I Am in Terrible Shape & Things Are Awesome

This morning marked my first time on the bike since mid November. In typical fashion I forgot something at home and had to double back, extending my maiden voyage this morning. I am in terrible shape. I didn't push it at all and yet my ass is sore and my muscles hurt in various places. It is truly fantastic. It is fantastic because I know from experience that soon I will be feeling much healthier, with greater endurance and energy. My ass will also adjust once more to the saddle and be capable of riding for great distances with negligible pain. I hate sore bum so much that I started riding year round to avoid it, which will be the plan when next winter comes.

Today's ride marks a full return to the kind of life that has always given me the greatest joy. I couldn't be happier to be sore and worn right out.

Speaking of sore bums, I would like to say one other thing. People often seem to search for saddles that don't hurt. A big squishy saddle is a nice idea if you don't plan to ride much at all but otherwise most are best off with a smaller, firmer saddle and the only cure for butt pain is riding more often. The truth literally hurts, but not for long. I'm betting my bum will feel much better even after just one week of commuting.

That, of course, is only my opinion. Can I get an Amen, cycling brothers and sisters? Or, if you've got some for me, DISSENT? Surely not...

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Curses!

As mentioned in the previous post, today I am posting a video that contains clips of me swearing while riding my bike. Good times, man, good times.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Long Time, Blah Blah Blah.

Hello everyone! I'm back, and not in a kind of thready medically fragile kind of way; I've been fixed! The original cause of my stroke has been removed and won't be back. I have no follow-ups with brain doctors, because there is nothing to follow! My brain has been more thoroughly scanned than any on the planet. I have some leftover dizziness that will improve over time and it certainly isn't bad enough to prevent me from cycling. I'm just dying for streets suitable for slicks; I suppose I could mount the studded tires but I would rather play the brain surgery weak boy card for now. Spring please. Still want a fat bike.

As much as I don't want to focus on brain stuff, my experience (or more accurately, my sweet family's) was pretty crazy. I was in surgery for 13.5 hours and knocked out on general anesthetic for about 26 hours. Who The F*ck has a 13 hour surgery? Like, really? Holy Mother F**k Sh*t Ass Cray Cray Koo Koo Nutty Pyjama Pants, like Holy Sh*t man!

Should I post my totally badass brain surgery scar? It's all covered by hair mostly these days. It's totally f*ckin cool tho. Oh, what to do?

I think the natural thing to do is post a video stuffed full of swear words on Monday. Like, lots of bike swears. Yeah. I'm good. You Good? Good. See ya Monday.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

And Now, Some News: I've Come Through My Brain Surgery Quite Well!

Hey all. I won't be doing a real post for a while because my brain surgery has happened (on Nov 16) and appears to have been very successful! Yay!

That said, I'm weak as a kitten and I'm not allowed to lift anything heavier than a large feather.

My recovery is likely to take at least a couple months and I probably won't be posting much in that time. I just didn't want any of my few remaining regulars to worry I was dead!

I will update again when, say, I ride again for the first time or something like that.

As always thanks for everyone's good vibes and kind hopes!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

No News is, well, No News

I'm going to stop updating people on my brain / surgery status, because my operation has been delayed twice and has a likelihood of being bumped again and again. As such, I'm just going to live my life and post bikey stuff on this blog instead. Right after this.

I have repeatedly sung the praises of the Canadian health care system and will continue to do so. Some of my friends have pointed to these delays saying "see, this is what free health care gets you; long waits. If you were in the States (USA) you would have been done by now (if you had the insurance or money)".

I take issue with that idea in my case. We have spoken with my neurosurgeon's office at length and we now understand a little more about this situation. The surgery I require can be done by very few people. Neurosurgeons who do what I need are very few and far between and the surgery itself requires a large team and lots of time, such that my surgeon does about 4 big operations a month. I have not been back-burnered as a less urgent case. I am a Priority 2. The only higher priority is assigned to people who will die without emergency surgery. These emergencies happen, and bump me and every other priority 2 down the calendar as needed.

