Hand-Cycle Night

Legs had a day off today----so hence Hand-Cycle night. It's fun rode out to Sageville on Heritage Trail

Scenes from a Bike....

You'll see so much more from a bike then you will see from the couch. 

Fat bike travels.

A nice lady named Carolyn informed me via Email that she enjoyed reading my blog and enjoyed the 'fun stories.' So that being said I thought let's start a posting, I think writing is good way to clean out and sort some of your thoughts.

Yesterday was just a day of play for me. Those days are needed at times. Some have relationship, family, work, house, and life responsibilities to keep up with. Busier then is sometimes good for us. So take time to play. I don't think we get old and stop playing, I think we stop playing and then get old. 

Started the day out cruising down to Farmers Market along with visiting the Food Co-Op on my FAT Bike to fill up my knapsack and obtain some good food, hear good music, and chat with others a bit.

Never take a FAT bike to the grocery store. They tend to want to eat everything. 

After riding back home and stocking food in the shelves the plan was to spend the rest of the day out in the country riding FAT bike and thus we did. 

Wasn't planning on riding 70 miles but my legs felt good, the day was beautiful, and we rode.

My excitement for the day was to find a new bench on Heritage trail, I must lead a simple life. 

Saw the herd out cooling down in the creek. Was wondering if they would share. I ponder if the good Lord did not want us to eat them creatures why did he make them out of hamburger????  

Afterwards desperately needing a shower coated with a mix of sweat and gravel dust. But heck the Brewers were on. ;-)     

So we were both starved and had a nice dinner...... ;-)      

So it was a good day. I couldn't help but notice the days are getting shorter, had me thinking about Fall riding. Seems there is beauty in every season, including the seasons of our life's. 

Cheers...thanks for stopping.

Dave 

It was beautiful.....

What my daughter said about me after winning Tuscobia 35 yesterday that is. She's relatively quite a newbie in cycling. She works hard, gets her homework done, and comes ready to push herself. I sure look forward to getting back on my feet, and riding/racing with her, that is if I can even hold her wheel.


Melissa's Face Book post.
"I did it, I wanted to make my dad proud today and I did - I won the woman's 35 mile Tuscobia fat bike race. My first snow bike race and longest snow ride to date, I was dutifully chased for almost the whole thing after flailing at the start.

When I struggled, it was very comforting to look down at the old cycling computer that my dad gave me when I first started biking. I didn't reset the odometer, as it has travelled over 9000 miles with him and I thought it to be good luck. He's an inspiration - we've both made come backs from some dark places. He's currently in one while recovering from knee replacement. I rode for him today since he cannot. "

On the recovery side things are going well. At first setbacks were more common than gains. However now at a little over 5 weeks out from knee replacement I can ride the stationary bike for 40 minutes with some resistance and that is improving daily. Walking on the Treadmill for 30 minutes at 3.5 miles an hour.
None the less it takes work, the knee is going to hurt, swelling is common, but my goal, my target of  getting back to long distance cycling as soon as possible makes it all worthwhile.

The Beginning...it is finished.

This was going to be my 5^th and I hope final surgery on my left knee since a major injury way back in 1974. With much nervousness I waited in the pre-surgery room.  Waiting, listening to every sound, wondering  when the party was going to start. The worry made every minute seem like 10 the clock wasn’t moving. It was time to get this over with. Finally nurses entered my room and wheeled me out and down the hallway.

The last recollection of consciousness that I have before my knee replacement surgery was being wheeled into what looked like a large room full of tools, lights, machines, and parts on tables. There were people moving about totally covered in masks, goggles, gloves, and surgical garb. I was looking for my doctor. Dr. David Field. I trusted him, I picked him to be the one to cut my old knee out today and replace it with a mixture of alloys and synthetic parts. He was nowhere to be seen. Was he here?

I could tell they must have put some sort of a sedative into my IV drip. Everything became a dream in dream there was nothing to be worried about any longer. The last thing I remember was a man leaned over and introduced himself as my anesthetist and helped me up to sit and lean over some device and place my chin into a cup to help support my leaning position. I knew what he was going to do, he was going insert a syringe between two of my lower vertebras and inject a solution into my lower spine that would totally deaden everything on my body from that point down.  I felt his fingers pushing very hard against my lower vertebras or was it a syringe?

Then all lights, all consciousness left, the butchery started, the saws, drills, scalpels, and trained hands  went to work.   

There was no time gap from that point to now. It seems instantaneous I was laying in the recovery room. It is like waking up from a strange dream, and then going in out of it for the next couple of hours. Slowly the ‘outside world’ becomes the denominate reality. Now I remembered I had knee replacement surgery.

