Watching the world go by.

tumbleweed

-And cooking up a brand new batch of hodgepodge stew;


Ricky Winsor knows a thing or two about stew;
windsorslimeballad
First up, let us sit back and engage in a bit of relaxing musical accompaniment via East Bay Ed;

My savage beast feels all soothed and stuff.

And is it just me or are there a few people in the crowd holding wizard staffs?;
ws? copy
I saw folks holding man cans by the very bottom, which in my experience indicates an attachment to something much larger, but because all of the flannel, hair and bodies, I could never get a solid look.

I forwarded and backwarded across so many split-second glimpses that my eyes began to cross, but I do think I saw at least a couple.

Or maybe it’s just that I’m going completely stir crazy, and I’m just focused on better days;
wsatu2015 10.27.03 AM
By my calculations, this year’s festivities fall on Saturday, June 20th which from right now is roughly two months, three weeks, and six days away.

Worse case scenario my wizard staff will also double as a crutch.

And speaking of which, for those following along I received the results from the MRI on Friday, and it was’t nearly as rad as I’d hoped it was going to be. According to the doctor who read them (and presuming he was looking at the correct images) I fully swept the podium with a complete tear of the MCL, ACL, and meniscus, so basically the inside of my knee now looks something like this;
sanfrancisco1902Post-and-Grant-Avenue.-Look
Having never had surgery before on anything aside from my tonsils and appendix, I’m in uncharted territory, and turning to friends and acquaintances alike, I’ve looked into my myriad of options. The best bet seems to be getting dead person parts put into my body, which literally freaks me out almost as badly as being crippled for the rest of my life.

Knee injuries are certainly no rarity among those of us who use their bodies, so I’m certainly open to any insight or advice that the esteemed readership of the Black Market project might have.

As always, I thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.

Now, with that being said, and my current existence being just about what I can see out of the window, I’m hugely fortunate to have folks making contact with emails regarding their own misadventures, one of which was from Handsome AK that looked like this;

Stevil-

I’m sure you’ve seen this, but it’s damn funny anyway…

A shirt that was floating around the Taipei Bike Show;
HMABS
Apparently the Chinese characters are roughly translated as “Asians have hands too”.

-AK

I feel the need to possess one of those.

And speaking of fashionable body coverings, among other topics, in this post I made mention that the 2015 AHTBM kits were now available for mass consumption;
2015jerseyfront
2015bibsfront
A day or two later I got an email from a fellow down there in San Luis Obispo named Steve who’d noted that he’d initially ordered the wrong size. The good people at Voler sorted him out, but now he has another brand new jersey he’d like to offload to an interested party;

Stevil-

This is a men’s race cut medium with the 3/4 hidden zipper. Voler is printing me a large as a replacement at cost, so I’ll sell this guy for $40, shipping included;
stevesjersey
If anyone in San Luis Obispo, CA area is interested I’ll knock $5 off and save the shipping cost.

Steve

If procuring this jersey is of interest to you, makey the contact with him at stevenoone(at)gmail(dot)com. I won’t rest until all AHTBM jerseys have found happy homes.

Finally, I will be taking my leave for some hospice in the southland this week. Feel free the swing back through for Friday’s effort, but Dog willing and the creek don’t rise, you won’t find anything here on Wednesday but the occasional tumbling tumbleweed.
newlittleskull

Spread this like it's sick

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18 Responses to “Watching the world go by.”

  1. Bret Maiers March 23, 2015 at 5:43 am #

    Sorry to hear your knee is officially wrecked. Here is sound and sober Monday morning advice from a guy with dead people parts in both knees. Post surgery your leg will turn into a toothpick. Your quad muscles are going to degenerate quickly, you can work on that now by doing sets a few times a day of just flexing your quads and feeling them connect and fire with the other muscles, keeping that memory intact is important and will help speed up the recovery. Another key to quick recovery is controlling the swelling, try to borrow/steal/beg a cyro cuff for your knee, this is an igloo cooler with a water pump, hose and knee wrap that will make icing several times a day much easier and more efficient. Obviously it will also keep beer cold and handy. The other often overlooked point is the anesthesia, this stuff, especially for people that are sensitive too it can really stretch out into a two week hangover so get that shit out of your system as quick as you can. You have to fast the last 8 hours or so before surgery but before that make sure you really hydrate well in the days leading up to it. Post surgery, you want a lazy boy reclining chair with a piss bottle nearby- drinking plenty of electrolytes will help flush out the sleepy time medicine but you are not going to want to move your leg much, because if memory serves me right, it hurts. The piss bottle is kind of gross but after you hobble to the bathroom a couple times it will look pretty good. One final piece of advise: Worshiping Satan is not a good answer for the religion preference question they will ask you during surgical check in, in fact my experience is that no one has ever even smiled at this answer, so just remember those same people will be poking you with needles and other sharp things soon. Good Luck Man!

