The Cycling Dude

November 12, 2010

Why The Cycling Dude Mattered, and Why I Am Damn Well PROUD OF IT!

Dear friends, and fans, of this blog, and anyone who stumbles upon it via Google, other Search Engines, or some website that still links to me....

It has been almost 3 months since I retired this blog to little notice, or fanfare...

I never intended to post here again.

But God, Fate, or something far more complex, had other ideas.

Earlier this week, on my other Blogs, I revealed to my small, but growing readerships, something that has been a part of my life since 2 weeks after I announced the closing of this blog:

50, Alone and Newly Unemployed in Ca., With the Rest of My Life Ahead of Me: Now What?

This morning a comment was posted, to a 5 1/2 year old post on this blog, that brought tears of pride to my eyes, during this very trying time in my life.

This comment is the single greatest Honor that I have ever received for my efforts with this site...and makes all of it worth the effort.......

Nov. 12, 2010:

Thank you for honoring the shop I have grown up in and love. We are still an old time shop but are trying to keep up with the times with the Kopp's Cycle Website

Charles Kuhn - Owner

The Comment was left here: Kopp's Selling Bikes since 1891 - A story I posted in March 2005

Thank you Mr. Kuhn...I am grateful, beyond mere words, for your kindness. ;-D

As a History Buff there is one aspect of the Kopp's site that makes it very special, and extremely important:

The History Page.

Mr. Kuhn has written an absolutely wonderful essay, and included, a few amazing, and beautiful, old photos that will blow you away.

The most important of the photos is the one of the store (1901 !), on the main page, that entices you to read his essay.

There are other photos of some of their vintage Items for sale and other things including a letter from the 1930's, that can be seen on a seperate Photos link.

I hope he plans to share more of the store history on his site in the future.

Such a past should be proudly shared for all History, and Cycling, Buffs to enjoy, and not hidden away. ;-D

One more thing... As long time readers know I made a special project of highlighting the oldest cycling shops still in business, and that had an online presense, and had a list in the sidebar (Now found on Musings of a Mad Macedonian), and wrote a series of blog posts about them, which you can explore at your leisure ( Meet The Elder Statesmen ( and Women! ) ), and it pleases me no end that, at long last, that list can finally, finally!, have a link to a website for the Kopp's Store. ;-D

Out of respect for Mr. Kuhn, and his comrades on my list, I plan to keep the series going on Musings.

 ***UPDATE - 11/13/10***

I wrote Thank You letter to Mr. Kuhn, and he very graciously replied.

As well as telling him about this post, I wrote:

Street Seens: Cats Outdoors, Thru the Daddy Cam 

Seen & Heard: Critters With Cats on the Brain 

Sincerely yours, Kiril Kundurazieff

His reply:

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.
 
I use google to alert me of new posts that mention Kopp's and your blog post got flagged so I checked it out as well as a little of the rest, I will have to check out the links you sent.
 
I ask anybody that stops in the shop to let me know of any older outfits and so far none have.
 
I can tell you love bikes, cats and life and wish you the best of luck.

You seem to be someone who experiences life while the rest of us just live.
 
Best,
Charlie

***END UPDATE***

****MARCH 5TH, 2011****

 Hello, again!

Regular readers of this blog may remember those times, over the years, when I covered the cycling related work (Among other health related interests) of Randy Eady, of Glider Rider, founder of Kosharey Rhythms Therapeutics, and Seat and Feet, and writer of a blog for Children & Nature Network.
 

Our friendship goes back to 2006, and we finally met in March of last year.

My report of that day, complete with photos, and links to all previous stories, can be read, beginning here:

Summit in San Clemente: Cycling Dude Meets Glider Rider to the Sound of Beating Drums

I'm listed on LinkedIN, as is Randy, and it was there that Randy did me the kindness of giving me my first "Recommendation", on Friday.

 

Kiril is a talented, responsible, ethical, professional writer. I've frequently relied on his technical writing skills (in numerous social media platforms) to represent a balanced and -- humorous -- perspective to expand/add tremendous value to the underlying message I'm delivering in health and sustainable lifestyle advocacy. Great work that can be easily sampled at various blog sites he maintains and supports.

A very cool Birthday Present, indeed.

Thank You, Randy, your support, and encouragement, means a lot to me.

 

November 12, 2010 in Life, The Bike Trail, and Everything, Meet The Elder Statesmen ( and Women! ), The Opinionated DUDE | Permalink

August 15, 2010

When Asked, The Reader of The North American Bicycle Atlas Shrugged, and Replied, "Who is The Cycling Dude?"

