Affib Rider

Catchijng Up

2011-10-14T07:56:00.000-04:00

Been doing more riding than blogging these days and that in my opinion is a good thing. Had a really nice ride on a dreary evening a couple weeks ago with Andy, John, Duane, and Dave. John is in the best shape I have seen him in and Duane the exact opposite. The only thing Duane had going for him was his ridiculous choice of cycling attire. I actually thought he was just playing around at the start of the ride but it did not take long to realize that he was hurting and nobody seemed to mind making him suffer a little more than he probably wanted to.
As I have stated before, the metal bridges around here are starting to get a little precarious. I somehow managed not to kill myself again on this ride when my rear tire decided it wanted to be in the lead. Fortunately the bridge is only about 8 feet long and just before I reached the point of no return my wheels hit pavement righting me. I would rather be lucky than good any day, and this time I was very lucky.

A Bad Day For Frogs...Turtles, Not So Much.

2011-09-13T13:03:00.003-04:00

Have had allot of good rides lately. Some short, some long but all high effort.

Rode with Andrew and Matt Saturday morning in the fog, drizzle, rain and downpour. We had planned to ride at 7:30 and do 40, but decided to push it back to 8:30 to miss the rain. Unfortunate for us, and the 3 dead frogs and 1 undead box turtle we saw along the way, the rain did not hold off and we spent about 45 minutes riding in it. We also had an opportunity to cut it a little short so we did and ended up with a little over 30. I haven't ridden in that hard of a rain in a while now. It actually hurt when it hit my face, even at a slow pace.

The metal bridges around Indiana County have really started to get sketchy when they are we these days. Even the short bridge on Beagle Club road sent my rear wheel into a slide.

Set a New Post Ablation PR...

On the Tanoma Loop last Thursday. 19.6 mph/30 miles. It has been awhile sense I have done that loop solo. What really surprised me was that I did not even feel like riding that night and told my wife I was going to go short and would be back in about an hour. But once I got going I felt more like riding so @ about 4 miles in I started pushing it a little bit and by the 1/2 way point had bumped my average up to 19.5, which I was pretty happy with. So I decided to see how long I could maintain it which i was able to til the end.

Near the end of the ride I happened to pass a cyclist going in the opposite direction, so I turned to chase him down. it isn't often around here to encounter somebody on the road so if it isn't somebody we know we try to find out who they are. Hate to miss out on another riding partner.

So as I said I turned around and chased him down. It actually turned out to be a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a while due to conflicting schedules and such. That and the fact that his focus is on sprint triathlons so his rides are generally shorter than we usually do.

Great weekend of riding.....

2011-07-17T21:13:00.000-04:00

With friends I haven't ridden with in over a year. Started out the weekend with the "Gay Love" Loop. Click link for explanation. Rode with Brownie and Andrew. Tom joined us for the first hour but had to peal off due to family commitments. As we stopped for a quick snack grab for the rest of our outing is was mentioned that ouf first hour split was at over 18mph. Not a good start to a long hilly day and as the profile of the ride went vertical that quickly changed. I was hoping Steve might show up as well but he is little laid up right now due to a race accident last week. That's not actually him but his Achilles Tendon did make a brief appearance.

We had a great ride with allot of chatter and much effort. After a sandwich and some more visiting Brownie headed home to Mount Holly Springs and I headed for the man chair.

Today I was unable to roust Andrew for a recovery ride, so Hammer and I headed out for 25 miles of sweltering heat riding. Road a little harder than I had planned but after about 15 miles my legs felt invigorated so all was good.

Wow......

2011-07-15T19:14:00.002-04:00

Only one blog entry for this year. I need to get back to it......

There...that's 2.

Dont know if I ever posted this before........

2011-05-06T00:48:00.000-04:00

I was asked one time by a site that is devoted to write a summary of my time spent with atrial fibrillation, kind of a case study of sorts. You could actually go to their site and read it there if I could remember the web address. Anyway here it is, old news and boring but it might interest somebody....

I started my Afib journey in 1992 when I was 25 years old. At that time I was into bodybuilding and would occasionally experience runs of Afib in the evenings. I had visited a general practitioner at that time and had some tests done. Nothing ever came from the tests and the doctor said that there was nothing to worry about.

During my 18-year coexistence with this demon it took on many different personalities. It would go from being a nuisance to being totally nonexistent. Over that time I had ventured away form bodybuilding into competitive cycling. No Lance Armstrong by any means, but I road and raced as hard as I could. During that time, 1996-2009, is when the Afib took a more major role in my life. Again it was never a constant problem but a problem nevertheless. I always felt fortunate that my episodes never seemed to last more that 5-10 minutes, the majority being at the lower end as so many others seem to last so much longer than that. I was also always able to know I was going to have an attack prior to it actually happening. I can’t really describe the sensation or feeling I had but there was definitely a change in my body I could physically feel before the onset of and attack.

During the time period from 1996-2007 the Afib did little to affect my lifestyle. Very occasionally it would have attacks during rides and events but was always able to recover from them. One thing I noticed was that after an event I could ride as hard and as long as I wanted to and not have to worry about a second attack. This always puzzled me, as everything I ever read about others experiences with this was that they felt very tired and drained. I have two personal acquaintances that have the same affliction and one is able to actually continue with whatever he is doing during an event and the other was not. I can only concur from these to different reactions is that one is in Afib and the other flutter.

The other thing I found odd during this time was that my Afib would go dormant for long stretches of time. I went at time as long as 1 year with no episodes at all. Over that time I also discovered that the more fit I became the fewer issues I would have. I can only assume that it was the efficiency of my heart and muscles that caused this as most of my attacks on the bike were during recovery form hard efforts. I also believe that one of the attributing factors to my Afib was dehydrating and electrolyte deficiency, as my episodes would become more frequent as the season progressed into the hotter summer months and dissipate in the fall.

During this time frame 1996-2007 I had seen several doctors and 2 different cardiologists, had numerous tests and carried several different types of recording devices, as it was hard to get a recording of what was happening. There was only one time that they got a recording under a controlled environment. This was during a stress test early on. The test went fine but they decided to leave me hooked up for a while afterwards. Just as they had decided to unhook me I went in to Afib. My heart rate went form 74 to 234 and all hell broke lose. I guess the nurse had never seen this before and she got all freaked out. The doctor however was very calm and said he could fix me but that was the last I ever heard of that as he was not my regular cardiologist.

In more recent years 2008-2009 my Afib had become a totally different animal. The duration of the episodes really did not change that much but they had become more frequent and at times longer. I also started to experience chest pain, which was something I had never experienced in the past. Looking back I also believe that I was starting to experience flutter at this time but have no way of verifying it. I was still able to ride but was not able to recover from an episode as I was before. There were also times that I would have to call for somebody to come pick me up.

There is so much more I could write about but I believe that this pretty much gets to the point.

Known Triggers:

As my Afib was so inconsistent over the years it was hard to pinpoint what really would and would not trigger an episode. But this is a list of what I believe were some of the more reliable ones.

MSG – I would often times have an attack after eating Chinese foods, which are notorious for high amounts of MSG.

Alcohol – Though not a constant, I did frequently have episodes following alcohol consumption. Early on it would be when I would have a little too much to drink. In later years a couple of beers would do the trick.

Dehydration – As stated in my overview.

Electrolyte imbalance – As stated in my overview.

Stress

Anger/Frustration

Talking about it – Believe it or not I had many episodes following a discussion about it. Nobody that ever rode with me on a regular basis would ever mention or ask me how I was feeling, as it was sure to rigger an event.

Lack of sleep – I was always more prone to have an attack when fatigued or after a night with little sleep. Nothing better for your Afib than a good 8 hours of sleep.

Milk – Not sure why but I used to drink a bunch of milk but noticed that my episodes became less frequent when I stopped. This was a long time ago but I remember reading at the time about something in milk that I felt could be associated with Afib.

Caffeine – I am not positive that this was a trigger for me, as it does not seem to be for others. I never did drink coffee or soda so this was an easy one for me to avoid.

Known Deterrents:

I was never able to find anything that would help consistently alleviate or eliminate my Afib. I know that there are many that control theirs with supplementation but I was never able to find the right combination.

· http://www.afibbers.org - This is a wealth of information for those with Afib. There are discussions and always somebody out there to give you advice on what is working for them. It is also nice to have others to talk to that are or halve experienced what you are going through.

· 800 mg Magnesium/day – I was never able to get any relief form this but may afibbers do. I however have continued to take it eve after my ablation.

· Potassium – I have found that since my ablation I occasionally have PAC’s, although the more time that elapses the less frequent they become. This seems to straighten them out right away.

· Taurine –

The Ablation:

I had my ablation done in August of 2009 at UPMC Shadyside Cardiovascular Institute, Pittsburgh PA, and have been in NSR ever since. The decision to do this seemed a long time coming but again until recent years the Afib was never really a showstopper. Not only that, but with so many advances in the procedure of the years waiting, was the best option.

In June of 2009 my Afib had reached a point where everybody in my life said it was time for me to see my cardiologist. They had been trying to persuade me for nearly a year and I also felt it was time. (I will speak to the importance of good cardiologist later).

It had been a couple of years since I had been to see him and I had described the latest turn that my Afib had taken. We discussed options that I may have along with setting me up an appointment with an EP. He also gave me a portable event monitor to carry with me and told me to continue as I was but to ease off some.

I had an appointment with the EP in early July. I must say I was a little apprehensive as everything I had read on ablation is that you should have it done by somebody that has done hundreds of the procedures and on a regular basis. When my EP walked through the door I knew there was no way that he could have the type of experienced others had suggested but after speaking with him he seemed very confident and knowledgeable. I had also had a friend that had this same group do his ablation a couple of year’s prior with great success. So we discussed my options, ablation or meds, and decided that since I had been dealing with this for so many years that the ablation was the way to go. So we scheduled for late September. In the meantime he told me that I could continue to ride but to be less aggressive.

As the weeks until my ablation went by my Afib became even worse. It got to a point where I gave up cycling altogether, as I could not even ride easy without having an episode either during or after a ride. I also did not realize that I was also starting to experience regular bouts of flutter. A few weeks went by and my EP called to say that there was a change on the schedule and that I could get in to have my ablation done a month sooner, which was very exciting and stressful. This is a major surgery and I felt was mentally prepared for September but not August. I was however glad to get an earlier date s to get it over with.

Now I can’t exactly remember the time frame for the next part but it was getting close to being a few weeks until my ablation. I was scheduled for a stress test and some other tests before the procedure. The stress test was 1 week prior so it was at least a week or two before that that my heart went into constant flutter. Now I am not sure if it was 24/7 but it was for the majority of the time. Now I did not know that it was flutter at the time. That was determined during the stress test.

The day of the stress test my heart was still racing off and on but I did not expect for it to be a problem, but it was. I was unable to do a normal walking test and had to do a drug-induced stress test. That was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. I have pushed myself to the brink many times on the bike but never had I felt that bad. This is where the realized that I was in flutter, which is weird as flutter had never presented itself in the past. My heart rate was a pretty constant 150 bpm. The doctor put me on Metoprolol 25mg/day at this time. As the days progressed to my ablation the flutter became more persistent so they increased this dose to 50mg/day.

The flutter was more annoying than anything. I felt pretty good but was really hyped up and was not sleeping more that a couple of hours a day. I lived this way up until I was admitted into the hospital the day before the ablation. Once I was admitted to the hospital they gave me drugs that slowed my heart rate down to a more manageable rate. The pre-op testing was really no big deal. I guess the worst test was the TTI. This is where they insert a probe into your esophagus to look for clots behind the heart. This seems to be a big deal for some people but it was not nearly as bad as others made it out to be.

The ablation itself went well. There was a positive energy in the room during the pre-op and I maintained my sense of humor with my EP as well as all the staff that would be involved with my procedure. My procedure took 10 hours. They did a flutter ablation as well as AV node.

Post Ablation:

The procedure went well and I awoke in the intensive care unit. This was the worst part for me. 10 hours on my back, on a surgical table and now I had to remain on my back for another 12. The pain in my back was excruciating. After a while I had a new nurse come on duty. He was very well informed on what I had been through and stated that the most important thing to do was to keep my legs straight so as along as I did that I could lie on my side. What a relief that was. Nothing else major happened that day except wonderful NSR. I was seeing some weird readout on the screen but these; I came to find out were normal. It is called shadowing, I think, and happens when you move around and is not caused by a strange heartbeat.

The next couple of days in the hospital were uneventful. I was started on blood thinners but nothing else. I was also stuck in ICU as there was no other beds available elsewhere. After a couple of days, I was moved from ICU to a regular room. During this time, I was not confined to my bed and was encouraged to move and walk around. That evening I was feeling a little out of sorts. I was seeing some weird blips and waves on my monitor, shadowing, and I wish I had known this was normal. I soon went into Afib, which kind of freaked me out at first, but then I remembered reading that this can happen as the heart is irritated. My EP had also opted to not start me on any anti-arrhythmic drugs as per my request. If I could go back I would have requested to be put on this type of drug immediately to help prevent this from happening.

I converted on my own in about 6 hours and that was the last episode I have had since then. They started me on Flecainide 100 mg/day the very next day. I was already taking Metoprolol 25mg/day (they need to be taken together) along with, Warafarin. My stay in the Hospital was prolonged due to the fact that my NRI levels would not stabilize. I ended up being in the hospital for 7 days.

Once I got home life went pretty much back to normal. I was told I could start to exercise but to take it easy. I started to jog and was walking to work every day. I soon quit jogging as I felt that I might be pushing myself too hard and did not want to foul things up. I had to go every other day to have my blood levels checked. They could not get my dosing right and when they finally did it was time to come off of the blood thinners, which was in December. I however remained on the Fecainide and Metoprolol until April.

I was given an event monitor to wear for 1 week to look for any abnormalities. After that I was weaned off of the drugs at my follow up appointment, Flecainide first, then Metoprolol. I took my last Flecainide in April and the last Metropolol in early May. I have had no real problems to speak of. I still do have the occasional PAC/PVC not sure which, but those continue to dissipate with time. I am back to more aggressive cycling but am still limiting my heart rate and gradually allowing myself to push back to my Maximum Heart Rate. One thing I have noticed is that my heart does not respond to effort as quickly as it did before but I am assuming that the heart is learning new pathways or recalibrating. I have also noticed that I have only been able to raise my heart rate incrementally. One week I can only get it to 140 then a week or so later 150 and so on. On the other hand I am able to sustain efforts that would normally fall into line with my normal MHR so I can only assume at this point that I will be able to reach that point again.

I have continued to take the Magnesium, Potassium and Taurine. For the magnesium, I take approx. 800 mg a day. I also use trace mineral drops throughout the day mixed with my water. I use a Potassium powder that I sprinkle on my food instead of salt. Not sure of the amount I am getting but many people take 2000 mg a day. I take the Taurine in a capsule form twice a day. This regimen was unable to help me before but I am hoping that it will keep me from having any future difficulties.

Medications:

Over the years I was only on a couple of different drugs. I however was never on an anti-rhythmic until after my ablation.

· Digoxin (Rate Control/ Beta Blocker) – This was the very first drug I was ever put on. It was the very early stages of my Afib and prescribed by my first Cardiologist. It made me feel horrible and I was unable to get my heart rate up. It also for some reason seemed to make things worse.

· Tiazac - Had no apparent affect on me being able to perform on the bike. Not real clear if it had any affect on the frequency of Afib episodes.

· Metoprolol (Rate control) – Completely eliminated my ability to raise my heart rate. Did little to slow my heart rate prior to my ablation.

· Flecainide (Anti-Rhythmic) – Many people are able to successfully control their Afib with this drug. Must be used in correlation with a rate control such as Metoprolol.

When I was on the Flecainide and Metoprolol my resting heart rate would go as low as 40 BPM, which is about 10-15, beats lower than my normal. It dropped below that a few times but not very often. My blood pressure would also drop to abnormally low levels causing me to be light headed occasionally. I also experience terrible nightmares during this time. Often times waking up only to go back to sleep and pick up where the dream left off.

Choosing a Cardiologist or Electro Physiologist:

I cannot stress enough the importance of choosing a good Cardiologist. A good cardiologist will listen to you and fully discuss all options before recommending what he feels is best. Just because he does not do what you think he should do does not mean he is no the right one. They must be willing to listen to everything you say, not start writing prescriptions the moment he walks into the room. He should make you feel comfortable about your situation and make you feel confident in what he is doing in terms of your care. I ditched my first Cardiologist, as he would not listen to what I was saying and started writing prescriptions instead of running tests to find out what was really going on. Being younger at the time it was hard to find one that was in tune to my lifestyle. I was fortunate to find one on my second attempt. He was, in my opinion much more qualified and willing to listen than the first. He also immediately ran tests, to find the core problem instead of throwing drugs at it.

