Scope That Colon!

The end

2012-02-09T09:19:00.001-08:00

Well this is it... the last post for ScopeThatColon!
I've been thinking about this for a long time, but just never pulled the trigger. This blog has meant alot to me over the years. A place to vent, have fun, shill some product of friends and really, it was a rehab experience for me, too.
Many of these posts got me thru the tough times of cancer.

But don't worry, you aren't all getting rid of me that easy! I still have alot to say and much to accomplish.
I've started a new blog here...http://doit4others.blogspot.com

Go check it out. This one will be a blog with a purpose.... I hope I can get you guys to follow and support the new blog just as much as you have this one.

Thanks to everyone who followed this blog over the years, put up with my sarcastic (and some times inappropriate) humor and had fun with it like I did. My goal was to help and inspire others, I hope I accomplished that....

Work to do...

2012-02-07T11:40:00.001-08:00

George Costanza: The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. I got about fifty feet out and suddenly the great beast appeared before me. I tell you he was ten stories high if he was a foot. As if sensing my presence, he let out a great bellow. I said, "Easy, big fella!" And then, as I watched him struggling, I realized that something was obstructing its breathing. From where I was standing, I could see directly into the eye of the great fish.
Jerry: Mammal.
George Costanza: Whatever.

So full disclosure: I haven't really been riding as much as I should or would like. Up to this point in my life I've been all about bikes and riding, but as I get older and my family grows, I realize I now have many diverse interests like eating Cheetos, doing half-ass home projects and "sharing" funny pictures on Facebook. Sometimes a healthy bike ride just needs to take a back seat.

So today was the first mountain bike ride in a looong time. And just like with George saving the whale, "The trails were angry that day, my friends..." Slick trails, some mud and hills that some how got much bigger....
Just one of those days where my mad skillz just weren't there... kinda like the Patriots for the last 45 seconds of the SuperBowl....
Then there was the issue of me forgetting my riding shoes about halfway to the Res...had to turn around to grab them... I did remember my NEW GoPro HD (yeah baybee, HD!) camera but it took me a while to figure out why it wouldn't record (forgot to put a memory card in it)...
But you know what? It was a gorgeous "Fall-esque" February day and I did have fun....

I keep promising some big changes to the blog... but again, there's a bag of potato chips that aren't going to eat themselves....

On a more serious note, I continue to be appreciative of everything I have and everything I can do. It was two years ago this past Saturday that I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.... I'm one of the lucky ones because of great family and friends... remember there's always some one worse off than you... help them out....

New Year's ....Again....

2012-01-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

So it's been awhile since I've posted last. Lot's going on over here... holidays, Noah's tonsils out, house work.. the usual.
But I wanted to check in with everyone on the new year and encourage everyone to make 2012 their year to remember!
Just like everyone else, I've always made past resolutions and did ok with some, and failed miserably with others. So this year I'm changing the process up...
It's a New Year's Revolution !

I think that maybe if I put some "panic" behind them this year, it may just all work out.

So without for adieu, My 2012 New Year's Revolutions!!!!

#1... Cut out the Diet Coke fountain soda (and any of those "extreme" energy drinks for that matter). Those of you who know me, know my affinity for a good fountain soda... well that affinity has become border line addiction. The stuff is just not good for you and certain parts of my body are reacting to that. Thus far in 2012 I've been pretty good with substituting FRS and water with the occasional can of Diet Coke here and there.
(BTW, don't let anyone kid you, the can is NOT the same as fountain..no comparison.)
I did cave yesterday and I bought a fountain... it was sooo good... but my conscience got the better of me and I dumped it after a few delicious sips.

#2... Pay it forward in a big way. I was given a gift at the end of 2010 in surviving cancer. Lot's of people went out of their way to help, I met some very brave people and I met others not so lucky... It's time for me to step up and help. I have a few things stewing in the pot... stay tuned for some big news....

#3... The usual "Just watch what I, and the rest of my family, eats", it's a no brainer....

#4... Help my kids experience life. There's alot out there that I missed as a kid, I don't want them to go through that.

#5... Start welding again. A few years back I went away to learn how to build bike frames. Time to start plying my "trade" again. It's going to take awhile but it's something I need to do. My goal is a road frame this summer.

#6... Drink more beer. I know this sounds like a strange one, but follow me on this one. I don't really drink, maybe a beer once in awhile, but even after 2-3 beers, I feel like crap the next day and regret doing. There fore I never "hang out and have a beer" with my friends and I end up missing out on some good times. So I need to condition my body to be able to have a beer once in awhile and not feel like crap the next day. Practice starts soon....

#7... Keep riding and flying the Airborne flag. There's a process every year in selecting Flight Crew members and none of us are guaranteed a place. I may not be back with them in 2012. But you all know my fondness for the guys in Ohio and how what they have done for me the past couple of years has gone way past bikes and trips and such. My debt to them runs very deep and I will continue to sing their praises (at least until #5 kicks in, anyways).

There you have it, all doable, I believe...wish me luck...

I challenge all of you to make 2012 your best year yet!
What's your New Years Revolution?

Chaos.....

2011-11-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

So that's what my life has been lately. Having 7 and 9 year old boys at home constantly makes this house look like a tornado has hit it. Black Friday and the holidays are coming up at work which makes for a constant state of bedlam there. Then throw the freak snow storm in the mix....

I don't handle chaos well anymore. My brain just doesn't look at the big picture and say "OK Todd, here's what we need to do." I don't function that way anymore (never really did to begin with). I'm contantly loosing things, forgetting things or just not using my time efficiently (I'm one of those guys who's going to be late to his own funeral). I am taking steps to fix it though, not sure if it's working, but I'm trying.

So a couple of weeks ago I found that my wallet, cell phone, camera I take riding, and probably my IPod, were stolen out of my car. I grew up in a small town where you don't lock the car and leave everything in it. Old habits are hard to break. Now I live in a descent sized town and I need to be more aware. That just added to it all and I beat myself up pretty hard over the incident and promised that I will be more conscious of what's going on.

So here I am, last week, a school day, wife commuted with her friend to work, scrambling trying to get breakfast ready, kids dressed, and lunches made .. My yelling was in rare form that day. Walked the neighborhood kids to school (daily ritual) .. just another typical chaotic day... with work @noon....

Crap, I didn't do laundry so I have no clean clothes to wear (we have a dress code).. express wash time (which by the way, takes way longer than the 28 minutes it says on the machine).
Let me run a quick errand to the bank to activate my new debit card... Connie is parked right behind me and I can't get out... where the hell are the second set of keys? I just had them the other day... How can I loose them AGAIN? CRAP.... the laundry isn't going fast enough... where are the keys? what about my debit card? I need to get to work!!!!!!!!
Just another typical chaotic day.

Then I found the answer as I walked thru the garage. hanging on the wall was my Delta cross bike.... I haven't had a chance to commute to work at all this year (I'm usually late, remember?) but this was the perfect time. It was almost 11... I had one hour to get to work.

I dug around and stuffed my back pack with sneakers, deodorant and some work clothes that MIGHT not have been the cleanest in the world. Got my riding gear on and hammered... I can't be late...

Suddenly the chaos in my life disappeared... I found the rhytmm I needed and for that brief 30 minute commute, I put it all behind me. The bike and I were one and everything in my world was good again. Got some funny looks walking into the building with my riding garb on but I knew I was ready for the day. I needed a drug and the Delta was my prescription.....

Walked in, realized I was an hour late (I was supposed to be there at 11, not noon), there were a couple of pallets of freight to be put away and oh, my wife had both sets of keys in her pocketbook....
Just another typical chaotic day.

Total Tear Down....

2011-11-08T06:13:00.001-08:00

Yep... that's what's going to happen now from this point on out. Total redesign of my "sporting" life. Things just didn't work out this past season quite like I had hoped. It was still a fun and great year, but not what I had hoped and promised.

Not really sure what happened toward the end of the season, my body just kind of fell apart. I think I can trace the reason back to last fall when I finished my chemo. I went all out balls to the wall and tried to pick up where I left off. Not the smartest decision on my part. I think I just plain over did it and ignored the little stuff that I needed to do for proper recover.

Then I did stupid stuff like screw my ankle up a Warrior Dash (oh, and we're signed up for next year) and then messed my knee up playing Ultimate Frisbee in the dark with glow sticks (oh, I'll be there this week, BTW).

So here's the deal... totally starting over with what I need to do. Starting from scratch and doing all the little things I didn't do. Unfortunately it won't be all that glamorous, so certain people are probably going to be a bit frustrated with me and my lack of "content" on the subject. Not sure where this will take me, but I think it can be a fun ride.

I've already started the steps to the "new me" and I can already see and feel the changes. Things are getting done (although the storm may have pushed me back a bit) and I can't take anything for granted anymore.

The other thing planned is a new blog/website. This one has kind of worn out it's usefulness to me so I have something new planned. Not sure if you folks noticed, but I'm not the most computer literate person in the world

May have to call in some help for the new one...
Ok time to rake leaves and wash the Goblin and Delta... more on that soon....
Take care all.....

Time Machine

2011-10-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

I remember the day well. I was sitting at the desk of the health club I was working at (OK, it was more of one of those Nautilus "clubs" that were all the rage in the late 80's/early 90's) reading the newest issue of Winning magazine waiting to get out on my steel Trek road bike for another training ride.

Bob Harrington of Wayfarer Bikes struck up a conversation asking me about my riding and we chatted about general bike geek stuff. Then he asked THE question... "Have you been mountain biking yet?"

Mountain biking? Really? LeMond didn't mountain bike... Hinault didn't mountain bike..Indurain, Delgado, Roche... none of them! "This mountain bike thing is just a fad... it'll never last", I argued. Well I stubbornly agreed to try it out and I've been hooked ever since (even quit the club and went to work for him for a bit). I was a bit off on my "fad" prediction, huh?

Fast forward a few years, I moved up toward Hartford to live with my college friends and drink beer and ride and race mountain bikes. I actually got pretty good at both. My favorite place to ride was Penwood State Park. A pretty darn technical place to ride. Fun place, but for what ever reason, haven't been there in years...

Well today I hit Penwood up again and boy did that place take me back. It was like I traveled back in time. I felt like I was 23 again riding my Kona Kilaua with it's SoftRide stem, Umma Gumma tires and wearing my Bell V1 Pro helmet. Tearing up the trap rock covered single track seemed so naturally to me again. Back then all I cared about was riding and partying so most of those "training rides" were often done hung over. My metabolism allowed me to eat anything I wanted, drink copious amounts of beer and still weigh in at 170 pounds and ride hard the next day. I didn't have a care in the world except to pay the rent and have fun.

Well back to reality, I'm sitting here typing this taking Advil, icing my knee, 25 pounds heavier, wife and two kids, cancer survivor, dealing with bills and wondering if I'll ever race again....
It was a fun trip back in time today... everyone should try it...

I've got the moves like Jaggar

2011-10-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

That was the song that I couldn't get out of my head today... annoying, but appropriate...

Headed out to a new to me place in near by Cromwell today called "Hyland River" State Park. I've heard alot about this place having ramps and stunts and such and I was pumped to explore... Got home from dropping the kids off, put on my best free-rider Lucas/McKenna baggy shorts and off I went with the Goblin.
"Nice place, but where the hell are the stunts?"... I've got the mooooves like Jagger...."

Neat little place tucked between the golf course and the river so there were some cool scenic over looks of the mighty Connecticut River and lots of fun twisty stuff.... but still no stunts... what the hell?

Ever since the Death of Racer Boy, I feel like I've been re-invented on the bike. This was the first ride in quite awhile were I really had fun. Didn't care about how fast I was going, clearing a hill, bike parts, blogs or pics (much to Airborne's dismay, I'm sure). Just a fun time in the woods by myself. Hell, even the knee and ankle even enjoyed the ride.
But where the hell where the stunts? I've got the moves like Jagger...

So if you live in the area and looking for a fun quick ride, great place to go, hit me up for directions. I wouldn't go out of your way to go there to ride, unless I missed something.

Got home and looked up some reviews and pics of the area and where the stunts were... The reviews were from 2003... DOH! I may have to sneak back in there this fall and re-build some of them... stealth mode...
Still a fun time because I've got the moves like Jaggar....

The Death of Racer Boy....

2011-09-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the worst rides end up being the best for you... read on and this will make sense.

As most of might have noticed, I pulled myself from the "Grid". Frustration at myself has put in a place that, frankly, I didn't want to deal with any of this crap anymore.

Let start off by saying I'm hurting. Every part of my body is either injured, tweaked or tired right now. Unfortunately my brain says "You're still 20!" but my body says "Eh... more like 50".

As we get older, we tend to forget that. I really need to learn to recover as hard as I workout. Not doing that is coming back to haunt me. When I got a clean bill of health last year I went balls to the wall into physical activity with doing a poor job of rest and recovery. "You rested all last year" I kept telling myself. Well I'm paying for it now. Ironically, after you fight and beat cancer, you would think all of this would be alot easier.

There's been alot going on here, both mentally and physically that I won't get into right now (Some of you already know about some of this). When we get a hold of what's going on, hopefully the stars will align again... right now they're all over the place.

So yesterday I went out for a short ride around town and thru the meadows. Let's just say I wasn't really enjoying myself. Sore ankle, tweaked knee (who the hell's idea was it to play Ultimate Frisbee @9 p.m.?) , stiff neck and all sorts of other things contributed to a ride that, frankly, sucked. But I did get something out of it. It ended up being a pretty important ride.

I need to step back and forget about racing again, both mtb bike and cross. I just can't push it anymore with out taking care of myself. Not fair to my family, Airborne and frankly... me. Time to get back on the bike and ride for fun and fitness. Riser bars on the Goblin...more comfortable fit on the Delta...not worry about hammering the hills... and not getting on myself anymore (It's a vicious cycle...Over do it, get hurt, get on myself for being stupid.. recover.. repeat cycle).

There's other things important to me that I miss because of this repeated sequence. I'm lucky enough to be able to surround myself with bikes most of the time, so it's time to start using my situation for good, not evil.

R.I.P Racer Boy... We'll miss you.

For now anyways....

Uh oh... The good, the bad and the unsure...

2011-08-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

Where the hell did summer go? The kids are thrilled.....

