2010

2009 has been good to me. I can't complain! I was able to cycle over 1,600 miles and I look forward to more miles in 2010. I've become a sponsored rider and have many races that I'm looking forward to in 2010.

Happy New Year's to everyone! Take a cab tonight and I hope 2010 brings everyone great luck!

P.S. 2010 goals and resolutions to come!

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Holidays to everyone and for those of us celebrating Christmas, have a very merry one! So as expected my will power is low leaving my blood sugar high but added testing has helped minimize the craziness! I love to eat, what can I say???

I'm excited for some time off of work and to spend more time with the people I love instead of at work. It's been 55 plus hour weeks for almost the past month. Then a crazy illness of some sort cut me down two weekends ago. For about a week if I wasn't working, I was sleeping. I've persevered and made it to the holiday, now it's time to celebrate!

FYI for anyone using a MiniMed insulin pump, save yourself the hassle and talk to someone directly to order a refill on supplies. I tried using the dial in system and jacked everything up and had to wait to talk to someone anyway making a 10min reorder take 30 minutes!

I haven't forgotten about my bikes I miss them dearly and can't wait for the roads to dry enough to get out and ride! I have all of the cold gear I need to ride comfortably. May 29th holds a 100 mile MTB race with my name on it! Goals is the name of the game this year. Set them, meet them, period.

I'll leave you with a few pics. Everyone please have a safe and happy holiday and New Year!!!

Cooking some pizzelles!


Our Peanuts Tree!!!

Cold

Went for a short ride today! It was pretty cold, about 33 degrees. My biggest worry was about my insulin pump malfunctioning due to the cold. I had it tucked in my jersey pocket under my insulation layer and all seemed to go well! Thank goodness!

I tried out my new 661 tall winter weight socks with kept my feet super warm and my new thermal tights which we a kick-ass birthday present from my girl! She's the best!

I hope to keep the riding up as long as the paths are free from crazy water and snow, wish me luck!!! :)

Ready to Ride!

I've signed up for my first ride in the 2010 riding season! The Tour de Cure on June 13th! It will be my 3rd TDC and my fund raising goal is $1,000! Check out my page at the link below and feel free to donate if you would like! :) I can't wait to start my 2010 season!

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC270418030?px=4222221&pg=personal&fr_id=6868

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope everyone is stuffed! I've been online shopping and plan to continue to shop tomorrow morning! My "Black Friday" will take place from my couch! My blood sugars were pretty well maintained today. Yes, they did get away from me for a minute but you know how I mitigate that??? Check, check and check my blood sugar again! I know it's tough to keep track of everything I eat on Thanksgiving so, check you sugar before, check it an hour after adjust as needed and check again in another hour. You'll be G-O-L-D-E-N!!!

Here's top 10 list of Thankfulness on Thanksgiving:
1. Good Health
2. Molly, my love!
3. My Family
4. My Friends
5. My job
6. Bicycles
7. Health Insurance
8. Lexi
9. 4 days off
10. My life!

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Sad but true

Someday we will find a cure. Live strong DAX!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/11/18/decorate.dax/index.html

Weekend

I'll catch you up on my weekend tomorrow. Getting a little tired after my H1N1 shot today. :/

Great Birthday Weekend!

Yes, I'm aging. 29 years old today! It's been an amazing bday weekend so far after giving Guy Fieri a high-five during his cooking demonstration at the food network show this weekend! I kept telling everyone about it! He ran down the aisle giving many people high-fives and I was one! Woohoo! He's pretty crazy after seeing him in person! More to come tomorrow when I can get my pictures uploaded! Stay tuned for bday part duex!

Great Quote

From my girlfriends sister who probably stole it from someone very insightful!

Peace isn't a permanent state. It exists in moments. Fleeting. Gone before we knew it was there. We can experience it at any time, in a stranger's act of kindness, a task that requires complete focus or simply the comfort of an old routine. Everyday we all experience these moments of peace. The trick is to know when they're happening so that we can embrace them, live in them. And finally let them go.

More Riding

So, I've decided to keep riding until the bitter end of the year. Literally! Until it snows or drops to subzero temperatures outside. I've decided to do this on my mountain bike as well, pushing the heavier yet more durable bike will leave me stranded less, hopefully!

My past excursions with the road bike have led me to find and pick up every piece of beautifully colored glass in the valley. In short, I'm tired of changing flats! :) Plus since it's dark by 5pm it's tough night riding when leaves cover the trail and you can't see the large bumps and sticks before you hit them.

What I have done is found some pretty bad ass hard-pack/indoor MTB park racing tires, WTB Graffiti is the name of the tires: http://www.wtb.com/products/tires/djstreet/graffitisf/

Per the website above: The Graffiti SF (Street Fighter) performs in the high-stakes environments of urban riding. Its wide, 2.4-inch casing absorbs hard hits and cased landings; the minimal, recessed tread offers firm grip on the street while channeling away loose soil at the dirt jumps. Add even more confidence to your street sessions by choosing the Team DH version, with its Super Duty casing and High Grip DNA rubber.

