Today's Taste of Spring 2008

Recalls the spring that wasn't quite in 2007, for it was just over a year ago that my dad was first hospitalized on the very day that I was making the 7-8 hour drive to visit. I recall how it struck me somewhere between here and Giddings that I had forgotten my bag of clothes, but I had remembered my bags of music and food. I nearly made a u-turn on Hwy 290, but decide to plug on in lieu of adding another hour or two to the drive. When I did arrive, it was straight to the ER. I stayed the night in that ER cubicle with him, on a stretcher beside his. I remember realizing that the 15 hour wait for a room was another of the post-Katrina infrastructure problems that no one ever really discussed, incapable as they seemed of moving past the more palpable traffic issues.

And so it began, Spring 2007, observed through the windshield of various Enterprise rental cars and the windows of several hospital rooms. Challenging my si joints and illiopsoas, I climbed stairs in the hospital for exercise, slept on the overused, vinyl, fold-out loveseat-chaise thing in the hospital room(s), and, on several occasions, made the entire drive non-stop, just to see if I could. All the while, we were filled with so many questions and no answers...Why the low hemoglobin? Why the DVT? Why the swelling? Why the pain?

Fast-forward a year...these earliest indications of a soon-unfolding spring have me filled with hope as I inspect trees and other perennials for signs that they too have been renewed. Days lengthening in anticipation of all of the new season's rituals: our favorite 10Ks and festivals such as the Kite Festival, Eeoyre's Birthday, patio-living, late afternoon outdoor exercise, re-opening of Deep Eddy Pool...

Today was splendid...completely and painfully exhausted from Ricky's late night gig and my venture with a friend to a midnight movie, we were anxious to be outside in the late February warmth under a cloudless sky and to further our recovery from last weekend's half marathon. To the mountain bikes we turned (I honestly felt a little too fatigued to deal with the technicalities of the road bike) and to our old 18 mile route down North Loop to Balcones to Lake Austin to downtown and back up Duval...it's been since October, since just before Ricky's back injury that we've pedaled Balcones. It wasn't quite easy, but it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, particularly handling that hill we hate on Pecos. In any case, it felt good to pedal like that again at a nice, slow pace.

LIVESTRONG CHALLENGE 2008

LIVESTRONG 2008 is launched, and NLBG is ready to roll!

Well, more or less, that is. Perhaps less. But there's loads of time at least. So I don't doubt that we'll be stronger than we were three months ago when we completed the longest ride of our lives: those 45 hilly miles in Dripping Springs for LiveStrong 2007.

Incredibly, it's been three months already since the 2007 LSC. Time seems to have simply melted away since that glorious October day. These past few months have found Ricky rehab-ing two re-ruptured lumbar discs and myself maintaining a daily antihistamine regimen with middling success.

So, where are now, cycling-wise?

Well, the good news is that I have made one of my best purchases ever: a bike trainer. In spite of the time change and occasional rain and gusty winds and cold snaps and recently sky-high cedar counts, I am able to spin up a storm, indoors, at any hour on my road bike. I love it!

More good news is that Erik, our bike guy, recently re-fit Ricky and customized his bike a little so that he can both pedal and avoid back pain/problems. He now has an adjustable stem and new handlebars, which may look a little odd, but it gives Ricky the more relaxed, upright position he requires for now. And, like they say, or I say these days, sometimes one has to sacrifice style for comfort (although, to be honest, I used to say the exact opposite, until my SI joint dysfunction!).

Another bit of positive NLBG cycling news is that we have resumed riding our mountain bikes to Town Lake and back about once a week. It always feels so good to get outside!

All in all, 2008 is off to a good, positive start for the NLBG. It's bound to be a much brighter year than 2007. Last year, as many know, was marked by loss (once again*); my dad succumbed to sarcoma cancer...getting diagnosed just a week or so before he passed away, following two lengthy hospitalizations, loads of tests and no answers.

With that said, I'm looking forward to challenging ourselves to be stronger and healthier than ever before and to challenging those we know to do the same. We'll continue to do what we can to make a difference.

Please visit our team page and consider supporting us for the 2008 LIVESTRONG Challenge:
http://austin08.livestrong.org/northloop

*once again, because Ricky and I have already lost our mothers to cancer...