I'M ON THE DL FOR A FEW WEEKS

The diagnosis from the ER read "SPRAINED NECK AND BACK; FRACTURED WRIST". If I hadn't worn my helmet, my injuries would have been much worse.

The ride started as many before; beautiful day, windy but bearable. I went to Salado Creek Greenway since I hadn't ridden there in a month or so. The ride itself was pretty uneventful. I rode to Loop 1604, took a GU break, then started my return to the truck.

My downfall was taking a more technical section of the trail that I was not familiar with. At one point, I took a fork to the left instead of to the right, and within seconds I found myself at a 3 foot ledge drop off with no time to stop.

Instinctively, I tried to lift the front wheel as I went airborne, but the drop was too steep and I wound up flying over the handlebars and landing on my head, compressing my neck and spine. I never lost consciousness, but it did take me several seconds to gain composure and make sure my extremities could move.

My chest felt like the wind had been knocked out of me, as it was painful to breathe too deeply. I checked for cuts and gashes, but found none too severe. The impact had knocked my Camelbak off and scattered some of my stuff in the creek bed bottom. I sat up, gathered my things into my backpack and tried to stand.

I wasn't dizzy, as should be expected with a concussion, so I mounted my bike to try and ride back to the truck. My bike wouldn't move. Upon close inspection, I damaged my rear hanger and the chain was frozen. My only choice was to hike the 2+ miles back to the truck.

I started walking the bike down the trail, trying to think of additional symptoms of concussion: dizziness, nausea, loss of memory, loss of consciousness; none of which I experienced. I remembered that Mel usually went to the grocery store when I ride, so I started thinking about making the dreaded call to tell her I was hurt.

I had already decided that I was going to the Emergency Room to get checked out. Matt had experienced a less severe fall a few years ago while riding with me and he wound up with a mild concussion. I needed to catch Mel before she left for the grocery store, without causing her to panic.

Cell phone in hand, I waited for her to answer.

"Hello"
"Hey, are you at HEB yet?"
"No, I was getting ready to leave. WHY?"
"You might want to wait until I get there so you can take me to the Emergency Room."
"What happened?" (Tension apparent in her voice)
"I fell"
"Where are you?"
"Halfway back, but I have to walk cause the bike is messed up."
"Should I come get you?"
"No, I think I can make it home ok."

A second call later and she convinced me to let her come to the trail head and get me. After loading my bike in the back of her car, we left. After almost 5 hours in the ER and countless x-rays later, we were on our way home.

I made it through the night with the prescribed "happy pills"; I wouldn't have made it without, as the pain is worse than I've had in a while. I'm going to make an appointment with an Orthopedist to give me an opinion on my fractured wrist, as it's in a cast right now. The ER doctor estimated that I will be off my bike for several weeks, so I guess I'm relegated to the stationary bike until then.

Lessons learned: ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET; I think my filled Camelbak probably helped absorb some of the impact too; let your loved ones know where you'll be; and slow down if you are on unfamiliar trails.

Until next time - One Armed Big Dog out!

STAMINA AND ENDURANCE LOST?

Most of the time, this title would signify an upcoming Viagra commercial; not today. After a three week layoff from biking, I headed out to Op Schnabel for a Sunday morning ride. Although a bit chilly, the sun was shining brightly and it was a beautiful morning.


In the past, if I missed two consecutive weeks without riding, I would be very out of shape and get winded quickly, requiring many breaks throughout the ride. To say I'm still in good riding shape would be a stretch, because any of you who know me, know the words "good shape" and "Mike" are not usually used in the same sentence.


I rode a respectable 10.5 miles for an hour and a half, so I was pleased. The trails were gorgeous, having blossomed into color with the recent rains. There was more wildlife than usual, as I saw several deer, a couple of rabbits, robins, and a SKUNK. Fortunately, the skunk appeared towards the end of my ride, so I just rode in the opposite direction back to my truck.