I picked these bad boys up on sale for $16 a piece!!! Regular price was $50! How awesome was that deal. I was previously running Panaracer Smoke front tire and Dart rear which will be great in the spring for traction since I got them late in the season.

Here are the pics:
New tires with folding aramid bead obviously!


Old front tire


Old rear tire, great for resistance training! lol!


New Tires #1


New Tires #2


I put 23 miles on them yesterday and they were GREAT! Low resistance little noise! They were easy to install as well, didn't even need tools to roll on the rims, just a little elbow grease! :)

Only downside, is that they picked up little rocks from the road and held them fairly well so you would hear random noises from the tires as the rocks hit before they were expelled from the tires. Also, if you are hitting the pavement you should run a PSI closer to the max of 65 vs. using for dirt jumping, indoor MTB parks or racing.

Living

"It's not about how we die because death is the only thing that is certain in life. It's how you live that leaves the lasting impression on the ones you love!" A man or woman much smarter than I came up with this saying I'm sure. I've recently shared these sentiments with a friends struggling with the cancer diagnosis of a loved one.

I am going to try to turn over a new leaf and instead of being so critical on my blog of what others are doing focus on myself and how I define my life. :)

Happy Wednesday everyone!

BTW, I got the seasonal flu shot yesterday! Yes, my arm is still sore. Hopefully I can find an H1N1 clinic without a 3 hour wait for that vaccine as well! :)

Night Riding

Question: Why do drivers think, just because it's dark, that I can't ride my bike on the road?

I've invested a lot of my money to make sure you, Mr. or Mrs. driver can see me. I think they shouldn't be allowed to drive when it's dark how about them apples???

On a brighter note, I saw 5 deer, 3 rabbits and one cat while I was out and about!

I hope the winter isn't keep all of you inside on your trainer! :)

I LOVE FRIDAYS!!!

And Halloween parties during the workday! :)

I must be the only person worrying about this

Why, as Americans, have we accepted the fact that we are "fatter" than the rest of the world. We are in the process of doing everything from glorifying plus size individuals to making clothing sizes larger.

I don't get it, there are no benefits to being "larger". It's incredibly unhealthy.

I'm not saying everyone needs to live by the BMI chart for their weight and height but throwing caution to the wind is taking years off peoples lives, they are killing themselves they just don't know it yet.

Have you tried to Super Size your meal at McDonald's or King Size your meal at Burger King??? You can't! There in on it too! Now you say, "we'll I'll just get the "large"". Guess what that large used to be called? :) You know why those two among others have stopped offering those sizes? To avoid law suits. People are nuts and they will blame McD's, BK and everyone else but themselves when they have there first heart attack. They will try to bring gross negligence lawsuits against these companies claiming they had no idea there were 900 calories in a Super Size fry they ate every day for lunch. Now McD's can say, nosireeee, poor us we don't even offer a Super Size any more.

I think it's piss poor and as Americans we have a duty to stand up for ourselves. We need to take our own health and well being into our own hands instead of letting Fast Food and clothing manufacturers do it for us. We can also thank technology for this. How many hours do you spend in front of a computer, TV or cell phone??? Get out, go for a walk, don't become a prisoner of the world around you!

Wheew! Ok, I have stepped off of my soapbox. Thank you for listening!

Night Rides

It's a little different when the sun goes down in Ohio. It's like the desert, it gets cold with a quickness! I've been out riding a few nights over the past week and it's not too bad!

Layers is the answer to your question. :) That's how I stay warm.

Best parts about riding at night:
1. Longer riding season
2. No trail traffic
3. Solitude
4. Not smokin' hot out
5. The crunch of the leaves under your tires
6. The scenery changes which doesn't happen on the trainer
7. The smell of fireplaces

Worst parts of riding at night:
1. Lonely in the dark
2. Mechanical problems are tough to fix by feel (especially when your bare hands are numb from the cold
3. Animals, they can scare the shit out of you. They always seem to be right by the trail and run away when I ride by. Last night I saw two dogs, two cats, a fox looking thing, a deer, bats, and one set of eyes that were unidentifiable because they starred at me and then vanished. Creepy if you let them be, I always tell myself it's their world and thank them for letting me ride through it at night.
4. Darkness. Don't look behind you when you ride at night because you can't see anything and, again, it can creep you out. As you can see night riding is a pretty mental ordeal. :)


Here's a picture of an overpass looking down into the valley at dusk.

Dear Mr. Little Tiny Piece of Glass,

I would appreciate it if next time you decide to jump in front of my rear tire that you wait until I'm out of the valley or jump out before I ride down into the valley. Being in the bowls of the valley is the last place I want to meet you. No offense or anything. It's just much sunnier and warmer at the top of the valley.

Sincerely,
Mike

Yes, I was able to try out my new mini bike pump. :/

Sponsorship

Stay tuned to see who is not only my first sponsor for 2010 but ever in my life!!! I don't want to jinx the deal but it is nice to have some support from MTB companies!!! :)

End of season sales!

