Off Road

 

A remarkable

Recovery from surgery.

Now it’s time to move.

Friday, June 25, 2021

 In a box in our yard sits a new Argon 18 119 tri-bike I purchased a few weeks ago from The Pros Closet. I sold them a titanium frame and a set of wheels for $2500.00. The Argon cost $4,500.00. So for a very tidy sum of $2k I have a top notch brand spanking new tri-bike.

 When I’ll ride it I’m not sure. Even after I get it set up I’ll stay on the indoor trainer through July.

 Although my broken clavicle is fully healed, I’m hesitant to get out on the roads in SoCal during this flex time between post-covid and normalcy. Heck, even during the best of times the coast in summer is hectic.

 To mix my training up and keep my interest while I’m indoors I’m going to train with power for the first time and see what the hoopla’s all about. Up until now I’ve trained on feel alone, but I don’t want to be one of those ornery old dudes that isn’t willing to have an open perspective on what new training equipment can bring to the table.

 
Along that same train of thought, I’m going to peruse Joe Friel’s Fast Over 50 for some guidance. Though at 63 I’ll be pissed if I discover I’ve been holding myself back for these past 13 years.

The Wheels Going Round

 

Early morning songs

Whistle through the coastal fog

As a ghost chorus.

 Tuesday, June 1, 2021

 It’s been a month since I started riding a Can Am Spyder trike and two months since I’ve ridden a bicycle. Now I feel I’m in that scary limbo world of feeling confident enough to feel I know how to ride the trike and healed enough to consider training on a bike again.

 The Spyder handling has gone from wondering how I’m going to approach and come out of every turn to actually feeling fun without the thought of, “this is fun!.., uh…? Am I going to make it through this turn?”.

 And that’s the mindset I’m worried about. I know my skills aren’t what they should be after only a months of weekend riding, so I don’t want to be over-confident. But that’s always the problem with driving, that twi-light learning curve zone where you’re a newbie but don’t feel like it.

 On the other set of wheels… I’m determined to start bike training again and will start indoors through the summer on a new tri-bike (that’s a triathlon bicycle; not a tricycle – those test poorly in the wind tunnel.); a bike that I’ll eventually get back out on the road with and compete on.

 But my scars, and still healing bone and skin, have me much more trepidatious and far less excited about getting back outside. I’ll do it. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. But that worried feeling of going down is going to make it difficult to relax enough to both enjoy the experience and to handle the bike correctly when problems arise.

 
I gave up motorcycle riding because I didn’t feel I could relax enough to be safe. I’m hoping that’s not true of cycling. But that decision will be put off until the end of summer. I’m hoping my conditioning and my goofy drive to compete will give me the confidence to get back out there.

Prolonged Recovery

 Topanga Canyon

Dodged the devil once again

Though not forever.

 Friday, May 21, 2021

 This being my first injury requiring medical intervention since being uninsured, I am now discovering how truly painful it is to receive medical treatment in the U.S.

 After a similar crash in Panama requiring very similar initial treatment (ambulance service, examination, x-rays, MRI…) I was handed a bill and out the door after paying $340 dollars at the hospital cashier.

 In the U.S. for obvious (profit) and complicated (struggling between free market and tax-based solutions) reasons, the payment aspect of treatment is both prolonged and painful.

 So far, nearly a month and half after my accident, I still have no idea of what the costs will be or who is going to bill me or help me out.

 To this date I’ve received three separate bills from the radiologist, ambulance service and Emergency Room Physician. The radiologist bill is the only one I’ve paid so far. The others I’ve sent back and referred them to my Health Share provider; Trinity. That’s not, as they emphasize, a medical insurance product, but a group share medical emergency plan.

 My orthopedist who performed the surgery on my clavicle is directly billing Trinity. And, I believe, according to my policy, eventually I’ll owe $5,000 for whatever they cover as that’s my deductible.

 The hospital where I was initially treated has also referred me to a company that assist people who may qualify for financial aid through various government programs. I’ll give them a call today. Though I doubt I qualify, who the hell knows?

 My shoulder has is just about completely recovered and I’m very appreciative of all the fine services I’ve received to date. My poor wallet though is suffering through a period of prolonged and anguishing debilitation and I am unsure of the final prognosis or trajectory of recovery.

Full Face

Two distinct species 

In such close proximity 

Must be meals or mates. 

 Full Face: Monday, May 10, 2021 

Today I will be commuting to work wearing a full-face helmet on a three wheeled vehicle. Until last Friday, when I picked up Julius (the moniker I’ve given my orange Can Am Spyder f3) I’d never driven a motorized three-wheeled vehicle. And it’s been 5 years since I had a motorcycle.  

 I figured there really wasn’t any point in going for a test drive. All that was going to tell me was the experience would be different than either a car or motorcycle. And regardless of first impressions, I know that it takes time to get comfortable on any new type of vehicle.  

 

Since I’d driven motorcycles for over 30 years, I figured whatever the experience was going to like on the Spyder, given that it has three contact points as opposed to two, it was going to feel more relaxed and safer than a motorcycle. And that was the big appeal for me.  

 

The vlogs about the handling of the Spyder are a bit deceptive though. Although everyone says it handles more like a ski-mobile than a motorcycle, the vantage points behind those cameras looking over motorcycle bars makes it look very similar to the steering of a bike.  

 

And since I’ve never ridden a snowmobile, I had no idea what those vloggers are talking about. But just on the way home from the dealer, I got a good feel for what they mean. 

