Umm, you have to wait in the US too.

I don't know why people think that. We could have "free" medical care in the US if our government wasn't wasting hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to keep Iraqis safe from, um, well, I'm not sure what. A friend of mine just signed a contract to go sit in a tent in Afghanistan. I think he's supposed to be training snipers, since that's his forte', but mostly he writes his book and works out. He gets $186,000 tax free dollars for doing that for the next twelve months. I don't blame him, but why do we let our government piss away our tax dollars when so many Americans can't afford good health care? You have to be poor or old to get free or inexpensive health care in the US. And it's paid for by the taxpayers, just like in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the Commonwealth. But it's not "free" by any measure.

As long as I'm already on my soapbox, might as well continue. My wife had at least ten surgeries and six visits to the ER last year, none of which actually resolved her medical issues. A new year rolls around, (new deductible and co-pays) and both of her surgeons are ready to start cutting in January. Lo and behold, she is pain-free, and has her vision back in one eye. Once she accrues a week of paid time off, she can have the vision in her other eye restored. I don't feel like we got much value for that $57k in medical procedures we had done last year, and I need a spreadsheet just to keep track of our medical expenses now. [/rant]

On the bright side, now that I've had my two surgeries, I can enjoy my Wabi Classic again. :)

Not like you do when you're part of the Commonwealth.

Yeah, well when you are uninsured like me you will be waiting in the US forever.

So there I was, on my local bike trail - "engine braking" down a long hill to keep my pedal cadence under control.

Then a smug "On You Left" and zip zip - around me they went.

Two "roadies" passed me, drafting each other on the downhill. Feeling a little ashamed, I spun up as fast as I could, but there's no way a 48/17 is going to keep up with a geared bike on a downhill. I watched as they got smaller, thinking to myself, "why am I riding this stupid thing." They were about a 1/2 mile ahead when they disappeared into some corners and rolling terrain.

So I settled into my pace and rolled into the first uphill section and pushed over thinking "I sure would like to catch those MFers".

A couple hills later, I catch a glimpse of one of those guys, doing the goofy bow legged, spinning real fast on his compact double thing - and his buddy just a 100-yards ahead.

"Bo-yah" - and out of the saddle I went.

Two hills later and I'm approaching the slower of the two - fast. I trail him though a couple tight corners and listen has he fumbles trying to find a lower gear that he doesn't have. On the next straight, I climb out of the saddle, turning about 1/3 the cadence, and smoothly roll on by. 20-seconds later I'm on the lead rider, as he turns around to check on his buddy. Yup it's me "on your left".

Ha - I love my fixed gear.:love:

^ thats a good one!


all thought I'm not 40+ i'm 23.. I love chellenging myself to rodies on my fixie. When you pass them on up hill, it SURE does feel GREAT!

You 40+guys are awsome and I love how functionable all your bikes look compare to those younger peoples.

probably from experience I guess..

Respect!

TT, I had that surgery about 10 years ago. It's no picnic, but if you're in shape, the surgery and the recovery are both pretty reasonable. Good luck, and get strong again after!

Thanks for the good wishes. What method did they use on you; my surgeon wants to use mesh? Also, did you have a double hernia operation? Anyways, I just need to make sure that I don't do any heavy lifting or straining during the recovery period. That includes limiting any food containers to one gallon, and doing the laundry in small loads.

I had a single, not a double, and I did not have the noticeable bulging that you are experiencing, so the damage in my case I'm sure was less.

The surgeon described the mesh to me ahead of time, but reported after surgery that he had done a "direct repair" with no mesh ... just patching me back together without a patch, so to speak. At the time of surgery I was about 40, and apparently in good enough shape physically that the direct repair was expected to be sufficient. It seemed to work fine, but unfortunately I re-injured that hernia the same way I had gotten it in the first place, by excessive coughing when I was under the weather, about two years after the hernia repair. I haven't had the repair re-done in the 8 or 9 years since I re-injured it, as it's not causing me any significant trouble. I don't see you having the option of just living with it, since it interferes with your daily life and your cycling.