This is just my first batch of purchases for the winter and I wanted to show you my favorite piece that was acquired! I can't wait to sport these socks!!! :)

2009 Goals

As the 2009 riding season draws to a close I wanted to take a minute to reflect on my goals for the year. Some have been met, some have not and some remain a work in progress. Now that the temperature is dipping in NE Ohio, days are growing shorter and rain is starting to fall more frequently, I think a new set of goals are in order.

Here were my goals from my January post:

Goals:
1. Successfully integrate CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) into my workouts and life. Tighter control = healthier me. I'm super excited to start, just have to make it through the red tape of insurance companies. You know, to see if I'm really diabetic enough for it! lol

This goal is the work in progress! I've done a good job using the CGM to maintain better control of my diabetes. Check out my Cleveland Clinic award post from October 6th. This will remain an ongoing goal for awhile if not the rest of my life. So far, so good!!!

2. Compete and complete at least two different genres of MTB racing. One endurance race (i.e. Mohican 100 or a 12/24 hour race) and one cross country race.

This goal was partially complete. I only participated in one genre of MTB events, cross-country racing, but was able to compete in two events. I also managed to ride over 1500 miles this year and there are still some good riding days left! So, I have something to work on for next year!

3. Drink less soda. Yes, it sounds funny but I drink way too much of it. Even if it's diet there can be sodium and it's been shown to make you hungrier and a diuretic if it has caffeine.

Complete!!! I used to drink about 2-3 2 liters of Diet Coke a week. Plus a large amount of cans of DC at work. Probably 3 cans a day. I am down to 1 can a day at best at work and virtually no pop at home. I've gotten hooked on low-carb energy drinks, low-carb juices and water! Just an FYI if you want to lost an easy 5-10lbs. STOP DRINKING SODA!!!! I'm not the only case-in-point many people have found that cutting back on soda is an easy way to lose weight. For those who didn't know "diet soda" has been proven to make people hungrier, so the calories you lose from diet soda are replaced with other calories.

Winter Goals:
1. Continue riding, when weather permits, through the winter

2. Continue "healthy" eating. Meaning keep cooking meals and minimize eating processed and prepackaged food

3. Develop a "plan" for 2010 that has actual event goals to work towards and formal workouts to maintain a higher level of performance

4. Join CAMBA and Akron Bike Club in 2010

5. Relax and enjoy the winter! SNOW!!!!

A salute to the troops!

I just couldn't pass this picture up. I think it will be one of the top pictures of the year in TIME magazine.

My caption is: Sometimes it's hard to let go.



Here's the story: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Little-Soldier-Girl-Didnt-Want-to-Let-Go-63629627.html?yhp=1

Cleveland Clinic Award

See, it pays to take care of myself! Besides that fact that maintaining good diabetes control minimizes the risk for complications like vision loss, amputation, organ failure and death. I can also win awards from the Cleveland Clinic!

My Dr. had been after me for awhile to switch the an insulin pump instead of MDIs or multiple daily injections of insulin. I hymned and hawed mostly because I didn't want to have to do battle with the insurance companies. Finally I started the process which took over a year to complete, finally! Now I've been on the pump over a year and have had great results!

Yes, the pump can be as frustrating as any other diabetic task to dial in and set up. Yes, I still have off days where I ask myself WTF??? why is my blood sugar crazier than a 13 year old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert? It all works out and always does!!!

I didn't even know this award existed so naturally I was pleasantly surprised to get the letter. However, now my competitive side has been fired up and I WILL win this again!!! :)

Thank you Dr. Olansky!!!

Here is what the letter said:

Ak-rowdy!

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Akron Road Runner Marathon!!! Over 9,500 people strong, holy cow!!! Also congrats to Adam Rose, a Michigan teen who won the handcycle division! Rock on! He's only a sophomore! This has been one of the fastest growing marathons in the country! Who knows maybe Boston with take a backseat someday to Akron, OH! lol!

Running is not my thing, I can and will do when needed but my legs, more specifically my knees, do not like to run. I ran a leg of the marathon last year and it was painful. I have a lot of respect for the people that do run. It can be tough yet incredibly rewarding!

Keep on running and keeping Akron strong!

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

The outline was borrowed from a blogger friend Jerry's post: http://t1d-runner.blogspot.com/

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

1. The illness I live with is: Type 1 Diabetes

2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 1992

3. But I had symptoms since: A solid 4-6 months prior, who knew going pee 5 times an hour wasn't normal! lol!

4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Taking note over every food and drink I put into my body.

5. Most people assume: that I can't eat certain things and most of those things are items that no health conscious person should eat like little debbies. It's all about awareness. I'm aware and I can make it work so back off!

6. The hardest part about mornings are: waking up with a blood sugar that's way off, too high or too low. There's the frustration of trying to figure out what went wrong, but it also can throw your whole schedule off. A high blood sugar will mean that I shouldn't eat breakfast for a while. A low blood sugar will mean that I'll want to eat something right away. (I totally agree with Jerry here!)

7. My favorite medical TV show is: House. It intrigues me for two reasons, one, how can a Dr. that is so mean sometimes still be employed and two, how on earth do they figure out some of those cases!