As far as Electro Physiologists go I am unsure. There is much merit in those that say the more procedures performed the better. On the other hand I feel that the best doctors in this field, or any field for that matter, are yet to come. Familiarity can bread indifference and routine which is what I believe you don’t want in a surgeon, as every situation is different. You want somebody that has your best interest at heart. Somebody you feel comfortable with as they will have your life in their hands.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T11:09:00.000-05:00

Though Veterans Day Was A Couple of Weeks Ago.............

2010-11-24T15:37:00.001-05:00

I did not come across this article until this afternoon.We should all take a moment out of our day this Thanksgiving to give thanks for those that have and are still serving our great nation. The injuries of war are not always physical and the ultimate sacrifice not always death.

War is a drug

by Charles D. Whittington, Jr

When soldiers enter the military from day one, they begin to train and are brain washed to fight and to handle situations in battle. We train and train for combat, and then when we actually go to war, it is reality and worse than what we have trained for. We suffer through different kinds of situations.

The Army never taught how to deal with our stress and addictions. War is a drug because when soldiers are in the Infantry, like me, they get used to everything, and fast. I got used to killing and after a while it became something I really had to do. Killing becomes a drug, and it is really addictive. I had a really hard time with this problem when I returned to the United States, because turning this addiction off was impossible. It is not like I have a switch I can just turn off. To this day, I still feel the addictions running through my blood and throughout my body, but now I know how to keep myself composed and keep order in myself, my mind. War does things to me that are so hard to explain to someone that does not go through everything that I went through. That’s part of the reason why I want to go back to war so badly, because of this addiction.

Over in Iraq and Afghanistan killing becomes a habit, away of life, a drug to me and to other soldiers like me who need to feel like we can survive off of it. It is something that I do not just want, but something I really need so I can feel like myself. Killing a man and looking into his eyes, I see his soul draining from his body; I am taking away his life for the harm he has caused me, my family, my country. Killing is a drug to me and has been ever since the first time I have killed someone. At first, it was weird and felt wrong, but by the time of the third and fourth killing it feels so natural. It feels like I could do this for the rest of my life and it makes me happy.

There are several addictions in war, but this one is mine. This is what I was trained to do and now I cannot get rid of it; it will be with me for the rest of my life and hurts me that I cannot go back to war and kill again, because I would love too. When I stick my blade through his stomach or his ribs or slice his throat’s a feeling that I cannot explain, but feels so good to me, and become addicted to seeing and acting out this act of hate, and violence against the rag heads that hurt our country. Terrorists will have nowhere to hide because there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers like me who feel like me and want their revenge as well.

C.J. Whittington served as an Infantry Squad Leader in Iraq fromOct2005 to June2007. Today C.J. is a combat wounded veteran who is currently a student majoring in General Studies at CCBC.

I Would Like to Formally Apologise....

2010-11-18T13:10:00.001-05:00

To the 4 or 5 of you that regularly come here to read whatever drivel is on my mind at any particular time. Frankly I, like most people, have been too busy these days and something has to suffer for it. So my blogging and cycling have taken a back seat to hunting and other things. Not that I haven't had numerous thoughts that were blog worthy its strictly a time thing.

Equally Yoked.....

Now this is term you may or may not be familiar with. I mostly here it used in the Christian community, in referring to marriage. The term comes from II Corinthians 6:14 "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
But all too often I see some Christians taking this statement too far to the extreme. Now I am in total agreement that in marriage it is important that both parties should be on the same spiritual page but in our daily lives I am far from convinced. Granted we must be careful in how we choose those that we will spend our time with or call our friends. And children, in their innocence, are often times not the best judges of character. We must also be firm in our beliefs as to not be misdirected or lead astray. But if you are a Christian, you need look no further than to Jesus himself to see the real value in engaging and inserting yourself into the lives of those that aren't equally yoked to you. I personally have friends from one end of spectrum to the other, both believers and non-believers, and I count myself fortunate to have them all in my life. I would also hope that being my friend would have an impact on them as well.
I feel sorry for those living in their elitist bubble never stepping outside to touch the lives of those they probably should be. Constantly appreciating each other for their theological prowess and taking little time to truly practice it.

Busy!!!!

2010-10-21T08:23:00.000-04:00

10 new puppies....enough said.

Of Bicycles and Robots........

2010-09-24T07:54:00.001-04:00

What do these two things have in common you might ask. Nothing other than the fact that they have both been competing for my time the past few days.

Riding has been easy....

Robots, not so much. I am not sure if it is the weather, or a culmination of the miles ridden this year but I am feeling really good these days. Still don't have any races on tap for thsi year, and of course scheduling conflicts are eliminating any chances of me doing a sure to be fun event this Friday evening. I am hoping that next year will be better for me so far as being able to do more events. Our schedule should ease up a bit once my wife finishes up her degree in the spring.

About the Robot......

There is nothing more powerful than the imagination of a young child, and as they grow so goes the aforementioned. Their thought process, though young, hasn't the boundaries of experience and to them anything is possible. I believe that this is what sets the truly innovative apart form the rest of the herd. Somehow they are able to detract their minds from these experiences allowing their minds to perceive things differently than the rest. And far be it from me or any other adult to squash said imaginations. So when my 7 year old son came home the other day and told me that his project for this Friday was for him to come up with an invention, and make a poster describing it, I say that will be easy. But of course nothing is how it seams, and he not only wants to make the poster, but he also wants a functioning robot. So as his excitement exudes during his description of said robot to me, how could I possibly say no.

Now I don't know how things operate in your home but for whatever reason my family has become spoiled. Not so much in the monetary or possession sense, my last name is not Rockefeller, but in the knowledge that they can count on me to come through for them in a pinch and even at times ,when I might fall short, they know that I have given 200% effort for their cause. So a functioning robot, form stuff we have just lying around the house, in 1/12 evenings........"Sure son, we can do that." Son's response "COOL!!!"

So during this whole tirade of excitement, my mind is racing through a plethora of ideas, often times being derailed by another thought or idea fired off by my son as to what he wants his robot to do. Fortunately for me his ideas aren't written in stone and he is quite content for some of his functional ideas to be put on hold as this is only a prototype project. I wonder if he really understood what that word prototype meant when I threw it out at him. Just in case, I explained to him that time constraints would probably only allow for a moving robot with blinking lights. Blinking lights was something he had not thought of and all other ideas went by the wayside. Which was good for me as I really don't have time for functioning arms and hands. I was also able to convince him to use the Halloween costume I had made him a couple of years ago as the body for the robot, which was easily done.

So the project got completed on time, and do to time constraints I was unable to have it do everything I wanted it to but the boy seems to be happy so all is good.

Riding Against The Clock....

2010-09-16T10:46:00.000-04:00

Or at least that is how it felt. This time of year all rides seam to go that way. Shorter days mean less time for riding in the evening. 50 mile rides slowly dwindle to 20. Every day it seams to get darker sooner than the last, and the shadows stretch farther. Quite the opposite of spring when it seams to take forever for the sun to decide to hang around and play for a while, though will admit the cooler temperatures and the smell in the air are rather attractive, in their own right. I guess it is just another part of the love affair we all have with cycling.

So maybe I was exageratting.......

2010-09-14T20:18:00.000-04:00

A little in my last post about my cycling abilities............Or maybe not and this is just a ruse to get that link in.

Shoulda.....woulda....coulda.....

2010-09-13T22:18:00.001-04:00

The way I am feeling these days I should have raced this past weekend. Not that I feel I would have done any better that the next guy that has not raced all season. But I think I could have held my own only for a little while. If nothing else I would have been able to see some friends I have not seen in a long time. Oh well life is too short to ponder on what could have been. I did however put in some pretty hard miles in the saddle the past couple of weeks, and have had some good quality time with the family so it all is good.

Thougth I would share this.........

2010-09-02T07:34:00.000-04:00

I get email updates form Ransomed Heart Ministries every day and this one really spoke to me.....

True strength does not come out of bravado. Until we are broken, our life will be self-centered, self-reliant; our strength will be our own. So long as you think you are really something in and of yourself, what will you need God for? I don't trust a man who hasn't suffered; I don't let a man get close to me who hasn't faced his wound. Think of the posers you know-are they the kind of man you would call at 2:00 A.M., when life is collapsing around you? Not me. I don't want cliches; I want deep, soulful truth, and that only comes when a man has walked the road I've been talking about. As Frederick Buechner says,

To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do-to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst-is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed. (The Sacred Journey)

Only when we enter our wound will we discover our true glory. As Robert Bly says, "Where a man's wound is, that is where his genius will be." There are two reasons for this. First, the wound was given in the place of your true strength, as an effort to take you out. Until you go there you are still posing, offering something more shallow and insubstantial. And therefore, second, it is out of your brokenness that you discover what you have to offer the community. The false self is never wholly false. Those gifts we've been using are often quite true about us, but we've used them to hide behind. We thought that the power of our life was in the golden bat, but the power is in us. When we begin to offer not merely our gifts but our true selves, that is when we become powerful.

(Wild at Heart , 137-38)

In A Rut.......

2010-08-25T20:33:00.007-04:00

Both on the cycling and blogging fronts. My actual riding is ok but my ambition is low. I've been riding well and on a regular basis but have been having trouble finding the motivation to do it and lately I have even been balking at doing longer rides. It is almost as if I am on autopilot right now when it comes to cycling. This however is normal for me this time of year so I will just plod along until everything starts to click again. I'm not sure if it is the coming change in the season, the long miles ridden to this point of the impending hunting season that brings this on.

Even though my motivation to ride is low, my eagerness to ride unridden roads has not. I love the unbeaten path, and over the years I have learned to enjoy broken pavement and the occasional gravel road. "No Winter Maintenance" was the battle cry of a couple good cycling friends of mine and we were always up for the challenge. One has since move away and the other spends all of his time MTB now as he has been soured by the road racing scene. I did one such ride last evening much to the shagrin of my fellow cyclists.

The Road Less Traveled........

For the second day in a row we have chosen to do rides that include the least familiar roads that we can find. Each of us on the rides the past 2 nights have actually been on roads that we have never been on before. And that is saying allot as we have been riding around here forever and have 10,000's of miles logged. Needless to say it makes riding a little more interesting and had made my slump more tolerable.

Riding Allot........

2010-08-08T21:45:00.000-04:00

Racing? Well, not so much. I did do on MTB race this year which is more than I did the past 2 years so that is an improvement...I guess. My original plan was to do some racing this year, as I have been unable to due to the Affib, and was really looking forward to it. But the reality of it is I have been just enjoying being on the bike and spending time with the family. Not that racing does not entice me anymore, its just not what I am driven to do right now.

Riding this year has been a blast though. To be able to go out and ride hard and not have to worry about having any issues is grand, and a place I did not know I would ever get to.

My Legs Hurt.......

And I am not sure as to why. I am guessing that I am starting to get a little dehydrated, which I am notoriously famous for. Up until lately I have been doing a pretty good job of staying hydrated but seam to have fallen off of the hydration bandwagon. Not completely off, but like a cowboy being drug behind his horse just barely holding onto the reigns.

Though the signs point toward dehydration I have noticed that the ache in my legs goes away as my HR reaches 160 and up. The higher my HR the better my legs feel....weird. I will have to tale to my E.P. at my next visit and ask him what he thinks.

Beer and Bikes........

So Andy and I were out for a ride today and I was verifying my high heart rate no leg pain theory and this car goes by us with the driver yelling something at us. Andy and I look at teach other, shrug our shoulder and continue on. a few minutes later we hear a car speeding up behind us. In a nervous voice Andy says "Thatss not them again is it?". I no sooner say "I don't know." and thwack...I'm hit with a beer bottle/can, pretty full I would guess as it felt heavy as it hit me. I look at Andy and he is wiping beer from the side of his face and not realizing I had been hit. Unfortunately as a cyclist you have no recourse unless you can somehow get the license number or on the odd occasion the driver happens to stop somewhere up the road. Neither of which happened. Oh well, nobody got hurt too badly so I will just take Solis in that.....That and Carma.

One Year Aniversary

2010-07-30T09:21:00.001-04:00

So as I write this is is one year to the day that I had my Ablation for Affib/Flutter. How thankful and fortunate I am to have had doctors that were so skilled and in tune with my needs as a patient. I know that there will always be a chance that someday I could experience problems or possibly need another procedure but then again maybe not. Whatever the case I feel better than I have in many many years and am enjoying every second of NSR.

Riding For Charity.......

So I spent this past weekend riding my bike in a charity event. I participated in the MS 150 Keystone Country Ride. And for any of you that have done one of these rides you know that there is great opportunity to either ride for enjoyment or at race pace. I chose the latter of the 2 riding with some good friends of mine. After 150 miles of attacks, long pulls and all out TT efforts, I realized that I am still not back to 100% and also if sub 150 lb guys were required to wear 30 pound packs on their backs I would start back to racing yesterday.

The ride was allot of fun and I was able to reconnect with a bunch of old friends and made some new ones as well.


Team Elaine

Tool.........

According to the Urban Dictionary a Tool is One who lacks the mental capacity to know he is being used. A fool. A cretin. Characterized by low intelligence and/or self-esteem. Unfortunately I had the displeasure of encountering one this weekend. I am also amazed at these rides that people actually treat it as if tit is a race "Hundred Mile Heroes" so to speak. They cant stand it when people pass them and are a menace to the less experienced rider. I saw said tool cause no less than two accidents this weekend and he and his crew also attempted to crash me out as well. Now normally I would let this go but this guy not only represents a well known team he is also the owner of a well known shop.

Breakthrough.....

2010-06-11T07:49:00.003-04:00

No. Not an epiphany nor some great eye opening enlightenment. Just a visit from a bad heart rhythm. Now it is unclear as to weather or not this was afib or some other arrhythmia. All I know is, it is not what I was expecting to happen. It did thankfully not last too long, about an hour. I had read of a method of stopping an attack so I actually started it before I got hold of my EP. He actually said that I had done the right thing and to take a larger dosage.
Now I would have expected this to happen on Saturday during or after the race. Or maybe even the next day. But this many days after, while sleeping is a real oddity for me. I have not felt 100% since Tuesday evening, when i did actually notice a blip in my rhythm, kind of like when you get an itch and you go to scratch, it but before you get the chance it goes away. Also if this was the time before my ablation I would expect it as well, as this is normally the time of year I would experience the most trouble with it.
So I don't know. Was it just a fluke? Did I deplete my electrolytes too much on Saturday and the following couple of days of riding? Am I going to start having trouble again? I don't know and I don't think anybody can 100% sure say. All I can do is put it behind me and keep doing what I have been doing and see what happens.
We will see.........

Sketchy decents, lots of single track, mud

2010-06-10T12:36:00.001-04:00

And stream crossing with water almost up to your chest. Now that's the way to put on a Mountain Bike Race......

So after many years of conflicting events, work and who knows what else, I finally had the opportunity to participate in the "Dash For Cash Mountain Bike Race". All I can say is if you have never done this one you are really missing out. Doug Crytzer is race promoter and as an avid mountain biker and adventure racer he knows what it takes to layout a challenging and fun course.

Everybody had a really good time and I got to talk to a bunch of people that I have not seen in a couple of years as I have not been racing due to my former heart problems.

