faster group.
We started easy, then got faster as the day went on. The stronger riders rotated pulling at the front, many just hung in the back and took advantage of the draft. A tight paceline is a beautiful thing and we were in a pretty good groove with a nice solid pace on a road with gentle hills.
When we got to the bigger hills, the group broke in two and met a while later at a rest stop. I bought a bag of ice and shared it around - it was a hot day and the other riders seem to appreciate the idea.
After the turn around point, we hit Shed road, a 2 mile long climb - not too steep, but tiring. Another strong rider joined us and helped pushed the pace to the top. I couldn't keep up with the top 3 guys, which was a good signal that I wasn't on my game, but did lead the next group to the top at a steady, strong pace.
At the top, 8 or so of us went ahead, while the rest regrouped. A couple of minutes in, I lost my chain, recovering quickly, only to lose it again on an uphill, requiring me to dismount and put it on. The rest of the group slowed allowing me to catch up - this wore me out a bit. We then picked up the pace, and got faster... and faster...
Over 55 miles into the ride we are hammering down 282, going between 25 and 30 mph... I was pretty tired and had just finished pulling at the front and was at the back of the pack. I was drafting really close and a loud Mustang drove by - the rider in front of me swerved to the right and caught my wheel. The rest happened in slow motion...
My front wheel twisted and jerked the handlebars in my hands - I lost my balance and before I knew it, I was skidding along pavement with the wind knocked out of me. I could hear the other riders yelling 'rider down!'. I got up and moved my bike and my body to the side of the road as I watched the other riders turn around to help. I was having a hard time breathing and my back, left side, and chest were aching... the shaper pain from scrapes and road rash were a bit more acute, but familiar.
Eventually I was able to breath, but couldn't take deep breaths without pain in my back and chest. The first couple of times I tried to get up, I got dizzy spells, with tunnel vision, but after about 10 minutes was feeling like I could ride home. The other riders were checking my bike, looking over my helmet, trying to decide what to do next. There was a widespread 'AUGH' when I pulled up my shorts to show off my road rash. They weren't sure if I could ride back (because of the dizzy spells). There were several ideas on how to get me home, but I eventually assured them that I could ride. They kept a close eye on me for the first few miles, then realized I was ok (I was riding pretty good, except any climb or bump was a bit painful).
I came home and took a painful shower, fell asleep, then put some second skin on (tegaderm).
Still sore today, but glad it wasn't worse.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Prolotherapy update
Not happy to say that I've had 8 prolotherapy treatments now and my foot(torn plantar fascia) is still not better. We thought we had it pretty close after 7 treatments, and I started running on the treadmill 1/4mile walk, 1/4 run, 1/4mile walk, increasing the run portion by 1/4 mile each time I ran (ever other day). This was working well, but then I went to a picnic, running on uneven surfaces with no warm up. The next day, my foot was really sore. I wasn't planning on going back to the doctor, but I did and the ultrasound showed a larger tear than the previous visit, so I went with another prolotherapy treatment.
The other bad news is the prolotherapy went from $100 out of pocket to $175 out of pocket - I'm now over $900 out of pocket. Not happy.
I've found another doctor that will do PRP for under $400 out of pocket. Not sure if it will work. My current doctor wants to charge me $800 for PRP. I'm really getting tired of all of this crap.
Of course there is always the ESWT (extracorporeal shock wave therapy) option - $2500 out of pocket with no guarantees.
Appt. with Dr. #2 in two weeks for PRP consultation.
The other bad news is the prolotherapy went from $100 out of pocket to $175 out of pocket - I'm now over $900 out of pocket. Not happy.
I've found another doctor that will do PRP for under $400 out of pocket. Not sure if it will work. My current doctor wants to charge me $800 for PRP. I'm really getting tired of all of this crap.
Of course there is always the ESWT (extracorporeal shock wave therapy) option - $2500 out of pocket with no guarantees.
Appt. with Dr. #2 in two weeks for PRP consultation.
Sounds of Cycling
My senses tend to sharpen when riding my bike, particularly in the early morning ride to work. The course I normally take has many twists and turns, hills, and blind spots. It is a beautiful ride, but requires that I listen carefully to everything going on around me. As I road in to work yesterday, I contemplated the sounds of a bike ride and decided it would be a good blog post to include the best and worst sounds.
Best Sounds and Smells
"Click" into the pedal
Wind in your hair
Birds chirping
The occassional horse neighing
Whir and hum of your machine
Your own breathing
A waterfall or fast moving river
Wind and road shift as you accelerate around a corner
'click' followed by a soft 'clunk' when shifting
Worst Sounds
Car breaks squealing behind you
Metal against pavement
Teen drivers yelling at you when they pass, trying to... what... make you fall?
A car horn from a car you can't see
PSSST - a blowout
Whir and hum of someone elses machine passing you in a race
Tires spitting up on wet roads
Thunder
Sqeaking bike brakes
Any creaking, clicking or ticking noise from your bike that isn't normal
The muted crunch of live chipmunk or squirell bones under your tire
Best Sounds and Smells
"Click" into the pedal
Wind in your hair
Birds chirping
The occassional horse neighing
Whir and hum of your machine
Your own breathing
A waterfall or fast moving river
Wind and road shift as you accelerate around a corner
'click' followed by a soft 'clunk' when shifting
Worst Sounds
Car breaks squealing behind you
Metal against pavement
Teen drivers yelling at you when they pass, trying to... what... make you fall?
A car horn from a car you can't see
PSSST - a blowout
Whir and hum of someone elses machine passing you in a race
Tires spitting up on wet roads
Thunder
Sqeaking bike brakes
Any creaking, clicking or ticking noise from your bike that isn't normal
The muted crunch of live chipmunk or squirell bones under your tire
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