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Cleared to Ride!
Just got back from a consult. Mr surgeon seems quiet proud of his work. Says I need to massage the scar to soften it up (any takers?). Most importantly says I can go riding again! 
In fact, he says masses of MTB riding will help[1]!
Excellent! 
[1] OK, that last part is a lie. 
Wheres Gilbo?
Hi all,
How is everyone? sorry havent been out on the trails lately (although with all the rain im sure there hasnt been much action anyway). Im currently out with 2 injuries.. not me personally but the bikes. For those that remember I blew the rear shock on my XC bike before Xmas, well I found out today it is totally unrepairable and am now waiting on a replacment to be sent from Taiwan. Remebering that this happened in mid-December?!? Thankfully will be replaced under warranty but a helluva time to be off the trails.
Wind Training
A few people have mentioned using the wind trainer lately, so why not add to it? Aside from the rain, I can't ride on the trails right now due to injury. Doesn't stop me grinding away on the trainer though so have had one set up in the lounge for the last couple of weeks.
Dunno about anyone else, but the whole, "No pain, no gain" things sits well with me. I believe you have to push your body in order to improve it so sitting there pedaling away comfortably won't cut it. Sure, you will probably maintain some level of cardio fitness this way, but it might be nice to improve somewhat. Boring as it is, this is all I've got right now, so I tell the story of my latest 'rides'...
The rain.......
The rain on the weekends is the worst...
Made it on Sunday morning for a few hours without getting soaked.
The trails are wet so will hit the trainer for 20mins.
Cabin Fever
With Andrew's moment of clarity today, he has described for me what I have been feeling for ages. Cabin fever has truly set in.
After having a really tough time of it at work the last few weeks, there really has been no time to do any weekday night riding. And with all the other things on over the last couple of weeks, the weekends have at best only contained one ride. Last weekend there was none!!
Recovery is a biatch 2
Update 7th Feb 2008
So this afternoon I went out to see the surgeon CT scans and x-rays in hand feeling a little nervous. Its been a long time off the bike and the last thing I wanted was news of another operation and three to six more months off the bike.
Scans below....
My progress has been ok, I now have most rotation back and I can totally straighten and bend my arm....as I walked in I thought to myself "be positive! there is nothing to be nervous about, your recovering well damn it!"
Wildside is finished!
I am pleased to report that the old man and I have struggled our way through 220 odd km of Tasy's hardest terrain over 3 and a half days. I now have a black toe, a gravel rashed shin and a reasonably deep cut on my elbow. Of course I'll put up pictures when I get back home. [ed: Wildside 2008 Gallery]
We finished 394th and 377th out of 425 riders for Dad and I respectively. I was just happy to have finished it but I do have to say that we were pretty much the only ones to do it on flat pedals and I was the only one to do it on a 7 inch travel freeride bike. That said, there were some incredibly hard core guys riding singlespeeds so I'll just keep my winging to myself i think.
The scenery was absolutely fantastic over the few days and to this point I am still trying to decide if Wildside 2010 will make its way onto my calender or not. Ill have to make some sort of pain vs gain ratio and decide!
Now just only pushups left to do until kapooka given that my cardio should just about be upto scratch by now!
stromolo
So im writing this from and incredibly slow connection on the way to tasy on the spirit of tasmania.
Just thought id write in and say that I will defs be going back to stromolo some time in the near future. We passed through on the way down as we had to make a detour to Canberra anyway and the old man and I couldnt resist having a look. Soon, having a look turned into gearing up and heading down the hill.
Fright of my life
Well Loz and I went for a ride in Cascades this morning. Bumped into Sean, Steve and Bruce at the head of the trail too.
Anyway on our way out of there we were heading down this slope and Loz was leading me by probably 2-3m when he shouted out something. I thought he said spiders as he always does when we ride at night in summer. But nope turns out he was yelling SNAKE!
Well Loz nearly ran over its tail and the snake doubled back to have a go at him as he pedalled furiously away.