The race itself was a blast

The race is set up in a time trial format, riders leaving in pairs in 60 sec. intervals. Which is pretty cool as it really eliminates any real congestion on the trails. There are three different categories. Beginner (5 miles), Sport (14.4 miles) and Expert (19.4 miles). I did the Sport as I haven' raced in a couple of years and I have not been on the MTB for quite some time so I figured my skills were going to be pretty rusty. I also had heard allot about this course beforehand and figured to do the 14.4 miles was going to be a pretty good challenge and I was not disappointing. Lots of great single track, sketchy descents and enough rocks, roots and logs to keep you busy and on your back. I started with a fellow teammate, Richy, without a warm-up. Neither of us were sure if this was a good idea but what the heck. I let Richy get in front and set the pace and just sat on his wheel. It has been several years since I have done any type of racing so I figured this would be a good way to start. Richy had done this race in the past, and has been mountain bike allot this year so I figured I would just follow his lines for as long as I could.
We were rolling along pretty good, passing some p[people that had started before us, and I cant remember how it happened but all of a sudden Richy was on my wheel. I was feeling much better than I though I would and just set a steady pace. My goal for the race was to try to keep my heart rate in the 165-175 range, as I still have not relined myself to this point.I looked at my HRM, 170bpm, Right where I wanted to be. So we kept rolling along. This first part of the course wasn't the most technical part of the course but it did have its share of rocks, roots and mud, and was pretty slimy. All of a sudden we come into this section with a bunch of rocks and I find my self on my back. As I got up Richy rode by. I got back on rode a short distance and back on my back. This happened one more time as I was approaching Richy's wheel and I never did get back on.
I decided at this point my technical skills were waning and that I should just set a good rhythm and forget about trying to catch Richy's wheel again. So I settled in and just kept pounding. We eventually came to the first Hair raising decent and I decided to just sit back and hang on. As I was descending I saw several riders walking their bikes. I even caught a glance of Richy again and probably would have caught him but as I approached one of the other riders there was not enough room for me to get by , got hung up , and had to dismount. I got past him and down the rest of the way to the first water crossing and saw Richy just getting out of the water. This was first and worst water crossing of the day. It had rained allot leading up to race day and water levels were still rising. They had heavy cables stretched across the stream to hold onto so I grabbed hold of one and jumped in. Unfortunately I was on the downstream side of the cable and should have been on the upstream side. So when I got to the other side I had to maneuver myself and my bike under the cables before I could get out of the water.
Once out of the water, and started to remount my bike, I came to the realization that I probably should start thinking about a new pair of mountain bike shoes. The fast current had undone the Velcro Straps, so I had to take a moment to reattach everything. This happened a couple more times during some of the other water crossings as well. So back on the saddle and into my rhythm. As I started back my legs felt like anchors, this happened after every water crossing that we had to dismount for. It must have been due to the current and the colder temperatures of the water.

Old Friends.....

So after the race and post race festivities, which included roasted pork, beef and all the fixings, with good live entertainment in the background. I headed towards home to catch up with some High School classmates. They had decided to have a picnic and hit a local watering hole later that evening. Unfortunately the turnout was small due to the weather and my time I had to spend at the bar was limited. It was however good to see everybody that was there and hopefully the next time more folks will show up.

Recalibration.........

2010-05-21T07:50:00.000-04:00

Or at least I think that is what is going on with my heart these days. I have been off of the drugs now for a few weeks and I am feeling great. My heart rate seems to be a little out of whack though. The highest heart rate I have seen to this point is 174 before I shut it down. I had decided to incrementally increase my efforts over the next 2 months, but could not resist pushing it a little.
The other thing I have been noticing is that my heart does not respond to effort as it has in the past. I am not sure if this is due to my heart finding new pathways or if it will be a permanent issue. I have noticed though that I am able to sustain an effort at a rate that is right in line with my normal MHR so I am not complaining.

Old news...........

2010-05-14T12:23:00.000-04:00

Blogging not so much. The biking has been going well considering I can only drive my heart rate up to around 140. Anything above that requires a 220 effort and even then I can barely hit 150. My hearts response to effort is slow as well so 140 feels more like 220 anyway. Thankfully this is all due to the beta blockers I am still taking. I tapered off of the anti-rhythmics last week and will do the same with these stupid things next week.

The good thing about this is that my heart beats normally now, the bad part is it wil be a while before I will be doing any racing. Even after I stop the final drugs it wil probably take a couple more weeks to finally rid my body of these evil drugs completely.

So.....How does an 80 mile ride

2010-03-22T18:57:00.008-04:00

Turn into a Century. Was it the missed turn early in the ride (+2)? Was it the desire to go see the groundhog in Punxsutawny (+6). Or the desire not to retrace our previous steps (+4)? Of course then when you reach the point where you are going to have a over 90 miles anyway, is it foolish not to just go for 100. Again I am not sure but what I am sure of is that everybody had a great time.

This past Saturday 8 riders form AG3r and IUP cycling

Headed out for what would turn out to be an epic early season ride. Little did we know that we would be doing 100 miles at the onset or that our sense of humor would be needed later in the day. Our original plan was to do a modified Smicksburg loop to give us in the proximity of 80 miles. As fellow cyclist you know that to come up with a ride that will give you the exact mileage you are looking for is hard to do and even harder on the fly.

After missing the first turn on the ride due to the fact that the ride leader stopped to lose his knee warmers, we continued on a different route. Nobody seamed to mind as the weather was perfect, the company great, the scenery fabulous and nobody but myself new were we were headed. After some great rolling hills and a nice long section through the valley, we finally ascended to 119 outside of Punxsutawney.

Somebody had a great desire to see Phil and we all needed to refuel, so off we went.

Once we topped off our tanks we headed out the backside of Punxy twoards North Point and along Mahoning Creek.Little did we know that our sens of humor and hip waders would be soon be called upon. We were little more than 5 miles from smicksburg when we encountered this sign.

Undaunted by a meer warning we continued on only to find that our road ride had would soon become a cyclocross ride. So we pressed on through the muck and debris until we came to this.

Had I known what was going to happen next I would have had my camera ready. Actually a video would have been better. Steve tried to ride through the water and was doing well until he headed toward eh edge and ended up in water up to his handlebars.He then attempted to get off his bike and got stuck in his pedal. Words do not do this entire situation justice. That's Steve in th background trying to get unclipped.

So after wading through the water we carried on through smicksburg and back to Indiana.

Not a whole lot happened on the way home. Some good conversation and a final stop for fluids about 9 miles from town. This was also some of the riders first century and at lest ones first + 50 ride.

Finally......

2010-03-09T18:39:00.000-05:00

Got to spend some quality time with my bike. Steve , Sean and I headed out Saturday afternoon for a 40 miler. The air was a little cool but the sun and sheer pleasure of being out after such a harsh winter made it more than tolerable.

The day started out in the morning with a 1 hour spin class. Then my son and I spent some quality time sledding, then it was time to hit the road. We headed out to do the Eastern Shore loop, which is fairly hilly, as many rides around here are. I was concerned about road conditions though as many of the roads on this loop are questionable and I was also worried about ice that may be on the roads as many of the roads don't get much sun. Much to my surprise the roads weren't that bad and mostly dry.

Sundays Soiree......

Steve, Hanna and I headed out Sunday afternoon for what would be Steve and I's 2nd 40 mile day of the weekend. A bit more leisurly thatn teh previouse day. Not that Saturday was a hammerfest. But 2 long days back to back early in the season makes for some tired legs. The MC loop is probably one of teh flattest 40 mile ride you will do around here. Not that its a table top but there are allot of long flat rolling sections adn some good payback for the climbs that you have to do.

Ready!!!!!!!!!

2010-03-05T19:03:00.000-05:00

GET ON YOU BIKES AND RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least that is the plan for this weekend. The sun has finally found its way through the clouds and it is supposed to be at least in the 40's and sunny all weekend. Hopefully will get out with the "Disenchanted One".

I really need.......

An outlet these days. I am pretty sure it is the meds I am taking, at least I hope it is. Nightmares and anger have been eating me alive lately. It is pretty much driving me nuts and quite frankly, I could do without either.

Torqued.......

2010-02-09T20:24:00.014-05:00

So I was working on the "Disenchanted Ones" bike the other evening. He was having what he thought was a problem with his new-used ceramic bottom bracket. So he brought it over for me to swap out for an FSA. Of course the FSA would not work with his SRAM Cranks (STUPID). So I put the ceramic back in and tightened it up. Now, like all new 2 piece cranks they have a torque to which they want you to tighten the crank. The problem I have found though is that, when the crank is new this may work, but take it on and off a couple of times and you can through those numbers out the window. After tightening the bolt I noticed that the crank had a little play in it side to side and I am pretty sure that this is what he was noticing when he was riding. So I tightened it to the point wrere the play was gone, the cranks turned smoothly, and I called it good. I told him to keep an eye on it but I am pretty sure it will be ok.

Speaking of torque..............

I have often wondered about carbon handlebar manufacturers. They almost never publish torque specs for their bars but instead rely on the torque settings recommend for the stem clamping surface. I suppose that they have manufactured their bars to withstand a torque much higher than the manufacturer recommends, but in the end does that relinquish them of any responsibility if you do damage the bars?

That reminds me of a story..........

So a very good friend purchased a bike. The shop built it up and torqued everything to spec. For whatever reason, many months later, he goes to another shop for a "Professional fitting". Now those of you in the bike business please take no offense. Having somebody that is knowledgeable in bike fitting, set you up on your bike initially is a great idea. I cant tell you how many times I have seen somebody sell a bike to a person just because it was on the floor, and they could move product that day. Right or wrong that happens., usually to people buying comfort bikes or novice riders. But even Andy Pruitt will tell you, "Most standardized fit systems will get you within 2cm of this fictional "perfect Fit". At the Boulder Center, we can get a little closer. But over time your body will lead you to make adjustments that will bring you within this "Fit Window" of a centimeter on either side of your virtual "Perfect" measurement." In other words if you have a fitting done and after a few good rides you are not comfortable, you probably need to make a change. So many people get fitted, think that is how they are supposed to be, and no matter if they are comfortable or not, continue to ride that way.
Anyway they recommended that he, a guy that spends 95% of his time on the tops of his bars, should get a narrower set. So he complies and they offer to give him a credit for his old bar. (Good for them),. Except they later tell him that whomever had built this bike had over-torqued the stem clamping bolts and that the bars were ruined. So he went back to the original shop and explained to them what he had been told and that he wanted a new set of bars, which the shop was happy to do for him but not without explanation and calling out the other shop. First of all to tighten something to a point to which ti will not move under force you must first engage it, IE. deform it without damaging the structural integrity of the materials. If you don't it can break loose and spin or just plain break.anyway the shop sent the bars back to the manufacturer. Come to find out, there were some bars that were produced that had arrived a little under the diameter spec, which these particular bars did, and that there was no structural damage done.
Now it was pretty obvious from the start what was going on here. The other shop was trying to gain a customer, not through good customer service, but through misleading a potential customer. In the end the truth was found out but unfortunately many customers are lured away from a shop that truly has their best interest in mind for a shop that is only out to make a quick buck. This happens in all aspects of business so beware.
If I remember, I will someday tell the part of the story where the other shop tried to tell the same customer that his front wheel was on backwards.

Blogging......................

2010-02-05T23:57:00.000-05:00

So I spent some time today catching up on a few of the blogs I normally read, and some that I don't.Most are cycling related but not all. Some are commentary. Anyway I was reading Steevos blog and it appears he , as well as others, have fallen into the same predicament many of us fall into this time of year. Plenty of time and nothing to write about. Now of course there is always cometary and you could spend a good amount of your time researching and writing about upcoming or ongoing cycling events in other countries. Or you could get your political self on and comment on the idiots in DC. I however would rather stick to writing about personal events and the occasional rant on something that may or may not be controversial. So rather than bore you you with snow shoveling I will leave it at that.

This ought to be a good read............

So a good friend of mine has decided to enter teh blogosphere (I know he looks like Ferb). Mike and I have been friends and riding bikes together for quite some time now adn I am pretty sure that he is one of those people that will be a part of my life until life ends. I have been witness to many of his exploits which ar humerous in themselves, but for the ones that I dont, his anecdotal take on them are quite entertaining.
One of my earliest memories of Mike was at a local mountain bike race. I really cant remember if I raced that day but I remember hanging around at the finish line waiting for people to come in. i was talking to Tom when I heard a scream. As I turn around I pay witness to a guy on a green mountain bike flying over his handlebars and landing square on his back in the middle of a road. Come to find out, this is standard operating proceedure for him. Anyway I am sure that he will have much to entertain you with so enjoy.

Two great early season races today.........

2010-01-31T10:45:00.000-05:00

And I missed both of them. Steve and Brian both headed to "Why Not Cross" in Carlisle and Jason,Martin and Arin headed to Snot-Cycle in Virginia. My choice would have been to do "Why Not Cross" as it is close to Brian's house and would have given the opportunity to spend some time just hanging out before and after. But it wasn't in the cards this weekend, so I traveled 10 minutes to spin class. Brian and Steve had respectable finishes and I have not heard about the others yet.

Finally somebody is starting to pay attention...........

It appears that the folks in L.A. are going to conduct a study on ways to protect cyclists. This is another great step toward cyclist rights, and will hopefully help to set presidents for bicycle advocacy. There has been heightened awareness to the problems cyclist on the road face lately due to some real unfortunate injuries and fatalities caused by drivers. It only takes a quick search on the internet to make you realize how many times this happens each year. It by no means with make me think twice about heading out, but it would be nice if it wre safer. Fortunately what happened to me on my last ride is far from the norm in our are, but I have ridden in other parts of the state that weren't so cycling friendly. Unless of course your enjoy mountain bikling then this is the place to go.

Your approach to solving the problem looks great...............

But could you please just duplicate the half assed way we did it. This is the response we got at work the other day for the improved solution to a problem presented by one of our customers. They don't seam to want to spend the extra time or money it will take to do the job the right way. What the heck, the consumer is only paying $3000.00 for the item and they will never see in side of it anyway so who cares....right? Who cares if it looks about as professional as repairing a crack in $3000.00 bike frame with a piece of 1/4 inch steel.

Maybe this is a bit preemptive as they may not realize yet why we chose to do it the way we did. Why should you even consider that the heat source might totaly negate your solution. Let alone the rest of the cluster you left hanging there.

How about this weather????????????????

2010-01-27T18:45:00.000-05:00

Well there is not much good to say about it for sure. Too cold to ride outside and not enough snow around here to Cross Country ski. So I am confined to indoor cycling amusement, which really is not that bad. Spin class is fun and weight lifting is what I did before cycling so it is all good. There is a cross race this weekend that a couple of team mates are doing but I am unable to attend. This hopefully wont be the norm for this season as my family has been encouraging me to get back to it. So long as work schedules don't get in the way or at least having somebody to keep an eye on my youngest fan while I participate, it should work out.

Finally some news to support..............

What I have been doing my entire life. Doctors have found that "Untidy beds may keep us healthy". I agree that there is nothing like crawling into a made bed but I just don't have the time or whatever it takes to do it on a daily basis. Now I have an excuse not to.

Ended up riding alone today...........

2010-01-23T23:48:00.003-05:00

Ended up riding alone today. Was supposed to ride with Steve but he had made a trip to Pro Bikes in Pittsburgh and was not going to be back in time. So after changing the oil and washing the truck I headed out.

One thing I have noticed since my surgery is that I don't seem to get as cold as in the past. I assume it is due to the more efficient beating of my heart and makes me wonder how many times I may have been in atrial flutter while riding.

I was unaware that I had this condition in addition to the Affib but I became more prominent during the weeks leading up to my surgery an I felt pretty normal except for the fact that my heart rate was around 150bmp for over a week straight.

Ended up doing a little over 30 miles today which took me around the Tanoma loop.

While I am on the subject..................

Of Tanoma, I had an interesting experience there to day. Now we spend allot of time riding this particular road over the years without much indecent. Considering the amount of time cyclists spend on this and other roads around here the couple of incidents that have been makes you feel pretty comfortable about riding there. A couple of dog vs bike accidents and the on evening Scooter had some guy chase him off the road with his pickup cornering him between the grill and a concrete building. I will never forget that night and fortunately there were about 8 of us there to witness the incident and quickly convinced the guy in the truck that he had made a huge mistake and that instead of getting out of the truck that he should probably stay put and the police were on their way.

I don't have a clue as to what sets people off in cars but it does happen. Most of the time is is a simple gesture indicating their IQ, other times it is a can or some projectile directed your way. And of course there is the occasional close shave or cut off.

So what happened today you might ask..........

It all started at the single lane bridge on the way from Tanoma, not nearly wide enough for 2 cars but just enough room for a car and bike to pass each other. So as I approach the middle of the bridge an approaching car enters from the other end. Which I would have thought nothing of as she was moving slowly, except for the fact that she was edging her way towards my side of the road. Actually she left as little room as she could for me to get by and probably would have left less if the distance between us closed quickly. So as I slowed to a creep past her I glanced her way and she calls me a j@c%@$$. Now she is so close top me and the road is covered with anti skid material I actually placed my had on eh corner of the rear of her car as I exited the bridge.

So I continued on my way and never gave it another thought. That is until about 1/2 mile down the road I hear a car racing up behind me, but I did not bother to look as cars always do that. Next thing I know this crazy old woman comes up along side me and towards me cutting me off then slowing down to a crawl. As a moving target is harder to hit than a sitting one I continued to ride. So she moves over to the other side of the road into the berm and comes to a stop. As I ride by she comes right at me. I hit the brakes and she overshoots me then got back in front of me.