If I were to "shop around" in other countries, I would not find vascular neurosurgeons specializing in AVMs just waiting to take my money, or if I did, I would have to wonder about their qualifications. What I need just isn't like that. It is way more uncommon than even complex heart surgery. People as rare as myself just have to wait; that is the whole story. There is nothing to be gained by being the squeaky wheel or looking further from home; I am lucky enough to have one of these rare specialists right in my city. I remain blessed in many ways, by my country's health care system, by my geographic location, and on and on.

So that's it. No more updates on this stuff will be forthcoming. Also I still want a fat bike but can't justify the expense among all the other stuff we should be spending any spare cash on. If you loved me, you would send me a fat bike. Fat bike please. C'mon, I have a weird thing in my brain. So give me a fat bike.

Fat Bike.

R A N T W I C K

PS - If one of my dear readers sent me a fat bike, I would not accept it. That was supposed to be a joke. If you have cash to throw around please give it somebody in real need. On the other hand, if some Bike Company with a soft spot for weirdos knocked on my door with a fat bike, how could I say no? (See above for wink).

Are You #%^1n' Kiddin' Me #11

Have you seen these? I'm sure you have if I have here in conservative, boring old London Ontario. I try to avoid being a hater, you know. I'm no better than anyone else; I have no particular right to hate these cars. But I do. I just do. My Mother always told us that hate is a very strong word, to be used with great reluctance. She was, of course, correct. I will therefore downgrade my previous statement to "I find these cars terribly distasteful". I think you can tell from my spontaneous reactions...

But come on, cars that intentionally create a contact patch the width of a bike tire by tilting the wheels in a way that surely puts all kinds of wrong stresses on the car, sacrifices traction and likely destroys tires? Are you #%^1n' Kiddin' Me?

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Strokie Joe No Go

For anyone who's been seeing me post recently who thought, hey wait, I thought he was gonna be in brain surgery, my operation has been postponed until October 26. One feature of Canada's health system is that those in greater need can bump others. I'm sure this is a feature of even more privately funded systems, since triage is a fundamental principle in all health care as far as I know.

I was not given a reason; I'm assuming somebody with a more urgent need for a neurosurgeon got my spot; although I'm disappointed, if that person had been someone I loved I would have said, "hell yeah, bump that rantwick guy".

Anyway, October 26 is the new date to expect this blog to go silent for a bit.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Rantwick's London Ontario Bike Routes: Not Highbury

I'm calling this bike route "Not Highbury" because cyclists in London currently face a bit of a challenge moving from north to south or vice versa in the east end of the city. The west side too, I think, but I've had to deal with that less often, and so don't have an answer for it yet.

Most of Highbury Ave is a scary waste of time for cycling. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is my favourite way of riding from North London to South London on the east end; not used is a great little route between Dundas and Oxford behind the London Psychiatric Hospital. There are cool abandoned buildings, a peaceful setting, the works. I think I might map that piece all by itself, it is very much worth riding and knowing about, but connections on either end of it are kind of clunky.

Speaking of clunky, this route works better heading south than north. When you're northbound you have to do this at Fanshawe College:

This doesn't come very naturally, which is why I'm highlighting it.

Now here's the route, from north to south. People can access this route from either the North Branch of the Thames Valley Parkway, or as recorded here, Fanshawe Park Road. I've noted where the TVP hits this route in the video.

Here's an overview map to go with... click it for full size

Hey, do you have a little-known or really useful route I should chronicle? Please contact me. I'll do the video and mapping work if you'll tell me where to ride. Of course I'll be happy to credit any contributors both here and on youtube, which will make you famous with like, 15 people maybe. I'm also interested in cataloging sweet little connecting bits that "nobody else" knows. Send them to me and I'll make them part of the info I'm trying to share and spread! 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Extreme Safety

Attention, hyper-cycling safety fans! London Ontario is the new centre for cutting edge safety signage! This gem can be found where the TVP ends and Kiwanis Park begins; this is a favourite construction project of mine, but I'm afraid I've been disobeying this sign for some time.

