My Last Mountain Bike Ride....

for the next 32 days and who knows how many hours and minutes.

Some of you know and some of you do not, tomorrow I am getting the hole in my heart patched up.  If you remember last May we discovered I have a PFO, well it turns out this is not the case, and luckily we found out before anything serious happened.

I haven't said much about how I have been feeling, the past few months, because it's not something I have wanted to talk about.  But since my last race in October I have not been myself.  I have been able to ride 2 times a week and that was it, and most of the time I was extremly fatigued.  I was so happy in December when we found out finally what was causing the low blood pressure, fatigue and everything else.  What I didn't let you know was when I had the seizure and my heart stopped during my table tilt test, I didn't fully recover for a good week--things were not great.  By the time I started to feel better I had my nose surgery.

As most of you know the nose surgery went well, but it took 2 weeks to get out of bed, and another week of half days before I felt really good.  What I didn't write about was what happened 2 weeks after my surgery.  It was the final day of recovery, and I was feeling pretty good.  I was cleaning the house and preparing to go back to work the next day.  As I was doing all of this I all of the sudden got a thunder clap headache.  The headache was so bad I could not think--all I wanted to do was lay down and hope the pain would go away.  I did this, and fell asleep, but do not recall the falling asleep part.  When I woke up a few hours later I was numb on the left side of my face down to my arm.

At first I thought I had slept funny, but after time passed by it remained numb--like novacane from the dentist.  Royce and I decided I probably should go to the hospital and have it checked out.  I went reluctantly, because I did not want to bother the hospital.  I figured I would be fine, but was not 100% positive.  I think I wanted to be fine, and did not want to acknowledge something was wrong.

At the hospital, they did some tests.  I had a CT scan, and xray and eventually an MRI.  All of which was to see if I had, had a stroke.  You see the symptoms I had were classic symptoms of a stroke.  Lucky for me I did not.  I did have an infection in my nasal cavity, and a lesion on my brain.  These 2 things got me sent to my ent the next day, and then a referral and appointment to the neurologist.  The ent gave me a special antibotic spray, and got me in to the neurologist within 2 days.

At the neurologist we discussed my past medical history.  I also was able to show her my MRI from last May to make a comparison.  What was noticed was the lesion was there before, but a little bit bigger, and there was more white matter.  Not a lot, but a little.  She knew I had a PFO, so she recommended I see Dr. Sherman Sorenson a cardiologist in Salt Lake.  He has worked on many PFO's (thousands) and knew he would be able to help me.  I was able to see Dr. Sorenson in about a week.

At my appointment with Dr. Sorenson I underwent another test, called a Trans Cranial Doppler test.  The test is a new test which measures brain artery blood flow by using safe ultrasound echo probes placed on the surface of both sides of the head.  If microscopic bubbles injected through an IV shunt past the lungs to the left heart, TCD detects and counts each bubble as it appears in the brain arteries.   When the test is over you are then given a rating from 1 to 5, with 1 being no bubbles get through, and 5-300+ bubbles getting through.  I was a 5 plus.

What this means is I am at high risk for a stroke, and I do not have a PFO.  Instead I have a fossa/fassa (I can't remember the spelling even though Dot told me).  A fossa is a hole without the shunt.  Which means even when my body is at rest I can have blood pass through to my left atrium, and skip going the right direction.  Which as I said means I could have a stroke.  The technical term is Atrial Septal Defects (ASD).So what needs to be done?

I am currently taking Plavix.  This is a blood thinner, which causes bruising and a few other side affects, but is worth it so you reduce the risk of a stroke.  The other thing I need to do is get the hole plugged up.  That is what I am doing tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning the doctor is going to go up my femeral artery and measure the hole with a balloon.  From there he will get the right size of patch, go back up and put the patch in place.  And I will not be fully sedated for the whole thing!

Once it's done I have to stay in the hospital overnight, and then will be released the next day to do normal activities as long as there is no physical exertion involved.  I am not allowed to ride my bike for one week.  After one week I can ride, but must take it easy, and I cannot lift anything over 50 pounds.  Also, there is no riding my mountain bike for a month!  I am somewhat bummed about no trail riding, but at least I will get to ride something after a week.