So I continued to ride behind her wondering what her malfunction was. Now according to a friend of mine Estrogen would be the cause and the fact that I am a man would be the effect but I don't really think that is what was going on here.So she pulls off of the road again on the opposite side and I foolishly go past her. So she comes at me again and forces me off of the road again. At this point I think she had had enough as she went up the road and pulled off on my side, turned around and headed back in my direction at this point she either figured that she had better lay off as she must have figured I had taken her picture. Unfortunately this is the only photo that came out as I was trying not to die.

Unfortunately I did not get her license number, due to the wanting to live thing, and this photo isn't clear enough to read it. So if you know anyone that is a CSI maybe they could clean it up for me so I can complete the police report.

The Tour De France....

Is still a couple of mouths out and I am already tired of this guy. Hopefull Paul and Phil will get over him long before the race begins.

Had a great ride.................

2010-01-19T19:06:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday. It was my maiden voyage on the road since before my ablation. So I have not been out for a real ride since July. What a blast.!!!! I knew that I was missing it but did not realize how much. I took the fixed gear as it has fenders, and heavier tires as to prevent getting a flat tire.
The roads around here this time of year are horrible and a heavy tire is highly recommended. A cyclocross bike would have been a good choice as well, but as I don’t have one of those in my arsenal at this point the fixie did fine.

I love riding the fixed gear. It is by far one of the best ways to get into shape. There are no gears so you can’t fake it. When the going gets tough you have to work or walk, and we all know walking is not an option. This will however probably be the only time I rid this particular bike for a while. It ahs only been 5 months since my ablation and I really don’t want to red line myself yet. I will get back to it though as the season progresses. Oh and I only forgot I was on a fixed gear once as I drifted off eh road but I managed not to hi the eject button.

Was supposed to get out and ride............

With Steve yesterday but as luck would have it I could not make it. I was not so disappointed at first as the weather and roads did not look so good around noon but a little later in the day the sun came out and the roads started to dry out. We are going to keep an eye on eh weather though and get out as soon and as much as we can. I will be spinning this week though and start teaching a class this Friday.
Heck, I even put a new tire on to replace this one for the outing. that's right folks there are plenty of threads showing here.

This just in………….

Pretty women anger more easily.” Researchers found women who rated themselves as pretty displayed a war-like streak when fighting battles to get their own way.” Now why can’t I think for this kind of stuff? I can only imagine that Researcher = $$$$$$$$$$$. “In the study, the women who believed they were good looking were more likely to respond angrily in disputes than those who rated themselves as less attractive. Now this isn’t rocket science and I am pretty sure that any red-blooded American man, or woman for that matter could have told you this. Just put a couple of pretty women in a room for a while and see what happens. Not necessarily what happens over at doucheblogcyling, sorry Burt, but I think you get the picture.

Cleaning house...........

In a sense anyway. Just finished copying all of my personal blog posts from AG3r to this one. Check them out if you like they are all older (2005-2006) but so what.

Like everybody else in the world.....

I have been doing the facebook thing. It amazes me how some people have so many friends. Some people have more friends than I think I personally know. Although I think when you get right down to it most are probably just acquaintances. Friend is a word that people tend to just throw out there, but the meaning of the word has no real significance to them. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard somebody say “yah, they are a friend of mine”. Really?

Lets face it; we have many people come in and out of our lives over the years. And just because you know somebody does not make them your friend. Now that may seam a little harsh but I believe it to be true. Friendship is something to be valued not used. Friendships can last a lifetime so you should choose your friends wisely, quality not quantity. And don’t confuse quality with stature or what that person may be able to do for you, because you will be left short when you really need a friend.

A friend will impact your life in a positive way. Now you may not realize this when you are young but as you grow you realize how the people you chose as friends when you were young probably had the greatest impact on your life. I came to this realization a few years ago when a childhood friend’s parent passed away. It was not only the friendship I had with this individual that impacted my life, but her entire family. They are all a part of who I am. And of course as we grow older we have the ability to be more dicerning about the friends we choose.

A friend won’t judge you. They will listen without prejudice and be honest in their response if needed or say nothing but be there to hear.
A friend will come to your aid, often times without you asking.
A friend will impact on your life, it is up to what type of impact that is. I could go on but I think you get the point.

So be the best friend you can be, somebody might be counting on it.

Thinking about starting a second blog........

Just what I need. One more thing to do. Something else to cut into my day. But I am still considering it. I have come up with a couple of ideas as to what I will focus on but still not sure if I will follow through. It will be of a less personal nature for sure. Nor am I sure if I will link it to any of my other Internet stuff.

Call Me Crazy....

2010-01-13T12:36:00.000-05:00

But I really do like the snow, even though it keeps me from doing much cycling. It makes everything look so nice and in the evening makes it seam much quieter. Of course you need to find some way to keep your sanity so some wort of outdoor activity is necessary. If it weren't for cross country skiing, sledding and spin classes I would probably go crazy. I know, its cold out, but you would be surprised how little clothing you actually need if you actually get your heart rate above your resting heart rate.

Moved To The............

Head of the class the other evening as spinning. The class was overbooked so the other instructor stepped down and I took his place. What a great workout you get teaching, of course as the instructor you push yourself a little harder, plus I tend to watch and see how badly the people are suffering. And if it does not appear that they are suffering like I am, I ramp it up a notch until I see them suffering as well. I really do enjoy teaching as it allows me to run the class in a way the benefits my particular, off season, training regiment.

Are You..........

2010-01-07T12:46:00.002-05:00

Living in a bubble? It always amazes me how many people that I encounter are.This actually came to me last evening while playing video games with my son. We have discovered that when a part of the game becomes to hard, usually for me, or you are about to reach your demise you can simply put yourself in a bubble and just float around until the other player lets you out. this works out fine but there are challenges in the game that you don't get a chance to participate in or defeat. I see the same thing every day in life. Some probably don't even realize it even though it is so obvious to those they come in contact with every day.

The trouble with bubbles is that they kind of sneak up on you . Enveloping you little by little, day after day, week after week, year after year. The process can be so slow that you don't even know it is happening. And you may never know unless somebody points it out to you. Bubbles have no discretion either. They consume all types of people, both young and old rich or poor, robbing them of some of the greatest things in life.

I am quite sure ......

That there are those out there that have never been consumed by the bubble and kudos to them but I think it is highly unlikely. I have found myself enveloped many times throughout the years but have always been able to realize my situation and break free. Either by my own will or with the help of others. Living the bubble free life can be quit exhilarating and to surround yourself with bubble free friends makes this all the better. I have had the good fortune to have an abundance of these types of people in my life forever and am continuously seeking them out. Lets face it you cant have enough of those type of people around keeping bubbles at bay.

So get out there......

And take some risks, measured ones if your skeptical, but take them. Burst that bubble and enjoy life!

So I Promised.......

2010-01-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

To do more blogging but quite frankly there isn't much going on folks. Eight of so straight days of snow and sub zero temperatures aren't that inviting for cycling. That coupled with conflicting schedules with my cycling time and other commitments it just aint happening. I have been spinning and shoveling snow so I am not without exerciser or focus for that matter. True there are some that have been braving the outdoor elements on 2 wheels but not I. And to be perfectly honest I am ashamed of that, but again scheduling conflicts have been playing a big part in that as well. Spinning 2 or 3 days a week after work requires me to drive a car there on those days and getting my son on teh bus pretty much squashes any opportunity of the other days. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!

I would Argue.......

That it is harder to get back into shape than it is to get into shape originally unless, of course, round is your preferred shape. The only advantage you have in getting back into shape is that you already have muscle memory and the the mental fortitude it takes to do it. Unfortunately you have the memories of how easy it was to do certain things when your fitness was good, which really stinks. So all you can do is push on, which I will. Actually will start teaching spinning again in 2 weeks.

WTF...............

2009-12-29T22:14:00.000-05:00

Is wrong with these people. How hard is it to get a plumber out to fix something. According to the warranty company I was supposed to here from a plumber this afternoon to schedule an appointment for tomorrow A.M. I am pretty sure at this point that is not happening.

I did however receive the parts I needed from whirlpool today. Unfortunately though it was broken so yet another day without hot water.

Some Light At The End Of The Tunnel......

I think anyway. I talked to Lowes this evening and told them how useless the warranty they sold me was. They are sending out their installer tomorrow and if he cant fix it they will install a brand new tank so I should have hot water by tomorrow evening. It is a good thing it is winter or my entire family would smell worse than the family dog.

Big Talk Is Coming From..............

Over at Poser Central these days. I shouldn't get on him though the rest of the team does enough of that. Anyway I hope he survives Hockey camp and then gets back out on the bike this year. Speaking of bikes...Brian over at Cartwheels just installed his new Quark power meter today. He spends more money on bike parts like one of my buddies wife spends on purses.

So Its Christmas Eve........

2009-12-24T14:35:00.003-05:00

And I am into the usual Pre Holiday rush. No the shopping is done ,and we have no where to be just another Christmas catastrophe. Well not really catastrophic but still a problem and kept me from spinning this morning.
There has been a ongoing battle between me and appliances ever since I became a home owner. I can't remember how many times an appliance has gone on the fritz during a holiday so why should this year be any different. Seriously I should have expected it. I have had everything break from the stove to the garbage disposal on or near a holiday more times than I can remember. This year the water heater has left us in the cold.
This all reminded me of the year I came home around Christmas and my wife was holding the tree up that had started to fall down. As I rescued her from this folly she informed me that the washing machine was broken and the garbage disposal was jammed.

We Need To See Your Papers................

So when I purchased our current water heater I bought one with a 6 year warranty and an extended warranty just in case. This will be the second time I will have used it in the past 2 years.
So of course the paperwork has disappeared since the last time but I was able to find out the name of the warranty company and contacted them. S0 I give them a call and the nice lady on the other end tried her best but could not find my information on her computer. So i did a little more digging around here and called back getting another Customer disservice representative on the phone. Of course she was even less help than the first. So I call back a 3rd time and still no luck but at least they were more helpful.
I finally end up calling the place I bought it and they went he extra yard to help but still could not give me all the info I needed but told me that they would help me research the issue. they call me back a while later with a number but nobody would be able to help me until next week.

I Have Learned Over The Years.................

That sometimes to get the results you want you need to be persistent so I call the warranty place back a 5th time and gave them my information. The exact information I had given the previous 2 times and low and behold she found my information and called a local plumber. the plumber called me within the next half hour only to tell me that he no longer works for the company as he has trouble getting paid. He was however kind enough to tell me what he thought was wrong and the place I bought it gave me the part so it all ended up not being too bad in the end.

The Visit WIth My E.P.

2009-12-23T10:51:00.008-05:00

Went very well yesterday. Its been 4 months since my ablation at UPMC. Living in NSR without the fear of going into Affib is such a blessing. My EKG was flawless and my Resting heart-rate was 45 bpm. He decided to keep me on the Flec for another 3 months but took me of Cumadin. This was fine with me as the blood thinners have had the greatest impact on my lifestyle.They will send me an event recorder 1 week prior to my next visit in March and if everything is still good at that point he will discontinue the Flec as well.

Getting Back Into The Grind.......

So I guess it is time to start getting back on track (Biking and Blogging.) I have been back to spin class for the past 4 weeks and will be teaching my first class of the year tomorrow. I will be teaching a Friday class after the first of the year and am looking forward to it. "Monkeyboy" is going to be back in town today and wants to do some mountain biking this afternoon. I think I will have to pass though as I still have the blood thinners in my system. I am looking forward to seeing him though. He transferred to Kent State this pas semester so we don't see very much of him these days.

Its About Time..................

They start doing more to promote cycling to the youth of our fine state. And what better way than through mountain biking. We are blessed here with some of the best mountain biking you could ever want around here. Unfortunately this program probably does not stand a chance in this area, but wouldn't it be great if it did. Seriously what would it take? You could probably outfit a whole team for under $5000.00. You wouldn't need to build a stadium or install astro turf. Just cut take them to the trails and cut them loose. Even if you had to supply bikes or subsidise bikes for the team it would be under $10000.00. Thats a dropp in teh bucket for what our local school just layed down for their football field.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today Is The Day.........................

2009-12-22T09:47:00.003-05:00

That I meet with my E.P. It has been nearly 4 months since my ablation and as far as I can tell all systems are a go. I am not sure of what the next step is but I believe that I will wear a monitoring device for a few days and if nothing shows up he will discontinue the anti-arrhythmic drugs and hopefully the blood thinners.

After living with Atrial Fibrillation for the better part of the past 18 or so years I have had to adjust to not having it. You don't realize how much control something really has over your life until it is gone. Expecting it to crop up at any moment and the initial disappointment when you think that it is. Then the overwhelming relief and thankfulness when it doesn't. I am sure that this will all pass with time but I will never forget all that I have had to deal with over the years as I am sure those that I spend time with will as well.

It has been almost 5 months since I have really ridden a bike other than short little jaunts around town. I am so looking forward to getting back to racing, riding and suffering with my friends.

Keystone Cops

2009-12-06T09:18:00.002-05:00

I have written and commented may times on the diligence with which the local police force and parking authority have for running business and people out of Indiana. I personally avoid driving through the Borough at all cost. My wife however does not and has been stopped no less that 30 times over the past few years. Never receiving a ticket as in reality there has never been good reason. Her problem is she often goes to work around 4:00 am and of course if you are out at that time that is suspicion enough to get pulled over. She actually got stopped one time, after stopping to tell an officer of a person she saw lying along side the road. She pulled into the local Sheetz, it has the same magnetism as a donut shop, and reported what she saw. So as she left the parking lot, instead of going to investigate what she saw they pulled her over.

Yet Another Reason To Avoid Downtown Indiana

So I was working on a friend’s bike a week ago and needed a part. So I sent him to town and wished him luck. After retrieving the part from a LBS he discovered that the return street was blocked so he performed a 3 point turn. As he was performing the move he approached a one way street the wrong way. Now he did not actually enter but was pointed that way during his maneuver. Unfortunately for him there was a borough officer coming down the street. Long story short he received a ticket for going the wrong way on a one way street even though he was not.

He soon returned to my place with a ticket that clearly read $107 & and some change and the wrong part. Bummer.

Bureaucracy At Its Finest

So my friend calls me the other day saying that he received a letter form the borough that there was a warrant for his arrest for failing to pay his ticket. Now this really surprised me as he had stopped by my house on his way to pay it only a few days before, which he actually had. It seems though that there was a mistake. As I said, the ticket clearly read $107.??. At least that is what you could make out from the 3^rd grade scribble. Unfortunately it actually read $109.??. So, instead of a letter requesting the two dollars, they issue a warrant for his arrest. I am guessing they went this route as they stand to make additional funds, over and above the two dollars.

The Hunt Is Over.........

2009-11-16T07:33:00.005-05:00

Another Archery season has passed us by and I must say it was on of the best in a while.This has nothing to do with actually killing a deer but the whole outdoor experience.The weather was near perfect and I got to take my son with me on his first hunt.I saw allot of game and got to enjoy an abundance of much needed solitude.

The First Hunt With My Son......

So it wasn't the perfect hunt.It started with him getting home late from school then deciding that he really did not want to go. So after about 20 minutes of whining and discussion he decided that he would go after all which put us in the stand about 30 minutes later than I had planned.So we got into the woods and up into the stand and I discovered that there was something wrong with the way the stand I would be sitting in was attached to the tree so I had to spend another 20 minutes fixing that.I was really getting disappointed at this point as I new that the hunt was probably going to be a wash,and this was time I had planned on just sitting and talking with him.
Regardless of all that we had a really nice time, and I am looking forward to many more days spent in the field

"GONE HUNTING"

2009-10-14T12:11:00.002-04:00

So not much happening cycling wise these days. I keep threatening to get on the trainer but that has yer to happen. I have been commuting back and forth to work though and try to get as much out of that ride every day that I can. I have been doing some lifting though and plan to bring the spin bike into the living room in the next couple of day so maybe I will see a HR of over 100 soon.

I also plan to get back to spin class within the next couple of weeks and hopefully get back to teaching some classes next month.

Cash For Kittens......
So now our government is trying to pass some legislation that will allow you to take a $3500.00 deduction per person, for pet care off your tax bill.Now I love my pets as much as the next guy but they are a luxury not a necessity people. Of course I'm sure that the "PETA" People are all over this one praising its existence.Give me a break.

