Off the Bike for a Bit

My holistic healthcare practitioner advised me to take a break from riding for a while. I have really bad excema on my hands which really sucks. My hands are cracking, flaking , and bleeding which makes it difficult to hold on to handlebars (let alone function daily). Everytime I ride, I put lotion on and just deal with it. My hands kill everytime I ride, but I love to ride so much, I just deal with it. See picture below.

I have tried all sorts of medication creams which seem to work for a bit, but my excema adapts and persists. Last night, it was decided that I "take it easy" and try hydrocortizone cream nand wrap my hands in gauze. I also took the homeopathic arnica and arsenic "pellets". This morning, my hands are not cracked, bleeding, and they don't hurt! Today, I have been "re-gooped", wrapped in gauze, and am sporting the brown cotton gloves. I am at least able to do a few things around here like get things for the kids and make coffee; oh yeah and type.

Unfortunately, I can't ride for a while until I get this damn excema under control. I will give the stationary a break for a while just to keep with the "take it easy" directions I've been given. This will put me off pace for my yearly goal, but I'll make it up.

My holistic healthcare provider is awesome (she's also a great wife, mother, & friend)! I have visited the dermatologist and given countless prescriptions. By slathering my hands with hydrocortizone and wrapping them, I'm hopeful that I will get rid of this and be able to use my hands.

1st Ride of the Year

Yesterday, I headed out for a little ride on my favorite new route (map). This route takes me through some of the “best” parts that Mesa, AZ has to offer. From run down trailer parks to huge mansions, they’re all there. What I like most about this rout is that the 1st half is a gradual uphill with a decent short climb at the end to the top (almost) of Las Sendas mountain. I did go around the gate and climb as high as I could to check out the view. Not bad.

I had a PowerBar gel at the beginning of the long ascent which seemed to give me the energy I needed to make it all the way up. There was no wind to speak of until the steep part of the climb, of course. At least it was a cross wind. This will work to my advantage on my way back, I figured. After a short break to take a picture at the top, I headed down. The wind was to my back and I was flying! The wind was coming out of the Northeast and I was heading southwest. Perfect.

After I got home I checked my bike computer and my average speed was just over 20mph! Keeping in mind that the 1st 15 or so miles is uphill, I was stoked.

With my goal of 3600 miles for the year, I have to ride 10 miles a day on average. I happy to report that after 3 days, I’m ahead of my goal. I hope the rest of my rides go as well as this one did. The weather was in the low 70’s and the sun was out. Absolutely perfect weather for riding.

A New Year, A New Goal

Last year, my cycling goal was to ride 3000 miles. I achieved my goal in mid December and tacked on a few extra miles for good measure. With a new year comes new goals. I don't really believe in resolutions as much as I do setting goals for the new year. Here are mine (in no particular order):

1-Ride 3600 miles by year's end
2-Be a better father to my kids (lengthen my fuse)
3-Be a better husband to my wife in general
4-Focus my energy at work on being more productive (work smarter, not harder)

For numbers 2 & 3, I don't think I'm a bad husband or father, but there is always room for improvement. Pretty simple on paper/screen, but I heard once that if you don't write down your goals, you have a harder time achieving them. So there you have it. I wrote 'em down. Let's see how I do.....