Is This A Logo??

Is This A Logo??

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Reviewing Stuff


So, no race reviews, no injury reviews, not even a ride review.  Time to change things up a bit...

 

Let's start with this...

 

 

If you have followed my past posts, you will know that I track my nutrition, macronutrient intake, and caloric burn daily.  One of the websites I use to help provide sound nutrition choices is www.thefitnessrecipes.com (the name should be self explanatory right?). 

Anyways, one of the recipes is for Protein Chocolate Brownies...the pic of which is above.  So I put on my chef hat (I had other clothes on as well....this time...), and baked a batch of these brownies...and the consensus in our house was that they were as good as they looked!

 








 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 



See this is what happens when my sister visits and brings her new camera.

Anyways, back to the brownies.  They even made my daughter think she was KStew...and no, there was no THC in the ingredients...

 


 

And the fact is that the brownies are incredibly 'clean' nutritionally... 
 

The nutrition stats per serving (2 brownies)

Energy:  141 calories
Protein:  23 g
Carbohydrates: 2.6 g (sugar 1.7 g)
Fat:  4.2 g 

And they were very easy to whip up (even with nothing but a chef hat on).  These will now go on my regular 'to eat' list.
 

Next up on the product review of the day is..

 


 

So...on first glance these shades may not seem like much...but for an old dude like me they are a godsend.  Made by a company called Dual Eyewear they are your basic riding glasses...with reading glasses built in like bifocals (you can select the magnification you require).  What this means is that I can actually see my bike computer (IPhone), while I am riding!! 

They come with interchangeable lenses (and the lenses are the easiest to switch in and out of any other riding glasses I have tried).  They fit well, they cover the eye appropriately while riding, and the price was right!!  ($65)  The only downside was that they did not come with a case.  So I had to dig up an old one.  These are now not only my go-to riding glasses, but I tend to use them for everything outdoors because of the efficiency of having the 'readers' built in.
 

So now that I have you picturing me baking brownies with nothing but a chef hat and sunglasses on...hopefully this is not what you are envisioning...

 


 


 

 
I actually did try to surprise Lois by baking in such inappropriate clothing (or lack thereof), but I didn't even make it out of the bedroom hallway when I got these reactions...

 

 



 

Now I know how EnglishJim feels...
 
Anyways...that leads perfectly (???) into this piece of very good news that I will leave you with...

NewfieSteve is now engaged to Lisa!!!  Congrats to both of you!!  Like sands through the hourglass...so are the days of our lives.  Where will it go from here??  Will Steve ever be allowed to ride again??  Has he bought his last bike??  Until next episode... 

Stay posted!!

 

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Recovery Update...and More (Just pay shipping and handling...)

So was finally able to get in some real rides this week to properly test out the leg/hip...I will get into this more later.  First, I have been getting requests to put the injury and ALL pics into one post...so here it is.  Just be aware that some of the pics are not very attractive...not only because they are injury pics which could be considered gross (unless you are an emergency room nurse or doctor...) but they also include me missing some clothing.  Believe it or not this is not me...













Actually, this may be a little more accurate...







 

OK, relax, don’t be offended...





 
If you are really upset with the pics, hopefully you don’t know where to find me...

 







OK, so now that you are properly prepared let’s begin.

So, to backtrack...on June 25th I took a nasty fall in a race (details are in blog post dated July 6, 2013 titled ‘On Recovery – Riot Down!’). 








I didn’t realise it at the time, but the fall resulted in a torn quad muscle, the vastus lateralis, and soft tissue damage in the area, causing extreme bruising.  Here is the pic at the time...

 

 

 

Because I did not realise the extent of the injury, I continued riding and racing, which prevented the injury from healing properly (falling on it a couple more times likely didn’t help...I know...dumb, dumb, dumb...).  The damaged tissue became infected...resulting in this hematoma...

 


 

Upon visiting the doc, (finally...I know...dumb, dumb, dumb)...I was prescribe antibiotic, and plenty of icing.  So to me, plenty of icing, means icing for as long as I could handle the cold...(I know...dumb, dumb, dumb...).  Sorry, dumbness factor was rather high....I am only human, right?

 

 
As much as Lois believes I'm this guy...

 

 
 

 

Anyways, back to dumbness factor 10... I ended up giving myself severe frostbite...damaging the skin...resulting in the hematoma bursting.  While the burst hematoma felt great (really, the pressure release was a relief!!), it looked rather gross...so you may want to skip this pic...

 


 

 

Anyways, apparently a burst hematoma is a bad thing...a phone call to the doc resulted in a rush appointment.  More antibiotics, and packing the wound with medicated gauze...yes, they shove iodised gauze into the hole caused by the bursting, and into the pocket of skin where the hematoma was...feels great...not.  Then every couple of days, I would have to go back to have the packing removed (feels even better...), then replaced with fresh stuff.  So here is another gross pic...of the packed wound with enough gauze hanging out to give the nurse a good hand-hold to yank it out...

 


 

So after a couple of weeks of antibiotic and packing and re-packing the wound healed enough to look like this...

 


 

 

So now it was a process of simply keeping it covered (and dry), and letting it heal from the inside out...which meant at least another week off the bike.  It finally started to heal over to where it now looks like this...

