Can I please have my body back?

Marty, where did I leave the Flux Capaciter?

After months of living my pirate life I had a chance to take a step toward normal vision.  The hope lasted only a few days and then it was a step backward and an unplanned surgery.  I'll spare you the sad story and get to the subject of this post.

After this eye surgery my physical activity was more strictly limited than in the past.  By the time I was given the green light it had been just over six solid weeks of nothing.  Don't even bend over to tie your shoes nothing.  Have your son carry your luggage nothing.  Walk, but not too briskly, nothing.

When I got back on the bike I had nothing.  It was like I was trapped in someone else's body.  That someone else was not a lifetime athlete, it was a fat slob who had puny lungs and weak legs. 

On my rides my HR zones were  a full 1.5 zones above where they should have been.  It seemed wrong, but then afterwards the way my body felt was consistent with the actual heart rates. 

I had only six days before my team was coming to the Methow for a handful of days riding gravel.  I tried to cram in some training with predictable results.  I bet it all on the one big day and managed to avoid cramping until I was past the flame rouge.  I finished the ride pedaling with one leg.  I was blown.  

My usual training ploy after a setback is to load up on zone two miles.  The problem this time was that to go zone two speed, I had to tickle zone four.  I slept like a pile of dirty laundry. This was hard.  Getting back in shape is a young man's game and I am not a young man.

After a couple weeks of trying to build up some fitness I went on a nice Saturday ride with Hottie.  The next day was our team's Coffee and Lies ride.  The fast guys went slower and the rest of us were compelled to keep up with them as a thank you for their kindness.  

I was due for a hard day and I actually felt like I had some power.  I had resumed running for the first time since my forced rest period.  That may have given my legs some power.  Maybe. It wasn't impressive, or fast, but it was what I had on this day and I was happy with it.

It is rare that my legs hurt even before the ride is over, but the climb up to the cafe was a mix of twitches and simply sore legs.  It felt good to be strong enough to have tired legs. 

To distract my mind from the hurt I tried to plan my afternoon ahead so as to minimize the number of trips I would have to make up and down our stairs.  

When I got home I felt I had earned the right to what had been forced on me for all of the month of May; nothingness.  I relaxed and spent some time chillin with Hottie.

Loaded for bear

The road, like a slender finger of spring, splits winter and reaches into the backcountry. Spring is here with the promise of long days of sunshine.  Under a blue sky dotted with clouds ranging from white to grey three souls rolled out of Mazama and follow that road into the mountains where winter remains steadfast.

As the miles ticked by we climb and the snow on either side of the road grows deeper. Wild flowers are starting to bloom on the valley floor, yet the mountains are still cloaked under a deep blanket of snow. Spring is a time of contrasts.

As we ride, we look lumpy, our pockets bulging as we make our way deeper into the hills.  

The road isn't ready for cars and, on weekends, the snow plows are idle. We ride three abreast.  The first hour was warm, but now the clouds are thicker and a wind is bringing the chill of the snow through our jerseys.  Patches of ice on the pavement become larger and more frequent.  Finally we round a corner and can see the road goes into a wall of snow. 

There is no doubt we are at the end.  Often in spring I ride a road to where the snow takes over and there is a "Should I, or shouldn't I?" moment as I consider if I should turn around or keep going.  No debate here.  This is it.

We look around and realize it has begun to spit snow.  We are emptying our pockets like we are contestants in a game show.  We pull out jackets, vests, gloves, tights, and neck warmers. I sit on the pavement to put on wind pants. I am amazed that the road isn't cold.  We dress as fast as we can and then begin what we know will be a long, cold descent.  We are no longer lumpy, we are dressed to stay warm.  We have all done this multiple times over the years and we came prepared.

Time to get going.  

As we begin the descent the sweat on the front of my beanie turns cold and I have an ice cream headache.  The wind blows in our faces, then from the side, then for a moment behind us as we ride down the mountain we spent the last two hours riding up.  I realize that while I am not quite warm, I am not cold.  After several minutes we see two cyclists heading up and they are not lumpy.  They will be cold.  They will be very, very cold.

We trade pulls and can't help but have fun on the never ending descent.  The road grade fluctuates as we drop thousand of feet. 

As we near the valley floor we see a cyclist with bare arms and legs.  He appears to be out for a short ride and will turn around soon (we hope).  We finish our ride and welcome some hot lentil soup into our bellies.  We express gratitude for the day, the ride and each other's company. 