But now what happens to me? Back to school will be both exciting for me and scare the crap out of me.
Now I have a kid-less schedule which allows some flexibility in rides, work outs and getting much needed crap done around the house.
But since both kids are in school full time now and it's now time to start a "career". This is the part that's starting to freak me out. I have no place to go.
Looking through my options looks kind of bleak at the moment...

1) Stay at Dick's. Descent money and I can pretty much call my own shots for hours and such. A part of me really wants to attempt to get the Newington store more of a player in the bike game in the area, but it's hard when everything falls on deaf ears or is ignored. I don't think they realize I do know what I'm talking about. If it stays like this with no interest or not caring about my department, I'll be looking for other work in no time. Hey Dick's Sporting Goods, Help me help you.....

2) Go find a bike shop and work there. I hate to be cocky, but I can walk into just about any shop around here and get a job. problem is that pay wouldn't be as good, no flexibility and crappy hours, like Sundays...ughh... Plus I don't see getting hired going into winter.

3) Open my own shop? Not sure if I'm ready educationally or financially to go down this road... yet.

So looks like it's time for some soul searching and figure all this out. Probably take a class or two, do some welding and do my best at Dick's to get the job done and see if that can be a stepping stone. Maybe just get out of retail all together and go in a new direction.... who knows?

Don't get me wrong, I'm very lucky to be where I am. I was able to raise my kids, great marriage, beat cancer, make some great close friendships and I get to ride alot. But when we try to figure out my future, it's frustrating and scarey that when asked "Well what do YOU want do?", all I can do is shrug my shoulders....

Back to happier thoughts...
The ankle is healing up fine. I'm walking without a limp, it just gets tired a bit quicker. Should be back on the bike this week end. I'm so pissed that this happened... I'm gunning for 40 minutes at Warrior Dash next year.

Had to submit a rough itinerary to the great folks at Airborne on what my bike plans are for the next 90 days or so. Getting to be the time of year where they are deciding who to carry over to next year (Not sure if I deserve a spot or not) but I hope to be back. Great group of people and I enjoy helping them out.

The 28th I'll be doing the Rockwell Ride & Walk charity ride to help the homeless. The great guys at Biker's Edge are sponsoring it. That shop does ALOT of good work for the community...check them out here...
http://bikersedge.com/
The Delta is ready willing and able, but might need some new tires....

Then it's all cross from that point out... some big races mixed in with the fun low key local races. Again, the Delta is chomping at the bit....
But we also are trying to plan a trip to Killington so the Goblin will see some love too....

Well that was the short update on what's going on... hope everyone enjoys the final countdown to summer....

Ridin' Dirty...

2011-08-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well really, it was runnin' dirty, but you get the idea...

Warrior Dash 2011 is in the books. We had friends, old and new, converge in Upper NY State to take on a course that was full of mud, hills, obstacles beer and some "interesting" costumes (gotta love Naughty Nurses covered in cold mud, but that's a whole other post in itself...)

I actually remembered my GoPro camera and took video, here's an unedited small clip of what we were up against. I couldn't get it to download onto the site so link up to it here....
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=245878412112399&comments

The highlight of the race was seeing my wife at the finish with a big smile on her face and a Warrior Dash medal around her neck. She and Pam H. started in the wave before us so I wasn't there to see how she did, but from the looks of the mud and bruises, she did fine. She worked hard to get there... I'm proud of her (You too, Pam)!
Low Light? Well that's an easy one. Tearing a tendon in my ankle on the way down the hill meant that I couldn't keep up with Rob H. and Dan H.... I finished by making it through the final few obstacles like the fire jump and the Army crawl thru mud under barbed wire... but later there was a trip to urgent care for a splint and crutches. Beer helped ease the pain.

So where do we go from here? Well I assume there will be about a week or so of ice, ibuprofen and some hobbling around then it's back on the bike. The new cross season is just around the corner and I need to be ready.

BTW... I beat Carrie W......

2011-08-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's a video of me running this morning. I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination. Funny thing is, that I used to be able to hold my own, but now... not so much.
"But Todd, what the hell are you running for? You're a cyclist" Good question. There's actually two reasons.

The first is that cyclocross season is right around the corner and there's a bit of running skill involved in this kind of bike racing. I've posted a few videos on here to give you an idea of it is. Watching is a BLAST. I'll post dates to some of the big races later.

Second, my wife and I agreed to do a Warrior Dash this year with our friends (I think alcohol and bragging were involved). Being a non runner, I don't know what I was thinking and nothing like waiting until the two weeks before to start training for it.

I have one goal and one goal only, beat a certain neighbor who's initials are C.W.... OK, I'm giving her a hard time and let's be honest here, she'll probably kick my ass. But if I can just hang with her until the end, I think I can take her in a sprint, if not. I'm not above cheating....
Old sneakers and a case of 'Gansett Summer Ale are ready. There's 15 or so of us renting a house so it should be a good time. That is if I don't die on the course.
Look for video and pictures next week.

I wonder if they'll have a downhill mountainbike course open that weekend too.....

The Situation....

2011-08-05T05:02:00.001-07:00

So I haven't posted in awhile. There's a few reasons for that, but mainly I've been lost. Don't really know where I'm going from here or how I'll get there.

Don't get me wrong. it's not like I'm walking around here with my head down and shoulders drooped. This has been a fun summer with it's normal ups and downs. I've spent lots of good times with my family and friends, which hasn't happened in awhile (especially after last year's debacle). My wife and I have been getting along fantastically and we owe it to all of you out there.

But there's something missing. I was lucky enough to get a second chance last summer and I promised myself that things would be different if/when I made it through. Well maybe you can't
teach an old dog new tricks, because it's the end of summer I'm not anywhere near where I was hoping/needing to be.

I really wanted to promote colon cancer awareness and pay forward everything that was given to me last year. Well I might have a bit, but lets be honest, no where near the scale I know I should have.

I did a few races and rides...meh... I'm unimpressed with myself. Physically speaking, everything has just been inconsistent.

This year I was a full fledged Airborne Flight Crew member with the responsibility of reviews, promotion and contribution. Well I'm feeling I might have let them down a bit (who knows, you'll have to ask them). Those guys in western Ohio deserve so much more from me.

Now that the kids go back to school and both are there full time, I need to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. All I've known for the last 20 or so years is retail... it's a tough life, especially if you want to be successful. I sold my sole to the Dick's Sporting Goods devil again this past year and I've had discussions about staying there and really trying to further the store regionally in the bike scene. That's a possibility. Go back to school? Start my own business? Get back into welding? Time for some sole searching.

So where do I go from here? Time and the effort I put in will tell if I can make the necessary changes.
Time to step up my game...

So now what?

2011-07-18T05:22:00.000-07:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... or something like that.
That pretty much sums up my return to the famed "Wrath of the Boneyard" mountain bike race. The picture pretty much sums up my personal performance...

I knew that it was going to be a tough day when I couldn't eat my breakfast with all the knots in my stomach. From there, I went down hill.

The cool part was that both kids raced the kid's race race right before hand. I know they were both nervous (and Luke took a few good diggers on the warm ups) but I'm so proud of them.

Noah grinding the climb...

Luke with his game face on... he wore that shirt because it's a Tony Hawk shirt...

If he's looking to me for race strategy and advice, he's screwed....

A job well done... They rocked!

So, you may ask...how did I do? Don't ask... Never made it past the first lap...
Boneyard is the hardest, most techy, gnarliest course on the Root 66 series, by far, and it reared it ugly head on me yesterday.

I don't know what happened, but the in the end, the heat combined with the rocks (LOTS of pedal strikes) and generally poor fitness leading up to race day, lead to my demise. I could tell right away I was dehydrated and the fear of heat exhaustion was kicking in.

I was around mid pack going into the first climb, which was a narrow single track "punch it" type of climb... not one of my strong suits. Well as one guy in front of me stopped, two of us went for the only line and I didn't win, going off track and down a slight embankment... game over mentally at that point.... couldn't hold a line... couldn't climb... and just bobbling all over the place...

List of excuses? There's plenty...
- Dehydrated
- It was hot
- Didn't really warm up properly because my kids were racing
- Crappy training
- Crappy eating habits
- My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!

Ever since our vacation and the kid's being home for the summer, proper training has diminished to zilch. But in all reality, it was gut check time and I didn't deliver.

So where do we go from here? I think it's time to take a few steps back and re-build my fitness.
That means early morning work outs, better diet (as always) and be more efficient with my time. There's still some mountain bike races left that I hope to do, then it's on to 'cross.
The Goblin needs some TLC... that thing is beat up. Chipped paint, wobbly wheels, bad shifting and all.... A total rebuild may be due soon....
From there, we'll see what happens...

Final Delta thoughts, while it's still relatively stock anyways...

2011-07-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading this blog you probably know that I've been riding my Airborne Delta ALOT lately which is quite the feat considering I am a mountain biker through and through. Right now I'm hovering around 400 miles on this bike and except for the cockpit, it's been a stock ride.
Because of my enormous size (easy there ladies...) I had to swap out the bar and stem to something wider and longer (again ladies... calm down).

You all know I LOVE this bike and I will gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a new cross ride (What is cyclocross? Look here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZOa_E9Qs8).

But here's a final summery of some small detail stuff and thoughts I have.

Airborne is stepping up to a leadership position with this bike. They're taking a spot at the front of the cross bike line by offering it in a disc brake only version while others are still on the fence by offering disc brake mounts, but keeping canti brakes on it (Canti brakes don't consistently offer the stopping power of disc brakes). Bravo to them, but in this situation it will be really important to be sure the discs are set up properly.
Here's what I mean. Mine stopped descent enough, but offered a horrible noise that let everyone know I was coming. Get rid of the noise, affect the stopping power. For a while I kept asking myself "why bother with the extra weight of the discs?"
I did some research and found and answer. If you take the pads on the BB5's and round out the outer edge just a tad with some sand paper, the "turkey gobble" goes away. Great trick. Now I have mondo brake power with out the noise.

I'm still not sold on the Double Tap shifters from SRAM. STI from Shimano seems more natural to me. Something I'll have to get used to. Also, I sometimes find the shifting to be a bit vague. It shouldn't be but my next step is going to be to upgrade the cables (for the brakes too) and see if that helps at all. That or learn the right way to set up Double Tap.
That being said, the wide range rear end is kinda nice

I hate the hoods on the Apex shifters. Thin and flimsy. Looks like I'll have to get some Hudz that will be sturdier and they come in cool colors to boot.

The FSA post with the side by side double bolt system is rock solid, but a pain in the ass to adjust.

I do enjoy riding this bike on the road alot, but keep in mind it's not a road bike. Did 50 miles on it last week end and noticed the weight penalty and the lower high end gearing. I'm beginning to enjoy the ease of road riding again, so a true road bike will have to be in my future. Maybe Airborne has something cooking? I have a set of wheels on loan from a friend and that made a big difference.

I can't really fault anything much on this bike besides nit picky stuff. For $1200 it's a winner out of the box. Of course, I have to upgrade a few things on it for this fall to bring the weight down a bit, but it's not necessary...

Don't wear bib shorts with sun burnt shoulders... (and other things I learned on vacation)

2011-07-06T07:34:00.001-07:00

Well we finally made it back from a week at Cape Cod. That combined with the extended week end and Con off for the extra week means I wasn't able to post... too much partying. The above pic is about 100 steps away from our cottage...sweet.
The weather was great and got to spend some time with family I don't get to see often enough. Great times had by all. This year a friend of Connie's came up with her kids so I was able to bring my bike and ride relatively guilt free....
Four year old dog in an 11 year old body... poor girl tries to keep up... sounds familiar...

Most of you know that last Sunday I did the Ride for the Flame... thanks to many of you, I raised almost three hundred dollars to help Special Olympics! The ride was a fun 50 miler around the shore line where I grew up. It brought back alot of memories. Hardest part was getting back here from the Cape. Three hours up on Friday afternoon, three hours back Saturday night , ride Sunday morning then three hours back to the Cape that afternoon again... way too much driving. Big group road rides like these remind me me how much I really DON'T enjoy doing it with big groups... way too nerve racking watching others ride on the streets. Another plus though, was alot of people were interested in and asking about the Delta, so that's good.
The peloton waits for no one....

A few other things I learned this past week, and some general opinions...

- First, obviously, is not to wear bib shorts when your shoulders are sun burned... not fun.
- Fried Clams and fries aren't the best fuel when you're trying to ride. Great when it goes down, but you pay for it the next day (insert dirty joke here....).
- Ladies, if you are over 40 and your name ISN'T Jennifer Aniston, there is no reason for you to be wearing a bikini, NO REASON. I appreciate the woman form as much as the next guy, but damn girl, have some pride! They have these things now called mirrors, use them...
- How did I use to survive 2 weeks at the Cape with no TV or video games when I was a kid? At some points , my kids had a hard time with one week... Who ever invented the DS, thank you...
- I'm sorry, but there's no way the biologists on the whale watching boats can tell the difference between all those whales, they are just making those names up. And no kids, I'm not going to buy you another $2 bag of potato chips from the galley.
- The Cape Cod Rail Trail is the nicest one I've been on. Paved, marked, mapped and gorgeous scenery...
You don't see this view on the Vernon Rail Trail....
The Delta on vacation

- Why don't people say "Hi" or at least smile when they ride their bikes anymore? I did a non- scientific experiment on one ride and out of 20 people I rode past, only 3 smiled, looked my way or acknowledged me in any way. People, you're riding a bike on the Cape, enjoy yourselves! This isn't a stage of the Tour de France.
- BTW, the guy on the Lynsky tri bike, you're a tool if you expect your wife/girlfriend to keep up with you while she's riding her hybrid bike....
- Bike shops really need to teach people how to change gears. I saw way too many people in the highest (hardest) gear struggling to pedal. The bike industry needs to work on that. (maybe that's why no body was smiling...)
- If you see a seal swim up on the beach, leave it alone, there's usually nothing wrong with them. According to another marine biologist on the scene, stay 150 ft. away. This did happen, but I didn't have a camera...

We had a good time this past week. Threw in a water park trip to Six Flags yesterday, too. I'm so glad my kids aren't afraid of the water. At the Cape, they had a blast boogie boarding at high tide, too.

Scan on the ole' colon today. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Look for a "final" Delta review from me tomorrow or Friday.

Glad to be home... see ya

Father's Day Reflux...