I met a nice biker named Ralph, who said he owns Guadalupe River Cycle and Fitness. It is a very nice cabin on the north side of Canyon Lake on the Guadalupe River. Check out his website link in case you're thinking of vacationing in this area this summer. http://guadaluperivercycleandfitness.com/aboutus.aspx


I was astounded by the number of idiots riding bikes on the trails without helmets! I don't understand why people do that. Obviously they are not experienced riders, as we have all fallen several times and know how important a helmet is for safety reasons. It's not just kids either; there were a few adults riding sans helmet. Don't even get me started on motorcyclists who ride helmet less.


After a quick shower and lunch, and I settled into my recliner for an afternoon of being a couch potato. I watched as Tiger Woods came from 5 shots down to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament on the last hole as the sun had set. This was his second tournament since having knee surgery a few months ago. That guy is INCREDIBLE!



The announcers were detailing his daily work routine/schedule. He gets up every morning and works out for an hour and a half before breakfast, then he heads to the golf course to practice his shots, then plays nine holes of golf before eating lunch. Then he heads back out to practice more shots, work on his short game, then play another nine holes of golf before finishing up around 6:30 PM at night! He works HARD to be as good as he is. He deserves everything he gets!


What a nice, relaxing weekend. Things are getting really hectic at work, so every bit of relaxing and stress relief I can do, the better! Have a great week!

SPRING BREAK 2009

I've been rather inactive the last couple of weeks in regards to my bike riding. Last week was too wet and the weekend before, I had a very uneasy feeling about riding, so I didn't.

Matt came to San Antonio last Saturday to spend Spring Break with us. Stefanie, Rigo, and Aiden also came down last weekend, so we had a house full Saturday night and Sunday morning. Matt and I left for Port Aransas Monday morning, arriving around 1 PM.



By 2, we had unloaded the truck at the hotel, stopped to buy bait and a parking permit, and were on the beach. As we drove through town, we couldn't understand why there weren't that many people on the streets. When we hit the beach, we realized why; there were wall to wall people for miles!



We didn't think we'd have a snowball's chance in hell of finding a spot to park and fish, but we persevered and eventually found one. We unloaded and rigged up and soon were wading into the surf. THE WATER WAS COLD! We only caught a couple of croakers and left around 5:30.



After a quick shower, change of clothes, a couple of beers and shots of tequila, we headed to Castaways in Port Aransas; one of my favorite restaurants to celebrate Matt's birthday. After dinner, we drove around town and wound up at Sharkey's to shoot some pool and play Foosball.



Tuesday, we awoke to a dense fog and chilly temperatures. After breakfast at Taqueria San Juan (awesome Mexican omelets), we ventured to the beach to find a spot to park and fish. We wound up catching a few fish that morning, but nothing more after lunch, except a Sting Ray that Matt caught. We packed up around 4 since too many young kids were tripping over our lines and we didn't want any accidents.








Tuesday we had wings and beers at Port Aransas Brewing Company; a micro-brewery on the island. After sampling a few of their most popular, we settled on a nice full bodied Bock. After dinner, we again went to Sharkey's for pool & Foosball.

After breakfast (again at San Juan's), we hit the road for our return home. We both had a great time and I was extremely pleased and honored that Matt decided to spend his 21st birthday with me! We made some great memories and look forward to doing it again as soon as we can.




Yesterday I had to get another tooth pulled as I was in quite a bit of pain during the entire trip. I had been putting it off in hopes that the pain would subside, but it didn't. Now I can look forward to paying for TWO dental implants later this year (ouch; in more ways than one).

I feel better today, so Mel and I are off to run some errands and buy groceries. We are both off today, so we can spend the rest of my vacation relaxing and enjoying each other's company. I am TRULY blessed.

I hope to feel strong enough to ride this Sunday, but we'll see. Until next time, Big Dog out!

FREAKIN' COLD!

The shining sun and cloudless sky were deceiving when I went outside to get the paper this morning. In fact, it was quite nippy. I drank my coffee and read the paper before I started getting my gear ready for my ride.

