ACL primer

I have been remiss in keeping up with my blog, to all my loyal readers I must profusely appoligize.
The reason behind my absence is of course that I had ACL reconstructive surgery. Please follow along with me as I give you the nuts and bolts of the whole thing. Some descriptions may be graphic in nature, so you might want to put down that muffin while reading.

This diagram shows all the parts of the knee that we will be dealing with today. My ACL or anterior crutiate ligament was snapped in half on a ride that happened in mid August. For a recap of that event you can read about it here. The Articular cartilage was nicked and in need of repair. They used a newish technique called micro fractures wherein the surgeon drills tiny holes in the bone hoping that the scar tissue that forms will take the place of the cartilage. Yummy. My lateral meniscus was folded in half and a third of it had to be removed.

That same knee had been repaired back in 01' by the same doc who did it this time. He was particularly proud of the fact that it was the ligament that failed and not his connections. As a side note please find the PCL in the picture. Good, if you snap this ligament they will not repair it. I know this because of a Thanksgiving day football game and a very special Thanksgiving day trip to the ER.

So how do they put a new tendon in? I'm glad you asked, the doctors take what can best be described as a "bone drill" and make a tunnel that they can insert the new tissue thru.





The tendon is then secured at the top and bottom with bone screws and packed with leftover bone chips to aid bone regeneration.


Here is a x-ray showing the screw and upper connection.



So where do the new tendons come from? Another excellent question. The first time I had this done the I had part of my hamstring removed and used for the replacement parts. That was not an option this time so I opted for used parts or "Cadaver donation," in the spirit of good taste I will leave the description at that.

Now that I am post op 4+ weeks I can say that it hasn't been to bad. The rehab has been much better than the first time around

I-pod stuff

I thought I would share what's on my i-pod.


Jim Post loves his life and so do I.
He also carries off the wet, soggy mustache with dignity.



Who can forget these 5 guys? Their music is as timeless as their fashion.




When it's time to rock Battle Axe does it for me. The lead singer is also quite the artist as you can see by the awesome cover work.



These girls are an incredible story and little Vicki has the voice of an angel..... a blind angel.




Mike Terry can only be compared with the likes of Liberace and Sir Elton John. This live album is a must have for all piano music lovers.



Joyce is HUGE in Japan, I can't believe that I found this album at a garage sale for .50 cents. I could probably get at least $50 for it on ebay.



When I have had a bad day I request Ken and my troubles seem to melt away.



As you can tell Francisco and Fernando really know how to party and I think Tino has a shot at being the next Ricky Martin.






The Reverend Freddie Gage is obviously a lonely man and has inspired other bands like Morrisey and Smashing Pumpkins.




This cover art is obviously a rip-off of Herb Albert's "Whip Cream" album but these 5 British Ladies can really sing.



I saved the best for last. Who knew that Colonel Sanders singing voice was as totally spicy-awesome as his chicken? Then throw in the fact that he is partying in Tijuana with his chicken and you have an album to remember.

Buzz Kill

My brother Daniel has tagged me to list 6 things/habits about myself. I could only come up with one.

1. I don't like listing things about myself. I am not an "inward thinker."



P.S. I do like pie.

Tour de St. George

I rode in the Tour de St. George on the 20th of October. This is the most difficult of the St. George area century rides with about 5300 ft. of climbing. This is also the last big ride of the year.

The weather was perfect until the wind picked up around mile 87, we toughed it out and finished in 5hrs 22min ride time.


Sarah says I am looking thinner. Maybe I need to ride by the photographers next to fat people.

Good news for people who like bad news.

I have been putting off a trip to the doc since I took a tumble back in August. I of course am referring to the post of August 27 where I describe the event in great detail. Feel free to reread the post and get yourselves back up to speed, but I digress.... I had Dr. Andruss check out my wrist first as it has been getting worse. The x-rays looked good so he told me to cowboy up, the bone that looked a little cracked was on it's way to healing and it would feel better when it stopped hurting.
We then moved on to the knee. The knee that he himself had rebuilt in 01', he gave it a couple of quick tugs and said the four words that crushed my soul, "your ACL is blown." He followed that jem up with "when do you want to have surgery to repair it?" So I guess I have been riding my bike all over this state with a knee that is held in place with duct tape, chewing gum and inertia.
I have decided on November 14Th we will do the cutting and I am looking forward to 4 weeks of crutches and 6 weeks of rehab like I look forward to doing a nickel at Chino. For those of you who don't get that joke it means I am loathe to begin the whole process.

Donations are being accepted to help my family cope at Deseret First Credit Union and at 7-11 retailers near you.

Toroweap

Last week I took Maddie and Megan and we drove 90 miles on a dirt road to the Toroweap overlook. It is one of the only locations that you can see the Colorado River from the rim of the Grand Canyon.
Sarah did not join us, she does not enjoy dirt roads.

We arrived just as the sun was setting so the lighting is a little funky.
The view from the top. It is really a long way down;



The girls messing around on the rocks;


There are 10 campsites available on a first come first serve basis and I believe we were the 11th group to arrive. The girls were disappointed until I told them that we could backtrack to the BLM property and camp wherever we wanted.
I managed to get the tent up as darkness enveloped us. Without a flashlight we built a fire and cooked hot dogs, the girls of course thought it was awesome.
The air mattress must of had a slow leak because I awoke at 3am with a rock embedded in my right hip. I toughed it out until 7 when the girls awoke. We got up, packed up and drove home via Colorado City eating Doritos and powdered raspberry filled doughnuts on the way.

I want to give you a list of things to remember if you ever go out there.
1. Go early
2. Bring a flashlight.
3. Check the air mattress the night before.
4. If you don't enjoy bumpy roads don't go.
5. Go out and back thru Colorado City it shaves an hour of the ride each way.
6. At 60mph dirt roads smooth right out, and when you do hit a bump try to go limp and enjoy the split second of zero gravity.

Why don't I live in Moab?

Off to Moab for another century ride, this one benefitting the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
I dragged along my old buddies Dusty and Chris so I didn't have to have dinner alone. We did some 4 wheeling on friday in Dustin's Jeep and they did some more on Saturday while I took a ride. Sorry no photos.


The ride started off a little cold and rainy, I will admit that I should have worn more clothes.

Yours truelly powering up a hill past a bunch of chicks.


There were some other local celebs representing. Kelly and Sally looking smooth.



After about 20 miles riding along the Colorado River the 100 mile course takes a turn up the Castle Valley Road with a 16 mile climb into the La Sal mountains.

This is what the road normally looks like. The scenery is absolutely stunning.


This is a picture of Preist and Nuns formation as seen on Saturday.




The hill got progressively steeper and the weather progressively worse. At the top we were at an altitude of 6800 ft. and it was snowing. I think I mentioned that I should have worn more clothes.
The last pitch was an 18% grade, for the record I think that is as steep as I can pedal. Many people were walking and/or hurling.

I nearly froze to death on the way back down the hill. It was as miserable as I have ever been on a bike.


The scenery continued to be so amazing I kept wondering how come I only come to Moab twice a year. I would live there if I could make a living.


This is a shot from 30,000 feet of the Colorado River and the town of Moab




Here is a bunch more eye candy. Enjoy












Note to my wife; please bury me here.