2011-06-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well it was another great Father's Day here at the Haskins' compound. I have to say the my wife does a really great job in supporting me and celebrating holiday's that are specific to me. Looking back, I really need to start stepping it up. Starting to get embarrassing....
This year's gift was totally unexpected (and really, undeserving). She spent the whole day (hauling too bored boys around) hunting down a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS for me! This thing is really cool! All sorts of worthless, yet fun, info. I have some big plans for this thing... now I just need to learn to use it, big book with small sized type....

The other high lite was my Father's Day ride down to my folks. Hopped on the Delta and did the 38 mile trek down to Chester. Most of you know I have the Ride for the Flame coming up and this was a descent little training ride for the 50 miler I have on Sunday. Ride went pretty well and I was able to finish up reasonably strong. The Airborne Delta continues to impress me everytime I hop on it.
Played around with my position too. Swapped the stem to a negative rise to stretch me out a bit. My friend mark also hooked me up with a set of "try before you buy" wheels that lightened the ride up. This is a fun bike

The other thing I tried this time around was doing the route thru Google Map's "Bike" option. It's very cool to see that bikes are being considered as a serious form of transportation. This had it's pro's and con's, though.
One thing that's great about it is the fact that it does a really great job of by passing some busy stretches of roads that alot of folks may not want to ride on. They take you along routes that you would never know were there. You get to see some really neat things and realize how beautiful of a state we really live in, when you slow down.
This does kind of come with a price though. Directions can be hard to follow, especially as you are riding thru neighborhoods with small side streets and lots of quick turns (if only I had a GPS...wait...). The other potential downside, is that it can really take you way out of the way. I found myself in parts of Middlefield and Haddam I didn't know existed. One part of the route had me going up and old washed out dirt road into Chester. Lot's of climbs and deep into the woods. I skipped that part and took one of the main roads in... maybe next time.

Finally a big THANK YOU to everyone who sponsored me for the ride on Sunday. I exceeded my goal and will be helping out a great cause!!! Hopefully more to come in the following months.

Oh How I Love Thee...

2011-06-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well schools almost out and my "free" time is going to be going away relatively quickly. Summer will be the time of year that if I'm working out, I need to really schedule it in ahead of time and get up earlier in the morning.
I've been logging some serious saddle time on the Delta and didn't realize how much fun (and easy) it is to just open the garage and go for a ride. No packing up the Goblin and driving to go mountain biking (plus it eats up dirts roads for lunch). I'm loving this bike... THANKS AIRBORNE!

One of the places the Delta will be taking me is the Ride for the Flame. A charity ride on the 26th that benefits the Special Olympics. I'm doing the 50 miler. We'll see how my ass and back responds.
http://soct.convio.net/site/TR/Events/General?pg=pfind&fr_id=2430
In fact I'm leaving our vacation at Cape Cod for this.... Look me up and donate if you find some loose change in the sofa.

That's all I got... two quick shills today. Talk to you all soon.

Delta follow up....(and do Disc brakes belong on a cross bike?)

2011-06-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well I have some pretty solid rides on the Delta now so I thought I'd let you all know what I think.

"What brand of bike is that?" I've been getting that alot... (I need decals)

Today I did a quick loop that incorporates tar, bike paths and meadow dirt roads that aren't kept up with, and the Delta shined. Very comfortable ride. For this ride I put on some fatter slicks that I had laying around and the difference was a huge improvement over the Kenda Kwick's (For what I'm using it for right now). Keep in mind, this isn't a road bike so you're going to still feel a bit bogged down. If you're looking for road performance, look else where (although I do hear rumors about something road-like cooking in the Airborne hanger...).

If I was commuting to work (I don't need a bike to get down to the kitchen) or wanted to be able to explore dirt roads and bike paths this is the bike I'd reach for. It is perfect the way it's set up right now with the slicks. Comfort, efficiency, and reliable shifting and braking are all here.

Now this is a cross bike, so let's look at it from a cyclocross racing point of view...

There's alot of debate on the forums and such on whether or not cross bikes need disc brakes. Too be honest, I can see both sides. To me, nothing is sexier than a nice clean cross bike with canti's (OK, maybe there's a couple of other things sexier...) and when you gotta lug a bike over barriers for an hour in crappy conditions while there's a bit of throw up in your mouth, every ounce saved, counts.
But, discs do over reliable braking in all conditions and if I stop eating Funny Bones, I can save the extra weight on my mid section...hmmmmm

Well I can't teeter on the fence anymore. For the technology that is available to us as of today, I would say discs make sense so everyone but the highest of levels (and snobbiest of snobs). They just offer so much more consistent braking that I can't see how they'll not help anyone... especially mid pack fodder like myself.

What will it take to get to get discs to the elite level? Well first is going to be weight. Right now the only thing available that's not crap is the BB5/7's from Avid and they are kinda portly. I don't think they need to be that heavy.

Another step will be to develop a 140 rotor size for the front. I do find the 160 standard up front a bit over kill on a cross bike. The front brake seems to overwhelm the bike, but in a race situation, that may change. Plus, it will save a bit of weight...added bonus!

Next step is going to be to develop hydraulics. Although I think mechanicals work fine, they won't be fully accepted until a hydraulic/closed system is available. This is what I think is holding Shimano and Sram back. Where to put the master cylinder is the sticking point... there's not alot of room in those brifters.

So what's my take? This is really a great do-it-all(almost) bike. Touring, commuting and exploring are spot on out of the box (except for maybe tires). Racers? A few tweaks to save some weight and this has the potential to be a great weapon for most.
Now I just need to unload these canti's I have laying around....

Grip review and other stuff

2011-06-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great week and enjoyed the holidays last week. Things have been going ok here. Crazy weather with temps kind of all over the place, but nothing like what Springfield Mass went thru last week. That area was devastated by a tornado. Scary stuff... can't believe they are coming out this way (our house got hit in '09 by a tornado). We're all thinking of our neighbors up north.

Health wise things have been ok. Fighting off some old age back issues and soreness, but nothing I can't handle. The caffeine ban has been rough. To be honest, I have been sneaking a soda here and there, but I can say I don't drink the whole thing (I didn't inhale either...). It seems caffeine related issues are under control.

In trying to stay with the Tuesday's Treatise theme, I'm going to post up a review of ESI's Chunky grips.

First a bit of back story. When I went out to Sea Otter, one of the things on my bucket list was to get some new grips. I was eye balling Ergons, but damn, they're expensive, and you can either run bar ends or not, can't swap back and forth...not a bad thing, just not a fit for me.
Then Eric, one of the cogs in the Airborne machine, mentioned ESI's and how much he loved them. Hell, the price was right and they come in cool colors, why not?
"But isn't a grip just a grip?", you may ask. Au contraire mon frere....
Being the first of any ride input, hands are an important contact point that gets overlooked. If your hands hurt, they're not happy...if your hands aren't happy, the rest of your body won't be either... result? A crappy ride. Get comfortable people!
ESI grips are 100% silicon which seems like the perfect material to me. Excellent job in "molding" to my hand a bit and the vibration damping is amazing (check out their website, they have a cool graph on there http://www.esigrips.com/Silicone_Grips_Shock_Absorbing.htm) and as I mentioned earlier, very cool colors...
On the Goblin,I've been able to try them now in a few "concerning" conditions:
Rain and mudfest race conditions... no issues
Really humid with gloves... stuck like glue.
Gloveless... velcro baby!
These grips rock!
Next time your hands are hurting and you need new grips... check the ESI Cunky's out. They also come in a thinner "Racer's Edge" model if you have dainty hands...

Memeorial day Weekend

2011-05-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago my father in law passed away. Although we didn't always agree on everything, he did teach me one thing. He loved his country, was proud to have served, and appreciated and respected all others that also served. Remember that this weekend in between your hot dogs and sales. Please stand up for the Flag at the parade, buy that service man a coffee at Dunkin Donuts or simply shake a service woman's hand and say "Thanks for protecting my family, my friends and my country"....

Tuesday's Treatise..or "You want to do what...?"

2011-05-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

It was around the end of last fall when I got the word from Jeremy, Airborne's bike design swami, that the new cyclocross bike will have... GASP... disc brakes! I live in New England, a hot bed for cross, I can't be seen with disc brakes on my cross bike... the Mafac gods would be turning in their graves...

A couple of weeks back I saw a big box (BIG box) sitting on my front door when we got back from school and I felt like a high school junior trying to get into his prom date's dress (or at least this high school junior)... that sucker was boxed well.
Yes, inside was Airborne's $1099 (Yes $1099) Delta. No decals meant that it was another pre-production model (I see a disturbing trend here). But that's OK, this one was a bit larger size that isn't slated for production...yet. I'll push for it for all us Sasquatches.

Here she is in her full build form. I kept the bike as stock as possible for fairness but I had to swap out the bar and stem to something a bit larger. Everything went together very smoothly.

So here's the problem... how do you test a 'cross bike? By definition cyclocross is a race usually run in the Fall, so that aint' happening. So what do you do? Go out and have some fun on it... dirt roads, bike paths, a bit of woods and some urban exploration are all open to you now. Let's be honest here, it's only a small percentage of cross bikes that really see a race anyways, so it's not a stretch.

So I headed out to the meadows on it the other day. Nice and rough and perfect for a compliance test. I came away pretty darn impressed with the ride quality of this bike. Purty darn comfy if you ask me. The BB30 bottom bracket was nice and efficient and the frame design made me feel fat dumb and happy.

Alot of it had to do with this... this was my first real foray into carbon fork goodness. Great design based around the disc brakes with no shutter and plenty of comfort.

Another feature is the Apex drivetrain, which is unheard of at this price point. Crisp shifting every time but I have to be honest here. I'm not completely sold yet on the SRAM Double Tap shifters. It seems like alot more throw is needed for that second shift... I think STI is easier, but the jury is still out. An 11-32 cassette will get you anywhere a bike like this should go (but more on that later).

And now to the crux of this bike and it's uniqueness, the disc brakes.
Like it or not, disc brakes are coming and I have to applaud my Ohio friends for taking a lead and putting them on the bike... most will do by the fall. 160 rotor up front with a 140 in the back gave me plenty of stopping power... I'd be curious to know why they didn't do 140 both front and rear. After playing a bit with the set up, I found the perfect balance between power and modulation with the BB5's. As for weight, I don't know yet. I'm rightfully assuming that they add a couple of pounds and I don't know how that will translate when you have to carry your bike up over hills and barriers when you're in oxygen debt. Time will tell. For commuting/ touring/monstercross... this is a perfect set up.

So what kind of bike is this? It is a cross bike, but any company would be silly to build and market a bike strictly to cross racers (low #'s) but on the flip side, racers may look at it and say "It's just a touring bike, I don't need discs"... it's an argument that is never going to be settled until some Belgium hotshot wins on a disc bike.
That's the beauty of the Delta though, $1099 gives you an opportunity to do what ever you want with it. Race it, tour it, commute it... it's all good.

Recommendations?
If you want a true racer bike, you'll definitely want to work on shaving some weight.. best spot (with out going crazy) would be the wheels and tires. That's an area I plan to work on in the next month or so... You can also do OK with smart cockpit swaps too. The other thing to swap would be the cassette. There's no need for a 32 tooth on the back of a race bike.

If you plan on touring this would be a nice way to go. Comfortable efficient frame with plenty of gearing and powerful and reliable brakes. Just be warned that even though there are rack mounts on the stays, there aren't any on the drop outs due to the disc brakes. Any descent shop should be able to help you get around that.

Are you a commuter or just want to explore? Go ride and have fun. I'll have to try some bigger tires for a MonsterCross set up. I'll let every one know when that happens.

In short... fun bike... go get one here...
http://www.airbornebicycles.com/products/99-delta.aspx

Monday Musings....

2011-05-23T06:06:00.000-07:00

So it's another Monday in which the week end wasn't nearly as long as it needed to be. I think the dreariness that is currently hanging over our wonderful state has alot to do with the cranky moods that Mom and Dad are being subjected too. Where the #%*& is the nice weather already?

Of course no weekend would be complete with out my usual Friday nite/Saturday shifts at Dick's. Not sure what I'm going to do about that job. I really can't keep going with the way things are right now but I'm also in no position to change the "culture" of what goes on there. It all starts at the top, and I'm no where near there....I have three months to figure out what I want to be when I grow up... frustrating...

Here at home, things were kinda lazy... movie time and Wii seemed to dominate in between rain showers... Finally got to see "Grown Ups"... ehhh, I thought it would be funnier.

WARNING! HEALTH RELATED ISSUES COMING UP! MIGHT BE A BIT GRAPHIC BUT I TOLD YOU AT THE BEGINNING OF ALL THIS YOU MIGHT SEE SOME OF THESE POSTS!

The other day I had to go see the internal surgeon that did my resection. This whole cancer deal started with a problem with rectal itching that at some points becomes unbearable. That lead to the colonoscopy that discovered the tumor. Well the itching still hasn't really gone away so I went back in to see what we can do.
First thing he did was take me off caffeine. For those who don't realize it, the anus is one of the few muscles that contract when in a relaxed state. Caffeine irritates that area for alot of folks and affects the contraction and it's inability to do it's job... go figure.
Also it seems like my pH is off in that area so he gave me some lotion to use.
I took the week after the race off the bike hoping that it wasn't riding that was irritating the condition... thank heaven it doesn't seem it.
So anyways, I'm off caffeine now... if I'm mean and irritable, please understand....

Look for a Tuesday's Treatise on the new Airborne Delta. I spent some extra time on it yesterday and I'm pretty excited to share the ride with all of you....

What a difference a year makes....

2011-05-16T06:42:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe what a difference a year makes. This time last year I was a few weeks into my chemo and still sore from the colon resection that left an 8" scar just bellow my belly button.
Wind ahead to yesterday, and my biggest complaint was that I didn't want to get wet...
Yesterday was my first race post-cancer. A fun little race in Winstead put on by my good friends (and favorite shop) Biker's Edge in Bristol and Torrington.
When I got up Sunday morning it wasn't just raining, but pouring. That wasn't going to stop me... but maybe become less interested? Con and the kids decided to stay home instead of brave the monsoon... good call on their part.
I finally found the venue after getting a tad misplaced but then realized I had no money to enter... back down the hill to the ATM. Well warm ups didn't go quite like I hoped... just riding trying to stay warm but it was fine... I just wanted to finish and that I did!
It was a muddy, greasy race of attrition but I did it. Best part was passing a guy thru the Start/Finish straight before the single track and hearing Charlie Beal cheer for me on that. Found myself tearing up on the final lap when it really hit me how far I've come... Called Con when I finished and we both had a good cry on the phone... it was kind of embarrassing actually but I don't care... It was one huge step.