    • Stevil March 23, 2015 at 5:52 am #

      I’ll print this out and will keep it at the ready. Thanks for the insight.

      • Buffalo Dave March 23, 2015 at 6:26 am #

        Stevil, Bret speaks the truth. I had my knee redone (microfracture to repair a ‘pothole’ of cartilage, patellarfemoral ligament replacement with a zombie one and a general clean up of the underside of the kineecap) 12 weeks and 3 days ago. That’s my ‘knee’ cred, along with 2 other procedures back when I was a pup.

        I indulged in pain killers and water in order to proactively manage pain and man was it worth it. Make sure you have a recovery plan and that you listen to your PT person closely, they know what they are talking about and have the school bills to prove it.

        My long term goal was to ride Hurl’s #slick50 and guess what, I did! We went to the not-so-flat part of the Twin Cities where the burritos are floppy and brews, micro. I only wished for gears once.

        Feel free to ask any personal questions, like preferred laxative and favorite episode of Cesar Millan.

        • Dave March 23, 2015 at 5:08 pm #

          Stevil, Bret and Dave are right and I’d like to add this stuff, having been through one ACL (cadaver graft) and the same ACL again (Cadaver again) with a meniscus repair. Effing indoor soccer man. Jesus.

          It’s tough man. I’m not a moody dude, my wife says I have sunshine in me, but dude, I was straight up depressed being laid up during the recovery. The second round with the meniscus repair required no weight-bearing for 6 weeks. It was tough and I didn’t realize how bad it hit me until I was on the other side of it. Make sure you are prepared for the mental side as much as you are the physical side.

          Crutching around blows. Use a backpack and a travel coffee mug that you can throw in the bag without having it leak everywhere. Get a drawing board and sketchbook set up where you can get to it and force yourself to produce something, even if you don’t like it. Draw dongs on stuff. Photoshart more bikes out of pictures. Reach out and talk to people if you need to. Let your body do what it does best: repair and recover. You’re diesel as shit because you can tear down and rebuild. You’ll bounce back. You’re going to get back out there and you’re going to rip shit again.

          Sidenote, at one point during my six week recovery, I was so freaking stir crazy that I decided to tear the front end off of my car (that I couldn’t drive because it’s a manual) so that I could replace the intercooler. I hopped around on one leg like an idiot in my driveway, hands covered in car grime, and my car in pieces. Looking back I see that I’m lucky I didn’t fall and make things worse.

          Heal up and keep your head up.

          • eb March 25, 2015 at 6:12 am #

            As an RN I will agree with everything said above with one exception:

            Bret is wrong about the worshipping satan part. The people that ask that question are so very rarely the people that actually poke you with any needles or actually participate in your care. I would still highly encourage you to state Satan worship as your religious preference. Who care if they smile if it makes you smile. If it were me, I would give high fives to anyone who said that.

  2. Gypsy March 23, 2015 at 6:08 am #

    The meniscus? Meh. Results vary. Science is torn (pun intended) on how effective that surgery is.

    ACL and MCL? You either have them repaired/replaced or you walk with a cane for the rest of your life. No skating ever.

    Dead people parts? Just imagine the art that your brain is going to come up with…

  3. Ben March 23, 2015 at 6:24 am #

    Hope it all goes well and you heal fast.

    Is there any way we can chip in a few dollars to help with costs?
    (can’t afford to actually buy something from the shop currently)

    I’m pretty bored having been sat on the sofa for the last 4 weeks and counting. It appears (self-inflicted via stupidity) 2nd degree burns on your knee/leg take a while to heal. However at least we have free healthcare (currently) in Europe!

  4. davidio March 23, 2015 at 6:48 am #

    I definitely second the CyroCuff – that thing works magic. After the surgery, get in to see your PT as soon as they’ll let you, and do ALL the exercises they give you. I’ve had both my ACLs done (different times), and the last time my doc was pretty aggressive with how quickly he got me going on PT (two or three days post-op, I think), and I felt like that leg recovered faster than my first time.

    To try and give you some peace of mind, I am now 11 and 8 years out from my surgeries, and my knees feel great and don’t stop me from doing anything. I play basketball twice a week, can still ski just fine, and to be honest riding bikes only makes them feel better. I have always ridden bikes, but didn’t start riding “seriously” (whatever that means) until it was recommended for me for rehab after my first knee job (I tried to get my doc to prescribe a bike for me so it would get covered by insurance, but couldn’t make it happen). I ride cross, mountain, road – whatever. The only time my knees feel bad is when I find myself overly dehydrated in the morning, which is normally accompanied by headache, super sexy deep voice, desire to consume meat grease, and extreme grogginess.

