Did You Miss Me????

Well, maybe I haven't spent the entire time on the floor, but I have been down and a little out. I've spent the past two years injured and tired. The layoff was a cathartic one. I've renewed my body and spirit and rekindled my desire for many things. Cycling was just one of them, but so too were being a good husband and father, being a better leader at work, and simply enjoying life.

I am back from the dead...Pedal or Die!

Moving Time

I'm moving to a new home. Greener pastures, better views.

www.twowheelblogs.com/boz

If you're in the neighborhood stop by and say hello.

PS3 and Call of Duty

Okay, I bought this Playstation 3 for the Blu-ray player, but my 11 year old son tells me about Call of Duty and how you can play online. (He already has the game on his Xbox360, but hasn't been playing it online.) I agree to spend $60 for the game and now I'm hooked on it. It's a first person shooter game, but the objective is to run around and destroy the enemy. In short, it's what we did for hours at a time as kids in my neighborhood. If you get 'shot' you were to lie on the ground, slowly count to 10, and then re-join the game. Same premise here. If you get shot, you respawn and then look for the guy who nailed you and even the score.

All in all, I can pass at least 30 minutes playing the game before I realize it. I'm not hooked on the idea of beating the other players as much as I am at beating my dexterity which seems to hold me back. Fun stuff. Maybe this would be a good carrot to get me back on the trainer??

Nowhere Man

Man, the crash really took it out of me. However, this isn't a complaint so much as it's a reflection. I really wanted a break but left up to my modus operandi I would never take serious time off. That is, not while I'm around the house and the bikes. Sure, send me to Europe or a warm, sandy beach and I'll forget to ride as soon as the plane lifts off. But hanging around the house and being available to my friends, I'm too tempted to grab a bike and hit the trails or roll down the roads. When I think back to the night I crashed, my desire to just get out with my buddies is what put me in the saddle. I think this happened for a reason and I'm glad for the break. I'll have some weight to lose, but it will help me focus. I like hard training, because the pain in preparing your body gets to compete with the pain of preparing your mind. For those of us who race cross and TT's, you understand getting your mind prepared is sometimes the bigger battle. I'm going nowhere in a hurry and for the first time in a long time, I'm off the front of the pack!

And the Award Goes to

Acromioclavicular Joint Sprain.

Doctor called this afternoon to say it was a sprain of my Acromioclavicular Joint or AC sprain. The severity isn't high, so the treatment is with pain meds and physical therapy. The plan is to keep the range of motion high and work through some of the pain. I'm okay with that I guess. Albeit that's what I've been trying to do to some extent and at times it feels at though my arm is moving out of socket. That pain is intense and very similar to the pain from the accident. Since no further damage should incur, I suppose it's time to harden up, grit my teeth, and push for the line. Overall she thinks I should be able to get back on the bike for some light riding in the next couple of weeks and resume regular riding sometime in February.

Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes.

No News is Good News....I Guess

Still waiting on the results of Wednesday's MRI. Arm hasn't been much better. Stable was the term I was using until yesterday. My arm was consistently sore yesterday and today it was really bothersome. I can't lift anything that has any weight to it and putting any pressure on it is out of the question. I guess I should be a little bummed out, but everything happens for a reason and I'm going to make the best of this deal.

Besides, Charter Communications gave me more than enough to get angry at today by wasting 6+ hours of my time trying to troubleshoot a crappy modem they sent me. Maybe in my downtime I'll finally figure out this techno-computer stuff.

I appreciate all of the positive comments and will give an update as soon as I hear from my doctors. Peace!

Short Season

Got out Thursday night with some guys from the team for a night ride on the mountain bikes. Great night, cold and clear, frozen trails, and a very bright moon. Joining us was my brother-in-law, Andy, who's taking up mountain biking. My goal (as well as my wife and Andy's) was that he didn't get hurt. He didn't.

Towards the end of the ride, I planned to bunny hop a fallen tree and I guess I misjudged the distance. (Night riding can have its disadvantages.) As a result my rear wheel clipped the tree which acted like a diving board propelling my rear wheel upward and me headfirst over the bars onto my right shoulder. Result was a trip to the ER, xrays, and my arm in a sling. The good news is nothing is broken or dislocated. But, I don't see the orthopedic surgeon til Monday. Right now it's classified as a severe sprain and hope it remains the case otherwise it could be a short season.

More good news is the state TT isn't until August and cross follows 2 months later. I'll be ready regardless.