btw. I was at Sweet Pete's last night and I mentioned something about Paris-Ancaster to the guy checking me through. When I was about to leave he said "good luck in the race" as another guy walked up. He asked if I was doing P-A and we chatted for a second. Apparently a friend had asked him to do it a while back and he'd agreed, but now that the time has come he decided not to. I said how I was going with a couple friends who were riding on CX bikes, one of them being a single-speed. He looks at me for a second and says "that isn't Dave Pendon, is it?". I told him I was riding with "dave, keith and bradyn". Turns out the friend that asked him to ride P-A was Dave.

I guess this the guy you know well there because he was talking about when you used to ride a hardtail and he was on a full-sus and how he sold you your Kona.. etc etc etc.

We introduced ourselves and he said "well, I'll probably wind up riding with you this summer!".

summary: I love bikes.

i don't have any benefits, but i just got some custom orthodics from a "community health center" (chc) for $200 and requested to go on a payment plan. you have to be a client of a chc first though.

unfortunately, they don't fit in my cycling shoes, so i've been forgetting to wear them. they do fit perfectly in my hiking boots... if i ever decide to do that thing called walking.

on a related note, my knee - and my wrist too, for that matter - have been bothering me again lately. i've tried using a brace/tensor bandage on my knee while riding, but the chafing factor makes it worse. suggestions? dan, i'm looking your direction!



ah but it is 9 degrees and rising, and i have the day off...

Thats Jim. And more accurately it was "when Keith rode a hardtail...I rode full sus and Keith got his a$$ handed to him on every ride". It was riding with him and another full susser all the time and that made me want to go full sus. While my hardtail was a good 2 1/2 lbs lighter, I ride faster and longer on the full sus.

Is there a sports doc at the clinic you go to? If not consider consulting one. An experienced sports medicine doctor will be far better able to diagnose and suggest treatments than an average G.P. Myself, Dan and Wes all have gone to Doc Woollam with cycling related problems and are better off for the help we received from him.

I've been riding with the tensor on the knee for the last 2 weeks or so. Chaffing sucks but it does help in the pain aspect. Time to see the Dr. and find out when I need surgery on this one. Knees are the one body part (well the heads get special treatment as well) that I don't mess around with.

Save weight, ride naked.

Yeah, that's pretty much the story I heard, I figured I'd leave that part out.

I'm afraid if I lost another pound i'd kite away with the wind...

Isn't critical-ass coming up?

well, the two times i saw a GP there, they were pretty useless. i saw a naturopath yesterday and they gave me magnesium, which is supposed to be good for a bunch of things i didn't know about. i have the number for a couple OHIP physio places nearby, but i was hoping they'd specifically help me with my b0rked neck.

i originally had the problem diagnosed a few years ago when i was boxing and ended up having to quit as a result. i went to physio for patello femoreal syndrome, but stopped going once i wasn't in constant pain. so i have a fairly good idea what the problem is, but i was wondering if there was a (cheap!) cycling specific brace someone had heard of... until then, i'm just gonna have to put the tensor brace i have on and deal with it.

who's this doc woollam?

bwahhhahaha!

i've never stuck around (pun?) long enough to see one, but next friday is the last friday of the month!

I started seeing him 15 years ago for a knee problem. He is my G.P. as well now. He has been in sports medicine for over 20 years. Is a special consultant to the Blue Jays and the Toronto Marathon. He has been away for 2 weeks on a cycling vacation in France. I dont get any commisions from the people I have sent to him but I can guarantee he will be helpful.

So Jims talkin smack huh?
*tucks away in memory banks awaiting vengeance for said smack*

Well, he did say that you were a stronger rider but he still managed to kick your ass on the full-sus. So he did give you some props.

offhoff: make with the party plans!

no somnambulants allowed!

well, that's plural right? So you're allowed to have one. </simpsons reference>

I fully hope and expect to see at least one Somnambulant there.

LAL.

A friend of mine swears by Ginkgo Biloba, a natural blood-thinner. She had pains in her hands and arms and she said that she often felt tired from the smallest activities. She heard about Ginkgo Biloba and tried it and it made a huge difference for her, so much so that it inspired her to become an Naturopathic Doctor, ND.

I don't know if it really was this stuff but she said it changed her life for the better. I remember that she did start to look a lot better ie: more colour in her face and her hair became less gnarly and she did have a lot more energy.

I have another friend who is a pharmacist who thinks that all naturopathic stuff is voodoo and that Cathy was just anemic. *shrugs*

edit:
from the Wiki article: Out of the many conflicting research results, Ginkgo extract seems to have three effects on the human body: it improves blood flow (including microcirculation in small capillaries) to most tissues and organs; it protects against oxidative cell damage from free radicals; and it blocks many of the effects of PAF (platelet aggregation, blood clotting) that have been related to the development of a number of cardiovascular, renal, respiratory and CNS (Central Nervous System) disorders.

aww shucks.

But will it make me more human than human?

"The real story at today's Tour de Georgia was NOT the high overall speed of the winning eight-man break, lead in by stage winner Gianni Meersman of Discovery. The Belgian, also the event's youngest rider, handily out-sprinted the rest of the lead group, who covered the 118 miles and four categorized climbs in a rapid average of 25.95 mph. But to really understand what happened today, you should look to the average of the main field -- 23.44mph -- which well and truly explains the 29:07 gap between the two groups. 29 minutes!"

41.5 km/h average up mountains? pshhhhhh. They get to coast down the other side.

Probably tailwind both ways. Bunch of losers! Comparing bunch average speed to break speed is invalid until you consider tactics.