JANUARY 5, 2003 TO AUGUST 15, 2010 

 

THANK YOU

 

HAPPY CYCLING !!

August 15, 2010 in Bicycling Humor, Life, The Bike Trail, and Everything | Permalink

July 31, 2010

Cycling Dude Goes SPLAT! Bike Clings to Life in Intensive Care!

Hello, everyone!

Not sure how many folks know I'm still hanging in there, but I wanted to tell you that despite the best effort of a local street in Long Beach, Ca....I ain't dead yet, and neither is my Trusty Steed of a decade, Cleopatra! ;-D

Hate to disapoint anyone, hee, hee! ;-D

My bike, "Affectionately knows as "Cleopatra", is over 10 years old, and in good shape for her age, having only endured one complete working on in all those years.
 
I was riding down a residential street, in Long Beach, last night, on my way home from work about 1120pm when, despite my lights, I somehow found a little bump in the road, at 5mph, that sent me head over handle bars to the pavement.
 
When I got up, and looked at the bike the front wheel, and part of the fork were lying away from the main bike, at a clearly unnatural position.

Clearly, we had a problem. ;-D
 
The Fork looked like someone had taken a saw to cut it completely thru.
 
 Whether the bump caused this, or finished the job of a developing crack that I was unaware of, I do not know.
 
My left shoulder is so sore I can barely lift it to type, my left elbow has a scrape, my left hip is a little sore, too.
 
I had to carry my bike maybe 2 miles, along Xemino Ave. to 7th Street, to the bus stop.

(NOTE 8/2 7pm - Unless they moved Wilson High School further west I mistyped when I originally wrote Cherry! - I did not hit my head, honest!)

The people on the residential street where I took my little tumble didn't seem to notice the ruckus out their window despite one Dog expressing his opinion, and the home directly by me having lights on.

I folded the bike as you see in the 2nd picture, slid my right arm thru the spokes to grip the fram, and staggered off to try and catch a Long Beach Transit Bus to my OCTA connection.

Staggering up Xemino I was passed by a dozen cars, and 2 bicyclists.

The nice looking cyclists even waited at the same corner I did, for a light, but didn't give me a 2nd look, despite the condition of my bike, and my moaning in pain. ;-D

 

I talked the Long Beach Bus Driver into a ride to the stop where I always catch the bus back to Santa Ana, across from the VA Hospital.
 
The OCTA Driver didn't grasp the seriousness of my situation, and why I told him the bike would not sit on the rack, but needed to be allowed inside the bus.
 
 

He had to call his supervisor, even though he, as the last bus, could have taken me on without extra OK, and his skeptical tone in talking to the super pissed me off, and so I waved the 2 halves of the bike at him, asking him if he noticed anything the matter, and if need be I'd talk to his super.

 

I told him that I'd been riding busses 40 years, more than 4 times longer than he'd been driving them, and seen more than he'd ever imagine in his philosphy, so don't even get me started. ;-D

This pissed him off but, in the end I got my ride, and the 2nd shorter bus ride to 3 blocks from my apartment. ;-D
 

Upon arriving home I hugged the Kitties, fed them got in the shower, then fed myself, and checked my e-mail, before heading to bed.

The Kitties are really good nurses, hee, hee! ;-D

On Bike Ride Daddy Goes SPLAT! Nurses Nikita, and Elvira, are on the Case!

My shoulder, while extremely sore, shows no sign of bruising as of this evening, but I am considering x-rays to be sure nothing serious happened.
 
I may have gotten off lucky where the bike is concerned.

This morning I took pictures, and took them to the shop at the REI, in Huntington Beach, for an initial opinion.
 
 I may only need to get a new front fork, and not have to go without a bike for long.

Most importantly I won't be faced with the prospect of having to go without, or buying a new bike

They told me that, to have a better idea, I'd need to bring the bike in so they could look at the poor dear, then order a fork, keep the bike there for a week until the part arrived, and then install it.

I'm look at spending close to $100 for parts, and labor.

I may have to put this off for a few weeks, due to other things going on, but I can still take the Long Beach bus on that leg of my commute in the meantime, so I am fine with that.

***UPDATE - 8/2***

Thank you, everyone for the advice, and support!

Due to advice given me by friends, and readers, including a fellow bike rider, I decided to sally forth to the ER yesterday afternoon....

 

I got there at 1pm, was out by 315 or so.

They took xrays of my shoulder, and the area above my heart, near the shoulder.

I also was given an EKG.

The verdict?

No broken bones.

Just Muscle Sprain up the wazzoo. ;-D

The fact that I could raise my arm straight up, despite the pain, was a positive sign of recovery beginning to them.