So what does this mean?  It means hopefully my low blood pressure and stuff will partially resolve.  It means I can start riding regularly and start losing all the weight I gained from lack of being able to ride.  It means I should have more energy and not feel so fatigued--my circulation should be better as well as my breathing.  The best part it means I have greatly reduced any chance of a stroke, and by doing so I will have many more mountain bike rides to come and longer to be with my family.
Pictures from my last ride on the BST...at least for 32 days.

I Have Sinned

After work today I went for a mountain bike ride.  The sun was out, weather was manageable, and I know there is a possibility this will be the last mountain bike ride I have for over a month--it will all depend on the weather next Wednesday.  With everything going in my favor I decided to opt for singletrack.  Yes, I could have safely ridden Water Tower, and although it is dirt, it just isn't quite the same.

Lucky for me the BST north was dry, so I took off on some fun, simple single track.  As I rode occassionally I would come across a patch of dark dirt, but nothing to be concerned about.  And then it happened after I crested the top of the hill and began to descend I descended into a sloppy, muddy mess!  I felt so bad about riding in the mud and snow, but not enough to turn around and go back.  No, instead I kept going.

From that point on, the trail would go from being good, to some patch of mud and and an occassional yucky spot.  And since I continued forth, there was no bail out point, until I reached the 2nd parking lot. Necause of course when I reached the first parking lot, I had determined conditions were not too bad and I could go on to the next stopping point.  Well, conditions were not the best.  Let's just say by the time I got to the second parking lot I had collected a fair amount of mud on my tires--perhaps 5 pounds per wheel.

Now being a good mountain biker, and being concerned for the trail I should have used this opportunity to take the road home and not cause further damage to the trail.  But today had two little voices pulling me back and forth.  One voice, kept reminding me it would be a very long time before I would get to ride dirt again, and certainly I did not want to miss this opportunity.  The other voice reminded how it is to be responsible, and how much I hate riding on trails people have caused damage to.  The voices went back and forth, until I finally gave in.

You guessed it.  Once I reached the 2nd parking lot I turned back around and rode the trail all the way back to water tower.  And of course I had every justification possible letting me know it was okay--it was pretty out, I wouldn't be riding trails for a while, what would one tire track do....  You get the picture.  But the truth is I have sinned against the trail.  I intentionally rode back knowing it was not in the best of conditions.  The worst part, is I really don't feel bad.  I guess you could say I had so much fun, that it was worth it.  And yes their is a hint of feeling bad, but not enough to take away the great joy I had from my ride today.  So although I sinned, I have no regrets.

The Ride that Didn't Happen

Last night I did some maintenance to my bike.  I switched from spd's to eggbeaters, added super juice to my front tire, removed the tube from my back tire and set it back to tubeless.  The set up on the back did not go to well. Apparently the back tire had one spot right at the rim that would not set, but after some tipping of the tire and getting the tire just right it finally set.

My planned ride for today was up the road by the cemetary and then take the BST all the way past Dry Canyon.  I have been thinking about this ride all week and couldn't wait.  The ride to the start of the trail went fine, and then I hit dirt.  Riding dirt is the best feeling in the world.

Just as I was starting up the steep part of the BST I noticed my bike tire wobbling.  I stopped and saw the tire was low.  I got out a cartridge and filled it.  As soon as I filled the tire up air started to spurt out.  I tilted it for it to seal up and it did.  I then got back on and continued up the hill.  I went about  5 feet and air started to come out of the tire again.  I stopped tilted the bike, it sealed, and then I assessed the situation.

I had one cartridge left and no air pump.  I could put the tube in I had, but the cartridge would not be able to fill it enough to ride.  I decided I would let some air out of the tire and see why the seal was not sealing at this particular spot.  When I did this a discovered a hole right by the rim on tire.  There was not way the hole could stay sealed.  I sat thinking what I could do so I could get home.

I decided if I put a patch on the outside, it would probably hold until I got home.  So for the first time in 2 years of owning a patch kit I put it to use.  Did you know the glue in a patch kit does not last for 2 years, even if you never open it???  So now the patch idea is out.  Next best idea.  Fill up the tire and cross my fingers I get home, and plan a dirt ride for another day.