8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: Definitely my blood sugar meter and my insulin pump. I will be hard pressed to ever go back to multiple daily injections. I feel like that commercial, "life just got a little easier!".

9. The hardest part about nights is: trying to correctly judge what and when was the last time I ate. There's nothing like losing sleep because your blood sugar is too low and you have to get up and eat and 3am or your blood sugar runs high and your up every 45 minutes going to the bathroom until your insulin kicks in.

10. Each day I take blood sugars and insulin.

11. Regarding alternative treatments I: not an option here.

12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: hmm, i think the invisible one. You have more control over how it's delivered to strangers and people who don't know.

13. Regarding working and career: everyone is very understanding and proud of how I take charge and don't let diabetes run my life.

14. People would be surprised to know: how often I'm thinking about my blood sugar. (right on here as well Jerry)

15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: it's not new anymore. It's just plain reality. I can cry, complain or pout all I want but it will still be there in the end so I choose to accept it.

16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: ride my bike so much! I love it and it keeps me healthy too!

17. The commercials about my illness: are not aimed at my demographic, there are usually in regards to Type 2 diabetes. I'm ok with this for two reasons, one, it's more prevalent and two, what people don't understand is that for a large majority of people weight loss can cure there Type 2 diabetes. There is no cure for Type 1 at this point in time.

18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: not having to think so much about every bite or sip I take.

19. It was really hard to have to give up: I refuse to give anything up, I use awareness and moderation to keep my diabetes in check without having to sacrifice. Do I really need a whole elephant ear at the carnival or could I get by with a few bites?!?!?!

20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: cooking and baking! I love to do both! So much healthier too!

21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: just relax and eat like there was no tomorrow, burgers and fries, steak, Boston cream pie, cheese cake, ... (Yep, I like your style here Jerry)

22. My illness has taught me: Never give up.

23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is:Should you be eating that? WTF!!!! Should you???? Get off my back.

24. But I love it when people: See me for who I am, not my disease.

25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is:
I know it has to do with another Invisible Illness but: Livestrong. It means a lot if you think about it.

26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: Embrace your diabetes, it's not going anywhere. If you try to fight it you'll only be killing yourself and that is just not worth it. The quicker you embrace it the better life will be!

27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: My family needed to be just as educated as I did about how to control and manage diabetes. Let them be part of your "team".

28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: simply ask if I was ok and if I needed any help. Sometimes those simple questions go a long way. Please always be willing to extend your hand to those in need.

29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: I missed it, technically, but I'm always down for raising awareness! :)

30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: Happy that you took the time to learn a little more about me! Thank you!!! :)

Wow!

Can you imagine a world without preexisting conditions??? I think insurance agencies invented that word! lol However, the bad news, if insurance companies can't screen and charge based on these conditions then the cost for premiums or something else is sure to rise. Stupid economics.

Labor Day Weekend

Busy weekend with hundreds of miles driven! On Friday I went to pick up my brother to go and visit my Grandparents and Uncles in Buffalo, NY. After a crazy drive across Cleveland we made it to Buffalo at about 9:45pm. We proceeded to play with my grandparents new puppy named Daisy before promptly hitting the sack.

Full moon rising on our way to NY


Daisy


Daisy and Kevin


On Saturday we slept in a little and hung out with my Uncle Dave before my parents arrived joining us for lunch in Buffalo. After lunch settled for the most part we headed into downtown Buffalo with my Uncle Jaime, Aunt Cathy, Doug and Richard for some delicious wings at "The" Buffalo Wing Festival. We also saw the Black Widow (aka. a tiny Asian lady) destroy the wing eating contest killing 177 wings in 10 minutes. Craziness! Here are some pictures:

Entrance


Festival was held on the infield of the Buffalo Bison's Stadium


Eating contest


One of our samples


Entrance cluster f@ck


Once we got back from the wing fest we had some apple pie and ice cream with my Grandparents before hitting the road back to NE Ohio. We spent the night at my apartment which was nice to sleep in my own bed.

On Sunday morning Molly joined us to head up to Cleveland for the Air Show! It was awesome and a great day for the show. On a bad note it was a shit load of walk which wore my brother out big time. I was able to procure a solid chair for him when he needed a break which helped out a ton but I still felt bad that we had to travel so far on foot. Hindsight being 20/20, next time I'll bring the wheel chair. I would have been totally ok pushing him around but I know he wanted to do it on his own. We saw a bunch of awesome airplanes including my favorite, the F-15E or Strike Eagle for short. Here are the pics from that event:

Business end of a B-17


The Continental grill, how cool?!?!?!


Heritage flight with T to B: F-15E (my favorite), P-51 Mustang and the A-10 Thunderbolt


Me and Molly


Kevin and Me


After the show we went back to my parents to drop my brother off and pick up the dog before heading back to Akron.

