Seagull in a little over a week!

In another week I will be winging my way to Baltimore in order to participate in the Seagull Century on Saturday, October 15th. The training has been going well. I have finished a number of 25 mile and 50 mile rides. I have also completed two 75 mile rides, the last one in 5 and a half hours. Now I have begun to taper off a little to save my strength for the event.

I actually rode the wheels off my bike with that last 75 miler. Really! After the ride I took my bike to the shop because I could hear the bearings clacking in the rear wheel. When I got my bike back a week later they had replaced both wheels, the bearings in the front tube that holds handle bars, the crank bearings and the chain. It's practically a new bike now. All ready for the big ride.

I also got the go-ahead from the cardiologist after passing a stress test on Monday. That was an interesting experience. When I got on the treadmill, the doctor commented, "This may take awhile". My resting heart rate is typically around 60 beats per minute and the stress test goes to 161 which is my nominal maximum heart rate. I'm getting along better with the cardiologist these days. I think he's finally figured out that these endurance events are important to me and is willing to work with me on this. The SPECT scanner they used to take the pictures is an old Picker Prism. I worked on the software for this scanner when I was at Picker. I recognized the blue and gray UI with the old Motif widgets. Brought back memories of my start in Medical Imaging.

We'll be taking our bikes on the plane with us. That will be a new experience. I'm renting a bike case for the trip. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Thanks a lot for all your support. I hope to continue this worthy effort for a number of years, my cardiac issues notwithstanding. :)