LIVING WITH MCL

After feeling so terrible during Thursday's bike ride , I took Friday off, hoping to rejuvenate my body. Instead I went to Surf City Cyclery to buy a new set of tights and gloves, in an attempt to lighten up the load just a little, in anticipation of this mornings ride. I knew it was going to be cold this morning, but I was not expecting it to be below 40°F, my self imposed cut off point for going on a bike ride (there isn't enough clothing to keep you warm below that temperature), so when I woke up this morning to see 37°F on the wall thermometer, I was in total dismay. (And it's not even sunrise yet, so it will get even colder.) I know it's a lot colder in other parts of the country (so I shouldn't complain too much), but this is southern California, and this is only November. We don't normally see these kind of temperatures until February, in the height of winter. As if life isn't depressing enough for me, why does the weather have to spoil one of the [ve...

2 pounds is the amount of added clothing I've needed the last couple of days due to temperatures being in the low 40's when I go for my bike ride in the morning. At least I hope that's the reason I've been struggling on the bike so much this past week. And today's ride was just the pits. Not only was I the last one up the hill, but my time up the hill was the slowest in, I can't remember how long. Then on the way back, I couldn't even keep up with the group, and ended up riding most of the way home alone. I'm sure the 11.1 g/dL hemoglobin didn't help either, but that hasn't seemed to have had much of an effect lately. Up until this week, I actually thought I had been riding pretty good, so I have to attribute it to the weather. Still I was demoralized, and I sure hope this isn't a preview of what's in store for us this winter. We didn't have much of a summer this year, and I'd hate to think we're not going to have a fall eithe...

I just discovered yesterday, the new bike I was expecting to get next month ( yes, the one I originally decided not to get, but then changed my mind because it was too good a deal to pass up ), and which I already forked over $2,750 for, is no more. The explanation is the financing for the new business fell through, and the partners in the business have parted ways. Tony, the principal promoter of the company and an ex-professional cyclist, claims all the money will be refunded by December 15th, and he is working on resurrecting the business in the near future. I hope it works out for him, but I'm not going to hold my breath.  I'll just be happy if I get my $2,750 back. But in the mean time, not only am I out a new bike, I just sold my spare bike, and now don't have a back up for emergencies, and replacing it is going to cost a lot more than $2,750. Plus I spent another $200 on a new set of wheels to replace the race wheels (which I was hoping to sell) the new bike was comi...

So why shouldn't we be able to eat all the sweets (sugar) we want? The only good thing about the rain is I have plenty of time to peruse the internet, and find something worthwhile and relevant to post, instead of the useless dribble I'm usually posting. And today is one of those days. Sugar has always been a concern for me, especially after having my first [and only] PET scan. In order to determine if there is active cancer, a glucose mixture is injected into you, which then migrates to the cancer cells, and is picked up on the scan. So I decided sugar must be bad, and it would be best to severely restrict my intake of sweets in an attempt to stop the progression of my MCL. Now if you love sweets, especially chocolate, like myself, you've probably discovered no matter how good your intentions are, restricting sugar intake can be a daunting task. I did it for quite awhile, but now I pretty much ignore that advice. What's more important, I soon came to believe after lear...

The month of November is not starting out so good. And I'm not just referring to my normal complaints, i.e. shorter days, colder than expected temperatures (44°F this morning), work, and a myriad of other issues I won't get into now. It even goes beyond the fact Edie's lastest chemo regime (Bendamustine) isn't working, and she going to be starting on Melphalan and Prednisone as soon as her counts improve. It all started last Wednesday when I discovered a friend (family almost) went into the hospital for brain surgery because of seizures, which was complicated by the fact an artery was nicked during the surgery. Now she's in an induced coma, and there does not seem to be any clear indication of her prognosis, or even when they are going to bring her out of the coma. Then on top of that, Edie's sister just called to inform us her oldest brother just suffered a massive stroke, and the prognosis doesn't look good. I was shocked. I just saw Norm when we were back...

I don't know what's gotten into me. I hadn't even heard of this Thoroughbred race horse until last Sundays 60 Minutes featured her . She was 19 for 19 in the win column, and was poised to make history by winning her 20th consecutive race at the prestigious Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs, and then retire. She didn't win, but she sure made it a horse race. Coming from dead last, some 20 lengths off the pace, and in a field of 11 other males, she almost pulled it off with a tremendous stretch run to finish second by a nose. What's surprised me was the emotional connection I (and a lot of others as well) developed for this horse. I didn't have any money bet on her, nor would I have benefited in any other way from her winning, but still I felt that connection. It's sort of how I feel when my beloved Steelers lose, but I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and I've been a fan of the Steelers ever since I can remember. But like I said, I only heard of this hors...

Happy days are here again. Well, sorta-kinda-maybe. One of the longest election cycles, in memory, has come to an end, and I can finally get back to watching live TV again. Now while the election didn't go exactly how I had hoped, and my faith in the intelligence of the American electorate took a big hit, fortunately [most] Californians did not get swept along in that same wave that has over taken much of the rest of the country. All that remains now is to see what transpires over the next two years before all the insanity begins again, but at least I can take solace in the fact, I won't have to listen to the likes of Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina any more. Some things you just can't put a price tag on.