EMBOLISMS ! AGAIN ?

Interesting post on Roads.cc, reminded me of similar excursions with a variety of nationalities. Most recent was Monday afternoon out of Ventimiglia with 11 local race cycle enthusiasts. Treated me well on the eastward journey and i guess when i put the hammer down on the climb behind Ospitadello, so as to gain time to put the jacket on for the descent, it woke them up , as the return journey through the traffic was a bit chaotic.

Having ridden in Nice in the morning for a couple of hours as a wind down from the Tour Med which finished Sunday in Toulon and the sun was out it seemed like a good idea to take another ride. I had taken the bike out of the car on the Ventimiglia esplanade planning on enjoying the sun for a short while more when i spotted the group gathering for their lunchtime ride. This episode finished up with another two hours on the saddle.

Later in the evening i was at the UCMonaco club house where i was given a new outfit, since they had seen it on the TV regularly since they had given it to me during the TDF start in Monaco.

As i headed back into Italy i started experiencing similar pains to those of August 2009 when i came down with Pulmonary Embolisms . Arriving back in Austria after deciding that safety was the better option i checked into the Schwaz Hospital for blood tests. These tests confirmed a return of Pneumonia and Embulisms (blood clots)in the right lung.

Advices given in 2009 before leaving the hospital were heeded and yet with all the precautions observed i found myself back where i had started in Aug 2009, only now it was a return to extended medication. On top of this i am now required to wear heavy weight compression stockings day and night for a month and daily thereafter for an indefinite period.


POINT I AM MAKING FOLKS is that regardless of being an advocate for Anti Doping and leading a clean life, Cycling and MY genes have combined to leave me with health issues.

DO NOT THINK THAT CRAMPS are an irritant or irrevelence, and when they ease think no more of them ! SEE your doctor ! You too could for a variety of reasons have blood clots and waking up dead is not the solution , it is very unfortunate for all you leave behind .

Too many Recent Cycle Racers both Pro. & Amateur have had the symptoms i experienced and did not seek advice or visit their health professionals. I am alive thanks to an acute awareness of my body and abilities . Perhaps i pushed the envelope and brought on both attacks to the extent i was able to survive, others just did not realise or put off dealing with their symptoms.

Act Today and survive for your tomorrows !




Will i ride the Giro or TDF routes this year ? Something to look forward to, but health issues will overrule a foolhardy effort !

Those concerned about researching this matter further could look at some of the following sites :





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_embolism
http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/p/pulmonary-embolism
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/pulmonaryembolism.htmhttp://emedicine.medscape.com/article/759765-overview

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/antiphospholipid.htm

http://www.thrombosisadviser.com/en/understanding-thrombosis/how-thrombosis-develops/index.php?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=2&ad_group=Blood_Clots_Leg&kw=leg+blood+clot&gclid=CPPKg_CLlKcCFdERfAodgzW4cg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrombolysis



Appears that as a blood group B+ subject, it could be the "factor V Leiden "has had an influence on my situation.

More information will be added to this post as it is too important a subject to leave unfinished !

ULM Germany

After the TDF i called in on a Ski Buddy from the mid 1990's living in ULM area. His partner had recently moved out and his house was in need of extensive renovation.

The roof was missing tiles , the water was cut off so water is being piped in off the neighbouring house through a hose pipe and there are other less serious issues needing attantion.

I always knew that George was a good cook but hopeless at getting going on practical issues. Fortuneately he is reasonably fluent in english so communication should not have been an issue.

One demand i made in July was that the internet be connected so that i could deal with my communication issues, well a variety of excuses ensued through until i moved in after returning from the Vuelta in early October. Since the beginning of the residency i have chopped the winters wood ,cleared the garden of falling leaves and chestnuts spending mornings before going riding the local roads on the wintery afternoons. Fortunately i have not had to put in much time on the tacx as though cold and bleak there has been little rain.

The past two weeks has seen 70+ hrs of my time digging a trench 12m long by 1.4m deep and 1.2m wide to accomodate the new water pipe. Can you believe the local regs(DIN 4124) call for Wood hoardings using 5cm thick wood at each end of the trench which is mainly solid mud not unstable loose soil. Topping all this is the lack of Plans to show where the Electricity,telephone,television cables are buried and in addition there are no plans for the existing Water and waste pipes. Regardless of all this effort not only has "Prof. Workshy "decided to short change me on recompence but offered the opinion that the work was good exercise . He also revealed that he was in no hurry to connect the internet since he is in the process of changing telephone suppliers. Thought i should have bought a "stick" since i have 2 for Austria.

Well any of you wondering why i have not added to my blog recently will now see the difficulty i have had baring in mind the nearest internet cafe is about 12km away with parking difficulty both for car and bike. Those of you who helped me out during the TDF and Vuelta will i hope be patient as i plan on return to Austria to set to work reporting on those events. I had also planned to have thanked some of my "Sponsors" during the past year by this time but lack of facilities has deferred that task also.

Currently i am seeing little interest by "Para Athletes " in joining me next year so i think that any efforts next year will be directed to assisting another segment of the community. Sad to think that these people do not wish to help themselves.

Recently i have offered a few "comments" to SBS Cycling Central and Roads.cc amongst other blogs. Georgethecyclist.blogspot.com offered me the opportunity to join his latest jaunt in Turkey but after reading his recent blogs i am in two minds as to which situation would have been the more enjoyable way of passing the last few weeks.