First Drive, First Photo Shoot Since April

It felt really good to get out for the weekend.

This past weekend was the Canadian National Mountain Bike Championships up at Hardwood Hills and it marked my return to being a snapper. I wasn't able to get up for the Eliminator on Thursday but did have the pleasure of covering the Elite races on Saturday and the Sport, Relay and Expert races on Sunday. I also got to drive Babe, now that I don't have to wear a collar. That was very liberating.

And I finally got to see my mom, to give her a hug and spend a little time together as we stayed overnight on Saturday. I know it's been very hard on her to be apart for so long and finally getting a visit meant a lot. You won't have to wait 4 months for the next visit mom!

I didn't move around to get the broad coverage I usually do, I was being careful and feeling the effects of 3 months of inactivity. My shoulders still hurt today from carrying all the camera gear. I still managed to get some great shots, including this sequence of the winning move in the elite men's race that saw Derek Zandstra pull away to lead for the final lap and take his first national title.

DZ gets in front just before Boneshaker

Kabush lets his teammate get a gap

Plaxton has to do all the work to try and close it down

I haven't sorted all of the photos from the weekend but will get through them over the next couple of evenings. One of the other sequences I like is of Andrea in Boneshaker. This was her first time racing it and she did great all three times through it.

And to wrap it up, I put together a short video of post-race interviews. I made a point of seeing what I could find out about the tactics used by the Scott 3Rox trio.

The Next Step in The Next Chapter

My neurosurgeon gave me the green light today, I'm very happy with that news. And our conversation went something like this:

Get a lateral x-ray of how it looks today.
That's good, now lets look at the pin sites (the back ones are slowly coming around)
Take the neck brace off and show me how you can move (not much)
That's good, time to get the x-rays for flex and extension.
[pause while the system does its thing]
back in the office to look at the results
"so, it's been nice meeting you"... it all looks good, unless something changes I have no medical reason to go back.
Me: physio? treatment? prognosis?
Dr: they're too harsh, work your way back gently and don't rush it. 95% return of neck function is about right
And then we talked about bike races, Italy and life in general. I promised to give him a photo from the Giro d'Italia that he intends to use as the source for a painting (I will give him 2, haven't decided on which ones yet).

I call that a great day.

And here's my new look, the pin sites take a little getting used to.

A thinner neck, no supporting brace

Detached from my hardware

I've gotten to sleep on it, sleep without it, and adjust to a new set of sensations.

The removal of the halo wasn't difficult, it was just weird. Andrea was there to help, in fact she got to unscrew the pins while the nurse (Tracy) held the halo in position and then off it came.

My neck is very stiff, I have a removable brace as expected, and it will take a little time for the pin sites to heal. The front ones aren't too bad, the ones in back are a bit of a mess so they're take a little longer. Meanwhile I keep testing my neck out a little bit at a time, turning it and tipping it and just trying to get used to moving it. And trusting that it's healed enough.

I go back in 2 weeks to get x-rays done while I flex and extend my neck so the doctor can see how the bones are doing. I'm hopeful that I can get rid of the collar then and get used to being able to get on with living again. There is a national MTB championship not far away that's only 2 weeks away, I"m really hoping to be able to get there and cover it.

I don't think I'll be going to Elk Grove this year, as much as I'd love to... it's a great race and this year they are really featuring the women's events with bigger prize money and more press focus. Hopefully I'll get back there next year. I'm not sure about the MTB world cup events at Mont Ste Anne yet either. Part of being patient, I can't make too many plans until I know more.

Anyhow, here are a few photos to document the removal... I've tried not to illustrate the pin sites too much, it takes a little getting used to.

Partially dissassembled

Only the halo left to be removed

Finally get to wear my NZ koru again

Tomorrow is H-Day

My CT scan is booked for 11:30 Wednesday morning, if all goes well I'll leave the hospital without this halo.

Andrea gave my hair a good washing, that will likely be the last time I need to sit on a seat in the shower with a cape covering the vest. It will be a week until the pin sites heal enough to be able to get them wet but at least I'll be able to wash my body from neck to toe when the vest is off.

I've been lucky that it hasn't been too hot too often, the regular washing underneath has kept it reasonably good and I don't expect it will take too long for my skin to recover. We'll see how long it takes for me to get some real muscle tone back though... that's the next part of the saga.

Happy Canada Day

It's July already, wow! So Happy Canada Day, eh.

It's also now two days until I lose the halo, that's honestly much more exciting. I know I can get through these days, just trying to figure out what to do with my hair :)

And in between, I'm still writing. Here's today's piece.

Gerrans Scores Orica-GreenEdge's 1st TdF Victory

Gerrans and Sagan, Cor Vos photo via PedalMag.com