For the record, the scar is about 8cm, and runs horizontally, below the belt, on the left side for me. After a couple of years, the scar faded and now is just a faint line that I can find if I look for it. I got back into shape by swimming and biking. At first my fitness seemed terrible, but within just a few months I was pretty well recovered and had my fitness back. The forced layoff from training prior to surgery probably had as much to do with the need to regain fitness as did the surgery itself.

my 75-year-old father had a hernia repaired with the mesh procedure...and HATED it. actually had follow up surgery to remove the mesh and do a traditional repair (whatever that is). said he felt all sorts of weird (and sometimes painful) internal tugging, even 6-8 months after the original surgery.

I had a repair about 10 years ago when I was in my mid forties. My surgeon used the mesh and it worked out great. As they say in the weight loss commercials, "individual results may vary". I pretty much made sure that I had an experienced, highly recommended surgeon, and relied on his expertise. Hope everything works out well for you.

That's good to hear. I'm in my mid 60s, but very good health, except for nagging allergies. I checked out my surgeon and he's got a good reputation over many decades of experience, so I'm confident in his abilities. He's a bit curt with his bedside manner, but I'm more interested in competence than friendship. Also, he's part of the HMO that I'll be joining for my Medicare plan. According to him this method has the lowest failure / recurrence rate, although recovery time is a bit longer than some of the newfangled methods like laproscopic techniques. Thanks for your encouragement and well wishes.

Have you seen an ENT about those allergies? See post 141. The reason my allergies caused so much grief was a combination of structural issues with my sinuses, and the dry desert air that didn't agree with me after 30+ years of living at the beach. Don't take it lightly. By the way, for anyone with sinus issues, I recommend skipping the neti pot, and going straight to the Neil Med Sinus Rinse. Easier to use, and much more effective.

So who here waits until the ice melts off the streets before riding? I don't mind it so much when it is cool in the mornings (above freezing), but I really dislike riding over the fresh ice patches that form overnight when you have the thaw during the day and the freeze at night.


Tom

I saw a guy one morning before 6AM, and it was something like 6 degrees out. But I still can't breathe when it's that cold. If it's cold enough for ice, it's too cold for me.

Brian, between the lake and the mountains, and dry desert air, you almost sound like salt lake valley. but it could not have been me. it was 8 degrees that morning. my morning comute usually starts just before 5 a.m. summer and winter.

Good lad :) I just turned 40 late last year, so i'm now in the club. i've been riding fixed for about 12 months now. it's like being a kid again, i wish i knew about 'em earlier.

Let's see some of the functional bikes us "oldies" are hooning around on please ladies and gentlemen?

This is mine:

http://journeyo.com/images/bicycles/bicycle_1.png

I live in Family City.

This is mine. It's an '89 Trek 660. I typically run 42x16 in winter.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18...trek660003.jpg

Nice Trek.

yeah, that bike is hot

yeah that's a nice looking bike - you've clearly put a great deal of care into it. post a list of components?

it's always a mystery to me how people keep their bikes so clean? mine's perpetually grubby-looking with grease and dirt.

i think it's because i never clean it, but i can't be sure :D

i might need to get me one of those water-pressure-spray-gun things, but i fear it'll lead to a mid-life crisis and from there it's a slippery slope to a leaf-blower or a convertible sports car or both.

Or a hot young chook...

Thanks. The frameset was an eBay find and I built it up with mostly spare parts from other projects:

3ttt stem and TdF handlebars
Cane Creek (same as Tektro) brake levers
Tiagra calipers
Suntour Superbe Pro crankset
Selle Italia Flite Ti saddle
Campagnolo aero seat post
Mavic CPX-22 rims on Formula hubs
SKS fenders (had to get creative with p-clips and zipties but it works well)

The thing I love most about this bike is that everytime I feel like experimenting, I can do it. In addition to being my winter training/commuting bike, it's been a SSCX:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18...s/treksscx.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18.../delpasocx.jpg

And a fixed gear TT bike:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18...Bikes/fgtt.jpg

41 back in January. Here's me and my IRO. (Currently undergoing renovation)

TT best of luck with your procedure. Both you and Senor Cox are inspirational. Keep spinning. :thumb:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_s...0/DSC_7413.JPG