Yeah - I'm off plan

Pirate for a year

This shouldn't be forever, but after eight months, it feels like it has already been forever.  Yes, you adapt; but everything is harder. I said everything, and I mean everything.  I am grateful to be where I am and am glad I have been able to adapt as well as I have.  I have learned that I need those around me.  Hottie and TQ have been essential to my success and happiness.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

More later.  Just wanted to let my fans know I'm not dead, just laying low and getting ready to attack!

Road bikes are finished

In a recent conversation, someone said, “Road bikes are about as good as they are ever going to get.”  That was a bold statement, but the more I listened and thought about it. I had to agree.  Road bikes are about as light as they can be, as stiff as one wants then to be, about as aero as they can be and between tubeless, discs and the evolution of modern shifting, those are pretty close to optimal as well.  

I recall the stiffness journey as frames, cranksets, shoes, and wheels all got stiffer and stiffer, before getting more compliant.  The frame shapes that once traded aerodynamics for weight now manage to tick both boxes.  The axle standards have settled in at 12mm TA. Disc brakes are now standard and we are never going back.

There isn’t any frontier that has much to give up for road bikes.  

Mountain bikes and gravel bikes are still changing and changing rapidly.  AS amazing as those bikes are, there is more to come.  

Privacy isn't what it used to be

 

Apparently, I'm dead.

As a kid when we would get a new phone book I would open it and find our name and phone number.   As an adult I went to the trouble to get an unlisted phone number.  Today I'm on the FCC do not call list.   

When the internet was fresh, it was interesting to type in your name and see what came up.   Now it is scary.  Name, birthdate, address, phone number, spouse and employers past and present all pop up.  Also showing up are former spouses, their spouses, kids, parents, former addresses.... all connected to me! Too much for my liking. 

It turns out that even when your data is taken from legal sources (tax records, public filings, etc.) it is still YOUR data and you have a say in how it can be shared.  But it takes action.

A tech savvy friend told me what it would take to get my info removed from the websites that collect and offer up our personal data.  I spent about an hour starting the process myself and was overwhelmed. I realized it would take me hours of effort spread out over weeks, no, months, no.... years!  

There were three things that struck me; first it would take a ton of one time effort to remove my personal information, second, I would need to learn how to do it as the rules keep changing and third, as new services pop up, or my data resurfaces I would have to search out my info and repeat the process again and again and again.

Knowledge, expertise and sophisticated tools, that is what makes something a business opportunity.  There must be a company that does this.

My Data Removal does this.  You confirm who you are and what data is yours (they can't remove incorrect data, only real data) and they remove your data from the sites that mine your data.  On an ongoing basis they use software to constantly look for your data to pop up again and if it does, they remove it again.  I'm at a point in my life where I have enough assets that I am someone who can be targeted and also someone who does not mind paying less than my coffee budget to keep my data safe.  No brainer.  I would strongly recommend you consider this.  

Mortality

                   You don't know what you've got 'til you lose it all, again.

                                                                 - Bruce Hornsby 

It is like each day I was issues a hundred points to use as I saw fit.  Work took sixty or seventy points, then a few for a workout, some more for making dinner, etc.  Finally, the last few to balance the books and pay bills.   Now it is like I only get 70 points and work takes more than it used to and I'm pretty much out of points by two or three in the afternoon and my head hurts. 

I have tried to tell myself that it will pass, but the outlook now is that it will be well into 2022 before I have a chance to get back to the old normal. I'm all about positivity, but man, this is a challenge.

I've seen some windows closing, but I never had any idea some could close this FAST.  

I know I need to start from scratch and build some base fitness in anticipation of getting my vision working again. Sadly I'm an all or nothing kind of guy and not being able to mountain bike or put something challenging on the calendar is making my mind hurt. 

I've had to build from zero before, but I'm not even at zero yet. 

Back on the trail....

 

           I feel like I'm always coming back from something. Today is no different...

I crashed a friend's party and went for a quick overnight backpack in our Cascade mountains.  The bad news was I needed to use two hiking poles, the good news is neither was white with a red tip. It felt good to be moving on the trail and the poles helped for sure.  

                                             This hat makes my eye look green.

Two weeks ago California sent us their triple digit heat and for this trip it seems Alaska sent us their mosquito population.  We had headnets and we knew how to use them. We sprayed anything exposed with cancer to keep the buzzing menaces from biting.

I awoke to find a small creature had chewed a large hold in one of my stuff sacks, but no damage to the tent, so I called that a win.

A relaxed breakfast and casual roll out brought our adventure to a fine conclusion.

                                  This is Turbine leading Evo back to the car!