Monday, I slept in until 11! It was great!!!! Then Molly and I headed out to her parents place in Youngstown for a nice, relaxing late lunch with her family and Grandmother. It was nice to ease back into the work we with a relaxing day on Monday.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Core Exercises

Does anyone know where I can find a good source for core exercises that are beneficial to cycling or overall strength training? I'm working on putting together my 2010 season of awe and I'm looking for some late 2009 early 2010 training techniques. Thank you for your help!

Three Cheers For Kevin!

On this day last year Kevin was going under the knife and I'm sure a ton of other medical implements to have his tumor removed from his hip. They removed 2/3 of his femur, 3 quadriceps, 1 hamstring, a ton of hip muscles and inserted an artificial hip.

Here he is post-surgery:


I have no idea how he found his zen state. I think he pictured himself on the beach for my sisters wedding. He made it through many hours of laying on his back, days/weeks/months of therapy, the humiliation of having to have help every time he had to use the toilet, wheelchair to walker to quad cane to regular cane and how many Dr. visits, blood counts and scans???

Here's a picture of us in Jamaica back in May:


Living out those sandy days he dreamed about while laying flat on his back! Life is good!

What a difference a year makes! :)

Big Valley MTB Race Report

Ok, so here's the skinny! I know I'm a little late in reporting but better late than never, right???

Saturday I woke up nice and early to test ride the course. I have never ridden at Camp Manatoc and it's about 7 minutes from my apartment. Also the little fact that 363 days of the year the land functions as two Boy Scout camps, Camp Manatoc and Camp Butler. However, I woke up at about 5:30 in the morning to the sound of down pouring rain. Boo! So I figured I would get up at 7 like planned and check the weather again. I think it stopped raining at 6:59 so I pulled up the hour-by-hour forecast on weather.com to see what the heck was going on. It looked like the rain was done and the sun was going to come out at around 10. So off to bed I went for another 1.5 hours of shuteye to give the trails some time to drain.

9:30 Up and at'em! I got up, had some breakfast, took care of the dog, packed up and headed out.

11:00 arrive at Camp Manatoc. There was a full day of kid activities and swop meets going on all day Saturday along with a trail preview for $5. Awesome! I started unloading the car when I overheard the all to familiar voice ot Tenant Nabrowski a.k.a Nab and a small group of North Coast Mountain bikers! Great! I don't have to ride alone! So I got myself registered and ready and then we were off.

12:30 Heading out for out loop around the 9 mile course. All I have to say about the ride was mud, fun and mud. Little draining seemed to have happened throughout the morning. So after getting lost and 12 miles later I made it back to the car cleaned and packed up and watched the bunny hop contest and Huffy toss. Fun! Then I picked up my race registration and headed out to get dinner with my sweet!

3:30 unpacked and began the arduous task of cleaning the bike in prep for the race on Sunday. I got myself packed up and ready for the race and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Sunday
8:30 Up and at'em again! Got up and had a good breakfast, packed up and headed out.

11:00 Arrived at the Camp and get set up. It was pretty cold for whatever reason. Not more that 65 degrees I think. Good for racing though! Got myself and bike ready and headed to the start, well, hit the John then headed to the start! :) I also met some other guys setting up and shared my canopy with them since it was misting/sprinkling.

Red Rider representing!


Our "shop"


1:05ish - We were off and racing! I had a rough start after being jousted off my bike by an offending tree branch after connecting solidly with my bicep. Then roughly 5 miles in I was stung by a bee on my calf. I would have been ok with any where else but my calf and subsequent right leg cramped like a son of a gun on every big climb. It burned like a son of a gun as well. Apparently quite a few people were stung by these hornets. My leg is still pretty nasty and itchy. I felt pretty good in the first lap until all of this happened then I tired to collect myself and keep a good pace to finish the race.

I did stop once to help a fellow racer with a flat tire, she was out of CO2 so I gave her my extra to use. No luck. Gotta love tubeless!!!

My bloodsugar was great throughout the race holding steady and not dropping low enough to cause a scene. I like to think I do a great job of managing my fitness and diabetic needs. So far so good! Let's see at the next race!

Either way, I finished in 2:21:11. Great, no. Ok, no. Not a DNF, yes. I know I should arguably be racing in Novice Class. But how will hammering on people who have never raced before make me a better rider or racer. I'm taking my lumps now but learning and pushing for a better future. I may be crazy but I'm having fun and eventually will start finishing in the front of the pack. Someday.

Here are some more race pictures:

Heading throught the woods




Coming out of the woods


The aftermath, not too bad!


"The sting"


The location of the "joust"

Ready to Rock!!!

Here's the skinny! My bike is fixed, brakes tuned, wheel trued as best as possible! I have steroid cream for my poison ivy! Bags are packed to pre-ride the course tomorrow. Had Molly's incredible pizza for dinner. Now it needs to stop f-ing raining so I can ride the trails tomorrow! WTF!!!

Mother nature, hellooooo, I have a race on Sunday!!!! Sheesh!