I was wondering how it went as I watched blurry people walk back and forth and talked to each other in words I could not quite understand or could not quite hear. I closed my eyes again and left the room in my mind as somebody shook my arm and called my name. “David” and said “Surgery went well you are in the recovery room.”

I was now starting to think more then I was sleeping. Looking around I could see digital readings on devices around my bed. There were sensors attached to my body letting the medical staff know what was going on inside of me. There was an IV bag dripping fluids into my body through a needle that was taped to my left wrist. I had a catheter in place letting the IV fluids drip back out.

I saw my two feet sticking out of the sheets, no matter how hard I tried to move them, wiggle my toes, nothing moved.

I saw my lady, sitting next to me, that helped comfort me.

I reached under the covers and it felt like I was touching somebody else, it wasn’t me there was no feelings to be felt.

Somehow the day drifted into the evening and evening drifted into the night, I was now alone with my thoughts, listening to hospital sounds, as I drifted in and out of sleep.

I was starting to feel restless, distressful, a spinal tap stops pain totally, but unlike narcotic pain control does not give that calming effect that has become a national addiction dilemma.  I still could not move my legs much and I kept trying to pull myself up, using my arms to try and sit up. Feelings and pain started to show up in my left leg. My leg felt warm and sweaty I thought.

My automated Blood Pressure check started. It automatically starts cuffing my arm every 15 minutes so if I did dose off it wakes me. My blood pressure had been running alarming high, and I was told it was due the pain and trauma involved with surgery. 

This time it topped the charts with the high end being 175 which triggered an alarm at the nurse’s station. A nurse quickly arrives and alarmingly notices there is blood on the edges of the mattress and pulls back the covers we both see I am lying on a blood soaked mattress and my leg gauze is also soaked in blood. A second nurse arrives and my leg wraps are rapidly stripped off. Now we see the source of bleeding. In my moving around the two tubes that were left inside my leg and attached to a pump to help drain excess blood and fluids were pulled out. Blood was burping and one of the nurses applied pressure again the holes in my leg to stop the bleeding.

   

 

ZERO TO 100 (DAY 1)

IT IS FINISHED

Today was the day. Today was the day I thought about 1000s of times over and over again through the years. Today was the day I had my knee replaced after being told 40 years ago after a traumatic injury that this day would arrive.

Up at 4:00 a.m. to scrub my leg with a powerful antibacterial scrubbing solution my surgeon’s office gave me.  Headed to the hospital I found the registration desk and I was asked every question that could be asked about me. Then I was placed in a pre-surgical room and was told to dress in this small front closure only small sheet like looking gown with two strings to tie around the neck. My leg was shaved, an IV started, and blood work drawn. The anesthesia doctor rolled in and suggested that we do a spinal tap. I was thinking that would be the best way to go but I needed to mentioned from a previous injury I had my two lower vertebras fused to my tail bone.  As suspected he said he would not be able to initiate a spinal tap for pain control in that area. But would just move it up notch or two and poke me there so I guess I just get more body parts numb for the same price.

As he leaves the ‘drug nurse’ rolls though the door with about 9 containers of various drugs and proceeded to inject all these foreign substances in my body through my IV.

She leaves closes the door and now my room is empty. Worry, fear, doubt suddenly hit me in the new found silence. The clock on the wall was ticking, ticking, and ticking excruciatingly slow. Each second seemed like a minute as I waited.

Most of what happens next I don’t remember, besides power pain medication I was also given a shot of an amnesia drug.

I do remember sitting in a chair attached to the bed in surgical room leaning over while the anesthesia doc locates a nerve exiting my spinal column for pain control.

My doctor told me later that day the surgery took about twice as long as planned. Previous repairs had left 5 staples and 2 screws which wanted to stay in me. He told my bone was exceptionally hard causing additional time. But now “It is Finished” I finally took the leap, and believing in enjoying life again without knee pain.  

I now sit in my hospital room 26 hours later, I will not be allowed out of bed until sometime tomorrow. Pain is tolerable at this time but I understand that is primarily due to the spinal block I received this morning.

I was told tomorrow physical therapy will start working with and I will learn new profanity. I hope not I don’t need any additional education in that department.

GOOD NIGHT

 



Zero to One Hundred day zero.

I moved all my bikes out of my basement and into the garage. It will be months before I ride them again and they are just crowding and overcrowded basement. Tomorrow I say goodbye to my left knee. It has served me well in spite of a severe injury in 1974 and four repair surgeries over the years. After ripping out ligaments and cartilage I still was able to spend 1000s of hours powerlifting, swimming, running, and cycling over the years. But now the time has come, the last four years my knee has told me when I can ride, how far and how hard I can ride. Yes I did have 126 mile days, grueling hill climbs and 350 mile weeks on the bike this year but I also had weeks and weeks when I could not ride, cortisone shots, days walking with a cane, and hours on the couch with ice bags.