It worked I filled it up and was able to get home.  The tire was fairly low, but I made it!  I guess it is time to buy new tire, the 3rd one this year!

Ride Like a Girl - Ride

Went with Jolene yesterday for the monthly Ride Like a Girl Ride. We got to Mad Dog in Orem, and the only person there was KC. We visited for a bit while waiting to see if others would show up, but it turned out to be on me and Jolene this ride. After a little bit of discussion it was decided we would ride the BST over by bridal veil.

We started at the 800 North trailhead and rode up to the start of the trail. KC rode her single speed for this ride. It amazes me at what a lot of work the single speed takes, it also amazes me how KC can ride behind me on a trail and still keep going consistently even though I am not.

The first part of the trail I have been on, but it has been quite some time since I have ridden it. The second part of the trail I have not been on. KC led the way the new trail. It is a fun, quick simple trail until near the end where there are 3 tight switchbacks. Just prior to the swtichbacks KC stopped and described what we could expect from each switchback--I like it when people tell me about what to expect it makes the ride a little bit easier. The first switchback was a very steep left handed sharp turn. When I got to it, I stopped and thought no way. Luckily KC showed me and Jolene the right line, for the next time I go back. The next switchback was a right turn and I made it around with only a foot down! The final one was similar to the first but somewhat bermed. Unfortunately the bermed part did not take away my fear of spilling down the switchback, so I ended up getting off and walking...oh well, hopefully next time.

We ended the ride going to equestrian center and back to the trail head. Perfect night for a ride with the girls.

Sharing

Royce and I do not get the opportunity to ride together very often. But the other day we were both home at the same time and I wanted to go ride BST north--so we quickly took off for a short one hour ride. I have told Royce about this trail many times, but have not had the chance to show him the trail, so I was very excited about showing it to him. I made sure he knew where to meet me, and then I took off riding to the trail and he met me in the car.

Royce met me near the top of 2000 North. My goal knowing how much hill climbing there was, was to keep it short and end on the downhill instead of having to climb back to the car. In theory this was good, but it was 93 degrees out, and Royce is not used to climbing, however he kept going and we made it to the top of Dry Canyon Road. Originally I had planned to go north--this involves more climbing, but then you go down, down, down which is a lot of fun. Once we got to the top though I decided I had shared enough in the pain pellet of riding (see Fat Cyclist Blog) Instead of going up and then down we just went down. I think I had shared enough pain for the day, although by the look on his face I don't think he was in too much pain.

I Rode With the Deer

I was going to write about my ride yesterday up to Squaw Peak, and how I thought I was doing so great in my middle cog until on the steepest part I saw I had been in granny. How embarrassing, and I was crossed chained unknowingly for a very long time. However on the steepest part I changed to my middle cog, and completed the climb in my middle. I don't think that is saying much though. Anyway, I am not going to write more, because I had the coolest thing happen to me on my ride this morning.

This morning's ride started like any other. I got up, looked at the temperature, left and met the guys on the hill. This morning Steve & Eric were a little bit behind us, but I was not too worried as they are fast and always catch us. However today that was not the case. Kerry and I got to the top of the hill and they were not behind us. I took off up the trail and let Kerry know I wasn't waiting as I was sure they would catch me since I had decided I needed to climb in my middle clog the entire time today.

I made it to the top and waited. Before long Kerry showed up. The guys were not right behind him, but were close. I decided to go ahead knowing they would catch me on the down. For today this was a good decision. On my ride down the trail I ended up riding right into a herd of deer. Normally the deer are below, above or to the side, but today there was a fawn bounding right in front of me on the trail, and the rest were close by to the sides. I stopped watch, it was such a beautiful sight seeing them so close to me bounding through the brush and on the trail. After watching for a few minutes I took off, and right to the side of me a couple of deer were bounding. I kept riding as they continued next to me until they went into the brush and I went a different direction. I couldn't have asked for a better ride this morning.