Government Stimulus Money Going To The Middle East...
So a fellow cyclist of mine is praising the government stimulus for al the nice new paved roads that the now has to ride on. He says that they are even busy paving roads in his area. Even roads that were just done last year. He is however wise enough to realize that all that pavement leads to more oil consumption, thus fleecing the pockets of our middle eastern friends.

Roaring Run

2009-09-14T20:06:00.003-04:00

Just time for a quicky today. I had promised to place a link to the Roaring Run Race photos. If you cant view them email me and I will put them somewhere else.

Thanks to all that came out to participate dn suport this race even though the Stongland folks leave allot to be desired but just be glad you weren't at the Road Race.That is even worse as far as organization and Support goes.Thanks to all the RRWA volunteers that did show up to hep out. The chamber does nothing to help out as far as setting up and getting things at the course ready.I am actually trying to get RRWA to put on their own races including a triathelon.

Interesting research on Atrial Fibrillation......

2009-08-30T19:01:00.002-04:00

As it relates to exercise.......

Jogging increases risk of atrial fibrillation

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. Although there isample evidence that habitual exercise is healthy

and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease,hypertension and diabetes, and can help normalize

lipid (cholesterol) levels, there is growing evidencethat too vigorous exercise performed for extended periods of time can increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF), especially lone AF.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital now report that regular jogging may be particularly detrimental afs ar as the development of AF is concerned.Their study included 16,921 male physicians who were enrolled in the Physicians’ Health Study in1982 when they were between the ages of 40 and 84 years. Three and nine years after enrollment, the participants were asked if they regularly engaged in an exercise program vigorous enough to work up a sweat. The majority (62.6%) answered yes and 12.6% reported that they engaged in vigorous exercise 5-7 days a week. The frequency of vigorous exercise was directly associated with alcohol intake, fish consumption, and the use of multivitamin, vitamin C and vitamin E supplements.

It is interesting that more than 90% of exercisers reported consuming fish at least once a week, 35% regularly took multivitamins, and 25% supplemented with vitamin C. Non-exercisers, on the other hand, tended to be older, overweight, and smokers. They also had a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension.

The physicians participating in the study were asked at 15, 17, 18 and 19 years after enrollment if they had ever been diagnosed with AF – about 10% answered yes. Based on the exercise data
obtained 3 years following enrollment, the researchers concluded that men under the age of 50 years who exercised vigorously 5-7 days a week had a substantially higher risk than non-exercisers of developing AF when corrected for all confounding variables. Further analysis of the data showed that regular jogging was associated with a 53% increased risk of AF in all age groups with those jogging in excess of 4 miles a day having the greater risk. No overall association was found between regular cycling, swimming or racket sports and the development of AF.

The researchers speculate that frequent, vigorous exercise may cause AF through several possible mechanisms including enlargement of the left atrium, development of left ventricular hypertrophy, left ventricular dilation, and an increase in parasympathetic (vagal) tone. They point out that jogging results in greater enhancement of the parasympathetic nervous system than does other types of exercise. They also suggest that the fact that aging tends to decrease parasympathetic activity may account for the finding that older men are less likely to develop AF as a result of vigorous exercise. They conclude that frequent, vigorous exercise is associated with an increased risk of developing AF in young men (under the age of 50 years) and joggers.

Aizer, A, et al. Relation of vigorous exercise to risk of atrial fibrillation. American Journal of Cardiology, Vol. 103, 2009, pp. 1572-77

Editor’s comment: This report adds to an already impressive body of literature concluding that, while regular, moderate exercise is healthy and materially helps in preventing many serious disease conditions, overdoing the exercise, especially by engaging in frequent, long-distance jogging sessions significantly increases the risk of developing afib, particularly in men below the age of 50 years.

Cash For Clunkers.......

2009-08-14T07:28:00.004-04:00

So I took a bite from the apple. I tried to resist but could not pass up getting $4500.00 for my rust bucket of a truck to get my wife a new car. As to be expected though, the car buying experience was far less than stellar. Never have I dealt with an industry that is so obviously hurting, and so unwilling to give an inch. Not a single one was willing to budge on the sticker on their vehicle and I had pretty much decided to forgo the purchase and wait it out. I had settled on a car and had a salesperson that treated me pretty good but i seriously could not get her to budge even $400.00 on the price. Finally I called a local dealership, and much to my surprise they were willing to deal a little so that's what I did.

I hope its at least another 10 years before I have to go through that again.... Although I will be purchasing another truck in a month or to but I will just pay cash for that an deal with an individual.

While We Are On The Subject.........

As we were talking at the dealership I brought up the CFC and my real feelings on the situation. Of course my wife, who is smart as a whip has little knowledge of politics and the real cost of programs such as this and who will actually be paying for it. So to drive the point home I looked at my 6 year old son, who was very excited about his new chariot and I said, " Thanks for the $4500.00 loan son", which brought some uncomfortable laughter form the group staff standing around.

I'm So Tired...........

Of this health Care issue. How can anybody think that the Government, with its track record of overspending and miss-management of everything they do can possibly run health care. I actually started reading the bill the other day, which is pretty much impossible to understand with all the double speak and references to this part and that part. It did not talk long to see that this is more a bout job creation of Washington insiders and their political friends than health insurance. All decisions on changes to the program fall on the shoulders of one person who will be advised by a panel, all of which will be appointed witch means little more than my way or the highway. The other real problem I see with it is that the plan can be totally be revamped within a year, so even if they were to pass something that we as a country can swallow they can turn around and completely change what we all agreed on to whatever they want. within one year, by people that are appointed to their positions (like minded thinking instead of diversity).

Lets be honest here folks...the real problem with health care costs is the skyrocketing costs of "MALPRACTICE INSURANCE". I have several friends that are both doctors and surgeons and they pay between $300,000.00 and $600,000 dollars a year before they can even practice. No payment plan folks that is a lump sum payment and that was a few years ago an I am sure that those prices have not gone up. The other 2 leading causes of expensive health care are illegals and those on government health plans that run to the emergency room for every sniffle they get. This is not a biased opinion this is a fact that I have personally seen first hand.

And as far as those without health care not getting help I would refute that as well. As of right now my wife has no insurance...but has never been turned down for care and has also been given assistance with her obligations. Our local Hospital actually has a plan to help those without health insurance as does her regular doctor. These plans have covered a major portion of her costs, which to this point has been far less $$ than we would have paid for her to have coverage. They are also income based plans so they are more than fair on what your part to pay will be as well as having gracious payment plans.

"Doctors are a lot of times forced to make decisions based on demand fee schedules"..........

I will let this statement speak for itself. I also wont mention whose mouth this was uttered from except to say that "They Acted Stupidly".

Two Weeks To The Day........

2009-08-13T07:06:00.004-04:00

After my Ablation. Everything is going great so far except that I am about to go crazy with the fact that I cant do the things I really enjoy right now. Its just temporary I know but it still stinks. I have started walking to work every day (3 miles) and will start running in about 2 weeks then back to spinning 2 weeks after that.

The Procedure....
Ended up taking about 10 hours since they did both Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter Ablations but that is fine with me. I had actually been in Atrial Flutter for about 7 days leading up the the Ablation with a heart rate of between 160 and 170. It was like I had drank 100 espressos or something like that. I only slept a couple of hours a night and was totally amped up. They quickly took care of that when I got to the hospital with some drugs but I never converted back to NSR until they zapped me. Thank god I was out of it when they did that. I almost forgot I had one of these done as well. Ended up staying a week in the Hospital

I was wondering what that big horseshoe shaped, wired patch they placed on my sternum and the big one on my back was for.

The Countdown Is Underway..........

2009-07-24T21:42:00.002-04:00

So my ablation was scheduled for late October originally but they called me the other day, saying they had a cancellation so I am on deck for next week. Of course I have pretty much been in Affib ever since. I don't feel like I am stressing about the procedure but I know that I am deep inside. Also the constant talking about it to people about it when they ask what going on does not help Everyone I ride with know...don't ask how I am feeling until the ride is through.

Speaking of Stress......
Actually had a stress test today which was pretty involved. The staff there were really nice and the nurse was excited as I was the only walking stress test they had scheduled for the day. I asked her what other kind of stress test there was and she said non-walking. "Non walikng...I asked? So I asked her "What do you do, just keep insulting them until they reach their boiling point. Then I told her "If you want me to do a non walking stress test to just go out and bring that red head the came along with me today in here, I'm sure she can get me riled up."

They started off by injecting me with some kind of radioactive material the took about 40 pics of my heart...then the stress test.....then more radioactive stuff and more photos. The whole process took about 5 hours from the time I arrived until the time they cut me loose.

Its Just Like Exercise IN A Bottle......
Only worse...Like I said I had a stress test today but by the time I got around to the walking part I was in Affib so non walking it was...."Bring on the readhead." I only wish it was that easy. They actually injected me with something to mimic the stress created by exercise. Now I have exercised allot in my life. Done some races and endured quite a bit of pain, but I can count on one hand the number of times I felt like this during it. I cant put the experience into words but I told them if they were ever planning on marketing this as an alternative to exercise that they were going to be poor for the rest of their natural lives.

Update......

2009-07-14T07:26:00.017-04:00

On my current state is that I was to the Eloctrophysiologist last week and after a lengthy discussion I am on the path to Ablation. Finally after 17 years of this troublesome little pain in my life it may finally be coming to an end. Of course over those 17 years I have been able to compete and even place pretty well in allot of the races I participated in. But as many close to me know that has not been the case as of late. My ablation will be scheduled for early August.

It's Killing Me Though..........

Not being able to ride now for almost 3 weeks. It's amazing how you can feel your fitness starting to slip away. Now its not super dramatic as I have been cycling and racing for well over a decade now but I can feel the difference just the same. Once I have the Ablation it will probably be another 3 to 6 months before I will be able to get back to serious training...or at least as serious as a guy with a family can. A good friend of mine has come to the same realization as of late that you cant be supper competitive, hold down a full time job and spend allot of quality time with your family. If you think that you can then you are sadly mistaken my friends. I remember once on a long ride with some friends somebody asking a fellow rider how he kept in such good shape with a wife and kids at home? His response was, "Well, I just don't go home after work". That left a lasting impression on me, as I am pretty sure it did on everybody else that was listening in on the conversation as well. I could see it in their faces.

At The Races........

This weekend. Not racing but Marshaling. Our team was sponsoring a race just outside of Butler this weekend, Renfrews Ras, so as I am unable to participate I thought that I would go help out. Now I have been to many races over the years, and I hope that this does not sound biased, but this was probably one of the best organized race events I have seen in a while. There are no better races than those organized and supported by cyclists in my opinion. Not only that but having the organizer be as detail oriented as Henry is, then its bound to be good. It was also good to see a majority of our team show up to help out as well. Ag3r colors were flying everywhere, both on and off the course.

Not only was every category of race touched on, (Cat 4-5, Woman's Category, 40+ and Elite), they had a Citizens Race as well. There was great support, at least 3 people at every corner, motorcycle, Fire Dept, Police and neutral support vehicles for each race. On top of that the course and prizes were great as well. These are the kinds of things as a racer that you look for when deciding if you will ever return to the race in the future.

A Brief Photo Montage........

Its never to early to get you kids involved in all aspects of athletics. We really had a good time.

Great races have great race coordinators. Here is our race director extraordinaire. Thanks to Henry for putting forth such an effort to promote such a great race.

There is a story behind this one. This guy dropped his chain and frantically tried to put it back on by using his front derailleur. Having no success with that he jumped off the bike and started trying the same technique while holding the bike up off the ground. Still with no luck he requested assistance, "Hey, can I get a hand here?", in a smart-assed tone. I thought "Your chain is off idiot, its not like your having a heart attack or something.

Of course he wanted somebody to hold his bike in the air while he continued to try to put his chain back on by using his front derailleur ("What an Idiot"). So one of my Fire Station volunteers obliged him. I was kind of enjoying the show but the bike mechanic in me could not stand to watch any longer. SO I walked over, pushed his hand away from his crank, Grabbed his chain and put it back on for him, all in one simple motion, in all of about 5 seconds. He looks at me as if I have just performed some sort of miracle, said thanks and was on his way........."IDIOT"

This is my buddy Luke. Not the guy above but the guy below./ Anyway Luke is finding that having a family and a successful cycling career is near impossible...at least for us mere mortals. Anyway I think I heard him saying something about a bowling league.

Last but not least is "Poser". Leading the ladies race claimed that he had the king of the mountains points pretty much wrapped up.

Well........

2009-06-19T22:05:00.009-04:00

I'm out...... or at least on injured reserve for now. After my event recording the other evening my doctor wants me to take it easy until I see the electrophysiologist. So lets see...No State ITT Championships (Sorry Brownie), No ITT at the OVAL, "NO RACING PERIOD" (Sorry Ag3r), at least for now. Hopefully this is another step in the right direction and hopefully the last chapter in this part of my life, so I can get back to being competitive. It's been a long time coming and really has not been that bad until now.

A Part of My Life....
That I don't' want to give up. I've Been riding and racing for almost 20 years now and it has helped to create some the best experiences and friendships I could ever hope for. I have physically suffered, been injured and hospitalized all as a part of it and relish every moment of it. I have ridden and raced in the pouring rain, and gone out for a ride with friends in -10 Deg. weather at 9 o'clock at night just for the fun of it. Did a 24 hour mountain bike race with a broken wrist and a guy with only one arm. I've ridden over 100 miles in under 4 1/2 hours.

Ive Been Inspired by...
Those with disabilities

I've won races with friends that we probably shouldn't have (if you ever see the strongland team trophy look for the "FLYING FUHRMAN FOUR" , that's right OJ"s Buddy, and our team name. Chuck, far left in the photo, thought it would be funny)

And I have seen more of my friends that I probably should have and or wanted to.

I'm Sure........
That there are those that might not understand the Psyche of an athlete and their passion for what they do, and their willingness to go to any end to achieve their goals, and for those I feel sorry. But For those that do understand and their families that support them, cudos to you.

Keep Your Enemies Close.................

2009-06-17T12:09:00.010-04:00

I am my own worst enemy. Our ride last night was phenomenal. I had decided not to push myself and just ride how I felt, and I was feeling good. Event recorder all hooked up and ready to go and I was feeling no hint of problems. I haven't and wont brag about how fast the four of us were going but we had covered nearly half of a 43 mile ride in less than an hour when stupidity or competitiveness finally got the best of me. We were just motoring along this nice section of road and I decided to get my sprint on and play some reindeer games. Well a little too hared for a little too long and blamo I was toast and puling off to the side of the road to record my arrhythmia. Fortunately it did not last too long and I was able to finish the ride fairly strong and I got a good recording for the doctor.

A Can Of Worms.............

As I said I had a good recording for my doctor so upon returning home I called the monitor company and sent the results over the phone. So upon finishing that the lady starts asking me some questions, are you OK, are you dizzy, do you feel faint. The answer to all of these was no and then I explained to here that this recording was from an hour ago and that I had just gotten to a phone. So she had me take another recording and send it to them. Now I had ridden the whole way home without any problems but as soon as I got off of the bike it started again. So after the recording she started telling me that I was still in affib and if I had any problems to immediately go to the hospital ..... not what I wanted to hear and information I did not pass onto my wife. She also said that I would be hearing form my doctor soon.

Now the downfall to these type of situations is that the protocol the company uses is for sedentary nonathletic people...hence all the panic. I guess that they had received a substantially high heart rate reading that kind of freaked them out, but in my case is normal when the affib kicks in during exercise but I did not know that is what she was seeing until my doctor called. His associate called shortly after and after talking to me for a while and telling him my history and experiences he did not seam to be too concerned.

Ladies and Gentlemen....."THE DOORS"

Now I can't even tell you how many times I have watched this particular movie, lets just say several. I am not sure what draws me too it other than THE DOORS are by far one of my favorite groups. Now I am sure that most guys watch it as it is the the one and only time that you will see a Meg Ryan full on breast shot, but I'm well beyond my teenage years.

A Step in The Right Direction........

2009-06-16T12:01:00.004-04:00

So I went to see my Cardiologist yesterday for the first time in over 8 years. Due to my general non-well being I thought that it might be in order. He asked me many questions about the current state of my Affib, and we talked over many options, most of which he thought were not right for me due to, what he stated, my youthful age. He would also, I believe, Like to see me rid of this problem in my life as would I adn I pray that that is exactly where this is headed. So this is where things stand.....