I am compulsive. I have been making notes for weeks in preparation of everything I need to do to get everything ready to make a house livable  when walking is difficult, stairs hurt, and high powered pain killers race through my bloodstream.

My indoor bike waits in the dining room for my return from the hospital for rehab.

 

 

So tomorrow morning a team of medical professionals will remove what remains of my damaged left knee and replace with titanium alloy and polyethylene parts. I am going into this as strong as I can be; I’ve kept bicycling up to this weekend. I am scheduled for 6 weeks of therapy afterwards and my goal is to conquer every challenge my therapists throw at me.

I plan to chronicle my journey, the ups, downs, and everything in between of a cyclist whose goal is to work hard and get back on his bike and ride, one mile at a time until the day I can ride 100 miles again.  Hence the title “0 to 100”

 

 

RUNNING SUCKS BUMPER STICKER

Just teasing Bumper Sticker I had 50 of these printed locally and am selling them on Etsy if anyone is interested.    
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MrDaveyGie?ref=search_shop_redirect

"The Hill"

 

 I am climbing this hill and somehow I feel more alive than I have in a long time. MY heart rate has maxed there is no more, I am peaked, this is my limit. There is no room for any mishap, I must ride perfect or I will be off the bike and pushing it up the hill. My thighs are pounding, I am looking straight down now, not knowing how much of this climb is left I don’t want to know, only the moment is important . I will give everything I have to make it to the top and no one will know but me. That is cycling

 

 

A letter

APRIL FOOLS MOFO..............

MUAHHHHHHHH        :-)

This lil Piggie...

My dog Pitty, riding with the Rock.

 

 

 

My First Baby Picture...

THE HILL I TRIED TO CLIMB....

What goes up.....comes back down....didn't make it......I shall return..

Triple D Jan 19th. Bike, Ski, and Run.

http://tripled.athlete360.com/     <--click link="" on="" p="" sign="" to="" up....="">

Jan. 19th 2014 the Best Western hotel will be buzzing again. Triple DDD. Some come to race, some come to ride and the camaraderie. Some finish, some don’t. Runners, cyclists, skiers something for everybody. It is more than anything else, a whole lot of fun, the night before, the journey, and the evening afterwards. Come join.

 

Good night

I was thinking about blogging some stuff and thoughts...but the night got away from and I am tired.

"On Our Bikes"

 

Melissa 1986 on her bike

 

 

"On our bikes."

It was over 20 years ago that I last rode a bicycle with her. Her life got so busy. She went on to become an accomplished pianist, a piccolo player and an all-state level flute player. Along with math and State speech competitions, college courses in high school, valedictorian, and a 4.0 National Merit Scholar. By this time the sanctity of the home had crumbled. Alcoholism and drug abuse running rampant and out of control in a parent will do that to any home. I thought I could fix it, make it all better, I couldn’t. It only got worse sending the household into hell.  Melissa needed to get out, and left home at age 17. Iowa State University knew she was an exceptional student and offered her a 4 year full scholarship. Attending classes at a more then full time schedule while maintaining employment with whatever time was left over. Summers found her interning out of state for Proctor and Gamble, and Flint Oil refinery.  

Graduating with a Chemical Engineering degree in 2003 with multiple employers throwing out their welcoming mat she has maintained gainful employment ever since. Giving birth to my grandson Cole she became a wonderful and loving mother and continues to be so. 

Seeking and needing mores challenges she began a grueling training regimen of long distance running and setting her sights on and competing in many half and full marathons. Placing in meets and returning to her home town to take 2^nd place in a 26.2 mile marathon in January through snow covered Iowa trails. Now setting her sights on a 31 mile race and several other marathons. But it wasn’t to be. She “blew” her foot up and after two years of surgeries and recovery and the foot not letting her run the bike became her friend again.
We went riding today, my daughter and I. We had a blast. She rides quite well as we rode snow packed trails with her on a “skinnie” CX bike.  We will race Cirrem together this February across snow and ice covered Iowa gravel roads for 65 miles. "On our bikes."

Melissa and me "on our bikes" today.

 

 

Me and Melissa today and yesterday. 

 

 

...and we ride on..."on our bikes" and in life.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers and hope your day was good as well. Thanks for stopping by, Dave.

Some things

 

 

LIFE HAS A MUCH BETTER VIEW FROM MY BIKE THEN FROM MY COUCH.

 

 

Love this time of year for trail riding.

I tried my indoor roller, I don't think I will be back again. I have lights, and know how to dress for the cold.

 

 

 

ME AND MY TRI-CYCLE MAKING FIRST TRACKS IN TRIPLICATE.