thanks! sounds like you had subdural stitches.

the sling is off! i was in it for 10 days and it is amazing how much ROM i lost. glad to be out of it and gently working to improve. thanks for the info. i'll probably still sleep in it until my next visit.

Ice storm yesterday, sheared off a bunch of branches onto my power line which in turn caused my meter pole to snap off even with the ground, destroying the power panel in the process. One of the guys on my team is a general contractor, and he referred me to an electrician he works with. Looks like $2500 worth of repairs. There go the new frame set and wheels...dammit.

ugh

Chuck, damn....

@revchuck, homeowner's insurance doesn't cover any of that? Regardless, that is a bummer.

Well, I've got power again, and I've been told the final cost will be much less than the estimate - I guess it wasn't as involved as they thought it'd be.

Haven't been on the bike since Monday, probably won't ride again until Saturday, Rouge-Roubaix Sunday.

I did the Lip Gloss Roubaix, and the False Eyelash Roubaix. It was the 70's...

Got in to see the sports med doc. Referred to another surgeon. Feeling better about this consult than the last.

A teammate (who has been doing really well this year in 45+) will be using these "mini clip-ons" for the Tucson Bicycle Classic prologue, which is an down and up 3.5 mile TT. He had them on at the Tuesday training crit. The position is very much akin to IAB. A couple guys are going with road bikes for a better OTS position on the two steepest sections. I've chatted with Ex, and am sticking with the TT bike and will try to crank the power while staying on the extensions. My sig says why. But I think these little doodads could rock, and I'm looking forward to how he does with them. He is hella fast, so I'm expecting he will rock it, no matter what he rides.

Edit: Pictured is Lukas Verzbicas, and he isn't my teammate ;)

http://cdn.triathlon.competitor.com/...012/04/263.jpg
Photo linked from http://triathlon.competitor.com

The word surgeon is still scary -- especially when you're talking about your back. Hoping for the best.

Racers use the mini clip on aerobars on the Mount Diablo hill climb that has a flattish section at the bottom. Of course, Rob Anderson and his female counter part, both road World Champions climb Mount Diablo with their TT bikes and a rear disc. I had Anderson behind me a couple of years ago in the TT HC and he blew past me after I completed a couple of pedal strokes. I think he could pedal a greyhound bus up Diablo.

Those clip ons on circa 2004 Ulrich on Alpe De Huez

Yep. The general consensus is to have it done sooner rather than later for a better outcome. Making the consult appointment today and getting the names of a couple of other folks for a possible second opinion. If there's concurrence then hi ho hi ho it's under the knife we go.

Yikes.

Ouch.

sorry to read, ex, but maybe it is better to have a plan then to not know which way to go. thoughts are with you.

revchuck--that's a bummer!

in my own news, ditched the narcotics fully by the 4th day post-op. pedaled for 5' on the trainer on day 3, figuring i'd be glad i did. did an hour of endurance on day 5. did intervals (9x3' low cadence) day 6. did some threshold+ 4' intervals on day 8. made a ski lap today to test if i'd be ok to take my boy this weekend (i enjoy teaching/hanging with him on weekends, so i was most sorry to have to miss a few of them).

i've been cleared to do ROM exercises but no weights/weight-bearing.

i try to keep optimistic and am pleased at the progress and hard work. in 7 days things will be quite different, and in 100 i might not even remember what happened.

still trying to sort out what it means for my race calendar. a little bummed about a few things i've had to give up. some moments i think i'll come out of the gate raging, but others i'm not quite so sure.

AZTR: with that prologue, i'm betting the TT bike would be fastest for most riders. it's so short so it would be high power/high-speed. of course, if someone can't make power in their extensions it doesn't matter much. (caveat: i only studied it last year as i was thinking about going; i haven't ridden it.)

Coach apparently wants me to race M55+ rather than Cat 5 in my upcoming stage race...at least that's what she filled in on the schedule. Not sure if I want to jump in the deep end just yet. I'm going to email her in the morning and see if that's a decision, suggestion, or a guess on her part concerning my plans.