    Just listen to your body, make smart choices, and you’ll bounce back in due time. It will be the most boring period of your life, but nothing a stack of books/DVDs/zines or a challenge to locate the exact end of the internet can’t take care of.

  5. Stumper March 23, 2015 at 8:38 am #

    Stevil. Ditto what Brett says, but I can’t vouch for that new fangled cryo thingamijig but it sounds like a good idea. Speaking of which, you should count your blessings that you are able to benefit from many surgical innovations over the past 30 years. Back in the 80s and early 90s, they would slice your leg clean open, require a full-leg plaster cast for 6 weeks, and to top it off, they would make you hobble home — in the snow — at night. Go 100% on the rehab and you’ll be golden.

  6. stumpy March 23, 2015 at 9:26 am #

    Some very good advice about rehab and recovery on here. I would also strongly recommend getting the forearm type crutches. They are way better than those armpit chafing torture sticks they hand out at the doc’s office.

  7. somedudeinFLA March 23, 2015 at 10:16 am #

    My sis ripped her ACL in half last year and she chose the cadaver option. I now call har Franken-sis which she “loves”. Not to change the subject, but in other news (you saw what i did there…) Jax REcycle had a work day yesterday. 35+ bikes were frankenized like a busted knee and will go to help the less fortunate in the community with their transportational needs. It was a great way to spend an afternoon and for the first time in a long time, im actually pretty proud of my home town.

    (Stevil, it seems like these guys have some really solid advice for you. Best wishes once again)

  8. reltubnairb March 23, 2015 at 11:57 am #

    If I were still playing drums, the drummer for the Baptists would make me want to quit. Fortunately I quit three years ago and sold my set. Which is good news because it sucks selling anything on Craiglslist.

    Hopping on the bandwagon of knee ortho advice, fortunately my knees have held up for me thus far, so I have nothing specific to share other than a general recommendation. After living in Tahoe City for 4 years I learned that if you ever need anything done in the ortho department, head to a ski town. Especially when it comes to knees. The Ortho Docs in Truckee do MCL’s/ACL’s in their sleep. And they are damn good at it. I’m surprised they haven’t installed a drive-thru service like the drive-thru wedding chapels in Reno.
    Seriously, they do a lot up there and are usually up on the latest methods and such since they work on Olympicish athletes and such.
    If you consider that route, I still have contacts up there who can recommend a good Doc. Let me know.
    Or you could phone up a craigslist doctor from France, meet up in a back alley in Quebec and steady the drill for him.
    (See what I did there: How I grabbed a little snippet from the beginning and wrapped it in at the end. Saw that trick on the internet somewhere)

  9. Dballs March 24, 2015 at 6:38 am #

    Muscle atrophy sucks, but it eventually gets back to normal. http://m.memegenerator.net/instance/60579159

  10. Bill O'Grady March 24, 2015 at 7:02 am #

    Stevil;

    Read all the above and consider thoroughly, because I did. I haven’t wrecked my knee yet, but . . . my time will come.

    Bill

  11. Tom A March 25, 2015 at 8:23 pm #

    Do everything your PT says to do and be patient, and you will be good. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

  12. JohnL March 26, 2015 at 4:37 pm #

    This situation is fuckered up. You will beat it.

    No remorse no repent
    We don’t care what it meant
    Another day another death
    Another sorrow another breath
    No remorse no repent
    We don’t care what it meant
    Another day another death
    Another sorrow another breath.

  13. Domenic March 30, 2015 at 12:21 pm #

    Hey Stevil, best wishes for a speedy recovery. Used to live in Taiwan, went to Taipei bikes in 2013. There is very little handmade about that show, so the shirt must be meant as irony. I speak and read Chinese. If you care, the characters 手工製作的台灣 mean ‘Taiwanese handmade,’ or ‘handmade in Taiwan,’ or ‘manufactured in Taiwan by hand’. More interesting to me is the Taiwanese “Pai sei no Pai sei,” at the bottom which means ‘sorry no sorry.’ It is an interesting shirt. If you find one, pass word along.

  14. Benzo April 2, 2015 at 9:02 am #

    I’ve had 4 surgeries for various things I’ve broken over the years of MTB/SNWBRDing and I’ve always talked myself out of the after injury self-pity by remembering: Anyone who takes risks doing what they love is going to get f’d up once in a while. That, and you did it having fun, which is way better than just getting whacked by some random event which happens to normal jack-offs all the time.