Continue riding, but really pay attention to how I feel and try to prevent agitating my heart (no racing for now)
Carry Heart Track Monitoring system with me at all times until my stress test to record the events as they happen. I actually have done this before but he wants current information.
Stress test (these unofficially occur every Tuesday and Thursday evening, bring your bike all are welcome, we meet at the Oak Grove at IUP at 5:15) to see what kind of shape the ticker is in (last time I did this the people running the test thought I was crazy and could not believe that I was able to carry on a regular conversation with them throughout the entire test) Of course the real excitement came when after the test, while sitting on the edge of a Hospital bed, my heart rate jumped from 63 bpm to over 250 bpm. I have never seen people move so fast or frantically in my life. Of course the doctor and myself were used to seeing this type of thing and took it in stride.
After the test I will hopefully be going to see a Electrophysiology Specialist to discuss my options for permanatly ridding myself of this issue.

So What's The Point........................

So on my and "Z's" last ride one of the subjects of conversation was motorcycles, particularly loud pipes. I have often wondered about this over the years as many Loud Piped Idiots have blasted my eardrums over the years. "Z" had always wondered if the sound was as deafening to the rider as to the spectator. Now I could have answered that question as I know a guy that rides a Harley that actually has mufflers on it, which does tone it down some, wears ear plugs when he rides. (does that seam stupid to you as well or is it just me) Now if your Bike is so loud that you have to wear earplugs yourself then what is the point. Also, as a cyclist being aware of your surroundings is very important and hearing is a big part of that. "Z" also came to the conclusion that loud pipes make riding unenjoyable as he actually took one for a ride. He said it was so annoying that he could not even enjoy himself.

Not much happening......

2009-06-12T12:02:00.004-04:00

Not a whole lot going on these days. Taking some time off the bike, at least hard riding, for a few days. Too many heart fluctuations to allow me to enjoy the outings lately. I have however started a discussion on the afibbers website. Lots of good information to be found there, not to mention fellow affibers. Like I have mentioned before I personally have 3 other friends that ride that also have affib. 2 have had ablation and the other to this point has not. I am not sure that this is an option for me, and from what I have been reading even if it is, getting your doctor to do it is hard to get them to agree to it.

My Hearts Just Not In It........

2009-06-08T10:15:00.003-04:00

Wow!!!!!! What a terrible past two weeks. Limited riding time and it seems I am in Affib or just not feeling right more times than not. Affib attacks on both group rides last week, as well as periodic attacks in between.

I was really looking forward to doing two different races this pas weekend. Friday night at the track ITT and Dash for cash on Saturday MTB. I was not only looking forward to racing but also seeing some friends and teammates that I have yet to see this year, but after last weeks rides I decided against. I really hate to pay entry fees for a race only to either have a miserable ride or be unable to participate at all. If this keeps up I am going to by a MOTO.

It seems that even an easy ride these days cause me grief. Went out with "Z" last evening for some LOE and did good through the ride. We did about 20 easy miles with a few good climbs. I wen hard on the climbs just to see how my heart would respond, I started back on my supplementation on Friday, and had no trouble at all. But later in the evening and all through the night I did. I really need to get this figured out before I go completely nuts. I am going to try doing some longer tempo rides ans see if that helps. I will have to try to hook up with Fanning as that is the only type of riding he does.

Speaking Of "Z"........

Was over at Poser Central the other day and he seemed surprised that somebody could sweat enough to ruin equipment. I will have to introduce him to "Z" someday. This guy has ruined more cycling equipment with his sweat than The Poser could possibly fathom. Actually I should get these guys together so "The Poser" could draft "Z" and get some of his caustic sweat on his bike parts to further his Posability. This guy ahd ruined frames, cranks, chains, derailures, cables, paint and brakes to name a few.

Anyway, "Z" is in pretty good shape for a guy who, due to a neck injury has been doing nothing but roller mile this year, haveing only just over 100 mi on his ORBEA. When is the last time you only had 100 mi on the road by JUNE? Probably before you even owned a bike as a kid Im guessing.

Most accidents happen within a mile of home........

2009-06-01T20:58:00.004-04:00

There has never been a truer statement. While riding around the house with my son this evening I figured I would try some wheelies. the 29'r seems to take a little more effort to get the wheel up but after several times I started riding it out further and further.I was having trouble though keeping my handlebars straight. So the next time around I really focused on that but lost focus on how my front wheel was coming up too far. Needless to say I ended up on my back...fortunately in the grass.

A day at Yellow Creek......

2009-05-31T19:50:00.012-04:00

Spent Saturday morning riding at Yellow Creek with Monkeyboy, The Disenchanted one and Sean. Spend about 2.5 hours riding the trails built by LHORBA. The trails are in really nice shape and well maintained, but if you don't know where they are....GOOD LUCK. The trails themselves reminded me allot of the trails at Boyce Park (8 years ago), as that is the last time I was there. There is nothing I would consider to be technical, although Steve found a way to get bloodied up. Can you believe I actually had time to pull out my camera on this one?

There was one rock garden that I doubt anybody except a trials rider could ride but for the most part I would say that these trails are beginner to intermediate in nature.

The other annoying thing was the bridges. It was pretty damp and the bridges were treacherous, so if you happen there on a rainy day...and you can actually find all of the trails watch out for the bridges and the single board bridge that kind of jumps out of nowhere at you. No real penalty if you happen to miss it,at least that I can remember, but watch for it.

There are also several tricks and log piles to ride over as well. they are all ridable...even Steve managed across one without any mishaps.

All in all we had a really good time and supposedly there is a map of the trails that somebody has mad up and I am trying to lay my hand on one of these right now.

If you get the opportunity to get out to Yellow Creek to ride you wont regret it. The park is beautiful and I am sure that they will work harder to make the trails easier to find. There are plenty of facilities and the lake is there for an after ride dip.

Mountain Weekend

2009-05-25T21:28:00.007-04:00

Spent the better part of Saturday at roaring Run with Sean, Bill, Jay, Liz, Dave, Chris, Paul and Nina. Had a really good time and the group only had a couple of mechanicals. One really bent derailleur hanger and back to back flats. We road all of the old trails and most of the new. About half of the group bailed while we fixed the derailleur hanger but they all had to keep moving. Chris had just driven in from Maine the night before so he was already tired before we started.

Had another group Ride at Laurel Mountain on Sunday but was unable to attend due to my wife having to work. Hope to make it up there some day.

The bike is finished......

Finally got my sons bike finished this morning. I must say I was kind of concerned that he wanted it painted gold but it turned out really nice. I ordered some red stickers from eBay which finished it off quite nicely. Its a TREK but since there aren't any mass produced bikes made in the good Ole USA these days, not that there would b ea 20" anyway, any of them will do now.

Why is it I never have my camera......

2009-05-16T22:23:00.010-04:00

So I got a late start on my ride to day and had a laundry list of things to do as well so I headed out for a quick 35. SO I am riding along minding my own business and I notice this truck sitting along the side of the road. As I approach this guy starts to get out and kind of flags me down, and as a fellow citizen I start to slow down.

As I get closer he asks if I want to see something cool, and as I ride past I notice he still has his pants on, (someday I will have to have my wife write about all of the times she has been flashed in her life), so I figure it might be safe to stop about 25 yards or so down the road from him just in case. As I stop and turn around he points to the sky and says check that out , a bald eagle. Now that is pretty cool. I have heard of some nesting near a rails to trail about 6 miles from here but come to find out there are a couple of eagles nesting near Keystone Dam as well.

Here is a crappy photo I took with my phone.

Now the only bald eagle I have seen up until this point in my life was when I was in high school. I was a member of the sportsman's club and for our field trip we went to Pymatuning. Now this was an impressive feet in itself as most of us were completely plastered (about a three hour drive on a greyhound bus, with all the smuggled liquor and dope you could handle) by the time we got there. That coupled with the spotting scope you had to look through to see the birds was ridiculous.

Not much to say but this is funny.......

2009-05-16T01:15:00.001-04:00

Shoveling poo and paintin frames

2009-05-15T12:24:00.005-04:00

So as the weather could not decide what it was going to do yesterday I bagged the ride since it was pouring down rain and told my son we would take his bike apart and repaint the frame to a more manly color. It is hard to lay down hard cash for a bike that will maybe last a year, and as all cyclists I have along list of friends that have barely used, good quality bikes that their kids have outgrown as well.

So I scored this bike for him last summer from a friend whose 4th kid had finally outgrown it. Unfortunately all but one of his kids have high levels of estrogen so a more testosterone based color was in order. We got the bike tore down, sanded and the primer coat on. My son is only six but he did a pretty good job helping me sand and I even let him shoot some of the paint.

The Poo Part

Since it was damp from the rain I wanted to give the paint a good day to dry so we hopped into the truck and headed out for some manure for our garden. Its a short trip as there is a farm just across the road from our house. Of course my son came along to supervise the operations and to ask questions. He can make me nuts some times with all of the questions he has, so I asked him "Whats up with all the questions son?" He replied " I just want to learn all I can". Now how can you argue with that response? I guess all those books and tapes my wife invested in when he was a baby are paying off.

No....It's more like riding in the garage.

2009-05-07T12:41:00.005-04:00

Was the response I gave to my wife the other day when she asked if riding my trainer felt like riding outside. I have been using the trainer in the garage on bad weather days, since I have moved it out there for doing some fittings for some friends. Of course this response was totally off base according to here but after all of our years together you would think it would be the answer she would have expected.

Riding with Brownie......

Brownie was in town the other day to finish the testing that Monkeyboy is conducting for his thesis. we did the revers five points loop and ended up running into both Wallwork and the rain. Fortunately though we were only about 10 miles from home and you can only get so wet. Unfortunately the temperature dropped about 10 degrees from when we started so needless to say we were pretty cold by the time we returned to my house.

More riding less blogging.....

2009-04-30T12:21:00.003-04:00

So i have been riding more lately. Did 50 on Tuesday, 25 on Saturday and 30 on the TT bike last Friday.

Last Fridays ride was miserable. I went out hare without a warm up and fought to keep my heart beating correctly for most of the ride, so I m not sure if my tt position is bad or if I was just so uncomfortable because of my heart. Brownie, Steve and I did the Tanoma loop and Caught Music Matt just past the prison. Brownie of course is in great form already and Steve is coming along as well. They both did TT's this past weekend, Brownie in Carlisle TT and Steve the Presque Isle TT. Both did pretty well and Brownie added a hill climb TT later in the day.

Brownie and I did a quick twenty five on Saturday morning before heading out to Pro Bikes in Squirrel Hill. What a tremendous shop loaded with eyecandy, and very professional service, I highly recommend.

Tuesdays 50 miler was an awsome ride. Did 50 miles through Marion Center by myself. I tried to talk Nicol into going along, promising a LER, but he was taking a couple of recovery days. So I went alone. Fortunately for nicoll he did not come along becaus it ended up being a pretty fast ride. The MC loop is probably the flatest 50 miles you can do around here, although I still think I had over 2000 feet of climbing. Anyway I hammered the flats sections and paced the climbs. i did not PR the loop but it probably was for April.

Legstrong County invasion part II

2009-04-19T20:31:00.008-04:00

So "T he Disenchanted One" and I headed out into Armstrong County again yesterday morning. We went out through Conemaugh into Saltsburg, then across 286 to 380. Took 380 back to 819 then into A pollo. Back out Sugar Hollow then across to King Road then out towards Maysville to Edmon. Cut back through Saltsburg to Parkwood then back home. 82 miles with over 5300 feet of climbing for the whole ride, though I must say it felt like much more climbing than that. My legs were really fried form the weeks Vo2 max testing and the other 2.5 hours of testing Monkeyboy put me through, but pushing through the pain is good.

We were supposed to meet up with a couple of other guys in Apollo but we ran into "Scrawny White Pale Guy" just outside of Salstburg and chatted for a while thus throwing our schedule off but I that's OK I haven't seen Dirty mike in a while. He had just finished up a 13 mile run...I guess he isn't having enough knee pain these days. Before we dismissed ourselves he handed off a cliff bar that I later gave to Steve...Thanks mike.
So in the end we ended up finishing at a brisker pace than last weeks climb fest so I guess that means that our off season ,off the bike, on the couch, feeding frenzy type training has paid dividends...NOT. Anyway will probably do a long ride next Sunday as I am meeting Brownie and some of the other team members at the oval in Pittsburgh for some TT training.

Look out Beachcomber........

So one of our team members has a propensity to find and retrieve many numerous and sometimes odd things along his training routes. everything from water bottles to a full on pair of cover-alls. So look out beachcomber there is a new kid in town......

That's right my son found these and they are kids glasses to boot. Now if I can only get him to find his own bikes that would be great.

Well I'm of to hit the spinner for a recovery ride.

And I thought yesterday was bad

2009-04-16T20:28:00.003-04:00

So Duane set me up for Vo2 max testing yesterday afternoon. The test went pretty good. For those of you that aren't familiar with Vo2 testing it is a test that is considered the best indicator of cardiorespiratory endurance. As exercise intensity increases so does oxygen consumption. However, a point is reached where exercise intensity can continue to increase without the associated rise in oxygen consumption, this is VO2 Max. In other words how hard can you go before your heart cant get enough oxygen to your muscles to function under stress. Oh ya, and your nose is plugged an there is a device you breath through your mouth with that records data as well. So no drinking, or swallowing for the entire test. It takes only a bout 5 minutes before you start wishing you could at least swallow properly and not nearly that long before you wish you had a drink of water. Oh and thanks Duane for standing there drinking your powerade in front of me while I gasped for air.

Anyway as I said the test was going pretty good til near the end when my heart decided to p-lay tricks on me.I'm not sue exactly at what point it happened but it felt like it started sometime after the next to the last increase in resistance. It was not bad at first but on the last 3 minute interval I was a wreck but I pushed through. I was really disappointed because it totally goofed my reading and I would have really liked to push it to another level. I did however complete the actual battery of test so I am happy with that. I ended up with a reading of 42 and they said that that was probably about 10% under my actual so I was somewhere between 42 and 46 which isn't bad considering.

That was yesterday.....

So today is another day and I really wasn't feeling up to snuff as I do some days but I thought that a ride would cure me. Big mistake....We started out on 6th street and I didn't make it to the first turn...stupid heart. So I told the guys the route and headed for the barn. I probably should have pushed through and kept going but I had some lactic cramping in my neck and just was not into it this evening, so I headed back to the barn

Looking forward to a long ride Saturday. Probably do 80 or so in the morning..

Legstrong county invasion.........

2009-04-12T20:03:00.015-04:00

Took Monkeyboy and The Disenchanted One into Armstrong Cou nty yesterday. We went out five points to Copper Valley then across old 210 through Girty then into Brick Church. Then back across through Shady plane and into Avenmore. We then proceeded back to Parkwood and finished up on the 3 man loop through Bethel Church then home. All told it was a pretty good ride with lots of climbing and an unrelenting headwind. we ended up with 77 miles with 5160 feet of elevation gain for the ride. We gained most of our elevation in Armstrong County which is to be expected, but by no means the most you will encounter there. It always has amazed me how the rides we do in Indiana are so much flatter.

So I ended up with a pretty good 4 day stretch, no PB by any stretch of the imagination but I did brake 150 miles. I had planned on 200 but Fridays fis hing outing put the cabosh on that one. we did 39 on Thursday with 2060 feet of elevation and I did 42 with 2020 feet today. The wind today and the sub 40 deg temp really put the hurt on. I had actually planned to do over 50 but time constraints adn a good meal waiting on me at the end of my ride ....well I think you get the picture.....

Speaking of pictures........

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and maybe even a few laughs. Videos sometimes have the same affect on you as well......

Anyway if I was to just tell you about the sign we saw on our ride yesterday, through rural PA you might believe me. But if I were to tell you that there were 2 of them you would probably raise your eyebrows and say..."yeah right". So we are riding along and Monkeyboy says ..."Hey , did you see that sign back there?" "What sign?" we reply. "The one that says the same thing this one does." So fortunately I had my camera and Monkeyboy and TDO were more than happy to pose. They actually kind of fell over each other to get to it. Anyway here it is.

That's right it says "GAY LOVE"

Enough said :>)

Like fishing in a barrel........

2009-04-10T19:02:00.019-04:00

Skipped the ride today and went fishing with my son. A friend of mine keeps a nice sized pond near his house pretty stocked up with trout, bass, perch and such. We scored 6 today, 1 perch, 3 brownies, 1 palomino and 1 rainbow. All but one were really nice sized and we threw the perch back since they tolerate the warm weather better than the trout that will probably not last the summer.

