Rolling in the dirt

This week I did a little wrenchin' on the bikes- Char got some new wheels (warranty replacements) and I got some new rubber. I traded in my Hutchinson Piranha's (tubeless light) for some Bontrager TLR XDX's. I think the Hutchinson's lasted longer than any tires I've ever had on the mtb- I put them on last January. I will use Hutchinson again, like maybe the Tubeless Light Python. Anyhow, I hope I have better luck with the Bontrager's than I have in the past. I also replaced my carbon Bontrager stem and seatpost with the good Thomson stuff. So far so good!

Char's trusty steed...

My great white rig...

This week started out being very cold (cold for us!)- a few days it dropped below 30 at night and only got to 50 during the day. But things got back to normal this weekend so Avery and I hit the trails...

Showing Avery how to get over logs...

Avery leading out...

Avery bombing down Mount Sand...

Somebody being persuaded to do one more lap...

The lake...

The ocean...

Ending our ride...


I got back in touch with Mayo Friday and asked them to go with Medtronic for the ICD since Boston Scientific had not contacted me in 3 months. I was beyond tired of waiting. After I talked to Mayo, my doctor called me soon after, then Medtronic called me about 10 minutes after that. Wow! To make a long story short, I am now working with one of their engineers on possible points of electromagnetic interference at work and it looks like the main area of concern will be the large DC motors that we have all over our plant. Monday I will work on finding a way to get the EMI measured (Medtronic doesn't actually do it) so that we know if the device will be affected or not. Standby...

Quick thought

This looks weird...

54

Get this guy in your Player of the Year discussions! Jodie Meeks dropped 54 on Tennesse last night and broke Dan Issel's UK single game scoring record. This guy was unconscious!! I think UK will make a little more noise this year with Meeks and Patrick Patterson (Rhythm & Bruise?) playing at the level they have been so far this year. They just need a few other guys to step it up a notch, especially some of the freshmen. Man, its great to have a little excitement back in UK basketball! GBB!!

So Mayo contacted me and said that Boston Scientific is using a 3rd party to screen my workplace and should be getting in touch with me soon. As soon as the screening is done I plan to schedule the ICD surgery. I am eager to get it all over with so I can move on and feel "safe" when I exercise and sleep. I have read that most heart issues, namely sudden death, happen while sleeping vice while exercising. Either way, exercise spooks me now doing it "unprotected."

Last thought- the HCMA has been incredible during this whole ordeal. They are so unbelievably knowledgeable of this disease and all the HCMer's on their forum provide so much info, feedback and support. HCMA- solid.

The final last thought- promotions at work are cool. 8+ years of hard work and dedication are paying off...

Gator Girls

Man, I've gotten pretty bad at posting since I stopped training. Seems kinda weird though- I have more time yet I post less. Maybe it's because of Facebook... Anyhow, nothing new with my heart deal. It seems to still be working. Hehe.. I am still waiting on either Boston Scientific or Medtronic to come screen my work to make sure there will be no interference issues. I call Mayo every week or so and they seem as baffled as I am on the holdup. I've been waiting 2 months now. Bleh. Oh- there are 2 guys at my work with implants from the Mayo. One has a pacer and the other has a defib and they seem to be ok and had good feedback on Mayo's process.

One other thing, well make that 2 things- I got in contact with Yale University regarding a study involving competing athletes who have ICD's. IF it works out that I can compete again, in either mtb racing or maybe running, I will participate in their study. It will be great to be able to contribute to the fight against heart disease and the unknowns of competing with my disease. I also was contacted by Training Peaks to have a blog profile on their site. It will be a little different considering that I am not actively training or racing, but it will be about the racing and training that I was doing, using their program, my heart diagnosis and where I plan to go from here. I'll put up the link when this all happens...

Man, it sucks that college football season is over but it ended with a solid showing by the SEC! The SEC was a combined 6-2 in bowl games with the big one being the BCS title game being won by the Gators over Oklahoma from the over-hyped Big 12. I was pleasantly surprised that UK knocked off East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl for their 3rd bowl win in a row! ECU beat West Virginia and (soft) ACC champ Virginia Tech this year and without out UK freshman phenom QB Randall Cobb, I thought this game could've been an ugly loss. NOT! Go Big Blue!! Oh, has UofL's bowl game come on yet? Ha! I had take that one for revenge from Sosa's game winner in the annual UK/UofL basketball showdown. Will it ever be The Dream Game again???

Ok, so me and ALL my ladies got together to watch the BCS National Championship. I had to work late that night so they got all the good Gator shirts and I was left with, well, take a look...


The blondes got a real kick out of this! Oh well, tough one for ol' Blue. But do Gator Girls have guns like this?? LOL!!

Ok- parting shot for all the family members far and away- here's Avery sporting some always fly digs from Char...

New Year's Savannah

Savannah was a blast! However, the next day...not so much...