Comeforths

I'm not really sure if you can consider it a comeback if you never quite reached the back to come to, so I will call this chapter of life my "comeforth". I never attained my year's goal on the bike of category-ing up to 3s, but I must admit right before my deer accident I had been riding better than in all of my 15 years of amateur cycling. I gave racing a go in several of those early years - mainly mountain bike racing - but always experienced a minor setback with injury or time or money constraints. Then kids came along and energy was devoted to more important things. I'm lucky all my injuries were minor and after the hip bruise swelling subsided I am back on the trainer. Summertime trainer sessions have their pros & cons - yeah it's awesome to set up on the patio and feel the breeze and listen to birds and absorb some vitamin D, but it's still a trainer. Fortunately, no deer have jumped my fence. But I'm focused on my original goal again and just may have to do it a little later during the cyclocross season. I may have a new Edwin Cycles SS CX built up by then, or I'll use a Surly Cross Check frame I acquired. Those details are trivial to me now, I will just be glorified to be back on two wheels!

So whatever your personal goals are for the year, I wish you a successful comeforth.

Ride yer trainer!

New Bike Smell

I've had this frame for everal months but not the means to build it up properly. As I was in the hospital, I got word that my Edwin Cycles Round Valley 29er SS was finished by the good folks at Bicycle Shack. Something to look forward to when I'm back up on two wheels! She's a beauty. Rust patina clearcoat mixes well with the green ano bits.

Slow the *(&% down

A week ago today my life flashed before my eyes... so I smacked right into it.

My philosophy already tends to lean toward less being more, so I'm not the type that gets caught in the tail-chasing rut of working to keep up with the Joneses. Modest house; utilitarian cars; back yard staycations... No, my life was simply getting too busied with work projects, freelance I never can say NO to, kid activities, home repairs and trying to sneak as many bicycle rides in there as possible. Things were piling up. They're still piled up, but I've been given reprieve to step back and sort them so I can better tackle each one.

Last week my buddy Joe and I set out at 5:30am for one of our morning rides. A great 30 mi loop out around lakes Lakewood, Blue Springs & Jacomo. It had rained out several mornings before so we were anxious to get the miles in. About 16 miles in, heading down the hill to the west of Blue Springs Lake, she darted out across my path. A backlit brown blur was all I saw. A couple hoofclaps on the pavement was all I heard. I braced for impact turning in my right shoulder. A clanking mass of metal and man finally came to rest on the slope of asphalt. I did the "that f@©#!ng just happened" in my head as the pain quickly seeped in. Instinct for me is to hop up & walk it off - I laid there a moment to catch my wind and then stood up as Joe helped me and my pieces off the road. At first inventory check it appeared all my parts were there and all were good. I've never broken a bone before besides my nose, so I didn't really know what to expect but as my right elbow sprouted it's own spherical fruit I began to assume my arm might be broken. I think Joe called his neighbor to bring his truck to pick us up as I was deciding whether or not I needed emergency attention. Slipping into shivers & shock I told Joe we'd better call the ambulance. I ended up going to Centerpoint trauma center and xrays showed a busted elbow. Surgery needed to pin & screw all the loose pieces back together, but my hip scan and CT scans came back clear.

It could have been so much worse. So what - my race season is done, but I am not paralyzed and have been spared the gift of life. I'll be back on the bike soon enough, and the piles of stuff won't all go away, but things are a bit clearer now.

I needed this.

Dumbspringa

Rumspringa (also Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa, derived from the Pennsylvania German term for "running around")[1] generally refers to a period of adolescence for some members of the Amish, a subsect of the Anabaptist Christian movement, that begins around the age of sixteen and ends when a youth chooses baptism within the Amish church or instead leaves the community.

As much as I wanted to believe Floyd Landis was innocent, I sensed the way in which he 'fought' allegations always seemed transparent that he was guilty. I first shrugged that sense off and credited his guilty conscience to his lack of PR skills, shyness & his general Amish-upbringing / yearn for privacy. But he was doped and fans were duped. Another great negative lead-up to another TDF. That won't keep my TV from suffering Versus logo burn-in again this July. I may still be recovering on the trainer at that point (story to follow).

Ride yer bike