On the Dirt Again

Monday and Tuesday were recovery rides for me. Apparently hitting my head hurt a lot more than I realized. Monday was the typical recovery day, but Tuesday I still hurt, but it was a beautiful day, a perfect dirt day. I was very tempted, and I knew if I rode dirt I would pay the price, lucky for me Mandy wanted to go for a ride. Since we did not have time to drive to Lambert, we took off to the Provo Trail. We had a fun ride up to Bridal Veil Falls and back. On our ride we saw KC--she had just come down from the foothills. She gave some good routes for the time when I take Mandy up there.
Mandy heading up to the falls.

Mandy on the trail.

Wednesday morning I got up early and took off to meet the guys for an early morning dirt ride before work. Typically when we meet we all go up the hill together. However this day I saw the guys coming and decided since I was still sore from my crash I needed a head start and I took off up the hill. I must not have been as sore as I thought as Steve did not catch me until I turned on to Canyon Creek. It was here he told me we were going to go North. Ooops I guess I should have waited. Well, thanks to my taking off we were now going South.

I continued up the hill and then told Steve I was taking off down the trail on my own as I knew the guys would catch up to me soon--they are a lot faster than me on the downhill. Most of the downhill, I rode tentatively, and that is putting it mildly. For the first part of the ride I had my brakes on every time I hit a downhill and when I took berms or turns it was like an awkward growing teenager. This is the part I hate about crashing, no matter how hard I try to ride like normal I can't. It seems my body refuses to do what I want and I can't convince myself I will be okay.

By the time I got to the end of the downhill Steve was right on my tail. We went into the parking lot where he was sure the others were far away. I knew better and sure enough 30 seconds later Kerry and Eric came in. We turned around and headed back.

This time things went much better. I braked a little less and on the turns and berms I glided and kept my sped versus wobbling and trying to make the turn. By the end of the ride I was almost back to riding normal. Now if the weather will cooperate I could get more practice in.

Great Riding

It has been a great week for riding. The weather has been nice, and I have been trying to take advantage of the great weather.

This is Steve on the BST, getting ready to take off and enjoy the downhill.
Top of the BST overlooking Orem, Lindon & Pleasant Grove.

Rode through a paintball war. Luckily they did not shoot our way.

Top of Chevron--love this climb.

Royce & Mandy riding down Ziggy at Lambert Park.

Mandy taking on Ziggy!

Mandy riding the trail.

Lambert Park on a great sunny day!

Mandy on middle at Lambert Park.

On Monday there was still snow on the river trail after Bridal Veil Falls. Skinny tires are not the best for going over this.

First Snow Ride

I didn't get to ride my bike yesterday, so I was pretty determined to ride this morning. I had decided up to this point, the only thing keeping me from riding would be wind and temperatures under 20 degrees. I am sure this list may grow bigger, but for now that is the current criteria.

This morning I looked at my thermometer and it was a lovely 29 degreees out. There was no wind, and as best I could see it was not snowing, although there was snow on the ground. I got dressed in my multi layer of clothing, got my bike and went outside only to see that it was snowing. Oh well, I decided to go anyway. I took off towards Kerry's house figuring I probably would not see him.

The ride to Kerry's had the peaceful, still of the night feeling. You know the one you get when you walk in the dark and all you hear is the cruch of your feet and your breath lingers before it floats softly into the night. It was the same this morning only it was the crunch of the tires as I rode through fresh snow.

I made it to Kerry's with out any problems, and to my surprise and delight Kerry was there. This was good as I did not want to ride by myself for my first snow ride. I really did not know what to expect with the snow, and was worried about being able to ride without spinning out.

As we rode Kerry gave me some pointers on riding in the snow. They were very helpful as I did not realize that riding in unplowed snow is actually easier than riding in plowed. However, I did find out during the ride this was the case. When the snow has been plowed or ridden on it can be very slippery.

Kerry and I rode up 2000 North and Dry Creek road. Amazingly Dry Creek road was plowed, but 2000 North was not. I wonder if they have a private plow come in for them? Going up Dry Creek to the parking lot was okay for the first half, but the second half was a bit slippery. There was a thin layer of ice under the snow, and as my tire cut through the snow to the ice and I slipped and slid as I tried to keep my bike going up the road instead of towards the side of the road. Eventually I made it to the top, but boy did my back hurt.

