+ and - day

On the positive side of things, I've got a cool new bike on the way. I'll be riding a Cervelo Soloist Carbon built with a DuraAce kit and deep carbon wheels next year. Probably the nicest bike I've ever had and it can't get here fast enough.

On the other side of things. Got the results of my MRI and I don't have gallstones. In fact, the doctor has no clue what is wrong with me. I'm going to get a Catscan next, then go back to the "doctor". That should happen fairly quickly- say within the next three years or so. I'll post again when I know something.

Meanwhile-I'm off to NC to build some wheels this weekend. I'm also getting some cool new track wheels that I want to try out too. Later- DH

Because I can

Last week was a good week

Time to start another week. Feeling so-so, I'm going back to the doctor on Friday. Hopefully He'll have some kind of definite word about what's up with me. On a good note- had a great week last week despite the pain. We left Wed. night for my parent's house in Atlanta. Liza had signed up to run the Atlanta 1/2 marathon. It was at 7:00 am on Thursday so we got in and got to bed ASAP due to a 5:00 am departure the next day.
5 am came waaayy too early, Liza got up and I tried to sleep in but that didn't last too much longer. My dad drove us up to the start since it was only a few miles from their house. It was still dark out and we parked, then walked with Liza up to the start line. I have never seen so many people- there were thousands of them. Another impressive sight was the row of Porta-Johns- probably 50-60 of those too. Anyways- The race started and so did the rain. Right on the word go the skies opened up and it was on. I felt bad for those folks for a few moments then got over it real quick when I was reminded how much racing I've done in the rain.
Long story short- rained the whole race. I got out on the track bike and saw almost 1/2 the race, a sea of people as far as you could see- pretty cool.
Liza did very well-she felt good and ran 35 minutes faster than the time that she wanted to beat.
She got done, got her medal, and we headed off for dry clothes and a great Thanksgiving lunch at my parent's.
Didn't want to leave my parent's but we had to make the rounds while we were in Atl. so we rolled down to Liza's dad's house for Thanksgiving dinner. That was fun as well, got to see everyone and eat some more good food. Left there and blew back to Charleston by 11:30. Long day to say the least.
Hung out with Alex Friday. We wanted to go ride the motorcycles but were having trouble borrowing a trailer to haul them. So we went mountain biking with his friend Jared. I then did some hard core couch surfing all afternoon.
We still wanted to ride moto Sat. morning. After no trailer on Fri I decided that I was sick of borrowing other people's trucks and trailers to get things done, so I would buy one. Liza found a good deal on one in Summerville, so we rolled up there and got it. Came back home and loaded up the gear and motos and Alex and I were off to Wambaw Swamp to ride.
We got in about 20 miles that afternoon. Had alot of fun. Alex fell probably 15 times. The learning curve for riding a motorcycle in deep sand is very steep however and he was riding well in no time. We had fun but Liza and I had dinner plans so we headed back home.
Got home, showered, and met Liza at some friend's for some football games. This part of the weekend was terrible. Georgia Tech lost with a well engineered last quarter meltdown ( pun intended ) and South Carolina made one too many mistakes and ended up loosing to a mediocre Clemson team. I normally would not have cared but I hate all things Clemson so I had to pull for South Carolina. We were watching the game at Mike and Heather's house. Mike went to USC and I think he had a mental breakdown during the game- it was pretty funny.
Yesterday was way too short as usual. Wake up, eat breakfast, Barnes and Noble for 45 mins. and then go to work @ 11:30. Work dragged on forever. Weekend was over. So is this post- gotta go to work again. DH out.

I am David's ailing Gall Bladder

Went to the Surgeon today to find out what is wrong with me. He doesn't know. I did get to lay down on the table while I was waiting for him. I took a very good nap- I was out cold when he came in. He then asked me what was wrong, felt around on my abdomen, told me he didn't think it was a hernia and said I needed to go get an ultrasound tomorrow to really figure out what is wrong. He was interested in what was going on with my Gall Bladder. Does a Gall Bladder make stuff lump up under your skin? Anyways, I am going to the Hospital for an ultrasound tomorrow, then another appointment with the surgeon next friday hopefully to find out for sure what is going on and when I can start training again.
I did go to a Yoga class tonight. 1st one ever- it was pretty cool- I can see the benifits with flexibility and balance. Will have to work a class a week into my schedule.
Bonus Points: Name the movie that gave me the Idea for the title of this Post. DH

I'm just here for a referral.

Took part in the Moron-a-thon that is the local Physician's office yesterday. I got poked and prodded, questioned, and X-rayed. Then the diagnosis I had been eagerly anticipating:
Doc: Umm- Yeah- It's definitely musculo-skeletal related.
Me: Reeeally?
Doc: Probably a Hernia.
Me: Would you like to know what kind of Hernia it "probably " is?
Doc: I'm going to have to set you up with a specialist.
Me: That's what I'm here for- just to get a referral.
Doc: I'll call and set up an appointment for you. In the meantime, do you need anything for the pain?
Me: Nope. I'll manage. Are you trying to get me hooked on pain pills?

Anyways- I'm hurting worse than ever now due to Mr. Hamfist pushing on my insides and haven't heard anything back about an appointment. This all proves my suspicions that if you have the internet and a bit of common sense you can do better on your own opposed to going to the doctor. But you still need a referral. DH

I'm on two wheels one way or another.