I decided to check the weather website and saw that the windchill was 33 degrees! Shit! Now I know Juanita and her bunch probably think 33 degrees is short sleeve, shorts, and chancla weather, but not those of us in South Texas!

I layered on three riding shirts to brace for the cold, starting with my thermal undershirt, a long sleeve wicking shirt, then topped it off with my Marin jersey. As I opened the garage door, a blast of wind hit me and almost made me change my mind and climb back in bed with Mel. As tempting as that sounded, I knew I had to ride - missed opportunities, you know.

I had already decided to ride the Salado Creek Greenbelt trail, having ridden Madrone last week and not wanting to ride OP Schnabel because they were having some sort of race or event and I knew it would be crawling with riders. So, Salado Creek it was.

As I was unloading my gear at the trail head, another biker drove up and we struck up a conversation. Turns out he was supposed to meet some buddies for a ride, but it appeared they stood him up, so I asked him if he wanted to ride with me.

He said he moved here from Austin, which I soon found out meant he could ride! I had flashbacks of riding with Bert when he used to leave me in his dust on the trails. It was almost as bad today. Although this guy hadn't ridden much the last 8 years because of back problems, it was very apparent that he was in great shape.

I did my best to keep up without passing out and embarrassing myself. Considering he appeared to be in his mid 30s (maybe), I held my own as best I could. After riding about an hour, he started heading back to the trail head. We stopped and I told him I was going to ride some more, so we exchanged thanks for the ride and went our separate ways.

All in all, I rode 13 miles in a little over 2.5 hours. Because he showed me trails I hadn't ridden before, which were more technical in nature than the main trails, I am BEAT! By the time I reached my truck, my quads were cramping during climbs and I was spent.

I got home, showered, ate, then hit the recliner for a quick nap. In fact, it felt so good, I think I'm headed back to the recliner now for a repeat performance! Hope you all have a great week! Until next time, Big Dog out...

BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A RIDE!

Of course, ANY day is a great day to ride, but some ARE better than others. Today the sun was shining, but there was a crispness in the air. I overslept this morning by half an hour and almost talked myself out of going to Madrone because the drive is so long (45 min).

Sensibility prevailed, as I did a long ride last week, then another 11 miles at McAllister before Weight Watchers yesterday. I was looking forward to a challenge and Madrone certainly delivers! I had been looking forward to this ride all week.

I have an interesting personality trait that before, I thought only applied to my bike riding. I have written before about the "voices" that always seem to try to talk me out of riding on any given day. As I pondered this today on the trail, I realized that I do that all the time in the rest of my life too.

Take Fiesta, a McNay opening, a concert, or any other event. I could be looking forward to something for weeks, only to back out at the last minute for one excuse or another. It could be the weather, parking, crowds, money, it doesn't matter. Sometimes I talk myself out of it and other times I go anyway and have a great time! When it comes to biking in particular, I have to continue to ignore the excuses and just do it.

Although I rode 11 miles before weigh in yesterday, I didn't lose any weight. I didn't gain any either, so I wasn't devastated. Considering Valentine's Day was last week, and considering I ate a couple of breakfast tacos Friday at work, breaking even is almost a victory.

Speaking of victories, my niece Michelle realized a dream of hers a couple of weeks ago - by parachuting out of a plane! This has been something I've wanted to do for years, and Michelle had the balls to beat me to it! I am SO proud of her. I watched the video of her jump yesterday and started crying. It was so freaking awesome!

I guess as we get over 40 our mortality is more real than ever and we tend to think about things like "bucket lists". A couple come to mind: mountain biking at Big Bend and Northern California (good reason to visit Bert), as well as traveling to Spain (if we won the lotto).

Whatever your dreams or demons are, here's to living the dream and overcoming the demons! Hasta luego!

GREAT WEEKEND!

First things first: Happy Belated Valentine's Day! (or as La Raza says it, "Valentimes Day). Friday I played the part of the cost conscious but thoughtful husband, as I personally delivered 1.5 dozen roses to Mel at work. It surprised her and got me brownie points, so it was worth it.