I owe a ton of people a ton of thanks... Airborne, Bontrager and Biker's Edge have all supported me on the bike.
But the amount of support and good will that my family and great friends that I've been lucky enough to surround myself with, is immeasurable... THANK YOU ALL!

Muddy bike pic....

Muddy self portait

Hmmmm ... when's the next race?

Tuesday's Treatise (Yeah it's a word, look it up!)

2011-05-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

So in my quest to inject a bit of life into my blogs, I've decided to start "Tuesday's Treatise". I'll do my best to review stuff in a some what entertaining fashion. These reviews my include bike stuff, TV shows, women...who knows. I'm also open to suggestions...
So here goes...
Today's first review...my garage and work space.

This place is a wreck... One of the problems with our house is that we live in a flood plain and don't have a basement. So therefore, anything that you would put in a basement, is also in the garage...which REALLY sucks. Look a the pics...Beverage fridge, freezer, shelf of food we never use, shelves of crap and toys that we can't throw away but never get used... how am I to function there? Plus I'm always in a rush so nothing really gets put away like it should.

I love working in my garage during the summer. Put the Sox game on the radio maybe pop open a Stoney's (or PBR) and work on a bike or do some welding. But it's really hard when you can barely walk thru it at all.

I have two bikes sitting here that are extreme fixer uppers. Not sure what to do with them... maybe donate them curbside on garbage day. I know there's some one out there who could really use them. Then I have a few new Airbornes to build and put some place and then get the really nice (albeit, really BIG) bike boxes out of the way. They do a fantastic job packaging those suckers up....

Here's my bench and it looks like Mr Goodwrench threw up on it. When I got back from my frame building class I built this to give me room to work. Now it's just a gathering place for more crap... I need an Extreme Garage Makeover....But notice how safety conscious I am with the fire extinguisher?

Another annoyance of working out there in the summer... mosquitoes. You have to have the door open but then you get nailed with them... I'm going to have to invest in one of those garage door mosquito nets that are all the rage in Florida.

So there you go, my first treatise... on a scale of 1-5(5 being the best)... I give it three stars (I need to come up with a better scoring system...haven't completely thought this out yet). Bump it up to four if I can get it organized and clean.....

Help a fellow Crew member out...

2011-04-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

So Marty Tank is a guy who does some very cool mountain bike videos and is a fellow Flight Crew member...
Anyways, he's trying to win a video contest for the Wisconsin Off-Road Series and needs our votes...
Check out here and vote, it'll help a pretty cool guy out.
http://vimeo.com/22906820
Thanks

Last of Sea Otter ..and an apology...

2011-04-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

So as I was working on bikes last night in my quiet corner of the stor (I'm sooo lonely over there...) I was thinking about the day and what I could/should have done different. Thinking about what I wrote yesterday left me feeling quite ill... I need to apologize. After re-reading it again last night, I came off whiny and insensitive. I realize that what I complained about last week was life and I promise to get over it. I'm pretty lucky to have the life I have and if I take a bit more initiative, I might be even to ride more...Thanks for listening.

Well let me wrap up some other little Sea Otter goodness here....

FRS, my favorite energy drink, was there handing out FULL CANS of their product. At least they were until The Man shut them down. Food vendors were complaining that no one was buying their beverages so FRS had to pour everything in cups. Still pretty awesome, but lets be honest, not as cool. I love this stuff, starting to replace my Diet Coke supply when I can afford it...lol

A bunch of us went out to attack the XC course on a few Goblins.... Well sorta. As we rode up to the entrance we stopped for a bit to watch the pro men short track race (those guys are soooo fast, and of course I forgot my camera) then headed out.
A few of us realized that a couple of us weren't keeping up. Turns out Jim Davis (husband of Wendy Davis of Flight Crew fame) had rear wheel issues and couldn't ride. So me being the nice guy that I am, gave him my wheel thinking I could go back to the tent swap out and catch up... boy was I wrong! never saw them again until I got back to the tent.
The XC ride was by myself and I had no idea where the course was taking me, but it seemed way out there. Lots of sandy dirt roads and singltrack. One "technical" down hill was just rutted from the rain. What's that all about?
The the cat 1 race started so I wanted to get of the course and wind my way back. All hilly dirt roads... good times. I was missing the great techy stuff we have here.
Of course the Goblin was great, but I missed my personal one.

Speaking of Wendy, what a super cool chick. Her husband is alright too...lol. You can read about her pretty amazing story here...http://apabstsmear.blogspot.com/.
Now like most of you, I thought what a strange title for a blog, then it hit me. Pabst Blue Ribbon! PBR Baby! A woman after my own heart and liver. Check out what she gave me...
I know, you're all jealous! Gotta get it on my bike today!

I also got to spend a bit of time on the new Delta cross bike and the Wingman dirt jump bike. I wanted to take the Delta out a bit longer but was afraid I wouldn't get let back in since I didn't have my wrist band at the time. That bike is so cool. When I heard about it, I thought "You can't put discs on a cross bike!" (We don't do that here in New England) but this idea has potential. Jeremy did a great job in ride quality, weight and value.. as usual.
Check it out here....http://www.airbornebicycles.com/category/56-cyclocross-cx.aspx... I WANT one of these!

I also enjoyed my limited time on the Wingman, which surprised me. If I was a few inches shorter and did more Mt. Dew commercial stuff, I'd be all over this. Solid bike for a great price...
http://www.airbornebicycles.com/category/59-dirt-jump.aspx.... Goose would be proud.

Alright.. I got crap to do today... thanks for reading!

More Sea Otter news and notes (and other crap that happened last week that kept me off my bike)

2011-04-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a week and a half since I've been home and the shit hit the fan fitness wise...More on that in a bit.

One of the cool things I found at Otter was www.Plus3Network.com. Last year when I was diagnosed and then realized I was going to be OK, I told myself I was going to give back and one way was to start a website for locals here in town to help them solicit funds and sponsors online for their charity events.
Well, me being the tech savvy guy I am, I never was able to figure out the best way to go about it. Well some one did. Basically they set up a website that allows you to choose a charity you want to support and then log in your work outs. They went ahead and matched up corporations for each charity who will pay dividends for your work out time. How cool is that?
I'm working on putting a local team together and get in touch with those of you interested.

I didn't get to do quite as much riding as I wanted to out there due to an sinus/ear infection I brought with me, but when I did get out, it was "interesting". Looking back I'm glad I have an opportunity to ride where I do, the trails out there were, let's say, boring. Great if you like to climb fire roads all day, but where's the rocks? The logs? Roots? Riders of New England... enjoy what you have here....

When we got back the family did do a day trip to NYC to hit up the Museum of Natural History and some Time's Square action... Place was PACKED and the kids didn't get many thrills out of the Museum. It would be neat to go there alone and be able to actually read some of the exhibits. We also bought the most expensive 2 pounds of M&M's in the world at the M&M store in Times Square.

Because the bike department at work pretty much shuts down if I'm not there, I picked up some extra hours at work too... Still not enough.

The sad news of the week was the loss of a family member. Connie's sister-in-law's grandfather passed away while I was away too. Don "Bompa" Griffen was a really cool guy. He served 65 years on the Hebron Volunteer Fire Dept., 25 as Chief. He loved the Sox and Uconn, and was fantastic to his family. We'll all miss him.

So basically with all of that and other stuff (kid's, soccer practice, house work).. I haven't really been able (or maybe , chose not to) to ride or work out since I got back... and lets not even talk about holiday time diets....
I need to get back at it now.... First race on the 14th (Winstead Woods) and the doing the second part of the Angel Ride (http://www.angelride.org/) on the 29th... I'll be hitting you all up for donations soon...
I'm going to need a road bike for that sucker...

Talk to you all soon!

Man Do I Take Crappy Pictures (At least when I remember the camera)

2011-04-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

So it's been a week since I've been back from Sea Otter out in California and I'm just getting around to posting about it. It really should have been sooner, but this ended up being a long week.
The kids were off from school, we took a day trip to NYC, worked some extra hours, a holiday and we lost a dear member of my "extended" family.
Nothing personal but the blog was low item on the totem pole, if you know what I mean.

The trip to California was FANTASTIC! The trip out was kinda lame. I knew I'd be in trouble when I washed my phone the night before I was to leave and had to scramble looking for a new one. The other issue, a guy who is pushing 6'5" and can't sit still is NOT built for long trips on a plane... And the food sucked.

It was great finally getting to meet everyone that, up to that point, I only had e-mail or Facebook "relationships" with. What a great group. Intelligent, funny and very down to earth, my kind of people....
The venue was just as I remembered it... gorgeous. The sun was shining and the temps were great. Perfect weather to hang out with thousands of other biker geeks like myself.

One of the big surprises were set up at the tent.... all of the stuff Airborne sent us home with....

Look at all that stuff...just for us!
Here's my stash...

Can you believe it? 2 jerseys, 2 bib shorts, one long sleeve, one downhill jersey, 2 Dickey work shirts, new hoodie and a beanie... I better sell some bikes or some one in accounting is going to be very unhappy...

Here's some random pics with some witty banter .....

Lot's of people all week end... and this was just the first row...

Eric of Airborne (and Emily Batty fanclub) fame getting one of our demo bikes ready. Digging the hat too, not bad for an Ohio guy...

Bikes, bikes and more bikes...

Goblin goodness...

Arm wrestling for handle bars at the Truvativ tent....

Beautiful blue skies all weekend...

This was on my "Bucket List" for the trip... but I chickened out

This was about 1/4 of what they brought...I wonder why Specialized bikes cost so much...?

Kevin's new best friend....

Compared to some of the stuff the other guys did, these pics are really LAME (check out their work on the Airborne FB page)... plus I usually forgot my camera most of the time.... I promise to do a better job with my photogenic eye as time goes on....

Flight back was much better then out... cute redhead sat next to me on the short leg to LAX then there was open seats on the final two legs of the trip so I could spread out a bit....
Glad to be home... I missed everyone.

Check back later for more stuff that went on out there and here at home...

Title Town, USA

2011-04-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

Well the big news around here is that UCONN men are the national champions. I'm not a true hoops aficionado but from what I watched last night (not alot) what an ugly game. But they played great D and a win is a win....

Training has hit a bit of a road block. Yesterday was supposed to be another ride but I was COMPLETELY wiped out so I took the day off and napped. I've been battling a sore throat and have been a bit run down the last few days so I'm going to go checked out and rule out anything (like Strep) before the trip. I'm thinking it's just a cold and a bit of post nasal drip...

In 8 days I leave for the big trip with Airborne Bicycles. This is going to be an epic time, bra... (sounds better in aJeff Spicoli voice...). Anyways I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone, reconnect with some old friends, ride some great bikes and check out the national scene. It's been a few years since I've been involved with anything on this scale.

When I get back, the plan is the first race of the season should be the Massosoit Lung Opener in East Taunton, Ma. We'll see how the schedule allows. Body and mind is starting to feel good, so if I can keep up the training and such, I should be ok... If anything fails, it's not the Airborne Goblin, it's the rider....

I'll check back soon...

Friday Follow-up

2011-03-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

TGIF !!! Or something like that....

I'm a bit late in getting back to everyone on the oncologist visit on Wednesday.

Things went really well there. I guess the scan last week showed a cyst on my kidney which is pretty normal. Still kind of scary after having a tumor and 14" of your colon removed, but she assured me there was nothing to be worried about.

She was really impressed that I had the energy to work out and ride as much as I am. Of course after she said that I've been a zombie and I haven't done anything the last two days...
Energy levels are still going to be inconsistent and so will my ammune system as it starts to build itself back up after 6 months of chemo.

The only black cloud of the visit was some white spots on my throat that might have indicated strep. She just went ahead and got me on some heavy anti-biotics to knock it out. Maybe I'm the carrier all this time and have been wrongly accusing my son, Luke (he's usually responsible for everything else, so why not). I never even noticed the spot were there.. go figure.

In about three weeks I'm off to Sea Otter in California with the rest of the Flight Crew. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Even though I was on the Crew last year, I obviously wasn't able to travel or actually meet anyone in person. I'm looking forward to shaking some hands and buying some people a beer or two.

Doesn't look like I'm going to race. I'll be there to soak it all in, help out in the tent and hopefully some of the other crew members can teach me the "Art of Getting Air". This trip will be a blast!

In other Airborne news...The new Crew was finally announced to the free world via their Facebook page! Check it out here ... http://www.facebook.com/Airborne.bikes.
I'll be posting their links and such as soon as everything is up and running.

Some of the "senior" members were allowed some input in the process and let me say, there were some solid submissions from everyone! Glad I didn't have to make the final decision.

That's it for today. Check back here often for pics, video and reviews of stuff that interest me (I'm waiting on something very cool from a certain bicycle company) and some ideas on how our community can do things to help others.

2011 is going to be BIG!

Monday Musings ..or... Why I should Always ride with a CamelBack

2011-03-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

Well Spring is here... or at least it was, the weather this week isn't looking all that promising...

As most of you know by now I went in for a scan last week and everything came back clear. That was great news to my ears. As I wrote earlier, I was nervous this time around.
Next step is this Wednesday when I see Dr Davis (oncologist), get some blood work done and find out the next step. It's been a long journey but maybe there is an end in sight.

Got out for a ride yesterday and I set out thinking it was going to be one of those short "too much mud and I'll damage the trail if I ride" type of outings. I couldn't have been more wrong. Conditions were perfect. The Airborne Goblin took everything I threw at it, which isn't much this time of year, and I had a blast. Couple of other riders stopped me and asked some questions about the bike and Airborne in general. This Airborne re-birth could become HUGE.

The only down fall was that, expecting a short ride, I only brought a water bottle and being one that dehydrates very easily, ran out quickly and had to cut the ride short. Next time I'll bring the Camelback...

Where's my Optimism?

2011-03-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow is another scan. For some reason I'm not feeling to optimistic this time around. No real reason to feel this way, but just a gut reaction. I know I'll be OK, and if I'm not, well then I just Cowboy Up and do what I need to do to beat it down again.