 


 

The lumpy bits are scar tissue in the once damaged soft tissue under the skin that will have to be physio-therapied away.  By now, the muscle tear is repaired.  So after 6 weeks almost entirely off the bike, this past week saw me get some real bike action in...slowly, and gradually, until Thanksgiving Monday, which called for a full on ride.
This ride was a road ride with Centurion leading the way (see past posts to see just how fast this guy is!!), with me, Jaimie, DundasJim, and CL struggling to keep up.  Fig was out...he's having issues...similar to the Ben Johnson thing...but different.  I started out easing into it to test the injury, and the fact that I am now almost 15 lbs heavier.  Actually, the most interesting thing about this ride is that this was Jaimie’s first ever road ride (like me he is a self proclaimed mountain biker), and he was riding a 12 yr old steel borrowed road bike complete with mountain bike spd pedals...and he kept up!  In fact, he was right up at the front for most of the ride!!  Jaimie has really picked up his game in the mtb race scene this year, and if he starts training on a road bike, will be a force to be reckoned with next season!
Anyways, hopefully that is it for blog posts about this stupid injury...I’m getting complaints...

 


 

 
 
 
 
I promise next one will be on something more fun...like training, or nutrition...quantum physics...spirituality and human consciousness....?  What’ll it be??

Stay posted!!
 

 
 

Thursday 3 October 2013

Fall Epic8 Hour Review and Recovery Update (Whole Hole Pics)

So the Fall Epic 8 Hr MTB relay race was held this last Saturday Sept 29th.  This was the 3rd and final race of the Epic 8 Hr series, and as I mentioned in my last post the team DaNoofie N DaNative (me and NewfieSteve) sat in second overall for the series after the first two races ( the Spring 8 and the Summer 8).  However, the catch was that I could not race due to my injury (see the last few posts...yeah I'm gettin lazy...); which left NewfieSteve to do the race on his own on behalf of our two man team.  So many kudos have to go to a guy who is willing to solo an 8 hour race without any of the recognition and 'glory' that goes with the solo category.

I had my bike prepped and ready to go in case NewfieSteve needed a quick back-up.

 


 

So I was the 'pit-bitch'...support person...purveyor (that's different than pervert) of nutrition, hydration, and mechanics.  Also in the pit was Fig, who was in the solo age 39 and under category and gunning to win; EnglishJim solo age 40+ with a goal to do 12 laps, and Giant solo age 40+ gunning for Fig.

So where to begin...how bout at the start...this pic is actually from the back of the start paddock...

 


 
The race started at 10 am...and racers had to be finished their final lap by 6pm.  Off the start Fig was on fire and set the pace for the group...Fig is in peak form.  Apparently the race course was very fast, and flowy, with little climbing and very limited technical sections.  This would play well to those with lacking bike handling skills, and/or those more tuned to road riding. 

Something like this??



 
Giant tried to keep pace with Fig...and did until about his 6th lap when Fig dropped him like a fat potato at the hot prom (it's better to have loved and lost, than to save a stitch in time???; A bird in the hand is how you play the game??..ah I'm an idiot with idioms...).  
 
 
 
Actually, Giant had to stop to go number 2 (seriously).  Now not to get all technical on you here, but this is an indication of bad nutrition planning and may have cost Giant his battle with Fig.  Ah well, next time.   

EnglishJim stopped a couple of times to have tea, crumpets (OK a sandwich or two) and a nap on the gravity chair (I am serious on this one)...so you know how this one is going to end...(do we need foreshadowing pics??). 

NewfieSteve had DaNoofie N DaNative in 6th place early on, but after his 7th lap he came in to the pit to stretch and eat, and mentioned he was starting to hurt.  He was doing great for our team! 

Towards the end of the day, Fig found himself battling on the last few laps with another racer (we will call him Tony....only cuz that's his name)...in fact they battled it out right up to the finish line after 13 laps, believing that they were battling for third place for this race.  Tony beat Fig to the finish line by seconds!!  Poor Fig!! 
 
 

At 4:30 NewfieSteve came into the pit after his 10th lap to fuel up...and took off saying that would be his last lap.  He came in from his 11th lap at shortly after 5:00pm...and said, "Alright, dammit, I'm going for one more.  My record is 11 laps, and I am going to beat it today."  And he did.  He got in 12 laps for DaNoofie N DaNative!  Well done!!  That got us into 13 place for the day, but most importantly it let us hold on to 2nd place overall for the series!!  WooHoo!!

Once Fig checked the race results, he realized Tony came in 2nd, and he came in 3rd for the day!!  Awesome job, podium for Fig!!  Not only that, he came in 2nd overall for the series.  Here is Fig on the podium.

 



 


 
 
 
Hey!  I think Fig may have added a couple of fake pics there!!
 
To sum up the 'team' results, Giant got in 13 laps, finishing 15 minutes behind Fig...which is damn good!  EnglishJim's naps and crumpets cost him...he ripped off 9 laps, which is good enough, but short of what he was shooting for. 
 
The crew recovering Sunday on the deck...
 


As far as the day went, it was perfect weather for a MTB race...making me only wish more that I could have been out there!  Soon!!   

So...good lead in, to how my injury is progressing.  After a visit to the doc on Monday I was told that it was progressing well.  Apparently the torn muscle itself is healing well, the damaged soft tissue is beginning to heal, and now we can let the explosive wound hole seal up.  So according to the doc, I could start on light activity (trainer, and weights) this week...and judge how that would feel. 

So after a couple of light weight workouts, a light trainer workout, and a light ride on the road with the mountain bike...it's all good.  So, I will be ramping it up a bit this week. 

Now some of you have asked me to post pics of the wound, and now that it has healed up some, I am more comfortable doing so.  So here are the latest pics...if you think you will be grossed out, just close your eyes and scroll over them.

 


 

 
 


 
 
Now that wasn't so bad was it?  Better than this pic...

 

 


 

 

What??  Hey don't blame me for where is your dirty mind at!  It was just a pic of a pig family having dinner. 
 
 
 

Anyways, as long as I can keep active, and progress the intensity, hopefully this thing can heal fast, and I can get back in shape.  Then where will we go from here??  There is always somewhere!

 

Stay posted!