I would have you do the 55 as well. More miles per dollar, chance to watch some tactics, neither field is big or strong right now, two crits in Dallas will keep some of the TX motors busy. Thrown in with the 40+ crowd the road race might split but if the wind stays away it might not, and its pretty pancake flat no?

Just saw one of the old TX rivals will be out here for San Dimas.

I emailed her and she responded. The gist of her response is that there are fewer surges and a steadier pace in Master's races than in Cat 5, and that my abilities right now match up better with that kind of race...plus it'll be safer.

At our club's MTB race last month, an official who had been at the season's first road race in Monroe said he had seen me race, and recommended that I put in for an early upgrade to Cat 4. I demurred at that time, but if I'm going to be racing Master's anyway, I just might do it. Opinions?

Oh, no....

After the Bariani road race this past weekend, I decided to see who was in that 56 rider field. It was unusually big for an NCNCA women's 4 field. At first it was to see who was killing us out there. When I went down the finishers list, I started to notice the ages, so I compiled a list of 35+, 45+, and 55+. I discovered that there were 25 35 and up women in that 56 rider field. I went further and broke down who finished in the top 28, and who finished in the bottom 28 (not who was in the main pack, there was no way to know that). Further, I looked to see what the experience level was of the "older" women.

Now, I'm on the NCNCA Women's Committee. Our task is to attract women to the sport and retain them. Up until this point, I've mostly been rubber stamping ideas, because I just don't have the experience to say much more than "yeah, sounds good to me!" This time, though, I jumped in. I wrote a proposal to the Committee, based on the Bariani race, about giving the 35+ women their own cat 4 field in the larger, more popular races. Not necessarily scoring them separately, but letting "us" race with "each other", and not the future pros. The idea has traction! We're going to collect data for the rest of the season, and then submit a proposal the the BOD and RD's in the off season.

If it works, I will be thrilled! Certainly, there are not as many older gals who want to do or even try this as there men, but the number is high enough, IMHO, to where we could be given our own fields, at least in NCNCA. That would give the older women a chance to compete on a somewhat level-er playing field, rather than getting torn up in an unfair fight with the kids. That chance to go out and have some fun rather than just survive, from my experience, would go a long way towards bringing older ladies either back into the sport or encouraging new riders to give racing a try. Fingers crossed!

Interesting statistics, sarals. Purely observational -- no data -- it looks like there are more women at the races in SoCal. Can't tell you the age breakdown either, but last year a couple of promoters eliminated the Cat 1/2 women's races because there were such low turnouts in 2012. In 2013, after a lot of online whining and untold person-to-person whining, they brought back the Cat 1/2 races. Now women's racing in SoCal looks healthier and I hope it lasts and improves further.

Cleave, that's good news! The same thing seems to be happening here. The first three road races of the season were sellouts, with waiting lists, in the W4 category. Madera was up against a Red Kite race, I believe, and there were still 40 entries in the W4 field. VERY encouraging, indeed!

San Dimas Stage Race
 

Hi all. If you're 55+ Cat 1-4 send me a PM and I'll tell you about a special circumstance for the San Dimas Stage Race. I doing the race for the first time. (Or is it going to do me?) Registration closes tomorrow, Sunday, March 23, at midnight. The race is Friday through Sunday, March 28-30. I've been told that if the 55+ field is too small this year they are going to drop it next year.

I'd love to support that, Cleave, but it conflicts with our state criterium.

Conflicts wih my birth certificate

Been a busy few days. My junior arrived Thursday, had him ride my fixed gear Friday. Saturday we were going to get him certified at the Carson track, got down the road and he realized he forgot his pedals, which he needed for the rental bike. Go home and get a fat ticket trying to make up time on the second run to the track. Get hooked into helping the instructor doing the cert class. Get a women who has been terrified of the banking up to the blue line within a few minutes. Very cool.

Junior is a natural, does a 39s 500 on a junior geared rental bike in his first shot. 16 with great genes, dad was a cat 1 and mom won at Kona.

Today we did the Ontario crit. He missed the break in the junior race, but finished well within the pack in the P123 race which was won by a break that included Booby Lea. Bahati missed it,as did the Jelly Belly pro. Spun like a hamster on junior gears in Really fast race. My race report over there.

Busy week planned.