On another note there's about 4 more weeks until I'm off to Monterey California. (If I miss the trip again this year due to being sick I'm going to be sooo pissed off!). Training is going painfully slow with all the germs and disease being brought home from that Petri dish known as elementary school. I've been living on Emergin-C and Airborne (no relation to the bike company of the same name)

The Goblin is done, decaled and ready for season...
The question is, am I ready? lol

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

2011-02-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

Ask Ben Buttson... He'll tell you to get checked!

Be like me...

2011-02-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

Want a couple of free bikes?
Want to go to Sea Otter with me?
Want to live the Flight Crew life you've been jealous of?
If you answered yes to these questions, here's your opportunity...
http://www.divshare.com/download/14164991-bd4

Good luck!

February 23, 2011

2011-02-23T05:01:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's the date today.....
I haven't written in awhile only because well, there hasn't been much to say. It's hard being a writer when there's no news.

One thing that is exciting is the fact I've been officially picked up for the 2011 Airborne Flight Crew! This is going to be a really fun year working with them. As most of you know, I've been working in bike shops and the like for most of my adult life and it's been interesting talking with Jeremy over at Airborne and learning how things go "behind the scenes". From the outside it looks like a fun kick ass job, but I've learned that there are ALOT of headaches that go along with designing and then implementing cool bike ideas. You have to patient and thick skinned. Maybe if/when I go back to being a regular bike shop rat again, this knowledge will come in handy.

Still working out pretty regularly, until sickness or life stalls me out. Still trying to eat better more consistently. That seems to be my weakest link. I was able to actually get outside last week for a couple of rides, but that was just a cruel tease on Mother Nature's part. Back to our regularly scheduled 20 degree weather....I think it might be time to try a video of me working out... Kind of "Rocky/Eye of the Tiger" style....

DoIt4Others isn't really taking off like I'd hoped. Companies are really slow at getting back to me on sponsorship opportunities. I'm going to give another push in the next couple of weeks and then get it up and running officially. We'll just have to keep it "grassroots" I guess. I have a few people traing for marathons and such asking about it, so there is interest there.

My bike is stripped and back at Airborne for the "pimp my ride" decal treatment. Can't wait to see what it looks like.

On another note, 40 years ago today we were blessed with a wonderful girl who grew up to be a beautiful woman and loving wife and mom. Happy Birthday hun!

Well off to go find something really worth writing about....

What a Difference a Year Makes...

2011-02-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

Well it was one year ago yesterday that I got the news that I had cancer. It was a dark and trying time for us with my wife away attending to her dad's affairs due to his death and me up here waiting for 'the call"... it's really hard when you need to be with your spouse and you can't. Thank heaven for all the great friends and family who we are fortunate enough to have surrounded ourselves with.

So what has changed?
Well I think Connie and I much closer and more tolerant of everything in our lives. We realize how fortunate we are.
I'd like to think I have more tenacity when getting things done, but unfortunately it isn't really showing lately. I'm having a hard time dealing with the tedium of things I need to get done and accomplish. Something I REALLY need to work on.
If anyone has any suggestions on overcoming this, I'm all ears....Cabin Fever isn't helping.

My goal this week is to get all the sponsorship requests out for the new website and get that going...again, it's the tedium making this process so slow. Airborne has stepped up with their support so I owe people to add to that

Like everyone else, I'm TIRED of all the snow.... enough already, the novelty has worn off. I need to get outside and do something besides shovel. Can't even hike or anything. If anyone wants to donate a trip to someplace warm... I'm available.

Well I don't have much to write about right now, but I had to say something to mark the anniversary.
I promise to do better next time....

Snow, Strep and a Quiz....

2011-02-01T06:19:00.000-08:00

Miss the summer yet? This snow crap is getting ridiculous. Here I am typing and it's snowing AGAIN, and the kids have a snow day AGAIN and I'm starting to go stir crazy AGAIN. Looks like that except for a short break tonight, it's going to snow right though to Wednesday night. So that brings the snow total to what, close to 7 feet and it's just now February?

On a related note, strep throat has ravaged our house this year. Noah just finished up round #4 and Luke is on #2. Wifey and I each have had it once. Between snow days and strep, I don't think Noah has put in a full week of school since Thanksgiving.

On the bike/fitness front, working out has been limited to indoor stuff. Not the most ideal way of doing things but when life gives you lemons.... Maybe a video of the work outs are in order.
I'm still determined to get racing again this season and do some things to "pay it forward". I owe alot of people so I need to keep plugging away at it.

Now it's pop quiz time. The Livestrong Foundation has written a quiz to test your knowledge about cancer awareness. Take the quiz and pass it along. Taking it also gets you discounts on really cool Livestrong gear! Follow this link
http://quiz.livestrong.org/?tr=y&auid=7700239

Well that's all I got for now...See ya!

Well I finally did it...

2011-01-24T06:29:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder of where I was and how lucky I am....

What the Hell Happened? A P90X Saga....

2011-01-21T09:24:00.000-08:00

Well in the quest to get back into my normal life (riding, health and fitness, etc.) I was finally able to REALLY start P90X (A bout of strep derailed my plans to start earlier).
For those of you who don't know, P90X is the workout infomercial that you see late at night while you're eating Cheetos on the couch.

There was a time where I though I was in descent shape... maybe not stupid O'Leary shape (the locals know what I'm talking about), but able to hang with most....
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? I can't even make it through a work out now.
I guess all I can do it keep at it and keep pressing the play button.

A side note... Props to my wife who has been kicking it hardcore at the aforementioned O'Leary's 5:15 interval class! I'm proud of you!

On the bike front, the brains behind Airborne bicycles are just coming back from a press junket and they have been getting some amazing reviews... Here's one...
http://www.mtnbikeriders.com/2011/01/19/airborne-bicycles-is-in-socal-and-we-got-to-hang-out-with-them/
I truly hoped I'm picked to represent them again in '11... I owe them alot and would love the opportunity to pay them back (another reason why I'm killing myself now...lol).

On the DoIt4Others.Blogspot front, things are going really slow. Companies are making it super hard and tedious (and anyone who knows me knows I hate tedium) to solicit sponsorships. Again, I'll keep at it.

I have a surprise coming up to show you guys soon... stay tuned...

By the way... enough with the snow already!!!!

Shape of Things to Come?

2011-01-04T11:32:00.000-08:00

I have a feeling this is where the "Scope That Colon" Blog may be heading...

Stay Tuned....

Another Chapter Ends....But Another Begins...

2010-12-29T11:38:00.000-08:00

Colon Cancer 2010 has officially come to an end!

As of December 29th 2010, I had my port removed. It's a big step in the "recovery", especially mentally.
There's way too many people I need to thank and I hope you all know who you are. If it wasn't for all of you, this would have been a long tough journey.

"So what happens now in 2011?" You may ask...
Well I will defiantly keep my sunny disposition

But this year it will be about goals that I'm setting myself that I can use to help others.

http://www.root66raceseries.com/- Local mountain bike series that I can use to spread the word about what I've gone through...
http://www.seaotterclassic.com/- Hopefully going out here to race, spread the word and help out Airborne Bicycles by doing some tent time.
http://www.patspeak.com/summer/bike.php- 24 hour mountain bike race in New Hampshire... I need to get riding. I hope this to be a major fundraiser...
http://www.warriordash.com/register2011_new_york.php- A 3 mile or so run up a mountain with good friends, obstacles and beer at the end...how cool is that? Maybe have some t-shirts and info there too.
And finally I'd like to try to fit in a triathlon someplace.
I NEED to get back to working out and eating right, I guess...

The plan looks to be that I will be starting another blog (or maybe just use this one...who knows)
where people can come and read about events and the training and the groups I will be helping.
Donations will be solicited through here into a Paypal account that only I will be able to access and pay out.
I also hope to incorporate friends into this process and give them the ability to do the same... solicit, blog, etc.
Please offer any ideas and suggestions on how I can get start-up $$$, Website ideas, jerseys, t-shirts, stickers, hand outs, entry fees and/or logistics done.
Also if you have an event you would like to challenge yourself to for others, don't hesitate to ask me to get you on the website!
Thanks everyone and may you have a healthy and happy 2011!

Cancer withdrawls?

2010-12-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

Is there such a thing? I've been thinking about it alot lately. Is it possible to miss cancer? I think it might be. Maybe not the disease per se, but it might be that I'm missing something else that went along with it.

Those morning where I got up at 5 am and walked a couple of miles, or the mountain bike rides I labored through or being there for just about every drop off and pick up at school... these where all things that I fought through and frankly, are ways that I impressed myself and hopefully inspired others.

Now that I'm not doing those things like I was before (for various reasons/excuses) what am I now? Not as strong? Lazy? I think I really need to break a couple of habits I developed over this past year or so and take that "next step" in my progression and transformation into a better and stronger person.

2011 is right around the corner...wish me luck!

Health Update

2010-12-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on my health....
Feet are doing ok... Although they are killing me by the end of the shift at work. I think I'm going to have to spring for some fancy sneakers for work.
I've been getting some weird allergic reactions to something lately. A couple of weeks ago I took a muscle relaxer for my back and then got an allergic reaction. Last night when I got home I had some soup, then the same thing.
Hives, itching and swelling. Benedryl cleared it right up after a bit, but I can't figure out what's causing it. I'm going to have to start keeping a record of what I've been eating and such.

Take care!

Whoring myself out to the man....

2010-12-16T07:37:00.000-08:00

Well the title says it all... I finally went back to work for the man. In this case the man's name is

This is my second stint there...basically my job will be to build bikes that are safe enough for the kids of cheap parents.

"But Todd, you can pretty much walk into any real bike shop and get a job there...why Dick's?"
Good question. There's really two answers:
First, I don't have a personal vested interest this time around. If I was going to go to a shop I'd be feeling too guilty about taking time off and also worrying alot about all the other crap that goes along with working for a small business. I'm only working part time right now so I'll do my best job, but not take it so personally to try to change the culture of the bike dept. I tried that last time and came up getting screwed by some. I'm promising myself not to let it happen again.
Second, The hours work out better for me right now. I go in around 5 and can work until 10... I don't have to work Sundays (like I would at a smaller shop..I hate working Sundays), and the pay is better... it just works out for right now. It's nice that they need me more than I need them... Stop by the Newington store and say Hi...

Not much riding since I locked up my back a few weeks ago. Just stretching and strengthening the area. Plus, Damn, it's been cold...
Heading out to Ray's Indoor MTB park ( http://www.raysmtb.com) in Cleveland in January... should be a neat experience. Meeting up with a few fellow Airborne Flight Crew members...Expect some cool video and pics.... Connie and the kids are going to visit some of her relatives in PA on the way.

Well that's all I got for now... stay warm!

This one is a reach

2010-12-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

So what do you do when you feel obligated to keep a blog alive, but then the reason for the blog ain't around anymore...?
This something I've been wondering about the last month or so. I'm really thinking about killing it off, but another part of me says I owe it to people to keep it going. Well It's something I need to seriously think about (OK, it's not that serious...)

I guess if I'm going to keep it going, I have to take the next step in my paying it forward and write about the trials and tribulations of that. I just need to get off my ass and do it. Something to think about as this year comes to a close and a new fresh perspective arrives in 2011.

I promise to do this and keep you all posted...

Long over due update...

2010-12-02T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well I've been slacking in keeping everyone updated on what's going on here, although I know Connie has reached out to alot of you via text msg-ing.

The big news is that the last scan came back clear! I'm still cancer free. The doctor was very happy to see it and so was I considering how bad it really was. Lucky I guess.
The next step is to get my port removed. I'll be getting that done on the 29th while Connie's off from work. Not a big deal really, just a bit tired when I get home and a bit sore because it's near the shoulder and such. Next scan will be in March to see what happens.

I've been going out riding with friends on Sundays on what we dubbed the SSDR (Super Secret Dudes Ride). We've been having alot of fun out there. Although I did wrench my back this past Sunday so it's all locked up on me now. Getting better though.

I do need to get out there and find some work... Connie's been dropping some big hints...lol..
My feet numbness is getting much more tolerable now and since my scan is now clean, I feel better about going out and finding something.

The other project I've been dragging my feet about is my website. All these things take money which I don't have. If anyone knows a business that would like to sponsor it, let me know. Basically it will be a website for people to solicit donations for athletic events they may be doing for charity (think MS Walks, Cancer rides, etc.)
The working name is www. DoIt4Others.com ... Catchy, huh? (thanks Mark!)

Finally, how good did you feel about yourself when you climbed that 'big" hill in your neighborhood? This is insane...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw

Now stimulate the economy, go buy lots of gifts!

Another big milestone... and what I'm thankful for...

2010-11-23T09:15:00.001-08:00

Well tomorrow is another big step in my recovery. I go in for scan #2 to see if there anything hiding in my colon. I'm not expecting any bad news, but you never know. If there's something in there though, I think I'm prepared to to soldier on on fight it again.

Thursday, of course, is Thanksgiving. We should all be grateful for what we have. One thing I've learned, no matter how bad it seems, there is always some one who has it worse.

I'm so thankful for what I've gained this past year. The community and friends that we've surrounded ourselves with have been a blessing that I can't even describe.

I have to be thankful for my health. I know it's been a tough year, but I know plenty of others who are fighting too and compared to them, I got off easy.

There's a group of people in Ohio and some others scattered about the country who have also kept me going. Thanks go out to Airborne and the Flight Crew! Can't wait to meet you all!
I can't forget my good friend Bill and the other guys at Biker's Edge for helping me out this past year too. I hope to be able to pay all of you back next year!

The Dr's and nurses who helped us through all of this. Your help and positive attitudes even during the dark times are a true inspiration.

Finally, Thanks go out to my family. My wife was always there for me, even when other things in our lives made it hard. My kids always making me laugh (usually) was great medicine. And everyone else who sacrificed their time to help us out. I thank you all.

Happy Turkey day everyone!

I'm a video monster now...

2010-11-19T11:14:00.001-08:00

Get checked!

2010-11-16T06:58:00.001-08:00

Well it's getting close to that time of year where we all ponder what we are thankful for over the past year. I've been thinking about it for a post next week, but then it got me thinking about other things I've dealt with.
At 42 years old and in reasonable health, I wasn't your "typical" candidate for colon cancer. But some how I got it. Well my dad looked back down the family tree and found out that his dad (who no one really knew) had died from colon cancer.
I guess my point is that anyone can get it no matter how "healthy" you think you are. It's an easy test and easy to take care of when caught early.
Get yourself checked soon!

