New Whip or A Sad Realization

Things have been pretty ho hum over here.  None of the usual fun and games.  Not even much unusual fun and games.  The leg is improving, day by day.  Back on the bike starting today, no standing allowed, only seated and no hills (is that really riding a bike?).  Got hooked up with this sweet Donjoy leg brace.

As you can see it contorts my leg in strange ways and looks very very hip.  I like to stay ahead of the hipness curve.  I was supposed to get a custom brace (only thing custom is the color, apparently) but my insurance company balked (imagine that) and stuck me with a standard off-the-shelf unit.  Such is life.  At least I can ride and hike.  The standing up can wait a few weeks/months and the pushing around of one gear will have to wait even longer.  My Physical Therapist recommends I skip cyclocross season.  I seriously considered finding a new PT when he espoused that advice, but I understand where he's coming from.  It's an 18 month recovery for the ACL and even if everything goes well I'll be hard pressed to nail the dismounts and re-mounts with this brace on my leg (or will I?  Stay Tuned).

The only hope I have of catching cross season is a geared bike.  I was at the shop today, trying to get a new fork installed on the beater (now known as the rehab bike) and Travis showed me an as yet unreleased Cyclocross Specific bike from Specialized called the CruX.  It's badass and cheap ($1400-$1800) which means it's met all of my criteria.  Only question mark for me is the downtube cable routing.  That area always gets hammered by mud, I would have routed it on the top tube.  Comes out in July, hoping to have one bought, built and shipped to CO by the time I arrive there for Rockygrass Academy week. 

In the meantime I can get stoked about a few other things:

New Whip:

I've had my eye on my dad's 2000 4Runner ever since he got it and after he saw the condition of the Carolla, he drew the line and made us take it.  I think he just wanted an excuse to get a new one.  Now I've got my eye on that one.  I see a pattern emerging.  The point is I've got a serious rig again, something I can drive over things with and fit a bunch of crap in without risking breakdown.  Sarah's basically made it her own so most of the time I'm stuck driving our '93 Tercel, but I plan to get a trunk rack for it and that baby hauls ass and gets 40+ mpg so I can't complain. 

Swimming:
Three days a week I've been hammering out laps in the pool.  I'm finally getting where I can swim without investing every ounce of focus on the act of not drowning and can actually slow down and relax.  I'm getting used to the water in the ears but I'm still having a hard time getting used to the old men sitting around watching TV naked in the locker room.  I hope when I'm 60 I have something better to do than watch other men change.

Yoga:
It's no secret I dig yoga, but this accident has given me some clarity about risk management.  Yoga's pretty much the safest thing I can think of and it feels absolutely incredible.  I'm even considering getting a teaching certification at this place.   Seriously.  I know what you're thinking, and yes, I will wear a leotard and smell like scented oil.  It's not that different from wearing bike shorts and embrocation and certainly no stranger than racing Cyclocross.

Weight Loss:
I lucked out and didn't put on any weight these last few months.  I actually lost 15 lbs, most in the form of muscle, but at least I have a decent starting point and I'm optimistic I'll be able to keep it around 175 through the summer.  The swimming and yoga are helping, the one beer per night rule is helping, going semi-vegetarian is helping (helping a lot of things, actually).  The lack of long runs, long hikes or long rides (long anything) and constant touring (I've been on the road since the first week of February) is not helping.

Free Time to Clean House:
Sarah and I are spending July/August in Colorado.  We decided to do it and we're making it happen.  It's strange how things that seem so far-fetched fall into place when you decide you're going to do it, no exceptions.  This coincides perfectly with the delivery of the new bike (whatever it's called) and the green light from my PT to run again.  The timing couldn't be better as July/August absolutely blows in Nashville.  This may precipitate a permanent move, time will tell, but we're treating the next two weeks like we're moving so I've put a mess of bike parts up for sale and a massive Craigslist campaign and garage sale will follow.  Hopefully this will free up some capital (for the bike) and free up my mind from all the crap we've accumulated.

The Infamous Stringdusters
We put out our new record, Things That Fly, in April and things are flying.  Shows are selling out, crowds are going crazy and the band is achieving new levels of musical freedom onstage and personal enjoyment offstage.  It's all coming together.  Now if I could take a bike on tour and take Cyclocross Season off, I would want for nothing else.

The Festy Experience
The Dusters are throwing our own Festival in October on the Concert Grounds at Devils Backbone Brewery outside Charlottesville, VA.  Music, Beer and Outdoor Lifestyle all collide in this weekend event over Columbus Day Weekend.  There's even a Mountain Bike race and a Trail Run that weekend less than a mile away.  This is perfection.  It has it all and this is only half the lineup!  Tickets go onsale June 11th...