Merry Christmas to me

I got one of these recently. Sort of a Christmas present/get-healthy-you-lazy slob.


I was really apprehensive about going on the pump at first, for three reasons: 1)I didn't want to feel like the Bionic Man, hooked up to all kinds of machines (still true) 2)I thought it would be a hassle to drag around with me (somewhat true, but not as bad as I thought, so hopefully it'll last a little longer than my cell phones) 3)I didn't think it would change anything in my therapy.

I was totally wrong about (3). Its not that the pump does anything radical, its the level of refinement it has. Doses are much more accurate and immediate, adjustment to basal rate is easy and immediate, it has a log of activity, poignant reminders, analysis of activity and its just convenient to have everything always at my hip. From the perspective of a diabetic trying to lead an active life, the level of transparency it offers is invaluable.

The reason I finally decided to go on the pump was the continuous glucose monitoring feature. Turns out its a little cherry on top. Using this CGMS, I've got continuous feedback as to whats going on and I don't need to be quite as concerned with upsetting my nicely balanced blood sugar.

My only hope now is that it continues to work as well as it has this first month.

Dr. Prudhomme or: How I learned to stop worrying and use simple logic to win the Tour de France

So in racing, if you beat someone in a race (or place ahead of them), you can usually say you're a better racer or at least at the same level. If you've never had the chance to race someone, but you know you can beat someone who beat them, you usually assume theres a good chance you might win in a race. You know, if a>b and b>c then a>c.

Well, I've applied this to a grander scale.

In the 2007 Tour de Romandie, Chris Horner came in second and beat (among others) Andy Schleck, Dave Zabriske, Michael Rodgers (who all beat Lance Armstrong on various occasions) and Oscar Pereiro.

In 2006's Jingle Cross Rock, Doug Swanson beat Chris Horner.

In 2007's Chequamegon Fat Tire race, Sam Oftedahl finished ahead of Doug Swanson.

In 2007's Minnesota State Championship Cross race, John Eppen beat Sam Oftedahl.

In a few races, I have finished ahead of John Eppen. Therefore, I win the Tour de France.

I think the real measure here is the degrees of separation. It took me 5 connections and it took John, Sam, Doug and Chris quite a bit less than that.

Winter Wonderland?

Tboughts and I have spent the last week making fun of the weather out
here. Apparently everyone here mistakes sleet for "snow". On Thursday
we got 2 inches of 'snow'. Unfortunately, it was actually a day full of
rain and sleet which froze immediately upon hitting the ground, meaning
we had 2 inches of crunchy ice. No one seemed overly surprised or
concerned and everything proceeded as normal, except for the maniac
drivers who manage to be both overly cautious and out of control. I'm
glad I don't drive a car.




In the recent cold snap, I've had a chance to try out my snazzy new gloves.
I'm not impressed. First of all, they're too small. I have larger than
average hands, sure, but they're not an ogre's hands andLG's largest
size (XL) is much too small. The other problem is that these aren't
winter gloves. They look like winter gloves, fit like winter gloves and
have the terrible dexterity of winter gloves, but they aren't warm. There's almost zero insulation and the shell isn't completely windproof. So if you're looking for a nice, warm, comfortable pair of gloves this year, don't get them here.

Kill the Coward

Lance is more fun since he stopped racing.

So , Mike Woell the guy who would spank me at every race we entered together, has made the big time.

Congrats, now please stop tearing my legs off! If you look close, you can still see the 'Little Gym' and 'Flanders' logo and where they removed the logos from the side of his shorts and his back.





In other Kurt news, Carl G is a youTube celebrity.

2007 in Review

23 Races
3 Wins
7 Top 5's

One of my big goals was to win a race, which I did first at the informal hill climb and then a few more times over the summer.

May 9th M-Hill hill climb 1st Cyclist
June 26th Summit Crit 5- 1st
Proctor Cycling Classic RR 5b- 1st
Tour or Granite County Omnium- 1st

I did 23 total races, which is a bit more than I'd like to do. Its hard to focus and take each race seriously when you're doing them one after the other after the other. I was able to upgrade to a 4 and was nearly able to become a cat 3, which will happen with one more first or a second place and any other top 6 finish.

Other races include:
Redwater Roubaix
May 22nd OPUS Crit
Minnesota State Crit 4/5- 9th
Afton Avalanche MTB Sport- 7th
June 12th Summit Crit 3/4/5- 7th
June 19th Summit Crit 5 and 3/4/5
June 26th Summit Crit 3/4/5
Mankato NVGP Amatuer Crit 4/5- 2nd
Proctor Cycling Classic Crit 5- 3rd
Northfield Crit- 4/5, 3/4
Hopkins Crit- 4/5, 3/4
July 17th Hollywood CRS- 4/5 and 3/4/5
July 24th Hollywood CRS- 4/5
Tour of Granite County RR 4-3rd
Tour of Granite County TT 4- 14th
Tour of Granite County Crit 4- 2nd

I beat John, though it was mostly by following his every move and waiting til he was burnt out. He's a great racer and I hope I have the chance to race him again.

And finally, I finished a sub four hour marathon.

So, 4/4 as far as this year is concerned.

The real triumph isn't that I finished the marathon or that I won a few races. Its that I was able to do both in the same season and that I was on crutches for 10 weeks in the fall of '06. Next year I'll sight my sights a bit higher and see if I can continue the success. I should be out on Long Island all summer (though not for sure yet) and I'm trying to find a team to race with. I've talked with the guys down at Carl Hart; I'll miss wearing Flanders red and white, but the CBSC guys seem pretty cool and they're right out my back door. Training starts in 4 weeks!