The World Lost a True Inspiration ....

2010-11-10T05:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I opened my e-mail and got a reply concerning some bikes parts I need from a friend at Bontrager. I was excited when I read that the stuff I needed was ordered and will be here soon, blah blah blah... but then the note finished up with some sad news.

Yesterday a local rider that I consider a hero passed away after a long bout with cancer.
Michael Patrick and I were at best, casual friends. We'd run into each other and have pleasant conversations and such about all things bikes and races and how he's been feeling.
It always amazed me how he was able to ride, let alone race with all he's been thru. His treatments for brain cancer were brutal but he always kept a positive attitude and never gave up.
Having gone thru treatments (and nothing anyway near as brutal as what he was going thru), he earned my utmost respect for him and what he did. He's a was a true and courageous fighter.

Because of him and people like him, I feel it's now my obligation to keep the fight alive in me and do all I can to help those who are fighting this crappy disease.

The world was a great place with Micheal and now has taken a step back with out him....
Let's all move forward a few extra steps and live life to the fullest like Michael did....

Ride update

2010-11-08T06:12:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd give an update on the 29er and what it's been up too.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to ride last couple of weeks due to weather, illness and family obligations.
Yesterday's ride was at a place call Tyler Mill which isn't terribly difficult but you're always on the pedals due to the constant acceleration/deceleration of the trail.
I have to say that this bike handled it like a champ. I finally have the handle bar/cockpit issue figured out and this bike rides fantastic!
One of they guys asked if I'd been riding because I was "on" today... I just had to smile and look at the bike. I hadn't realized that an aluminum frame could be so comfortable yet still maintain that racy characteristic that I like.
Couple of quick notes...
- Initially I mentioned that I was pedal striking with the 12" BB height. This has become a non issue now that I've made the adjustment. I appreciate the stability that the design gives the ride.
- This was my first ride on the SPID OEM saddle (what's a SPID?). It was deceptively comfortable. It disappeared under my rear end. Nice choice.
- I'm still having a hard time getting used to the 2x10. Having been on the standard 3x9 system for so long, I'm still trying to figure out shifting patterns. It'll come. I'd love to see some one come out with a slightly smaller big ring (37ish) for the 2x10 crank. That would rock!
Ride was fantastic. Great fall day that started chilly but warmed up nice in the woods. Unfortunately my feet went totally numb (from side effects) at the end of the ride so getting out was a struggle, but wouldn't trade any of it!
Sorry no pics or video. Batteries in my Hero video camera were dead. Still figuring out how to use it...lol

Great job to everyone at Airborne!

Poor attempt at an update....

2010-11-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well I know you all have been sitting patiently by the computer wondering where all the updates are... Well it's a no news is good news kinda thing...
There really hasn't been anything to report, and I'd hate to bore you all with the day to day monotony.
Here is pic of the new Airborne 29er that I'm lucky enough to ride and share with others. This is absolutely one of the coolest bikes I've been on. Airborne hit the nail on the head with this one. I saw the mock up decals for the productions model (mine is a prototype with non stock parts and decals) and I have to say it is pretty darn pimpin'...

The bad news (bad on a personal level, not business level) is that they decided not to call it the "Big Todd" (although the nickname seems to be sticking in the inter-Flight Crewm communications).
I am a bit disappointed because not everyone has a bike named after them,but I think I new deep down it was a name that just wouldn't work out. I'm really cool with it. It's been a privilege dealing with everyone in getting this bike into production.

So what's the new name you ask? Well here you go, just in time for Halloween... it's going to be called the Goblin... This isn't the logo or anything for it, I just borrowed it off of Google. The name is definately growing on me...

My health is doing pretty well. Still having the regular nerve issues in my feet and such, but I'm learning to live with it in a day to day capacity.
Halloween sucked... I'm really tired of the rudeness and the feeling of "invasion" from the out of towners. It's really over whelming. I'm thinking that Halloween next year will be spent some place else....

I don't get it...

2010-10-27T05:12:00.001-07:00

I dealt with six months of cancer and all the crappy side effects of chemo and for all intent and purposes, lead a pretty regular life. But give me a cold, and I'm knocked out for a few days.... go figure.

Anyways, because of the cold, haven't really been on my bike, but here's a pic and a video from a recent ride. I'm really not allowed to give full details yet, like the official name, but it's a great bike from Airborne... They're really up to some cool stuff over in Ohio.

This is my first time posting a video, so I don't have all the bugs worked out yet...

Anyways, just getting ready for Halloween and all the kids driven in from Hartford...
Not much else for now... but I will keep everyone posted on events taking place.

Take care!

Thought I forgot about you guys, huh?

2010-10-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

Well I'm still here, just haven't had much to talk about as of late (at least nothing worth posting).
I'm doing pretty well. Physcally I'm finding that I still tire easily. I started working out reasonably hard and consistantly, but I think I was over doing it and was having a hard time recovering. I had to back that off a bit.

Feet numbness is still around and doesn't seem to want to go away anytime soon. By the end of the day, my dogs are barking! This has made it kind of hard to go back to work because I can't be on my feet for more than a few hours at a time. But now that I know what to expect, I'll be back working for the man soon enough.

The kid's soccer season is almost over. I'm one of the coaches on Noah's team so that takes up a few days a week but it's worth it. He really enjoys it and he's taking a liking to goalie and is pretty good at it.
Luke enjoys the practice part of soccer but not the games, go figure that one out.

One exciting thing that happened is I got my new bike! It's a new design from Airborne that I had input in the design of. What's really neat, the name is the Big Todd! How cool is that?
I'll get some pics posted soon!

Talk to you all later and remember, live each day to the fullest!

Glad I didn't know this months ago...

2010-10-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

During my fight with cancer, I intentioanlly never really looked at numbers and decided I wouldn't win with numbers. It would take hard work and a positive attitude.

Well as alot of you probably know, this month is Breast Cancer Awareness month (Colon Cancer Awareness month is March) and I was reading an article about the survival rates of the different stages of breast cancer. As I read the article, I decided to look up survival rates of the different stages of colon cancer, Stage 3 in particular (which is where I was classified. One is the lowest, four is the highest).

The results? 40 freaking percent chance of survival! Only 40%? Are you kidding me.
I'm glad I didn't know that at the time, my attitude might have been completely different.

I'm not saying this to brag, but to remind people, these are just numbers. Don't let them effect your fight. You're in control, not a statistic.

How do you "beat" cancer?

2010-09-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well recently some people I know have been going through some tough times and it makes me look back and wonder how I got through cancer (besides the meds....).
Fighting diseases, inner demons and such isn't a battle, it's a war (I hate to use those terms out of respect for those in the Armed Services, buts it's all I could come up with).

I think two things help. One is surround yourself with friends and family who offer a great support system and lean on them. Don't just hide away and cower! Use them (It took me awhile to ask for help).

Second, every morning get up and look at yourself in the mirror and say "Cancer (or what ever the demon is), I'm going to fight you all day today and do my best to win!"
At the end of the day, look back and yell at the nastiness again. You might not always come out on top, but try as hard as you can. "(Demon), you may have won the battle today, but I fought you hard and I'll fight even harder tomorrow! Too many people are counting on me. This war isn't over!" Every day do that. The mental aspect of winning far outweighs the physical.

I know it sounds corny and simple, but it's the attitude you have to take.
I hope this helps explain things and maybe help others out there who are struggling.

A couple of quick updates...

2010-09-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling pretty good. The big thing I'm still dealing with is the neuropathy in my feet. I'm going to start looking for a PT job now that things are settling down a bit, but I really can't be on my feet for more than 3-4 hours at a time. We'll see where this goes.
Still dealing with this weird feeling of anxiety once in awhile that is kinda scary. Just feel it in my upper chest. Coincidentaly, it happens when the kids are around... I don't see a pattern.

Last night I was really proud of myself. As most of you know, I have been riding here and there the last six months but I've been picking up the frequency a bit. Problenm is that I need these long rests during the ride that just tacks on more time. No big deal, but not the rides of pre-cancer. Well last night I told myself there will be no stopping. If I can't make a hill, I get off and walk. If I need a rest, fine...just keep moving. except for a quick tweak of my brakes, I did just that. Kept moving. It feels good to finally be able to say that.

The other project I'm working on is getting a website up and running that will allow people to solicite donations and pledges for atletic events they are doing for charity. My first thought was to form a non-profit. Well that ain't happening. Met with a friend who runs a non profit and she showed me what I have to do. Lawyers, Board of Directors, CEO's, etc. I really have no desire to go thru all of that at this point. I need something between a true non-profit and just a hack job. I just want to keep it low key for now and legitimate. So if anyone has any ideas, let me know.

That's all for now... see ya...

Horton Hears a "What the F#@$" ?

2010-09-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Do you know who this man is? Well if not, his name is Tony Horton and he's the inventor of P90X. Most of you have probably seen the infomercial of a bunch of fit people working out while you were staying up late at night drinking beer and eating Fritos (I know I have).

Well around half through my chemo sessions I decided that I'm going to need to get myself back into fighting shape (Ok riding shape) and I want to look good for my lady again. P90X seems like a simple to follow yet intense work out, mix in riding and it's just what I need.

For the time being I'm doing a hybrid program until I'm back up to full capacity... figure a few weeks to get used to moving again...

Well today I did "Core Synergistics" and all I can say is "Holy Hell"... This guy is the mutant spawn of Satan and Jillian from Biggest Loser.

I couldn't do all the exercises and my feet felt like they were in cement shoes due to the neuropathy, but I promise to keep up with the program as best I can.

Look at that smug smile on his face....

Hmmmmmm....

2010-09-15T11:33:00.001-07:00

That's been going thru my head lately. This blog has become a big part of my "therapy" thru all of this (plus I don't have to talk to any of you people....).

So I can't get on here every few days and say "Still no cancer and my feet are numb" (great news but not very exciting), so what do I write about now?

A few options I guess..

1) I can just keep writing about what I'm/we're doing to get our lives back on track and normal again. Probably be pretty boring involving alot of work out/bike stuff, projects around the house and the kid's school stories... ehhhhh.

2) I can also just kill the blog all together but then I actually have to talk to you folks...yuck.

3) I can make up some other disease and write about that...

4) Talk about my giving back plans that I have (and my need to get off my ass to get started)... BINGO!

So start looking for a combination of #'s 1&4 and we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for all the great words of encouragement over the months and the congrats over the last week or so. I hope people read this to get inspired to start living and realize that life is short.. enjoy it!

So what's going on?

2010-09-11T04:46:00.001-07:00

Well I promised further details so here's the dealio as things stand right now.

This past Wed. was my 12th and final round of chemo and on chemo days I usually meet with Dr. Davis first and we just check things out and go over tests.
Connie and I thought it was strange that we didn't hear from him for the 5 days or so after the PetScan and leading up the appointment. It was unusual because he's very good about not keeping us waiting for news, good or bad.
Well he called us into the office and personally I saw a glum look on his face... "OH CRAP!" was the only thing going thru my mind. Well to make a long story short, he forgot about the scan and never received the results so it wasn't doom and gloom.

Obviously as most of you know by now, everything came back clean and clear and I'm cancer free.
There's always a chance that it could come back and a slight chance it could pop up some place else, but I'll be put on a vigilant screening process to combat that. In fact I have another scan right around Thanksgiving.
Vigilance is the key to fighting colon cancer. Again, I emplore you all to stay on top of it.

Last night I decided to watch the Stand UP 2 Cancer special. I wasn't going to at first because I wanted to be far away from any reminders on my last day of chemo. But then I realized that cancer is a big part of my life now and I have a responsibility to do anything I can to help wipe out this disease. It amazed me how much I ended up crying, both tears of sadness and tears of joy. There's where many stories out there that I couldn't ignore.
We decided to make a donation and again I was amazed when it took us about 40 minutes to get thru.... others must have been touched too. Thank you all.

Full day on the soccer fields today for the boys... I'll probably see most of you out there at some point...Later

We have a Winner....

2010-09-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Yep... you read that right, I beat cancer this time time around!

Further details to follow later this week!

Tuesday stuff...

2010-09-07T08:58:00.001-07:00

Well this is it.. tomorrow should be the last session! Can you believe it?
I say "should" because I still haven't gotten the results of my PetScan yet. We did do a scan before the chemo and nothing was there so I can't see why/how anything is there now, but I need to be prepared just in case.
Feeling pretty good. Feet are still numb though. I've upped my fiber the last few days, but still can't seem to kick this damn Diet Coke problem I have. I've definately limited it, so that might be a start... I can beat cancer, but not soda...go figure.

Got out for a ride with a couple of good friends yesterday. Felt pretty good all things considered.
In fact I was introduced to some new trails at the Res. I didn't know about. Marcus headed out for the first time in years and did a fantastic job! (Although he needs a new bike...wink wink, nudge nudge).

Stay tuned for some info on an Octoberfest type celebration featuring Stoney's beer and Ladder Ball. It will be held here at ScopeThatColon HQ.

I'll let everyone know what's going on when I get home Wednsday (or maybe Thursday..Noah has soccer practice that night)

Later

Friday is in the books....

2010-09-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

Well Friday is over and done with.
I was at the hospital at 6:45 for a Petscan to see what's going on inside me. A Pet Scan is very similar to a Catscan but a bit more general in where it looks. It's basically looking for inflamed molecules that a cancer cell may have attached itself to. The problem is that I won't know the results until Tuesday at the earliest (damn holidays...).
People have asked me if I'm nervous. I can't say I'm nervous, maybe aware is a better word. I'm pretty confident that I'll be ok, but if not, I'll take it on again like I did this last time.

Cancer has changed me (from an introspective point of view anyways....). I definately feel more at ease with myself...call it inner peace. I'm OK with who I am and will be stronger for what's to come later in life.

Other than that, yesterday afternoon I looked Earl square in the eye and said "I'm going for a ride!" OK... it wasn't a ride of mythical proportions, but I did get out....

Monday Morning News

2010-08-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Well today we're going USA Today-style...short bullet points with little editorial....

- Things are going well on the illness front. Big difference without the bad meds... feet still numb though.
- Connie and the boys went and visited my cousin in Boston this past week end... I was able to wash a couple of windows and rest... thanks hun!
- Turned 43 last week... I was actually pretty good with that... is 43 the new 33?
- Kids start school on Wednesday!
- Connie is off this week...
- Pic is from the famous "I quit" ride..