Since Valentine's Day is all about the women, I asked her how she wanted to spend the day. Initially we thought we'd go to the McNay after lunch and see their new exhibits, then eat dinner somewhere. Saturday morning, she decided we would forgo the McNay visit, and go to the Shoemaker's Inn for their going out of business sale.

Shoemaker's Inn is a San Antonio institution (or was, they closed yesterday). They were having a HUGE sale on men's and women's shoes. Florsheim and Rockport men's shoes that are normally $150 were on sale for $20/pair.

As I waited in line for AN HOUR, I watched their longtime employees pose for pictures with each other. Many of them were 50+ years old and you just wonder if they were able to find other jobs. Many of them had worked there many, many years. It was quite sad.

After I bought two pair of shoes and Mel bought a few more, we decided to head over to Soluna, one of our favorite restaurants on Broadway. We beat the crowds as we arrived at almost 5 PM. I thought we might have to take out a few Senior Citizens at that hour, but I guess it was past their bed time. I'll ask Mom; she'll know.

After dinner, we stopped by Central Market for some champagne and decadent desserts to take home and enjoy. Yes, we DID count everything we ate yesterday. Needless to say, we both had a great Valentine's Day since we spent the whole day together. Who could ask for more?

By they way, Mel and I BOTH lost weight at weigh in yesterday. I lost almost 3 pounds, which more that made up for last week's disappointing result (but I'm SO over that). So far, I've lost 10 pounds since we started in January.

This morning was gray and overcast; not ideal conditions for a ride. It was even sprinkling, so I ALMOST talked myself out of riding. I fought the demons and soon found myself at Salado Creek Greenbelt Trail again. If you remember, the first time I rode there, I broke a couple of spokes, so I wasn't able to finish the ride that day.

Today my bike performed like a champ! I was able to ride further than I did last time, going past Loop 1604 to the North. Seeing the canyon cliffs and rugged terrain, you would never know you are in the midst of a city. The only telltale sign was a water main cover here and there. The one pictured below looks like an island in the creek bed bottom, as the ground has eroded around it. This is NOT a place you would want to get caught in a flash flood.

Not wanting to continue riding the loose rock much further, I turned around and headed back to the trail head. In all, I rode 12.5 miles in just over 2.5 hours.

I was pretty tired, but extremely satisfied when I got back to the truck. Not only had I ridden further than I had in a LONG time, I also tackled a couple of ledges I couldn't jump last time, since I broke my spokes. A foot high ledge doesn't seem like much, but if you don't jump it just right, you'll wind up going over the handlebars and busting your noggin.

I'm not sure where I'll be riding next week, but hopefully there will be good weather for the ride!

I NEED AN IMPLANT

Alright, get your mind out of the gutter...I don't need one of THOSE. (At least not yet.) I went to the dentist this morning to get a root canal done on one of my lower molars. After giving me the numbing shot, the dentist started cutting into my crown to get to the tooth roots. At one point he stopped and said there was a problem.

He showed me a picture of my tooth on his computer and it had a crack in it! My choices were to go ahead and have the root canal and spend the $600 or $800 for it, but with a crack in my tooth, the odds were very high that I would need to have the tooth pulled soon anyway.

My other option was to go ahead and pull the tooth and prepare for a dental implant in 4 to 6 months. Timing is EVERYTHING, as my dental insurance just added coverage for implants last month! After going over my options, I told him to go ahead and pull the molar, then prepare for the implant in a few months.

Once he pulled the tooth, he found that there was quite a bit of infection in the bone & gums. He scraped most of it out and gave me antibiotics for the rest. It was a good decision to have it pulled. Otherwise, I could have had many more problems with the infection from that tooth.

I'll just have to survive on soft foods that are within my WW points budget; at least until the stitches come out and the incision heals. Man, if it's not one thing, it's another! It could always be worse though...

Until next time, Big Dog out!