Extra long days

Every time my brother goes in for his scans, the days seem extra long and extra dreary. He goes every 8 weeks since the conclusion of his chemo treatments in February. I know they are long days for him and dare I say he would rather sit through the classes he is missing then go for these scans? But as I sit here at work my mind can't help but wonder how he is doing. Where will I be when I get the all clear call from my Mom or brother, how long will I let the phone ring before I answer, how long will they wait to tell me everything is ok, how long will I wait to breath again? I always wonder on these long days of waiting.

Livestrong Kevin.

I'm a Red Rider!!!

Mari Ruddy, a Colorado Tour de Cure rider, is the founder of the Red Rider program. Mari has lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 25 years. Here's the reason why Mari wants to recognize people with diabetes that ride in a Tour de Cure as Red Riders:

"I have type I diabetes. I have lived with this challenging disease since I was 16 years old. That's over 25 years of blood testing, shots, insulin pumping, carb counting, and meal planning. If that wasn't enough, two years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Because of living with diabetes, I thought I understood illness. However, chemo, radiation, and surgery all knocked me down harder than I ever imagined possible. But my lot in life is to get back up no matter the punch. And with the support and love of my family and friends, excellent medical care, and the good fortune of life, I'm officially NED (no evidence of disease). At least no evidence of cancer, as I still have diabetes. That was a rude awakening, if only chemo could cure diabetes.

In my 25 years of living with diabetes, I have walked, run and cycled for the cure for diabetes, but never once at any of these events was I asked to declare myself as a diabetes-surviving person. I was never given a special t-shirt or water bottle. There has never been a special finish line acknowledging the courage, perseverance, and sheer determination it takes to live with diabetes and be out on that course riding, running or walking.

I want this to change.

Mari Ruddy & Marcey Robinson, C.D.E.

I want you to help me change this. I want to work to find the cure AND to celebrate the people who are courageously living with diabetes. I want you to help me encourage people with diabetes to become RED RIDERS!

One could think I just want special recognition, and maybe I do. Why? Because receiving the recognition on race day gives me and my fellow diabetics the motivation to continue seeing the glass half full on the days when our blood sugar soars to 400 for no explainable reason, or when we have no desire to eat but we must or risk passing out if we don't.

Cancer is dramatic. Diabetes is a grind. Both drop people at the door of death, just in different styles.

If you are a person surviving diabetes, I implore you to ride this year and do everything you can to declare your status, so others on the course and in the wider community have the opportunity to celebrate and be inspired by you. I ask you to get on your bike and ride strong and sure. Riding in the Tour de Cure itself is the affirmation of your courage and perseverance."

Not so bad!

Had my Dr. Appt. today and received some good results on my A1C. How does 6.6 sound??? Normal people have an A1C between 4-6. Diabetics that can keep there A1C below 7.5ish drastically reduce there risk of complications. Small things like peripheral neropathy, blindness, kidney failure and death. Sometimes you get all of those sometimes just one or two either way I want no part in that.

In other news my cholesterol was low with LDL being 88. :) Bring on more burgers!!!

Otherwise I'm pretty darn healthy, for a diabetic!

I did get out for a great MTB ride and did a solid 10 miles at West Branch. However, I went down hard in the many rock gardens on the back half of the trail. Busted up my arm pretty good, luckily our new butcher let me clean it off as I was weeping down my arm while perusing the meat, my girlfriend wasn't a big fan of the 2.5lb. beef tongue or beef hearts they had for sale. I was intrigued, go figure!

Also busted up the MTB bending the derailleur hanger as I bounced the bike off of the rock garden. I took Herald straight to the bike shop to get him fixed up for the race this weekend! He'll be good as new by Friday!

That's all for now, however, I am working on a plan to hit up some off-road endurance races next season. Some 6 or 12 hour races. Who knows maybe we'll go 24 hours solo!!! :)

Here goes nothing!

Wish me luck, big Dr. appt. tomorrow with my Endocrinologist marking the one year anniversary on my pump. Let's see if I've been able to utilize the pump to it's fullest extent at controlling BS. I'll keep you posted on my A1C levels when I get my results. Then I will follow my Dr. appt. with a kickass training ride on my new MTB tires. Big Valley Race this weekend! Yikes!!! Wish me luck there too! I'll give a race report ASAP for that.

Subway, WTF???

Why on earth should I hear a hard working sandwich artist get scolded today for putting to many olives on a footlong veggie subway. As I ordered my incredibly healthy footlong meatball marinara sub my vegetarian friend ordered a veggie sub.

First off, the douche bag guy measured out exactly two little side cups of cheese to put on the veggie sub, Matt and I looked at each other and shrugged it off. Then the sandwich artist started to create his masterpiece and did the ol' Subway grab a handful of olives and sprinkle them on. The douche bag guy comes over in front of the lunch time crowd and says, "Only 6 olives for a footlong sub"! WTF!!!!! That means six half slices of olives for a footlong sub which, you guessed it, means 3 whole olives for 12 inches of bread. Sheesh! How cheap are we getting now??? Subway, are you really giving away the farm by adding a few more rogue olive slices. As we checked out the douche bag continued to scold the sandwich artist saying 3 olive slices for a 6" and 6 slices for a 12". Again, that means an olive and a half for 6" of bread.