At the top Kerry and I decided to go to BST South. I thought it would be better to go downhill for my first ride in the snow instead of up. We took off down the trail and it was not 12 feet before I was slidding all over the trail, yelling "woah" and trying to keep from going off the edge and down the hill. Apparently there was ice under the trail, and I did a great job at finding it.

This little slide made me a bit apprehensive about continuing on, but I decided to perservere. We rode on, and I continued to struggle trying to stay on the trail. When we got to a slight uphill I ended up walking as I could not get my bike started to go up the hill. This caused me to get snow and ice in my cleats. Which of course meant I could not clip in. At the top of the hill Kerry let me go first which actually helped as that way I stayed out of his bike trail and had a little bit better grip.



Of course since I could not clip in I was quite the hoot to watch. It was like watching a beginner going down their first big hill and they have never ridden before. I went down the hill with both feet out using it to balance and plow through the snow. This worked for the most part, but when it came time to go up a hill I couldn't get my momentum up so I usually ended up walking. Luckily it was only for a short distance.

We ended our ride on R & R and dropped in to the road. I would have liked to have done the whole trail, but since my skills were like a beginners and time was short we had to cut the ride short. I loved the ride, and can't wait for when I have more time to ride and practice learning to ride in the snow.
Picture of me on the trail.

TG Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was great, busy and fun. Here it is in a nutshell.

Wednesday

We went to the play A Christmas Carol. It was phenomenal! I loved it so much when it was time for intermission I was upset they had stopped. The guy who plays Scrooge does a great job. FYI Steve Winters is also a cast member in this play, and plays his part well.

Thursday

Woke up to rain and puddes. Mtb ride was cancelled. I cooked dinner for my family, and 2 of my brothers came over for dinner. There still living, so it must not have been too bad.

Friday

Woke up bright and early to go to Target for their Black Friday sale. I love shopping on black Friday!!! There seemed to be more people there this year than in years past. I got everything I was looking for. Hint...the best way to know what to get is to scout out the store the night before to see where they place all of the sale items. I do this every year, and know exactly where to go to get what I want or need. This year I got a dvd player for $25 (ours broke a couple of weeks ago), a digital camera $89 (10 megapixal) (now I can take pictures again) and many other great priced items.

Went to Lambert Park and rode with Sally and Steve. The trails were in great condition. We tried out some of the new poppy and ziggy trail. They work. Bruce has put a lot of hard work into them.

Saw Transporter 3. You can wait until the dollar theater or dvd, the action was good, the rest not so much.

Saturday

Went up 2000 South to Dry Canyon parking and took BST south, then jumped on the service road and rode to Windy ridge, and Great Western Trail. Then rode up to bridal veil falls and met my husband where we road BST south almost to Squaw Peak road. We had to turn around just before getting there due to muddy conditions. On the way back down Royce decided to go off a cliff. Apparently his bike slipped on a corner and he and the bike went down he said he was haning onto a tree branch and the bike yelling for help, but I didn't hear him. I missed the whole thing. I think it would have made a great picture. Somehow he survived and got back on his bike, and I rode up about that time.

View of Provo Race Course

BST new Bridal Veil Falls

Our family went and saw Bolt 3-D My family liked. Shandy was laughing hysterically as was Mandy. I fell asleep for about 15 minutes, so I guess we know how I felt about the movie.

Sunday

Recovered from a great weekend.

Mollies

What a great ride this morning. Tried something completely new and I loved it. Kerry and I started out on our normal route to meet Steve, Eric & Todd, but instead of going up 2000 South we went north on 400 East and headed to the BST. This is a nice steady climb, and I must admit I loved it. Unfortunately I do not think Steve liked it as well.

The plan was for us to meet along the way or at Battlecreek and ride the BST to Mollies and then back. Since Kerry and I did not see anyone while we were riding we continued to the meeting place--the one I have never been to. The group ended up behind us and had decided to start slightly different than planned. This meant Steve had to put it in to gear and climb much faster than I am sure he was planning to let us know where we were turning. He caught us just shortly after we passed the road. We are lucky he is so fast.