And the spoils of our outing....fresh fish and chips.

Going to do 60 or 70 tomorrow with Matt and maybe Steve and another 60 or 70 on Sunday.

Please don't mistake my compasion for weekness.....

2009-04-09T21:46:00.002-04:00

As you blow by me gritting your teeth as I slow down to wait for you. Don't get me wrong, Ill help you fix a flat, Ill stop along the road to adjust your shifting but we wont put up with that crap all summer. BTW you did not ride us off the back this evening we rode you off the front.

Rode with Wallwork, Steve, Blankman and "The Helmet" this evening. I have been sick for five days so I did no expect much tonight,but we lost Blank early on and rolled along pretty good. Steve wasn't feeling very well so we slowed to wait for him and the Helmet blew by us like we were sitting still, because that's basically what we were doing. So we waited on Steve and decided to divert the route (see what yo miss by not hanging with the group). We added Cabbage hill, Washington road and skyline drive to our outing an ended up with around 39 mi. (The helmet only got about 28). It was a good ride with plenty of climbing.

Going fishing in the morning and plan to do another 40 tomorrow. Hoping to do 200 miles, including today, and finishing up on Sunday morning. Might even try to sneak in a century before the end of the month.

I hate the wind

2009-04-03T20:02:00.006-04:00

So I was unable to make the Tuesday evening hammerfest but did go out on my own. 38 miles of small chaining, high cadence riding. Did the Eastern Shore Loop in reverse. The ride is definitely harder in this particular direction but there are some pretty good flat sections that would be great with a group. I can remember ever doing this particular ride in a group, at lesat not in recent years. Anyway I had a pretty good ride an was plenty spent from fighting the wind by myself the whole time.

Then came Thursday evenings ride. Monkyboy, Wallwork, Steve and the Helmetless Wonder and myself actually did something other that the IUP standard Tanoma Loop. We actually did the same ride I did Tuesday straight up.

Before we even really got started Wallwork broke a front derailleur cable. So we wound it up and continued on our way. So since he now only had a small chain ring to ride with I also opted for another small chain ring ride....OUCH. It took at least ten miles before Andy and I could shame the rest of the group into doing the same. It is amazing how much harder you have to work to keep up with a guy riding in the big ring when your not. I did go out too hard though and had a heart flutter about two miles in but after that I felt pretty good. I was pretty beat by the end but had the second of two really good base workouts this week so I am not complaining.

What if:

2009-03-29T22:09:00.005-04:00

What if:

You lost everything you had
You had to choose between paying bills or eating
Your child had a debilitating disorder
You were so tired you didn't think you could go on
You were sick and could not afford to go to the doctor
Jesus Christ did not die on the cross to redeem us from our sins

It doesn't take nearly this much to let you know where you are in your faith.

Building a base.......

2009-03-28T22:21:00.002-04:00

Did the first loop of the Triple Loop Century (53 miles) with "Disenchanted One" and Music Matt today. Unfortunately though we missed the nicest part of the day. That was spent working on their bikes. Steve needed a fit and Matt was having derailleur problems and I was more than happy to help out. It amazes me that bike shops either don't have all the proper tools or have a that's good enough attitude (Matt actually had his to a shop). His derailleur hanger was visibly bent even before I went at it with the alignment tool. Maybe you can get away with the eyeballing it method with 7 & 8 speed components but with 9 & 10 speed the derailleur has to be as close to perfect as possible for things to work right. The tool cost under $100.00 bucks and lets you get the job done right.

Anyway we did 53 miles and had a really good ride. I always forget how hard it is this time of the year trying to build a good solid base, while at the same time trying to knock off a few pounds(low calorie intake = low energy) and keep up with everybody that already has a base(good off season training

A thank you to all the consistant people in my life.....

2009-03-27T20:49:00.005-04:00

Now I don't know about you but I can not stand it when one day somebody totally ignores you and then the next day acts like they are you best friend. Now I now that this is a tired old subject with me but man I just cant stand it. Tonight was another perfect example...My son goes to a christian school and they had their spring concert this evening. Now the children and teachers there are great and all treat my son with the utmost respect and courtesy but, many of the parents have much to learn, from the way their children act and respond to each other. Unfortunately though , most of the children will probably learn their parent bad habbits..

Of course there were some people from our church there as well and it is the same from some of them as well. these events are more like a big my kid goes to private school social event, instead of the great concert an message that was presented by the kids and the faculty. You can tell that everybody puts their best effort into making these programs a learning experience for the kids as well as those in attendance.

So that all being said, a heart felt thanks goes out to all of my friends...both old and new , fellow church members, and to those that are mere acquaintances. You all know who you are and I thank you for being the type of people you are. People that you can count on, talk to, be honest with and of course have fun with.

A Musical Montage......

2009-03-26T19:12:00.012-04:00

So I thought it might be fun to blog with links to music to go along with comments.......

Just got of the phone with Monkeyboy to verify the time of my Bicycle Maintenance Clinic this evening. Maybe Baumer will be there so we can discuss how he is always finds some way to break the chain on his bike. The Disenchanted One will probably be there as well. He is on the hunt for a new 29'er as is Monkeyboy. He is also facing the reality of his training program this past winter, I was afraid he was about to break, but see that he has found purpose in his pain. Catching up in your training this time of year can seam to take forever but it is worth it in the long run, though it will hurt for a while. Lets face it, competitive cycling hurts all the time, it is just learning to deal with the pain and as Monkeyboy says feed the warrior.

Bike Maintenance Clinic........

Just got back form IUP and the maintenance clinic. Had a pretty good turnout for a Thursday evening during March Madness. All the regular suspects were there as well as "Blankman". Blank is a tri-geek so he is always out for a run, and I have yet to see him on his bike yet this year, although he has been riding. We actually are planning a ride for tomorrow afternoon. I am going to call Hammer and Nicoll (ok maybe that one was a little mean but I could not find the theme song from The Tick) and see if they want to join us. Probably just do the Five Points Loop since I will only have much time.

Another Holiday is coming.......

Now I really do love the Holidays. Getting together with the family, good food and such but unfortunately my sister-in-law will be there. Now for some reason my brother finds her humorous, and I did one time while strung out on vicodin due to an abscessed tooth. Now some of you might think I am exaggerating, and maybe I am a little, but not very much. Fortunately the kids all get along and will have a good time.

Good ride tonight....I think............

2009-03-24T19:46:00.003-04:00

Started off the week on Monday with a run at lunch time. My legs finally stopped hurting form last weeks run so I thought I would try it again. I felt allot better after this weeks run that after last weeks so I guess you would say that is progress.

So as I stated I think I had a good ride this evening. It's so hard to tell though. Lets face it I did no training this past off season unless you consider being on the go from 3am until 9pm...a majority of that spent working, so i ts not that I did not have the desire it is the fact that I did not have the gitty-up and go. The other factor is that the group this year has been training except for the "Disenchanted One" and for the most part have their game on or at least more game than I. I also have come to some other conclusions about this group this year, particularly those that rode tonight..

Most of them are about half my age (Monkeyboy, Nate, John, Blankman and the "Disenchanted One"
One has a pretty good base from his commute to Florida this past Holiday season.(Monkeyboy)
They have all been doing off season training. (Monkleyboy, Nate, John, Blankman and Nicoll)

So as you can see it is pretty hard to see where I stand at this point in time. Although I did not break and hung on. I just don't have that snap on the climbs yet, but on the rollers and flats I am still able to ride a couple of them off of my wheel so I have that going for me at least.

I do like the fact though that they do a nice warm up before putting the hammer down giving everybody ample time to warm up, which with my heart I really need. They do need to work on keeping the group together a little more. Everybody would benefit from that. The guys that are in really good shape could take longer pulls and everybody would get some good speed work and some good efforts with recovery as well. I talked to Monkeyboy toward the end of the ride and he was thinking the same thing, so I guess we will see how the next ride goes.

Fun at Roaring Run

2009-03-21T22:12:00.006-04:00

Spent part of the day with Monkeyboy, Nate and the Disenchanted One at Roaring Run. I had invited others but they were a no show. Mike did call and beg out because he wasn't feeling well and Bill had to teach a spin class this morning so I will give them both a pass this time.

The trails are in really good shape right now, I'm sure due to the efforts of Jay and Liz. We rode allot of the old trails and most of the new. The cistern trail is in pretty good shape right now due to all the river weed and greenbriar being dead due to the winter freeze. Maybe those trails will be able to remain open this year throughout the summer. We tried the cistern trail late last summer and could not get through.

Of course you cant leave Roaring Run without drawing blood...and Nate and Monkeyboy were willing to oblige. Nate had blood coming from near his knee and Monkeyboy did a header coming down off of the elevator shaft trail, not sure how, all I heard was a ruckus behind me only to turn around just in time to see him tumbling down the hill. Of course the Disenchanted One has been riding a borrowed mountain bike so he had nothing but mechanical problems all day.

On a side note.. .. just after you top the ZIG ZAG Trail there is a pretty good gas leak coming from an exposed pipe, so please no smoking.

Man...where did this week go?

2009-03-20T19:09:00.004-04:00

Holy crap...It's Friday already and I haven't blogged all week. So I started my week by running at lunch time on Monday...My legs still hurt...is that normal. I have been out on the bike twice since but my quads still ache. It is no wonder you never see somebody running and smiling at the same time, I'm pretty sure it cant be done. But life must go on.

Tuesdays night ride......

So I was unable to make the Tuesday night ride this week but had a chance to get out with the "Disenchanted One" on Wednesday. We rode out to the Blairseville speedway and back to town. The weather was pretty balmy but still was not super comfortable by the time we got back. I also got out last evening with Monkeyboy, Nate, Wallwork and the "Disenchanted One". It was 55 deg when we started and 44 deg when we returned. That's the real drawback to riding this time of year...it is really hard to decide what to wear.

Good ride today.......

2009-03-14T20:59:00.000-04:00

Had a good ride today. Sean and I were supposed to ride this morning but he begged out on me so I was just sitting around trying to decide if I wanted to ride in 40 deg weather, go to spin class or just ride the couch til this afternoon and hope for warmer weather. The phone rang and it was Steeve and he said that he an Matt were meeting at the Oak Grove at noon and wanted to know if I could make it. So I wrangled up some sub 50 riding gear and headed out.

There must have been something wrong with weather bug today because when I left it said 44 deg, weather underground predicted a high of 47 deg, but buy the time we left town it was already 54 deg. So I was over dressed again but that's OK. Better to be a little warm that too cold, I just unzipped my coat a little on the flats and the only time it was really intolerable was on the climbs. I felt pretty good today for a guy that's has refused to train at all this past winter up until the past month or so. No heart problems either today, any ride without that is a great ride.

Monkeyboy....Creatine Junky....

So... Monkeyboy has decided to add, what he thinks it his newest weapon to his arsenal.... Creatine. I have had experience using this when I was into weight lifting and I as well as others I new had pretty good results with it under those conditions, however I havent known anybody that has used it for cycling performance.

I did..... no I did....did not....did too.....

So there has been some pretty good back and forth on the IUP Cycling Club message board. It appears that everybody wants to stake claim for being founders for the club. Now I suppose that they are correct that back in the day that they had a cycling club at IUP but at some point in time it disbanded and disappeared. I have known many people that have attended IUP over the years that were cyclists and always were mystified that there was no such beast. So...Last Year Dr. shim and Monkeyboy spearheaded the start of a new club which at this point is doing very well. They have a race team and have both Mountain and Road rides as well as casual rides for those that like to ride without pain.

Now Duane had to do allot of legwork to get this thing going. I am not sure of all the procedures but I do know that it was allot of work for him to do. Now if there was a club currently in existence he would not have had to do this. But hear is an analogy that may make it clear to everybody that it is a new club. Let's say I open a coffee shop in a certain building in a certain city. After a few years I decide to retire and close down. Years after my closing somebody else decides to open another coffee shop in the same building in the same city. So.....According to their logic that coffee shop would belong to me....right?

I will now respnd to Burpen.....(An ode to Burpen)

2009-03-13T17:07:00.001-04:00

So as we all know people read our blogs, and for the most part they are not commented on and if they are it is usually some sort of rant back and forth between people that obviously know each other and are constantly goofing on each other. Lets face it folks, this whole blog thing is more about people taking themselves too seriously, not a forum for back and forth views and opinion. There is plenty of that out there these days and if I wanted that, that is where I would be. Instead I playfully write about personal and current events and try to make it entertaining all the while. Lets face it I have a family (and often times am interrupted in mid thought...Like right now)(OK I'm back Burpen 3 hours later) and a life so I take little time to proof read and with the added touch of posting links to add to the fun....well I think you can figure out where this is going...Man if you haven't been watching Star Wars The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network you are really missing a cool show. Every Friday my son and I go to guitar lessons then home for popcorn and Star Wars Night. (2 more hours...See Burpen this is what happens).

So where did I leave off....Oh ya. So this guy Burpen posts comments to my blog which I decide to briefly Ignore. First of all I really dont care and secondly they really do not apply and were mostly just a critique towards my inablility to keep on track of my thought process on part of one of my blog entries, Maybe....SO WHAT!!!!!!!! Plus, I thought it might be more fun to actually respond to him in blog format, where everybody might be able to read it instead of through the comments button (limited space to really complete a thought...assuming I can ;>) ). Why waste my time, you may ask, believe me I have asked myself the same question. Anyway, at first I tried to go back and clarify my one particular thought but to no avail....WHO CARES??? BURPEN DOES THAT'S WHO!!!!!! Whoever Burpen is....

So here we go...my individual response to each part of each question.......Buckle up! so you may follow he took excerpts form this linked pos t... (man why m I even doing this)

Quote from blog... "Unable to agree to disagree?"

Burpen Response..."Does "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists" sound familiar to you? Callous polarization as a political tool is not a new idea, and certainly not new here. Difference is it's not coming from the president's mouth anymore, which I think is a positive change.

Afib Rebuttal..."I think you are a little off base here. He is an O'bama appointee which makes him an extension or at the very least is perceived to be speaking to what are the beliefs of the presidient and that is why I feel it was a mistake for him to bring it up."

Quote From Blog..."It has even gone so far as to eliminate the teaching of such things in some of our school systems."

Burpen..."What has gone so far? And how exactly does this sentence have anything to do with the topic at hand? I think you kinda lost me there."

Afib Rebuttle..."Touche....ADD dude...Not a college writing course."

Burpen..."As for learning "form our mistakes" [sic], I heartily agree. But as a devout Christian, I was shocked at your suggestion (through the image linked by the word "past") that we might kill Jesus Christ a second time! Certainly the world has wised up to the idea that the first crucifixion was a grave error (no pun intended). And even the non-believers are now all well aware, 2000 years later, of the fact that He can't be permanently killed, so what would be the point?

Afib Rebuttal..."Man so much to cover here but i will try...without getting off track. First of all I am a Christian as well but I am not naive to the current views and attitudes towards Christianity, Christians or our views and beliefs.

According to some poles there is a current shift away from Christianity.I as well am close to finishing a book by Lee Strobel."The Case For The Real Jesus" I highly recommend this one for anybody...both Christian and Non Christian to read. It talks to the point of how people...even those that you might say are theologians are losing their faith and turning from Christianity.
So you are wrong in your belief that all people agree that Jesus did die on the cross and was resurrected to sit at the Right hand of god the father.
Many people that claim to be Christians have established their own belief systems incorporating things they like from Christianity and combining them with other religions or current world views suit their own needs.
The previous has also lead to a shift in what is currently viewed as the new favorite bible verse Mathew 7:1-5^"1Judge not, that ye be not judged. ²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.³And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ⁴Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?⁵Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."mostly focusing on the first 2 verses. Replacing John 3:16 ¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^a]">[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.as the top favorite
I have also noticed a real shift toward strict theology among many Christians I encounter from real bread and butter Christianity these days as well. This can be a good thing but I think that it makes it hard to be fishers of men if the fish cant figure out what the bait your using is.

So yes I believe if Jesus walked the world today, and given the opportunity, it could very well happen again. But as a believer I know that it cant. Mathew 7:1 -5 Remember?

Are you still with me Burpen??????

Burpen..."Interesting new version, but you still haven't logically connected racism to revisionism."

Afib Rebuttal..." Do you really care that much? Do I not make the point that our youth...mostly in college are indoctrinated not taught...Maybe not but the is what i meant"

Burpen...It's kind of telling that you chose to both disapprove my earlier comment and surreptitiously edit your post. Revisionism indeed; you're a coward and a hypocrite.