Subway you have long since been a cheese hoarder only giving 4 slices of delicious pepper jack on my 12" on bread. If I were making a sub I would have no less that a slice per 2" ratio for better cheese coverage. Get with the program! Charge me the extra $2 to make a damn sub that I would want to eat. And good god, leave the sandwich artist alone! Artists make their own rules, otherwise call them the sandwich sherpas!

How cool is this???

Part of Lance Armstrong's cycling come back campaign was to help raise awareness about the ever growing need to find a cure for cancer. As any of you know who read my blog know my brother has battled cancer and fights every day to live cancer free. During the Tour de France this year a group of MIT students created a robot that paints inspirational messages along the TDF route during the entire race. Here's a link to check it out:

http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/livestrong/en_US/chalk_messages

and here was my message painted somewhere along the Tour de France route in France:

http://tinyurl.com/n99p2v

I love to ride!

I felt like a little kid today hurrying home to get myself ready for a quick ride before the weather turns crappy! I got a great ride in and felt strong, even after my accident yesterday while on the MTB. I got a great 22 mile ride in before the rain starts for the week. I think I'm going to hit up Mohican State Park this weekend because it drains way better than any of the local trails and I can get a good training ride in before the weekend of my bike race on the 30th.

Accident, Harold (MTB name) and I were kicking ass through the rock gardens at West Branch when I came to a small decline that led to an incline. The rocks were mossy and slick which sucked, I was trying to keep my weight back when my front wheel slipped off a rock and wedged in between the rock next to it. It felt like slow motion as I lurched over the handlebars. Luckily the rocks that I would have ridden over in front of me broke my fall! lol Needless to say it was a painful landing. Outside of some nice bruises and scrapes up the entire right side of my body, the bloodiest gash occurred on my ankle. Here's a pic:



I got up dusted myself of and climbed back on the rig to keep on truckin'. Then I realized I was about 20 feet from the end of the trail. Sheesh!!!

Can you believe it???

I completely missed my pump anniversary!!! August second concluded my first year on the insulin pump. I love it, it's been great at keeping my sugars in check and my A1C in a very reasonable and manageable range.

It's probably the single best thing I could have done to better my overall health and probably add some more years to my time here on earth. It's been an incredibly easy transition on the bike, with shots it was kind of hit and miss most of the time. With the pump I have it down to a science as to where my temporary basal rate needs to be and for how long to keep my blood sugars from dive bombing.

I think I've come along way and with my sights set on some late season races and I'm going to start working towards a 12 or 24 hour solo race next year. Diabetes management will be a large part of the planning for that event.

I don't really know what to say in my reflection but as the enlightenment comes I will pass it along.

Rock on!

18.1

What does that mean you ask? That my friends is the average speed of my 25 mile ride and the start of something big! :) Training. I'm hitting some hill repeats in the valley tomorrow. I was hoping to break the 17mph average mark and ended up at 18!

Look out for my Aug. 30 MTB race! Here I come!!!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

I wanna ride!!!!

So it stormed like crazy yesterday afternoon and evening. To give you an idea of how bad it rained I've attached a few pictures of water coming in the Emergency Exit near my desk.

The start:


Sneaking under the door


It reminded me of being in a flood and water seeping through everywhere!


It kept coming.


So Molly and I went down to Szalay's fresh market to pick up some essentials for a wonderful dinner. Molly is a crazy good cook! I think she should try out for the food network! We had a breakfast dinner consisting of eggs and cheese, sausage, diced red potatoes with a dry rub and roasted in the oven all rolled in a garlic basil wrap. Yummy!!! I ate three wraps! :)

So with the rain hopefully behind us I will start to get some training rides in for the upcoming races. The closest being the Big Valley MTB race at Camp Manatoc! That's all for now, happy riding!!!

Health Care

Ok, this conversation could get long and ugly so I'll keep it short and sweet! Doesn't it make you wonder why, if this new health care plan is supposed to be the next best thing, that congress has already voted to maintain there own potentially better/less complicated health care plan??? If it's good enough for all of America then why isn't it good enough for Congress? I want whatever health care they want not a hand-me-down plan that gives us all the same amount of care regardless of age, family history, current health conditions and everything else. Do I deserve the same healthcare plan as someone who has choosen to smoke for 30 years??? Do I want the same healthcare plan as someone who has not seen a Dr. in 15 years???

Here's a thoguht, why not focus less on leveling the playing field for everyone and focus on how we bring those without heathcare into the fold of having a ferderally funded coverage plan? How about a little less socialism and a little more democracy please??? Sheesh.

Happy Monday! :)

I'm at a loss for words

Heaven has one more Angel tonight.

http://www.fatcyclist.com/

Crazy Runners!!!

Check out this website for the burning river 100 mile endurance run through NE Ohio:

http://burningriver100.org/wp/

I finally got out riding yesterday and managed to keep a steady 16.8mph avg. it helps when there isn't a slow leak in your rear tire! lol :)

I'm here

I've been enjoying reading everyone's blog posts. The weather and work has been wearing on my soul a bit. I feel like I'm in a rut. I want to get out riding more but there's always stuff going on. Maybe someday I'll be able to focus on riding instead of a bazillion other things.