The Only Safe Bicycle is no longer a Bicycle.

R A N T W I C K

The Old leaf Under Yer Fender: A Natural Patience Tester

Riding in the Fall is the absolute best. One symptom of Autumn, of course, is falling leaves. I think just about everyone who rides a bike has had one such leaf sucked into some tight space (like under your fender) where it proceeds to make a high pitched rubbing noise. You know pretty much exactly where it is and what it is. You know it isn't doing any harm. You keep riding, hoping it will dislodge itself, knowing that every second it remains lessens the likelihood of it doing so.

Today's leaf was under my front fender, so I tried lifting my front wheel and smacking it back down a couple of times while I rode. No joy. I was running my video camera, so I was able to check after my ride; I lasted just over 4 minutes before I stopped and let the leaf fall out from under there.

pic from 2012

Mrs. Rantwick says I have a very annoying ability to block out and be unperturbed by abrasive sounds, like the seat belt dinger in the car or the dog barking at the TV. Indeed, on the very same ride as the leaf thing, a cell phone alarm that I had failed to dismiss properly started going off. I just let it. It went off over and over, in 3 predictable attempts. I didn't care. So what's the difference? An annoying sound is much less annoying when you know how long it will last. Uncertainty about how much longer you'll have to wait for relief makes all the difference, at least to me.

Anyway, back to the "leaf rub". What is your tolerance like? How long do you typically last before having to address the issue? In the end, I consider "leaf rub" a small price to pay for the glories of riding in Autumn, so bring it on, ya little bastards!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Strokie Joe Now Knows Mo - AVM

Some of my regulars would know that I had a stroke about a year and a half ago. That's why, especially when I'm being clumsy or dizzy or whatever, my family (myself included) calls me Strokie Joe. I still experience more fatigue and headaches than an un-stroked-out person, but otherwise I am back to normal. My bike rides are getting longer and more frequent; life in general is good.

The other Strokie Joe, in the Sno befo, but not no mo.

One thing that has always bugged us was that we had no clear reason for my stroke. Until now! The radiologists assigned to my case were not content to let clear MRIs even a year later dissuade them from looking harder, with an Angiogram. Wouldn't you know it, they found the cause of my stroke, an Ateriovenous Malformation, or AVM, in my cerebellum where the bleed causing my stroke was. An AVM is basically a congenital birth defect (not hereditary, thankfully) where you get Arteries dumping straight into Veins without the usual Capillaries in between. Sooner or later these things usually bleed, which was the cause of my stroke.

The bad news is that if left alone, my AVM could quite possibly bleed again and kill me. The good news is that it is quite operable and a neurosurgeon is going to take the sucker out. With a successful surgery, I will never have to worry about another stroke from this thing. The damage from my stroke will not be undone, but like I said, life is good so that's fine.

My surgery is currently scheduled for October 2. It is full blown day-long, knocked out, hole in yer skull kind of surgery involving a couple of months recovery time. Honestly, I can't wait. Just one hurdle and the Rantwick family can leave all this behind. The way I see it, I was lucky to live through my stroke, lucky to recover very well and now I'm lucky to have a permanent fix on the near horizon. Since I'm writing for an audience largely based in the States, I am also incredibly lucky to live in Canada, where questions of who's going to pay for this don't really come up. I'm scared, for sure, but feel way more lucky than anything else.

As I've stated before, I don't want this blog to be about stroke or AVMs, so my next post will be cycling related for sure. Cycling, particularly those longer rides when you fall into the joyjoy rhythm of the bike and feel like you could pedal forever, remains the best brain tonic available. 

When I stop posting for a bit come October, cross your fingers, say a prayer, howl at the moon or whatever the hell you like if you think it will help, and I will update everyone as soon as I am able. 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Yes, that is a heavily modified Homer head and yes, I am fully aware this gag is stolen.