The sore butt cheek was more muscle soreness.

I would not have been walking if there had been a broken hip or other damage.

They told me to take some Advil, Tylenol, or Motrin, for the pain if I feel the need, and gave me some fliers about Home Care of the Sprain, and the Elbow Abrasion.

I showed them pictures on my Camera of my "In Home Nursing Staff", and gave them a report of their treatment, and they praised them for their good work, and encouraged them to keep it up. ;-D

***END UPDATE***

 

July 31, 2010 in Life, The Bike Trail, and Everything | Permalink | Comments (10)

July 25, 2010

Hi! I'm Alive, Remember Me?

Anyone miss The Cycling Dude? Notice I was gone?

Hee, hee!

When last I checked in I was in the midst of a Medical Testapalooza, and about to go on vacation. ;-D

Nikita, on his blog, was handling all the blogging in this household this month, and things just got more interesting by the day. ;-D

I just kept up with my Doctor appointments, and went to work, as well taking a day trip to LA, Venice Beach, and the Santa Monica Pier. ;-D

Oh, and I got a chest cold, and resulting cough, with the cough refusing to go away to this day.

Among the things Nikita blogged about:

Making Your Own Way in the World of Cat Blogging

Newspaper Editor To CB Repurrter "I Really Do Hate Being Politically Correct"

The biggest event of the month so far, however, was a little bit of Domestic Upheaval that has been onging since July 11th...

Intruder Alert! Daddy's Found a Kitten! Or Vis a Versa, I don't know! ;-D

Yup, I'm a Father, again. ;-D

And, like any Father with a baby in the house, all of a sudden, everything revolved around the little one. ;-D

I am riding the bike 5 to 10 miles a day, on work days, as part of my commute, and even rode my bike, one night, from work, all the way from Long Beach to Santa Ana, about 22 miles. ;-D

***Medical Update - August 6th***

Tilt Table Test, today, is Latest in Effort to Understand What Happened with My Seizure:

First the Bad News....

They did not drug me to the gills, or turn me upside down, as I was led to believe. ;-D

 

I was sorely disappointed. ;-D

 

The Good News....

 

They DID fill me with something that made my heart rate go up, and they DID set me, head up, at a 70 degree angle for a while.

 

In the quest for signs of Neurocardiogenic Syncope (Mimics a Seizure)....

 

I did not faint, in fact the doc (The Cardio Docs Partner), her hospital assistant, and I, chatted the whole 2 hours.

 

My results were negative, the test was a completely normal event....

 

In other words....BORRRING. ;-D

 

I'll have a follow-up meet with the Cardio Doc himself, and will let the Neuro know the results, and see what he thinks.

 

A couple of weeks back I met with the Neuro, who said that there was no sign that my brain was the source of the Seizure

 

I will probably stay on the Anti-Seizure Med until the end of the year, as a precaution.

 

The idea is that over the last 2 months of the year the regular dosage will be gradully reduced to nothing.

 

1 event is worth looking into, 2 events is a trend, and of serious concern, so if I have another episode, in the next 5 months, I will let the Neuro know asap.

 

Maybe I just  had a 1 time fatigue, and stress induced, faint, and no real seizure at all?

***End Update***

How soon will I return to regular blogging?

I don't know.

A lot of things going on, and to think about, particularly the fact that Nikita's blog is going gangbusters, my other blog is also getting new attention, and there are a ton of respected, well known, knowledgeable, cyclists with blogs, out there, that do more than I will ever be able to do, to spread the word, and have interested audiences this blog has never had, in over 7 1/2 years, or ever will.

July 25, 2010 in Life, The Bike Trail, and Everything | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 28, 2010

Well, OK, Tests say my Heart is Behaving, and I Can get back in the Saddle

Since I last reported in an MRI was on the agenda, and later so was a Treadmill, and a Holter Monitor.

This post on my other blog, last week, tells the details of taking those tests:

The Poking, and Prodding, Continues

I've been riding my bike again, for one direction of my work commute, 5 miles, and last wednesday night, before my vacation started, I rode the full 22 miles from Long Beach to Santa Ana. ;-D

The upshot of the tests seem to show that my heart was not the cause of my seizure, and I can get back in the saddle, and ride, as well as walk, and hike, as part of an effort to fight high Bad Cholesterol, and lower my weight.

June 28, 2010 in Life, The Bike Trail, and Everything | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 08, 2010

We Won? Really? Well, I'll Be!

I don't blog about bicycle racing much at all but, as regular readers know, I love history! ;-D

This morning a very cool story has come out of London.