The trail is actually a dirt road with ups and downs, and a couple of great hill climbs. One at the end and one going back. I was able to make the hill climb at the end, but the one going back is much steeper than it looks. All of us tried to make it, but could not. Eric made it the furthest, and I think he would have made it all the way had he been able to angle his bike just slightly different. I did not make it very far at all. Apparently my bike hit a rock...sounds good to me anyway :-) Steve had some problems with the same rock I did, but I think us making him ride at race pace to catch us made it hard to climb. I am sure he would have made it if it weren't for that. Kerry was the first to ride the hill and if he had drawn just a little bit better line he probably would have made it. It is always tough being the first and having to show everyone else where not to ride. Of course we will have to try this hill again to see if we can get up it. It is now on my evolving lists of goals.

Going back was way too short and the ride was over before I knew it. I can't wait to ride this again and see if I can clear the hill, but it will have to be with help as there are a lot of wrong turns that could be made, and I do not remember which turns we took.

Trails in My Backyard

I have a lot of trails in my backyard, and I didn’t even know it. How lucky am I! Today was a very tight scheduled day, so my ride started early for a Saturday—6:30 in the morning early. Although it was 25 degrees out it felt pretty much the same as yesterday which was 35 degrees. I guess after a certain temperature it all feels the same….cold.

This morning I met Kerry and we took off up 2000 south like we do during the week. However, today we left our normal route and ended up going to the water tank in Orem. It was not too soon going up the road towards the water tank I felt fatigued. I was really surprised as I have made this climb without any problems before. I wondered if the cold had something to do with it or if I was tired. My answer came very quickly as not halfway up the hill my EIA (exercise induced asthma) the cold was definitely playing a part in my riding.

We continued up the road and ended up going on the service road past the water tank. This road is your typical dirt service road, not too difficult, but a good climb. I don’t know how far we went on the road, but it was cool to look out over the valley. I could see trails by Squaw’s Peak; I could see the BST and all around the valley. As we rode we came to a single track. Kerry, Eric and Stephen call this the Windy Ridge, and it is true to its name. Apparently it is always windy here, and the wind is a cross wind. Today is was not too strong, it was just enough to pull up my face protector and continue down.

From here we came out around Canyon Glen Park and go up the trail to Bridal Veil Falls. I have seen mountain bikers up there before, but could never figure out where they were riding. Today I found out.

There is a fun trail that goes up the mountain and over to Squaw’s Peak. It is like a little roller coaster as you go up the mountain making the climbing very easy. The trail goes all the way to Squaw Peak road. I am not sure where it comes out on the road, because we didn’t take the road down. Instead we did turn around and went back. Turning around was sooooo much fun. The little roller coaster trail that makes the climbing easy, makes the downhill a blast. I was giggling all the way down I was having so much fun.

At the end we took off up Provo Trail and home. About halfway down the trail we started to have the sun hit us. It felt really good and although the temperature did not change much it warmed me up having the sun on me. I can’t wait to do this again. There is nothing better than having trails in my back yard.

Ooops....It's dark outside

I went for a ride early this morning (5:45) on the BST with Kerry (yamabiker), Eric and Steve Washburn (Mad dog racer). They have graciously let me come and ride with them in the early mornings. The ride was great, but half way through the batteries on both of my lights went dead. It happened very quickly and kind of spooked me.

Luckily about the time I lost my lights Steve and Eric had come back on the trail (they are much faster than me). Kerry was behind me not because I am faster, but because I am still new to riding the trails with lights and this particular trail has a cliff edge. Anyway, since I had lost my lights we had to reposition who rode where. Steve rode up front, I rode next and Eric and Kerry were behind me.

At first it was a little weird trying to ride without any lighting. Sometimes the lights behind me would illuminate great, other times it threw my shadow around the trail and made it difficult to ride. Eventually I figured out the best way to ride was to stay directly behind Steve and follow him and use his light. The more and more I did this the more my confidence grew and I felt better about riding right behind Steve. I had a blast riding and I am glad I was with people when I lost my lighting. I would have hated to ride the trail without any lights by myself. Also, it was mighty nice of Steve to go slower on the downhill so I could keep up. I guess I owe him and the other guys.