On a lighter note I signed up for the NEO Power Series Big Valley Race at camp Manatoc!!! If I can find time to ride I'll force myself to buy paying entry fees upfront for races! lol

Congratulations Kevin!

Let me jog your memory about my little brother Kevin. He was 19 years old, diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma. So aggressive they started him on chemo roughly 24 hours after diagnosis. (BTW if we had universal health care I may not be coming to you with all of this great news about my brothers recover, but that's for another time and day!)

After successfully completing intense chemotherapy and massive surgery to remove and replace the upper 2/3 of his femur and hip with titanium he began the process of learning to walk all over again. Just what you want to do at the age of 20 (he had is birthday roughly 1 week after his surgery which was probably the hardest part for me) happy birthday, now call the nurse to come wipe your ass. Walking can be difficult after having your bone removed and replaced, 3 of your 4 quads removed and a hamstring removed as well. But he didn't give up, I would see him religiously doing his ankle pumps and other exercises and stretches to get him back in the game of life. After a few minor set backs due to some slow heeling of the incision that ran from his knee to the bottom of his rib cage he was off. First is was a wheelchair, shuffling from couch to chair to toilet to chair to couch. Weeks of it. Then it was the walker, 10 feet, 50 feet 100 feet, from the parking lot to the store, parking lot to store and shopping in the store. The the cane, it was a quad cane at first the one with 4 prongs at the end. Then the regular cane. The, finally, Jamaica for my sisters incredible wedding! Finally, after many different prognosis about the future of his leg use or whether he would have a leg to stand on at all.

MY BROTHER PASSED HIS DRIVING EXAM!!! HE FINALLY GOT HIS WHEELS BACK!

One more step towards recovery and normalcy. He is a stronger man than I am and has suffered more than anyone ever should but he came out on top. Like Lance Armstrong says, what's your bike? Well my brothers bike comes with 4 wheels and an engine too!

Love you buddy, take care and never give up!

Your big bro

Douche Bag Friday

Here's my rant...Chad Ochocinco, better known as Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals. As if it were bad enough that he has stated he will not play by the rules and WILL twitter to all of his loyal douche bag followers while playing games, he changes his last name to Ochocinco.

Now I don't see many Super Bowl championships in the rafters of the Bengals stadium, so maybe Chad 85 (shorter version) should worry more about playing football than his last name or twitter. AND that's not even the douche bag part!!!

The Spanish translation of 85 is ochentacinco! Now every Spanish speaking person has another reason to make fun of "dumb Americans". Thanks Chad. Ochocinco means 8 5, I think the Bengals should make his jersey match and put a big space between the numbers. lol

Happy Friday!!!

1000

What does my blog mean today??? It's official, I've finally ridden over 1000 miles this season! I hit up West Branch, the local MTB hot spot last night. I figured it was only fitting that I turn the quadruple digit on my new bike! The course was dry and awesomely fast! I saw some of the guys from CAMBA out and about as well. I would say there were probably about two dozen people or so out on the trail which is awesome.

The trail follows the edge of a lake which looked beautiful as well with all of the water crafts rocking out and fishing. I've given up worrying about the ridiculous amount of poison ivy back there, if I get it than I get it.

Look for updates to my race calendar as we move into shorter days and the second half of summer!

What a beautiful problem to have!!!!

GO LANCE!!! Go team Astana!!!

I may have found some motivation!!! :)

Rank	Dossard	Name	Country	Team	Time	Gap
1	033	Fabian CANCELLARA		SAX	10h38'07''	00''
2	022	Lance ARMSTRONG		AST	10h38'07''	00''
3	021	Alberto CONTADOR		AST	10h38'26''	19''
4	023	Andréas KLÖDEN		AST	10h38'30''	23''
5	024	Levi LEIPHEIMER		AST	10h38'38''	31''
6	058	Bradley WIGGINS		GRM	10h38'45''	38''
7	029	Haimar ZUBELDIA		AST	10h38'58''	51''
8	076	Tony MARTIN		THR	10h38'59''	52''
9	059	David ZABRISKIE		GRM	10h39'13''	1'06''
10	056	David MILLAR		GRM	10h39'14''	1'07''
11	026	Sergio PAULINHO		AST	10h39'23''	1'16''
12	051	Christian VANDE VELDE		GRM	10h39'23''	1'16''
13	034	Gustav LARSSON		SAX	10h39'29''	1'22''
14	077	Maxime MONFORT		THR	10h39'36''	1'29''
15	093	Roman KREUZIGER		LIQ	10h39'38''	1'31''
16	079	Michael ROGERS		THR	10h39'39''	1'32''
17	074	George HINCAPIE		THR	10h39'43''	1'36''
18	027	Yaroslav POPOVYCH		AST	10h39'43''	1'36''
19	095	Vincenzo NIBALI		LIQ	10h39'43''	1'36''
20	031	Andy SCHLECK		SAX	10h39'48''	1'41''