Since I can't really ride my bike right now I went for a motorcycle ride the other day. It doesn't cause me as much pain in the abdomen and I can still go fast and have fun. Rode up the coast about 60 miles to Francis Marion Natnl. Forest. Great day out, sunny and 60 ish. My destination was the Wambaw Swamp Cycle Trail, 40 miles of singletrack for Moto and ATV use. I got to the trailhead and was pleasantly surprised to find out I didn't have to pay to use the trails . Since it was Vetran's Day, it was no charge- Thanks Grandfathers! Consequently, there were a ton of folks camping and riding up there. I rode for awhile and met up with a guy fro Summerville that was solo also, so we rode togather for awhile. He was faster than me, but that was good, I rode faster and had more fun. Took a couple of spills due to worn out tires on deep sand. Fortunately, you can crash at 30mph in sand and not even feel it, it's like a pillow.

Anyways, rode for awhile, then blasted back down hwy 17 to Charleston. Picked up the family and we headed out to Folly Beach for a late lunch overlooking the ocean. Going to the Doc. today to find out what is wrong w/ me . Later- DH

Pictures!

After catching alot of grief over the last few years from teammates and others I ride with I have finally bought a new saddle and retired this one. I didn't see anything wrong with it, it was very comfortable. I had lots of miles on it ( as you can see ). However, it does bruise my forearm badly when I put my cross bike down to remount. This leaves me with a nice green arm every race. I did replace it with the same thing so hopefully It'll be good for another 50,000+ miles.

Photo #2 is of the cross bike. Love that cheap steel!

On the Disabled List Again

I have been having abdominal pains for some time now. Last Thurs, ( if you have been reading) was the worst pain in some time. By Fri it had gone away a little, I did the 12 hr. race on Sat- it hurt but was manageable. Sun. and Mon. it seemed a little better, but has now been steadily getting more uncomfortable. I have also been getting weaker on the bike as well. Just got back from a 4 hr. 120 bpm Heart Rate ride- shouldn't have even felt like I rode but it was all I could do to get home. Couldn't breath right over 135 hr. Anyways- I've been researching and talking to some people with medical backgrounds and have come to a conclusion. I am 90% sure that I have an Epigastric Hernia. That would explain alot. That bulge that I felt last Thursday could have been part of my intestines pushing through the abdominal muscles. I think I will skip the Swank 65 race tomorrow- might not be a good idea. I'll go to the Doc. this week and we'll find out what's up. Later- DH

New Look

Freshened up the ol ' blog. Still need to add back the Race Schedule and Links, I'll get to that soon. Stay tuned- DH

Got it done in Charlotte

Loaded up the van on Fri. and Nathan and I headed up to Charlotte for the Tree Shaker 12 hr race. Got to the racecourse @ 4:00 ish and met up with a local that wanted to show off his course. Dude was all kind of fired up so we followed him. Got in a couple of laps and felt alright. My legs were still a little sore from Thus. morning's hard ride but I figured (hoped )they would come around. Anyways, split there, picked up registration, ate, and headed to Arleigh's for the night. One thing that was apparent after pre-riding was that it would be a hard race. The course was bumpy, tight, and either straight up or straight down. It would be really hard to get a good rythm going.
Race Day
Great- 40 degrees out at the start. Ran my but off in the run, 2nd into the woods. Passed the leader on the 1st downhill and opened a good gap. Behind me was a small group with Nathan, Z, and another sketchy guy. Z came across to me and we rolled off. Never saw anybody again. Nathan was riding strong as well, securely in 2nd spot and pullin away. I had a few so-so laps before finally getting into a good rythm and putting down 4-5 solid laps to distance myself. After 14 laps, I was wondering how much time I had so I rolled into the start and was told I was 2 laps up on 2nd. There was only 20 mins. till cuttoff and I had been riding for 11 hrs. Consequently, I didn't feel like riding anymore than I had to (and since it was impossible to be caught ) I called it a day. Nathan's fork unfortunately blew up 11 laps in and he had to bag it. That's too bad- we were running away with the race and it would have been cool to be 1 - 2.
Anyways, packed up , split, and tried to get a shower and sleep. Later- DH

Headed up to Charlotte

Leaving for Charlotte in about 4 hrs. for the Tree Shaker 12 hr. tomorrow. The legs feel pretty good and I should be able to roll it if the rest of me holds up. I had an alarming moment yesterday after eating breakfast. I've had some kind of ulcer or pain under my ribs for six or seven years now. It hurts if I get really stressed out or eat too much. Lately my back has been hurting too, directly across from the pain in front. I can deal with it, eat right and stay mellow and everything is fine. Yesterday though, I got a terrible stabbing pain ( it almost took me off the stool I was sitting on ) under the last rib. Then this hard "thing " the size of a pack of lifesavers candy pops up under my skin. So I push on it and after 15 seconds or so it goes away. I am then feeling dizzy and sweating my butt off. Pretty much stayed that way all day.
I got in 10 or so hours of sleep last night and feel much better now, ribs are a little sore but I'm gonna take it easy today and hopefully I'll feel great tomorrow. I better, or it 's gonna be an extra long 12 hr. race. Anyways, got some packing to do. Later- DH