That's all I got... might try a couple rides this week and we should do some much needed "fall cleaning" of the house...
See ya!

Just got out of #11

2010-08-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well I'm home with the pump now. As most of you know I have this pumping Fluorouracil (or 5-FU) for 46 hours. Basically 5-FU halts and/or hinders the cancer cell's ability to divide. No division means no growth...yahoo!

When I sat down with Dr. Davis and we chatted, I mentioned my problem with numbness and tingling in my feet. This set off an alarm in his head to take me off one of the other drugs called Oxaliplatin. This is another cell killing drug, but this is the one with the nasty side effects so for this session and the last, things should be a bit easier on me compared to others. He figures at this late in the game, two weeks without the Oxaliplatin won't hurt.... I'm down with that!

Next Friday I go in for a PetScan to see what's in there and what the course of action will be when the chemo is over... 7a.m. with 8 hours of no food and a really gross drink right before.... I know you're all jealous.

Talk to you all later....

The New Face of ScopeThatColon!

2010-08-24T05:38:00.001-07:00

Well McDonald's has Ronald... Geico has their lizard, so I thought it was time that ScopeThatColon! got a new mascot, too..
Ladies and gentleman, I present the new face of colon cancer awareness....

Ben Buttason !!!!!!

This is what happens when you have boys......

BTW, Noah came up with the name himself and proudly has this picture hanging by his bed

Bad ride

2010-08-22T04:56:00.001-07:00

Well that about summed it up... for the first time since all this started, I wasn't able to complete a ride. I conciously bailed out on a great ride with my friend Mark on Saturday. I just didn't have the strength or energy.

Ok, I know the pic is a bit over the top, and all things considered, I have been doing ok in the ride department, but on the drive home, that's exactly how I felt. By the time I got home, I was alright with it and totally accepted the fact that I was still able to do a solid hour of fun riding.

Later in the day I started feeling nauseous again. It really sucks having the side effects last this long especially so late in the treatments.. but what can you do? Two more left and I'm done!

What Cancer is to Me

2010-08-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

Well only two more sessions left and there's alot we've been through. Good times and bad, but we're lucky because we've had tremendous help and have become friends with many great people along the way.
But in the end, what does it all mean to me? It's more than a physical ailment. It's mental and emotional too. Right before my last session I was able to get out for my mountainbike ride/push and I actually started tearing up thinking back to what we've been through and the fact that (so far), I've beaten it. But is that what it is? Just beating it?
Well my oldest son Noah (who's 7) defined it for me a few months back. Alot of you know this story, but it's worth repeating and and living....

Noah, Luke (5) and I were sitting one morning eating breakfast and Noah turned to me to ask if he or Lukie will get cancer. Well I was taken aback, but we always try to be open and honest with the kids (within reason, of course).
I told him the truth and said that because it's "in the family" there's a chance that one of them may end up with colon cancer.
But I wanted them to know two things..
One, they are way too young to worry about it. If it does happen, it won't be until they are much much older and there is no need for them to worry about it right now.
Second, if they do get it, by that time there will be a cure and better treatments than what they are watching me go thru so it won't be as bad.
Noah looked at me and accepted the answers... after pondering a few seconds on what I said his reply was
"Well if we do get it, I hope I get it so Lukie doesn't have to go through it...."

If we can all just remember things like this and not be selfish, the world would be even better than it is now....I think in the end, this defines cancer for me...

Full disclosure...... about 10 minutes later, Noah hit his brother in the head with a light saber ...

Things are still rough around the edges...

2010-08-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

Well no cute pictures or anything like that today....
Just the basics. I can't believe that I feel as crappy as I am after all this time. The nurses said the last few can be tough, but this tough?
Fatigue and nausea are reaking havoc with my daily goings on here at "Scope That Colon!" Headquarters but luckily I have great family and friends to help out.
I've also added a pair of old man compression socks to my wardrobe... I've been fighting foot neuropathy the last few sessions and the socks seem to be helping. I think the size I have are a size too big, but damn, they aren't cheap...

Well really that's all I got for now. Still trying to drum up more followers. We're up to 25 which is awesome, but I hope to get closer 50 by the end of all of this. Tell your friends and family!

Friday Follower Fest

2010-08-13T07:03:00.000-07:00

I need to make a push for more followers. I think the more I have, the more I can present to potential sponsors for future projects (one's everyone will enjoy!)

It's easy to do, just scroll down the right side of the screen to the Google follower button and click that...easy as pie!

Do it before I hunt you all down and kick your asses!

Rough #10

2010-08-12T04:31:00.000-07:00

Well as I sat there yesterday getting my wonderful poison cocktail, I kept thinking to myself "What the hell is up with all the nausea?!?".

I haven't really had any nausea to speak of since week two and this time it's right up there with that level. Well the nurses said they find alot of patients end up re-living their early side effects toward the end of their treatments....oh great! Just what I wanted to hear....

I feel a bit better this morning. Got up early for a quick walk and get the paper. Still a bit of acid reflux and nausea feeling, but I made it this far and I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet!

I've also been thinking about a some ink to celebrate my fight...we'll see where that leads us...

Got some great ideas for the new website's name...keep them coming (see previous post if you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about)

If you haven't yet...PLEASE become a follower of my blog. The numbers will help with some future projects I have in mind!

Talk to you all later.....

Monday Musings...on Tuesday

2010-08-10T05:07:00.000-07:00

...oh, and no pics, either. I did get out for a couple of rides this week, but decided to leave the camera (and my nifty new video camera that Airborne got me) at home. The first ride I just plain forgot, which is a good..there was nothing see there.
Second ride I decided to leave the technology at home and just enjoy the fact that I'm lucky enough to be out there riding a bike knowing I only have three chemo sessions left. There were a few times where my eyes where actually swelling up knowing that I beat this round! It's a really good feeling seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Now if I can just get my energy and strength back...I can usually do my "standard" loop in about 50 minutes or so, well now we're talking over and hour and 45 minutes...yikes!

Other news and notes:
- (Post-post edit here) I have a nifty new side effect that I'm dealing with now. My feel keep falling asleep and are always numb...yipee!
- Not that big of a response to the t-shirt give away (except for a certain some one who can't seem to figure out how to leave a comment). What gives? No one likes free t-shirts?
- Recieved a great present the other day... a bootleg copy of P90X. Looking to start that in October. Welcome to the gun show!
- I need some help with a website name. This fall I have a goal to start a website that average Joe athletes like us can use to solicite donations to give to charities. I'll get into more details later, but I need a name and I can't come up with one. I need something in the line of "ChallengeYourself4Others.com" butt (I typed butt...ha ha ha) shorter and catchier...anyone out there have any suggestions?
- Expect to see a couple of posting regarding some fundraisers I want to organize this winter. Nothing in stone yet, but I have some ideas.
- Anyone have any quick and easy (and yummy) casserol recipes they want to share (and I mean quick and easy and yummy). A family I know is going through some rough times and I want to be able to get them some meals to put in the freezer... thanks...

Well #10 of 12 is tomorrow and after all these months I still get a bit weary but I know I need to stay strong and finish hard!
I'll check in with you folks later!

Who wants a t-shirt?

2010-08-05T07:45:00.001-07:00

OK, let's try something new today..
The first 8 people who leave a comment on my blog answering the following question, get's a free Airborne Bicycles t-shirt (sorry, I only have Mediums and Larges left).
If I need to send it to you and I don't have your address, I'll get in contact with you.

The t-shirt question is...
Who is your biggest inspiration, and why?

Tell me what size you need, too...
Good luck!

Monday Madness...

2010-08-02T11:32:00.001-07:00

OK, well not much in the way of madness, or anything else for that matter.
Made it thru the week end with the usual amounts of fatigue, a bit of nausea and the fun cold sensitivity...
I guess no news is good news ... I don't think I could handle another set back at this point.
I'm hoping to be able to sneak out for a ride or two this week, which would be sooner after a session than usual. I'm felling like it might be the best thing. I'm ready to move on from this. Now I just need to get a handle on my damn diet. Too much comfort foods....
Took the kids to Six Flags last week and managed to tweak my back... great timing. Getting old really sucks.

Talk to you all soon!

#9 #9 #9

2010-07-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well we're halfway thru #9 of 12...only 3 more left which will put me at Sept 8th as my final day (hopefully)!!!
Things this time around went really smoothly. They used a numbing spray on the new port which made it painless, which was nice.
After chemo is done, there will be a couple of years of tests to make sure nothing snuck back in, and some visits to get my port flushed. They keep the port in for a few extra years just in case it's needed again.
Other than that, just expecting the usual fatigue this week end and cold adversion hanging on for about a week or so, and maybe even a bit of constipation if I'm lucky....

Speaking of fatigue, I found a new product I can highly recommend. Those of you who know me, know that I have a "problem" with diet coke, particularly of the fountain variety. I've been trying to kick the habit with crappy results. I really need the caffine but I hate coffee.
On a whim, I tried this...

It's been great. Caffine isn't the main "energy" ingredient. It's on par with some of the colas at about 35 mg but more than half that of coffes and energy drinks.

"FRS is fueled by quercetin, a powerful antioxidant found in foods like blueberries, red apples and grapes. Quercetin works by naturally triggering the body's ability to produce more real energy. The more energy your body creates, the longer you're able to push. And the longer you can push, the farther you'll go."
Yes... I cut and pasted that off the website...
Stuff works really well, check it out at FRS.com
I get my stuff at Vitamin Shoppe. I use the concentrate so I can mix it with the correct temperature water that agrees with me.
Any ways, just passing on some info.

All I got today... see ya all later

Just Some Ride pics

2010-07-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well I felt pretty good today and a friend was willing to take the boys for an all day play date, so I said what the hell, let's try a real mountainbike ride! First one in a couple of months.

For those of you who forgot what it's like to be out of shape, this is what it looks like pushing a bike up a hill....

Steep wet drop off on the blue trail... should I go for it?

Bike and rider made it fine...

Well at least someone liked the rain...

Finally made it back in one, wet piece.....

Really that's all I've got today.. I think I broke the camera (don't tell Connie).

Feeling pretty good, I hope it continues for the rest of the week end.

BTW, there's something REALLY kick ass brewing over at Airborne bikes.. stay tuned!
Look for something cool on the next post about my rides...video perhaps?????

Later gators (I'm on an '80's kick)

Pigs flew today....

2010-07-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's true... I actually got another ride in, second day in a row!!! And to top it off, it was actually almost kinda mountainbike-ish...who would have thought. Very short (hour or so) and mellow, another great time!
Yesterday and today (so fartoday anyways, I have to pick the kids up soon) have been really good compared to the previous week or so. Hopefully the tweaks in meds helped out.
It's hard to tell if it's the meds or just me mentally having enough of the depression. Hopefully a bit of both.

Take care all!

It's been a long week...

2010-07-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

When when I started blogging about what was going on, I promised myself that I was going to be open and truthful about everything that was going on physically and mentally. I know this philosophy can be hard and even embarrasing at times, but I think it serves two purposes.
One I think it's theraputic for me to just kind of "let go" and let it all out.
Second, I really want/hope that this blog can help others who need it. Cancer really sucks and every little bit helps in the end, even from some hack blogger....

Well here it goes.... This past week and change I've really been dealing with a severe bout of depression. I'm walking around with the head down and a black cloud following me around that wants to open a can of whoop ass on me.
I'm contantly exhausted and down. This has happened to me before during this, but not for such a long time. There are times where I just find myself tearing up and asking "why me"?
Usually when I get like this, a small bit of physical activity usually helps, but this time I can't even get out to do that. Makes me wonder how much of this "exaustion" is physical and how much is mental. I would bet most of it's mental.
I feel really bad for my wife. I've been a pain in the ass to be around and really not contributing much. In her words, "she's a fixer, and she can't fix this" . It's hard for everyone.

Being the "fixer" that she is, Connie took the intitiative and called the dr's and decided a slight tweak in meds is in order. Well that starts today and we'll see how that goes.
The port problem was a real set back mentally. What makes it hard is that there's only 4 more of these damn things and then that's it. But it's hard to keep your head up when it's one step foward and two steps back.

Ok, well that's it for now. Thanks for listening......

Cancer Wisdom

2010-07-14T09:59:00.001-07:00

Cancer is so limited
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot erode faith
It cannot eat away peace
It cannot destroy confidence
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot shut out memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot reduce eternal life
It cannot quench the spirit
It cannot lesson the power of the resurrection

Some updates for everyone....

2010-07-13T04:29:00.001-07:00

Well alot has been going on the last few days so I thought I'd keep you abreast of whats going on (I love that word..."abreast"...lol).

Well as most of you know, I had to get a new port put in. Alot of people ask me what a port is and what it does. Well it's a nifty little contraption that they install just below your collar bone that has a tube running/attached to an your atery. It is placed just under the skin for easy access. They give these to patients who need continuous injections without the constant bruising of going directly to a vein. It shouldn't hurt at all because it's just a small peircing of the skin then into the port. Once it's accessed and the "needle" is taped down, you shouldn't feel it at all, and that was the problem I was having. I really felt it when it went in and it was fully accessed. All is well now..I hope.

Let's see, what else is going on?

The Airborne Bicycles relationship has slowed down a bit due to MY wishy washiness on whether I deserve to get a bike from them right now or not. They are willing to send me one, but I feel guilty taking it right now knowing that I can't ride it. Hopefully things will go smoother with them later in year when treatments are over. I do have some cool shirts and a video cam from them though. Reed and Jeremy @ Airborne are two of the coolest and most patient guys I've ever e-mailed and Facebooked with....lol. I'm really hoping that I can meet them in person someday and help them develop the brand over the years.

Sunday is a busy day first we have an event we're going to try to do (depending on my health).

It's the Errace walk in Avon to help raise money for the Livestrong Foundation. They are having bike rides of various lengths a 10k and 5k run/walk. We'll be walking the 5k. I hope the kid's can make it that far....
Then it's Nenie's birthday. Nenie is the kid's grandmother and she turning 36....wink wink.

Other than that, I need to find some new wheels and a few odds and ends for my cross bike and get out and do some pedal turning .

Take care everyone!

Changes

2010-07-09T16:12:00.003-07:00

Yep, I changed the layout.
Figured it was easier for those of you with "mature" eyesite.

