The (Award-Winning) Historian
 

Neil just left me a message, his bike club just gave him an award for most improved cyclist. (I should probably let him post about it first, but you all know how quiet he is... )

It's too late to call him back so I'll just say: Congratulations, buddy, you deserve it!

Jeez, Neil's full of surprises this year. Way to go Historian!

:beer:

Congrats!!!!!!!!!

What an accomplishment! Congratulations!

Hmm, at first I thought Neil was referring to my Honorable Mention in the Historical Article category in last year's Chess Journalist of America awards. It was for a lengthy article on the history of chess in Atlanta following the Civil War. It was so long the editors of Georgia Chess and I jokingly called it "Pawn With The Wind." But then I remembered the banquet last night.

Yes, I was recognized as Most Improved Rider at the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia annual meeting and Awards Banquet, held at the Manayunk Brewery. (Incidentally, Neil F. and I had lunch there during our first ride back in June 2007.) This was a special award the club devised in my honor. The club president cited me as (here comes that word again) "inspirational" and "proof that anyone can ride a bike if they want to." They gave me a water bott-, no, I can't even type that with a straight face. The club gave me a certificate for a $250 bike fitting at Cadence, Philadelphia's 'high end' bike shop:

http://www.cadencecycling.com/traini...biomechanical/

I've had a bike fitting with my local shop that I think turned out well, but I don't think it will hurt to have the folks at Cadence take a break from working with racers and triathletes to look at me. I may hold off on the fitting until after I have my knees looked at - the left knee in particular seems to be getting worse, and if there's a surgical fix, even a partial one, I should investigate it.

I was flattered by the award, and although I suspected there would be something said at the banquet, I never expected the extravagant gift. I mumbled some thanks as the 125 attendees applauded. I returned the thanks by purchasing the club jersey at the end of the night. It's something I'd wanted to wear for a long time, but I always came up with excuses not to own it - I had too many jerseys, I'm not good enough/fast enough/lycra'd enough/carbon-fibered enough to ride with BCP, etc. I don't have that excuse any more.

http://www.phillybikeclub.org/jerseysm.jpg

I forgot to thank Neil for starting the thread. Thanks buddy!

Congrats, Neil!

Hope to see that jersey on the Lancaster covered bridge metric this year.... :)

Woohoo! Congrats, Neil! Absolutely outstanding:D

Amazing! No wonder I like to direct people to this forum when I sense they need some motivation :D .

Way to go, The Historian!

And congrats for the honourable mention, too :) .

East Hill

If I wear it on the Pittsburgh-Washington DC tour in June, you may see it in Williamsport!

Good Show!

They are not all pleasant surprises, however. I had my third episode of lightheadedness in two weeks this morning in church. My breakfast consisted of a couple of toaster pastries - no water with them. But I had a full dinner the night before, and didn't feel hungry.

The two previous episodes were last Saturday on waking up - I canceled a ride I had scheduled with "bautieri", and began to feel better after being up a couple of hours. The second was at work Thursday night, about an hour after eating. The common thread could be lack of sleep - I'm not sleeping well these days, but as a middle aged, obese man I need to be concerned about the onset of the "D" word. Ground control to Major Tom - any comment?

Way to go!

That is pretty awesome. What a cool group.

Congratulations on your professional successes too. This is the second award that I've heard of regarding your work in chess history.

Yeah, I'm still adjusting to telecommuting on top of lecturing at my new job and writing my dissertation. So I don't see much sleep either and it really screws me up by about Thursday so that I end up sleeping in Friday-Sunday.

Congrats on the award...it is impressive to be recognized!

Are you dehydrating? Have you tried drinking before each meal? Are you dieting with the help of a nutritionist? If not, this could be a bit dangerous as may not be getting the iron and protein you need.

As far as insomnia is concerned, you may need an occaisional sleep aid to help you at least get a few good nights of sleep each week - very important. Ambien CR has helped through some tough international trips and times when I know I must sleep, but cannot. For some people, melatonin is a better choice or even the less addictive (but less effective) Rozerem. Good luck getting through this...

Congrats Neil !!! You da man !
Hope you figure out why your dizzy and why your not sleeping. I usually sleep pretty well, though I tend to get a stiff back at around 7 - 8 hours, but when I'm on vacation I seem to be able to sleep around 9 hours. I think work is slowly killing me, but I can't find a doctor to give me an excuse for workmans comp.
Good job and good luck.

I would say the D word is a possibility. Get yourself tested, you should anyway. The sugars in a toaster pastry can slam you with insulin production if you are developing a Type II condition due to sluggish response in the Pancreas. With the sluggish response, you have a double edged sword, in slow turn on of insulin production, leading to higher blood sugars, leading to an exaggerated insulin production in level, and a slower than normal turnoff of production. Your better breakfast would be some oatmeal or an egg or two, preferably not fried. ;)

I realized it wasn't a good breakfast, but I was in a hurry - I overslept from being up late last night. Which leads me to think it could simply be lack of sleep, but I'm normally groggy when I don't sleep, and I wasn't groggy. I'm still a little lightheaded now, but I'm also very fatigued. I haven't done anything more strenuous today than sing in church, eat lunch, post to Bike Forums and watch reruns of "Fraiser."

I spoke with a diabetic friend of mine who suggests low blood pressure as a possibility. Regardless, I'm calling Monday morning for a doctor's appointment. Meanwhile, BCP's Most Improved Rider is going to sit and watch a perfect day for riding pass away..... :-(

I'm not sure you can call chess history a 'profession', since it's impossible to make a living at it. Also it's not a recognized academic discipline. Only a handful of writers in the field are trained historians - John Donaldson - who is also an International Master, Olimpiu Urcan, Richard Forster - another IM, Tim Harding. John Hilbert, America's leading chess historian, has a doctorate in literature and law, which are related research-oriented fields. The rest of us in this fringe of a fringe subject try as best we can.

While blowing my own Tromp-, err, trumpet:

CJA Awards:
2004 - Best Historical Article.
2005 - Honorable Mention, Best Historical Article. (The article that took first was one I peer-reviewed.)
2006 - Honorable Mention, Best Historical Article. (The article that took first was one I peer-reviewed.)
- Best Web-published Book Review.
2007 - Honorable Mention, Best Historical Article.

Yes, they turned out to be pretty nice once we got over the bad experience I had back in April. They had an 'instructor' for their beginner's ride who dropped me and insulted me. He also practiced unsafe cycling, grabbing my arm at one point and not announcing obstacles. At one point I hit a orange safety cone and almost fell in traffic. I threw a fit on the ride twice. By the second time all the other riders, one of who was the club president, voted to end the ride. I posted about it to Bike Forums ("Clyde Dropped On "Instructional" Ride") and to the BCP email list, where it was a topic of conversation for more than a week. The club dropped that instructor.

Oh, I also purchased arm-warmers that match the club jersey. They are bright yellow. Neil F. will be so jealous! :-)

I think it's time for a sleeping aid. At least until I lose weight and normal sleep patterns are restored. I'll search for one that won't leave me groggy the next day.

That's nice that it turned out so well. I am really inspired by the folks here. You make it easier for me to think about how to overcome obstacles in my own life.

East Hill

Okay, now I have to admit that you're a real cyclist.

Congrats neil