Afib Rebuttal...." Do I really need to say anything here? I think it is obvious here thatI had a plan for your comments. Not an of the cuff rant Plus I'm no coward.....

But I might say you are a hypocrite. Lets face it if you wee so shocked by my statement and link why then did you come back" god bless you and yours.... :>)

2009-03-13T12:35:00.000-04:00

A Note to Burpen........

I am not a hypocrite....Just working on a responses to you to post as a blog entry. I am sorry that you feel so slighted but do not be disheartened I will make you famous in the Blog Kingdom. And remember that we must all live in the world but not be of the world while at the same time not seeing the world with blinders on......

I hate cell phones

2009-03-11T20:40:00.000-04:00

So why is it every time I need to get hold of somebody their cell either has a dead battery or is in their car? Especially when one of the 2 people I tried today would have a fit if I did not answer my phone when she called. I mean it never fails. I had to find out what time my niece got off of work today so I could meet her to retrieve my son, and I was unable to reach either of them.

God Bless America..........

Caught this guy on the news this morning.......probably something we should all do.

Lets face it..if our Representatives are allowed to get away with it without penalty why shouldn't we all. And while we are on the subject what happened to transparency, no earmarks and going through bill and getting rid of pork? I guess he is promising that for later on now.

I love/hate this time of year.......

2009-03-07T10:56:00.000-05:00

So Duane and I did the eastern shore loop this morning. You cant beat 56 deg at 8:00am this time of year and by the time we finished it was 66 Deg. His new Special Ed is pretty sweet and he got a great deal on it to boot. He wishes that it had better components but by the time he really gets sick of it it will be time for anot her bike. He probably will upgrade the wheels though. It came with Shimano...which aren't bad but Mavics would be sweeter.

So as we are riding along he mentions that he is going to try to get the Five Points road Classic back up and running. During the conversation he reminded me of an incident that happened back in 2001. Pap (the doper) had shown up alone and Hoovis' team kept attacking him. so at the end of the race something happened and Pap and Hoovis go fisticuffs. But probably was more like this.

So anyway I hate this time of year because I am totally out 0f shape.Too much hunting and work this past winter season. I hope I never do this again..it really stinks.

The running man..........

Ran into tom the other day while I was out on the bike. He was actually supposed to ride with us this morning, but I'm guessing he went earlier since it was so nice and they were calling for rain. Seeing tom made me think about how many good competitive cyclist we have here right in Indiana. We have Rodie's moutainbikers and adventure racers that have competed all over the world. I wonder what the average number of competitive cyclist you can expect to have based on your population.

And they call you a doctor

2009-03-05T17:05:00.000-05:00

Now for all of those of you I know that are in the profession...please take no offense. So I hurt my back at UPS last week, not sure how exactly, but it happened. So I tell the supervisor and finish off the day, which was probably a mistake. So after sucking it up for a week I decided I better see a doctor, so they send my to an occupational therapy clinic. So two more days waiting to see the doctor go by, since they seem not to be able to work beyond 4:00 pm....on their late days.

So I get into the exam room in record time(getting close to quitting time), which I consider anything under 1/2 hr record time. The nurse asks me a few questions, though I suspect that she didn't quite believe me, then to my astonishment the doctor shows up a mere few minutes after she leaves. So she then asks me a few questions about what happened, barely paying attention, and where did it hurt? Then she had me do a couple little things like stand on my heals then toes and then bend over a little.......The diagnosis...your back is week 2 weeks therapy and back to work immediately.(lifting heavy boxes) does not make allot of sense to me but hey I am no doctor, I'm just the guy with a hurt back.

Now I understand that she probably sees people that don't really have pain and are trying to play the system a little, but that isn't me. And if she would have spent more that five minutes talking to me she would have figured that out herself. I like other cyclists are no stranger to pain let alone others at UPS, and have become accustomed to just shrugging it off and carrying on. Since last September I have had the bulkhead door slammed on my arm twice, by two different drivers. And when it comes to bikes I competed in a 24 hour mtb race with a broken wrist, ridden 20 miles with a road apple that covered half my thigh, and one time after being ejected from my bike at 30 mph over here handlebars, resulting in a dislocated shoulder, got back up and got right back in the mix. And I guess the most painful has been having to deal with my brothers wife for the past 10+ years. and believe me I have witnessed others that have dealt with similar situations and carried on as well, some of which have met my sister in law.

But as far as back pain goes, I have no intentions of shrugging that off. I know too many people with chronic back pain, and see how it affects their lives. I have over the years watched my dad walk crooked and bent over from pain from time to time. And my uncle is in constant pain and pretty much spends most of his life either standing or lying down because he can barely tolerate the pain he endures while sitting.

Spinning.......

2009-02-21T14:29:00.000-05:00

Had a good spin class today. The class was full and Jim is quit the character.

Playing cards..........

So I had a feeling that this was going to happen. That is that if you did not vote for Obama you were a racist and that if you do not agree with his stimulus package then you were definitely a racist. (Maybe he should check this out and change political parties)Have we not moved beyond that by now? (according with this guy we haven't) Have we now lost our rights to disagree with our President now that we have an African American in office? I for one am proud that we have an African American as president. I don't think he is the right person for the job nor did I vote for him...but I do respect the office of the president and those that hold that position weather or not I agree with their political views and opinions or not.

As far as the open dialogue about racism goes, I am all for it. We should be open about it, but what confuses me is why the teaching of such things in some of our school systems has been eliminated or completely deleted form some text books.Is not the best way to improve ourselves as an individual and as a country to study the past and learn form our mistakes? Or should we just over time forget them and at some point in time repeat all of the atrocities that have been committed in the past?

If we are unable to agree to disagree as a free country then we are all in trouble.

Spinning tomorrow.......

2009-02-20T22:20:00.000-05:00

Going to spin class tomorrow. Looking forward to a great workout. Jim asked me if I wanted to teach but I think I will hold off o that for a few more weeks, still out of shape , although round is a shape.This is really the only form of training I am getting right now and if I am going to race this year I need to get on the ball. I talked to Brian this evening, he.s been riding in Florida, and he has big plans for me this season, so I guess I have no choice.

Headhunters.........

So I don't know how long its been since you looked for a job but this new way of finding one stinks. It seems that 99% of companies list their openings with Headhunters, IE. placement specialists. I am sure that some of them are good but I talked to one the other day that really did not seem to know what she was doing. I wont go into details but, based on my conversation with her I wouldn't think she would be qualified to answer the phone let alone find somebody a good job.

Speaking of Obama...................

It is amazing to me how this economy situation has taken the focus off of what is going on abroad. Its like he is getting a free ride (SURPRISE) and not having to answer or face the hard questions about allot of important things that could have a major impact on our safety and that of our troops.

Shortly after Obama's envoy, Richard Holbrooke, visited Pakistan, that country surrendered to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The Pakistani government now says the Taliban has the authority to impose sharia law in the northern part of that country.
The government of Kyrgyzstan is closing the US base that supplies NATO forces in Afghanistan.
A report by the Institute for Science and International Security says that Iran could have weapons-grade nuclear material this year.
Kim Jong-Il, the leader of North Korea, celebrated his 67th birthday this week by threatening a nuclear missile test.

Oh well, I guess we all knew that he would get a free ride form the media, since he is their guy. I personally don't want to see him fail. The fallout , I feel, would be too devastating to our country.

Time space continuum.......

2009-02-17T18:04:00.000-05:00

So I was blasting Shawn about his abuse of the English language the other day.(I know Shawn you spell it SEAN). Of course he pretended that I hurt his feelings. Oh well, it could be worse, Nicoll could be involved in all of this.

Spinning again.......

Went to spin class last night. It was a pretty good class. Doug was there so we chatted about some of the events he is going to be putting on this season. He is also launching a magazine this season as well as a start up web store so I am interested to see how that all pans out. I will keep you updated as well.

Spin Spin Spin..........

2009-02-14T21:32:00.000-05:00

Taught a spin class today and to be perfectly honest it hurt. I changed things up for the class today. Instead of progressions we did regressions, with allot of hard and easy change ups, muscle confusion for the heart. The ride kind of simulated a usual Tuesday night hammer fest with a lot of short efforts, changing resistance every 30 seconds from hard to easy. Everybody seemed to enjoy the class and to my surprise liked the METAL CD I put together.

February....Is old friends month.......

So I have had the great pleasure of coming in contact with Three people that I have not seen in as many as 20 years, Rob, Scott and Benay. Rob is a guy I grew up with. we spent allot of time fishing and being called little shits by his mom, God bless her soul. Scott and I became friends several years ago when the guy up the street would not put the cables he had purchased elsewhere on his bike for him. Scott had lost his left arm in and accident when he was younger but that did not slow him down. Nobody complained while he was along on a ride. He was also a phenomenal mountain biker.Benay is a pretty tremendous athlete herself. She has spent allot of time competing in adventure racing and has done pretty well.

Not for those under 18............

What the heck is going on at IUP. There have been two different events this past week that I found to be off the charts as far as quote "educational of societal value" goes. The first was brought to my attention by Mokeyboy. He saw this flyer posted somewhere on campus for some sort of discussion on Hooking up and learning what it means to be sexually responsible. No can you imagine what kind of people showed up for this one. And can you imagine the discussion...."So every time I get a few drinks in me I get this uncontrollable urge to spread my legs, and fall on my back, but I am on the pill. That's being responsible right?" And can you imagine all the perves hanging around outside waiting to strike up conversation with those exiting the meeting.

The other was this little gem called The Vagina Monologues, which is a play they were putting on to raise funds for the Alice Paul House which is a great cause, but, is using this particular vunue along with selling Chocolate Vagina's to raise money for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in good taste? or am I just out of touch?

It's a love hate thing......

2009-02-08T19:08:00.002-05:00

Did a loop on the fixie this afternoon...around 20 mi. Now in my opinion riding a fixie is one of the best and fastest ways to get into shape....this is the love part......
to read more and see what i found today click here

It's a love hate thing......

2009-02-08T18:20:00.000-05:00

Did a loop on the fixie this afternoon...around 20 mi. Now in my opinion riding a fixie is one of the best and fastest ways to get into shape....this is the love part:

It improves your spin
It's good for your knees
It improves your endurance
It improves your ability maintain a constant effort
It improves leg strength
It's stylish

But it isn't all good...

No gears
Climbing can be a pain especially here in PA
Not enough people ride more than 5 miles on one
If your not a a buck twenty five it aint easy
165 mm cranks (no leverage)

Although it's got to be better than Fixed Gear Mountain Biking.....not single speed FIXED GEAR....that's just plain ?????

First find of the year........

Found this perfectly good snow scraper with a brush this afternoon on the way back home......that's one for me Beachcomber :>)

What a slacker......

2009-02-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

That's right folks....I have really been slaking this year, but decided today to put an end to it and commuted to work today. Now it is not for lack of wanting to everyday, it is just that my second job is on the way home from my first, so I would have to actually drive home and get my bike just to return from where I have just came. Fridays though I don't work the first job so I can now commute. I really enjoyed it too, except fort the cold fingertips but that's OK, my own fault for locking myself out this morning. At least I had everything else I needed. Actually I think that I will come home at least one other day and commute back just because I do miss it.

Monkeyboy on the loose...................

So I heard from Monkeyboy today, and he has started his own blog now. I say it's about time, although his claim is that he will out blog and out ride me this year. I guess he is trying to call me out or something, good luck with all that buddy.Hope he rights about his recent bike shop experience.

Jamming................

My son started guitar lessons today and I must say i have not seen so much enthusiasm since the other nights bicycle outing. I hope his enthusiasm ensues because it has made me want to take up the guitar again, for like the hundredth time. I started when I was around 9 and wish now I had never quit, but what kid want to spend his time learning songs like camp town races.I would have rather been playing tings like this...

Not that I was a Pink Floyd fan at teh age of 9 but I think you get the picture.

Whats your problem???????

2009-01-30T22:02:00.000-05:00

I swear....if I hear another person with a good job, family and good health whine about life I may just punch them in the mouth. Seriously folks.......Well that's enough of that

One of my sons favorite Summertime sports.......

So I was headed out to clear the snow and my son asked if he could come out as well. He is not put off by adverse weather and makes the best of what is thrown at him,which I think is awesome. So out the door and straight to the swing.I think he would do this forever if you would let him, although he still refuses to make himself go so that means allot of pushing for me and his mom. Oh well, that's OK he wont be this little forever.

Doesn't that just warm your cycling heart?

So as I said I was clearing snow and my son finally pryed himself away from his swing and comes up and asks for his bike helmet. With now cohersion from me he is asking to ride his bike in 20 deg. weather with 5 inches of the white stuff on the ground......AWESOME :>)

BTW, Its official........My son now has more miles on his bike that I do this year. Oh well I will surely catch up and pass him...I hope to anyway.

Power in a Cup

2009-01-22T10:09:00.002-05:00

While training is best measured this time of year by "time on the bike" and not by "miles", one thing remains constant...the sweet taste of espresso afterwards!

Power in a Cup

2009-01-22T10:09:00.001-05:00

While training is best measured this time of year by "time on the bike" and not by "miles", one thing remains constant...the sweet taste of espresso afterwards!

Power in a Cup

2009-01-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

While training is best measured this time of year by "time on the bike" and not by "miles", one thing remains constant...the sweet taste of espresso afterwards!

Hello old friend.....You werent missed you know

2009-01-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

So I took another spin class last evening, which was my first experience with affib for the year. I should have expected it though having just eaten shortly before and with no warm up time having shown up just in time to start. Oh well, live and learn, it was a good class however and I hope to start teaching again in a few weeks.

Who cares what you people think..........

Came across this on another blog.......Do these people really believe that anybody really cares what they think or have to say. I would rather they all give up their citizenship and move to some foreign land...preferably one that we are currently bombing, a nice bungalow at ground zero would do nicely.

This is downright scary....although I am pretty sure that their golden child is not as liberal as they might believe which in the end is kind of ironic.

Speaking of friends.........

Ran into Doug at spin class last night as well. Doug is probably one of the most positive and motivating people you will ever meet in your lifetime. Some people don't know quite how to take him sometimes but that's mostly because of his incessant intensity.

Anyway he was telling me that his son and Toby shipped out a few weeks ago and are currently in Kuwait waiting for deployment to I think Afghanistan....... God luck, good hunting and gods speed boys, you will be in our prayers.

owwwwwwwww@!!@!!!

2009-01-17T15:46:00.000-05:00

So I started back to spinning class today after too many months off of the bike and way too many hours worked....

The class was full, which was good to see but I was in no way ready to spend over an hour standing and spinning...but I did. It is actually the same spin routine I taught in several of my classes last year, except I don't remember it hurting so badly....... Jim says everybody hates it and loves it at the same time. I actually plan to start teaching some again in a few weeks once I get some of my legs back, until then I will just suffer. I wont be able to make it to many of the weekday classes but I have my own spin bike here so I will use that. I actually look forward to tomorrows recover spin. Probably about a half hour or so.

I hate house work....

So since Gail and I have both been so busy..me with work and her with school, the house has suffered some so today was clean up day, or at least the start of what will probably be a 3 weekend project. Its not really dirty it is just disorganized and I cant stand that. I am going to take a brake though. Brownie is coming over this evening and I am going to finish up his time trial bike.

Alternative Training

2009-01-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

Some people find many different ways to train in the off season....Here is one of my all time favorites

Not very physical but allot of fun.

Still haven't seen Monkeyboy.....

I know that he is back but I have only spoken to him briefly. He said he has allot of stories from his Florida trip but I have to ride with him to get the skinney on it all. He did however say he is selling his bike so if you know anybody intersted that is built like a monkey it is a pretty good deal.

How'd they pull this off???????

So one of my racing friends (far right podium) sent me this photo the other day.

What I want to know is....... How did they get these women to pose with cowbells hanging from their necks..but upon closer inspection it became clear to me that they primed them beforehand.

Alternative Training

2009-01-15T17:50:00.002-05:00

While some of us prefer riding outdoors... and others of us prefer riding indoors... they are both still (just) riding. Meanwhile, Shredder, marching to the beat of a different drummer, considers cross country skiing to be a viable way to bring his fitness on-line this time of year!

Alternative Training

2009-01-15T17:50:00.001-05:00

Alternative Training

2009-01-15T17:50:00.000-05:00

4 hour trainer ride!

2009-01-13T13:19:00.002-05:00

It's over and what an experience. Not necessarily a good one but it was an experience for sure. Read about it here.