 

And that’s a wild ride engaging experience, at least at the moment. The steering, because it has power assist, seems to float. Which is a bit disconcerting coming from a motorcycle background. In some ways I feel that’s a good thing. Right now while I’m learning, it’s keeping me very engaged in every move I make. I’d say much more so than when I was riding motorcycles once I got past the initial learning curve.  

 

Not that motorcycle riding ever, or at least should never, have been a casual take for granted activity. That’s part of the appeal. You’d better be on your toes at all times. Heck, I never had any audio/visual components on any of my bikes and I can’t see getting so relaxed on the Spyder that I’ll be comfortable strapping speakers or a screen on Julius. 

 

But I’m sure at some point I’ll have a better feel for how the Spyder handles. But right now it’s a hoot feeling out how this thing gets from point A to curvy point B.  

Hey Bull Dog

 My insomnia

Blesses me with delusions

Of omnipresence.

Saturday, April 17, 2021

 With all the confusion of last year between race cancellations and postponements, the only race I know for sure I’m signed up for is the Bull Dog 25k in August.

 With that in mind and given that I have four months to build up from almost zero after a three week lay-off due to a broken collar bone, this year I’m going to aim for the age group record of 2:19 and next year go for the 50k record before saying good-bye to Bull Dog for a while and seek out other challenges.

 It’s been a few years since I’ve even run the Bull Dog course let alone run the race, and I’m definitely hoping a few races will open up before then so I can get my nerves under control after not racing in over a year.

 Before this lockdown, outside of running under the duress of injuries, I thought I was doing a pretty good job of using my nerves to my advantage as far as racing goes. My performances were pretty much at a consistently high level.

 
But if or when that apparent flow of training and race prep will still be there or not, I suppose many of us will have answered in the very near future. And that’s both very interesting and pretty exciting.

The Run Block

 

The visitation

From my very young mother

Scolds me like a child.

 Thursday, April 15, 2021

 While I recover from a broken clavicle, I’ve decided to dedicate the next four months to a solid run/upper body block.

 Without any race on the horizon and the only race I’m committed to is the Bull Dog 25k in August, it seems wise to go pretty much plain vanilla and do a basic runner’s template workout for the foreseeable future.

That’ll consist of a speed, tempo and long run per week; mostly on trail but a bit of road work thrown in because I’d like to aim for some decent 5k, 10k and half marathon times if races open up.

 Just because they’re plain won’t mean they’ll be easy or boring. Actually, I’m looking forward to the format. I was already doing short uphill sprints once a week before my injury and really enjoyed those, so I’ll toss those back in soon enough.

 But I’ve never done structured long hill repeats and it’s been years since I consistently did road work. I read in a Trail Runner Mag. Email about a few hill options and I’m committing to do the 5X3 minute hill repeats followed by a 3 mile tempo run. I was already doing the tempo run, so throwing in the repeats should add a formidable wrinkle.

 Haven’t quite figured out the road tempo run yet but will alternate that weekly with the hill work to keep things fresh and interesting.

 I was doing beginning ring work and a kettlebell workout weekly and just about getting ready to mix those up, but now not knowing what my shoulder can tolerate, I build up to those and stick with them throughout this training block.

 
I’ve never just ran for long so it’s going to be a fun and challenging four months discovering whether a pure run format will make any difference in my running performances and body composition.

The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Clavicle

 

She breathes and I breathe;

Her weight a soothing cloth

For a fevered life.

Thursday, April 1, 2021

 Breaking a clavicle is a fairly common bike injury but up until last Sunday, despite numerous accidents, I had avoided it.

 I’ve had my share of both common and freak bicycle accidents that have caused minor annoyances from a rib break to numerous lacerations and stitches, but two out of the last three falls, all within the short period of 5 years, has me seriously considering stepping away from cycling for a while and throwing my athletic energies into less risky endeavors like shark wrestling.

 Sunday was the latest and ranks right up there with a tree branch being cut and falling right in front of me in Panama as one of the more unusual; a dude losing control of his skateboard and launching it into my bike. I have no recollection of the fall outside of glimpsing the board out of the corner of my eye than standing and listening to two dudes, one of whom caused the accident, then doing what the good Samaritan told me to do – get in his car.

 He also had my bike in tow and was smart enough to take numbers and pictures of the skateboard dude’s license and car plate. He put this in the notes section of my phone.

 After being treated very kindly by all the hospital staff and cleaned up as best they could, I went home at 11 p.m. that night with the knowledge that I have a broken right clavicle that may need surgical repair. Today I consult with an orthopedic surgeon to discuss that possibility.

 When my last motorcycle was done trying to kill me by randomly shutting down with mysterious electrical problems, after 38 years of riding I decided that was that with motorcycles.

 This has that same very intuitive feeling with bicycles. I’ve bounced back from crashes before always with the determination to get back out there and ride. But not this time. This is my second hospitalization in 4 years and  my first surgery. I believe that’s enough to start placing my energy into other outdoor adventures that I’ve put off, like surfing.

 There just isn’t enough time to do everything and though I’m a strong rider, and would like to compete in duathlons and possibly triathlons, for the next couple of years I’m going to stay off of bikes and center my physical and competitive juices into running and improving my upper body strength.

 
Bicycling is a blast. I don’t feel there’s much that replicates the experience of it. But like many high-speed activities, as the speed goes up so do the risk factors and damages. How any of us balance those to make a determination as to what’s acceptable to us is highly individual. Right now my intuition is telling me to step away, at least for a while.