Honey I'm Home

2010-07-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Got back around noon from the surgery. They still insist there was nothing wrong with the old port, but I still don't believe them.
I'm very sore from where the new port was installed and they told me no heavy activity for three days or so. I was hoping to be able to do a mountainbike ride Sunday but it doesn't look like that's happening now.

If you're not doing anything on July 18th...
If you want to donate, let me know....
http://www.errace.org/

Grrrrr.....

2010-07-07T13:08:00.001-07:00

And just when you think it's all down hill from here with only five chemos left....

Well remember my little rant on how a certain nurse hurt me like hell trying to access my port?

Well today I went in and had a different and favorite nurse (despite the fact she's a Yankee fan) give 'er a go, and it hurt like hell again. There was no way I would be able to go 46 hours like that.

Went over to radiology and they x-rayed it and found nothing wrong and seemed like they were done with me.

Well after using adjectives describing the pain like "hell" and "a bitch" and just plain "damn painful", they decided it would be best to replace the port.

So if you're looking for me at 6:45a.m. tomorrow, I'll be at St Francis.

'Cross is on my mind

2010-07-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well for obvious reasons mountainbike racing didn't pan out this year, but I only have 5 chemo sessions left which gets me right out and ready for cyclocross season...!

Who's with me?

Friday Ponderings

2010-06-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

Well unless something exciting happens this afternoon, this is the last post before the ScopeThatColon! family retreat next week.
Couple of things:
- I think I'm ready to become a bike rider again. Just five chemos left and I think I'm going to have to force myself to exercise and ride through it. Enough of this always tired crap. May not be pretty, but it should work. ( And no, O.W.B.C. I won't be joining you ....)
- This fall I think I'm going to become a bit selfish and just do what I want and try to forgo a real job for a bit (Hell, we've made it this far). This includes doing the little things to help my family out too. Things have kind of fallen apart here at the compound.
- The guys at Airborne bikes are really cool and been very patient with me and my wishy washiness. Thanks Reed and Jeremy! Flight crew, keep up the good work!
- I have to get thank you notes out this week while we're away, so alot of you should expect something in the next week or so.
- Is it Setember yet? freakin' kids are already driving me crazy.
- We have a realy cool public pool here in town.
- There's no cable TV at the cottage...how the hell am I suppossed to watch the World Cup?
- Looking foward to the next week.
See ya!

So I'm not the smartest guy in the world...

2010-06-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

As most of my loyal followers have probably realized, I haven't posted in awhile. No, there's nothing really wrong with me physically (besides the obvious), but we did have some technical difficulties here at ScopethatColon! headquarters.

A few weeks back the element in our oven crapped out on us. Now keep in mind that our oven is at least 10 years old so it was the old "fix it or buy a new one" argument. Well me being the handyman that I am, decided that I'll just order a new element and replace it, how hard can it be?

Well if you second guess yourself with the wiring, it can be very difficult. I guess I crossed two of the wrong wires and sent a nice little power surge through out the house. Not only did it blow out the oven, but also fried our modem...duhhhhhh.

Anyways a new modem later and I'm back up and running so expect a few updates before the end of the week...then it's off to the Cape for a bit of highly needed and well deserved R&R with the rest of the ScopethatColon! family...putting it that way doesn't make it sound fun at all.....

Health wise things are OK. Heat is getting to me more and more and I'm not exercising at all due to the fatigue. Heavier now than I've ever been... obviously my appetite hasn't been too affected. I'm trying a new energy drink that seemed to have worked for Lance Armstrong, so I'll report on how that goes.

Last session an "intelligence impaired" nurse I got seemed to have missed the center of my port when she stuck me with the needle, so that hurt like hell and is still a bit sore... Won't be using her again....

Well that's it for now...see ya

Not what I expected...

2010-06-11T04:46:00.000-07:00

Well as I come up on session #7 I've been looking back at all we've been through and realize a few things.

This is a much harder disease than I thought it would be. It's not like the flu where you're sick for a couple of days than you get better. This is a long played out stuggle.
One thing that amazes me me still after 3 months is how much of a mental struggle it is. You have to be sharp and positive mentally no matter what your body says to get through the daily grind. After this, all those "minor" stuggles I bitch about are going to be a piece of cake.

I also didn't realize how fatiguing it would be. In the beginning I had all of those problems with the side effects (I've sincegotten straightened out) but now it's just constant state of fatigue. I was ready to become everybody's hero and ride, work out and maybe race during all of this. I can't say I failed at this goal, but I've definately had to "tweak" my plans a bit....
Went for my normal walk last night and that seemed to be a struggle from the beginning. It will be interesting to see what happens when/if I try to ride this week end. But you know what, I'm out there and can enjoy the great outdoors with a new perspective. Cancer or not, there's alot of people who can't or won't try.

People who know me well know that I have a running joke that "I hate the people" (Years and years of retail do that to you...). This whole experience is starting to turn me (not completely, just a bit). Between the doctors and nurses, friends and family and everyone in the community who have sent well wishes, prayers, food, smiles and so much more our way... it's really easy to see and appreciate the good and the beauty in the world around you.

Cancer is a crappy disease, but I think I might be lucky to have it....

Wow it's hot....

2010-06-07T08:04:00.001-07:00

Well due to the holiday, my "bad days" ended up this past week end... god did that suck!
It was bad enough enough that I had absolutely no energy, but then put the feeling that I was in a shower on top of that due to the humidity and UGHHHHHH... long week end.
Big difference today with a good nights sleep and cooler air, not great, but alot better.

Nausea doesn't seem to be much of a factor anymore, just extreme exhaustion and still fighting the cold neuopothy. I did hop in the pool real quick this week end to drop the core temp down and that didn't bother me too much temp. wise, so that's a bit promising.

It now helps knowing what kind of pattern I'm in and what I'll be up against folowing chemo sessions.

Still wish I had more energy though....

First Milestone!

2010-06-03T04:55:00.001-07:00

Well it's official, this chemo session marks the half way point!

The other good news is that after the next session, I only have to see Dr. Davis every four weeks (still have to do the chemo though).

I did, however, discover one more side effect. My jaw joint hurts like hell when I chew. One of the nurses said she's heard it happen.

Other than that, it's business as usual. Because I went on a Wednesday instead of a Monday, this week end will pretty much be a wash. It works out ok since Connie will be home and I can sleep.

Talk to you all later!

Got meds....?

2010-06-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

Well I did a little experiment this weekend and tried not taking my "mood" meds and I could definately tell the difference.
I was much less "inspired" and less energetic and on myself for what's going on,
especially after my ride on Saturday.
I need to accept the fact that it might be awhile before I'm back to where I was physically and I just need to stay strong mentally to get thru this.

Sunday Stuff

2010-05-30T13:27:00.001-07:00

I invented a sport today, it's called Mountain Bike Walking.
Here's what you do, First, get cancer.
Second, load up your bike and drive to your favorite riding destination.
Lastly, push your bike around your favorite destination due to lack of energy and strength...fun times.
Well it wasn't all walking, but there was alot of it this morning.
I don't know how much of it is physical and how much is mental, but it sure gets frustrating....

Hey all....

2010-05-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Not a whole heck of alot say the last few days. Pretty much standard stuff.
Bad news...because of the holiday, I go in on Wed. this week which means a shortened "good week" going into the next round.
Good news.... It's #6 which menas we're halfway there!
Got out for a ride yesterday, hope to be able to squeeze a couple more in before Wed.
Other than that, we're still stunned and grateful for all that everyone did for us last Saturday. It's an experience that none of us will forget.

THANK YOU ALL!

By popular demand...

2010-05-23T05:42:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU to everyone...words can't begin to say how I feel....!
This is my thank you from the fundraiser...keep in mind that it was meant to be read aloud by me, not printed... So ignore any mistakes...

On Februrary 4th when Connie and I found out that I had cancer, the one word that always came to mind was "stunned". Getting cancer was never anything that I would have thought could "get" me. Now I can say what has happened here tonight has stunned me also.
When I first heard what was being planned, my intitial thought was "That’ll be fun, friends getting together having a few cocktails and some laughs. I never thought it could balloon into something like this. I’ve had these feelings of overwhelmingness, a sense of embarassement, and awe.
There are some people here tonight I need to thank. In not really knowing the full scope of what people have done to put this together, I know I won’t mention everyone that needs to be, but I’ll do my best to hit the highlights.
Stacey and Scott Tinker....Just the work and the effort that you could for someone is unbelievable. I’ll always be grateful
Deb O’Leary... Not just for this, but also for the fun chats we have at the playground in the morning which helps makes things easier.
Fellow stay at home dad Jim Bankowski, who couldn’t be here. Always there for a laugh...
Nicole Hart, Kathie Monroe, Teri Carlson, Nicole Sidwell, Pam and Dan Harrison, Nicole Mitchell, Nancy and Jim Arnold, Michelle Zwick, Deanna Cawley, Caryn Russell and Kim Joyce. Judy Carson of Savory Palete... all I can say is WOW to what she’s done.
Scott Guay for always being around so we can bust each other’s chops.
And I know there are A LOT of others, but we’ll be here all night.
Everyone who donated items or baked food to plump me up, or called or wrote or have watched the kids so I could nap and on and on.
A big thank you.
I want to thank my family. My dad comes up every over Monday and spends the day tending to the kids so Connie can be there at the chemo sessions with me. This is our quality bonding time... On Weds, my Uncle Gary and Aunt Sandy pick up the kids at school so I can make my appointments and then be able to nap.

And there is a reason besides the obvious on why I think so highly of you all. As much as this disease blows, I almost feel lucky to have it. Over the years I’ve gotten complacent in my life... wife , kids and life tend to do that... And I’ve taken a lot for granted. Everyone here is an inspiration for me not only to beat this, but to appreciate everything I have and get more out of my and other’s people lives. A lot of what comes out of tonight will help me accomplish that.
You are all an inspiration to do things and to continue to pay life forward, and help those not as lucky as I am, and that’s what I’m the most grateful for.
Most of all, I need to thank my wife. 15 years ago when we got married, none of this was part of the plan. I know you have to find out a lot about how I feel from others or on my blog, But I hate to worry you. We’ve always stuck by each other, and you’ve always done it with a strength and tanacity that I admire. Thanks for choosing me.
Cancer is a really tough disease. I’ve always said that it’s 80% physical and 20% mental. I might even bump that up to 90/10 as I get further into treatments. The 80% kicks the crap out of you but it’s the 20% that gets you through it. It can be a lonely disease, too. You just feel like crap all the time and no one really "gets it" unless they’ve been through it themselves. Everyone in this community has made the 20% much easier...

Cheer for Me!

2010-05-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.livestrongaction.org/rideforlivestrong

Find my name at the bottom of the page and help raise money for cancer research! Best of all, it's free!

Search Under "Todd" then scroll down to "Todd H. rides for me..." No idea why my full name doesn't work
Here's the link to me...
http://www.livestrongaction.org/bike/todd-rides-for-me

More on "why I hate Most people..."

2010-05-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here is what happened according to MDC records

) some details about the incident ( reportedly part of the public record.. but verbally transmitted to the Recreation Committe at tonight's meeting).a) incident happened in 2002b) riding a mountain bike - she was/is a very athletic individualc) Racing a friend (male) .. he took the fire road west to east that has Overlook road intersection on the left.. she took the Red Road ( black top) going 'backwards" .. down the hill and hit the closed barrier ( yellow painted pipe) at a high speed. She admitted she was racing, not looking up and hit the barrier. Said she didn't know there was a barrier there. Her friend said they were racing and she was at fault.d) broke some vertebrae ( don't know the full extent of the injuries)- but apparently is once again very active athletically.e) MDC records show the barrier was always locked long before the incident and was only opened for special events.f) no info about an appeal of the judgement.

WTF is wrong with people today?

BTW....

2010-05-18T11:53:00.001-07:00

My props to the ladies...

You know who you are

sorry for the poor pic...

Monday update.. on Tuesday

2010-05-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well Monday's done and really nothing to report.
Everything looks good so far, sat there for 3 hours...blah blah blah.
I asked the doctor "how do we know if this works?. His reply? "You don't get any tumors again"
Simple and makes sense, I never thought of it that way, but I like it. I'm not a statistic with percentages labled to them, so I'm ready to keep going.
He was surprised that my weight has been maintained. I had to explain to him it's not "good" weight, it's from all the wonderful "comfort" foods from my fantastic family and friends...lol.
He laughed and said he understands now.

Went out for a ride my pre-chomo ride on Sunday. I'm definately getting weaker and more tired as this process goes on. The though of racing is definately out for the time being. I guess I should just be happy and feel lucky enough to be out there. There's alot of people who can't, or won't, be doing this.

Here are some pics:

Why does it take D.O.T. forever to finish their bridge projects?

The work of some of Glastonbury and Hebron finest grafitti artists...

My attempt at riding over a bridge while I take a pic... not so great idea...

Well not much else to say... fun party coming upon Saturday... Can't wait to see old friends and meet new ones....I just hope I'll be able to stay up for the whole thing....

Well it's Friday...

2010-05-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

The good news it that I'm feeling pretty descent last day or so. Energy levels seem to be coming back, Might even try a couple rides the next few days.
Bad news is that the chemo cycle starts again on Monday. Knowing you only have 2 days left weighs pretty heavy on the mind. If I think about it too much, those higher energy levels seem to magically dissappear...lol. Gotta stay strong.
I need to tweak my diet, too. Too much comfort food and not enough of the good stuff for me lately....
Still not surre if the race on the 23rd is going to be doable for me. It falls right at the end of the chemo week and the side effects are lasting longer everytime.
To the ladies of O.W.B.C., I promise I won't let you down and get in a few races during all of this!!!
Enjoy the week end !

Why I hate most people

2010-05-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Notice I said "most"....
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hc-bicyclist-jury-award-mdc.artmay10,0,6140008.story

Turn around day

2010-05-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well it seems that after the chemo, we sit and wait for the "turn around day". That's the day where I start to feel reasonably normal again and side effects aren't around. I think yesterday was it. Not overly tired, got some stuff done around the house and didn't fall asleep at 7pm.

Seems the turn around days are getting later and later in the cycle though....

Cold sensitivity is still there though in my fingers, but I can tolerate cold drinks again... Diet Coke, here I come! LOL....