Progress and sponsorship

At last I am feeling a bit better. Yesterday I needed fewer pain killers and the pilates session last night only left me feeling slightly nauseous. I couldn't face cycling because it was late and I know it hurts. I was hoping to get a quick ride in during the day today, but the combination of -5C and snow/ice everywhere is putting me off somewhat.

Anyway the exciting news for the day is that I have been asked to join Team Twin Six for 2010. This means that I get to race in their gear (ie get to buy it very very cheaply) for the season and also get 30% off everything from them for the year as well. I will have a bio on their homepage as well so maybe I'll be able to get a few more visitors here through it as well. Amazingly I didn't have to lie or anything to get my application accepted, I just told them that I come in the middle of the field in every race and I am about the only person in Denmark riding a 29er bike. Apparently that is enough these days to be worthy of representing a fairly cool brand of bike gear.

The only real pain will be that I will no doubt get crucified with import duty when they send me the kit later in the spring...

Slow progress

After substantial numbers of pain killers there is a slight improvent in my neck but it still hurts and I am still not much fun to interact with :-/

Weather alert

I don't know if you still have snow in the UK, but it hasn't really been above frezing for at least a month and now it is snowing again...

Pain in the neck

Over the past few years I have had several episodes of neck and shoulder pain which I am told is caused by stress although I know that sitting in front of a laptop for many hours each day doesn't help at all.

I guess that the current episode has been brought on by DK's surgery, but that knowledge doesn't seem to be helping to get rid of the pain. I went to the Chiropractor on Monday and that helped a bit, but I am not going back again until next Monday and I am in fairly serious and almost constant pain at the moment. I need some serious ibuprofen consumption to get through the day.

I don't know if this guy is trying to get out of the problem by hangin himself and I am nowhere near that state, but I am really sick of this and I suspect I have another week or 2 of it to come. Bugger.

Bikes

I was just reading a post on a biking forum and people were listing all the bikes they'd owned. I thought it was interesting to see that some had 30 or more bikes in 20 years, whilst some had only had 2 or three. I guess I was about average with my list, but I can easily see that it is not average compared with the normal population. Let's not think about the car that I could have bought with the money, but instead consider how much fun I've had with them and that they have get me in better shape mentally and physically than any car ever could.

Dawes Stratos road bike with Shimano 105 - 1991

Scott team racing - 1997 (stolen)

Trek 2200 road bike - 1999 (payment for plastering a wall!)

Marin Rift Zone - 2000 (sold frame)

Cannondale R3000 -2004 (stripped parts)

On-one Pompino - 2005 (sold)

On-one geared inbred - 2004 (sold)

Cannondale Jekyll - 2006 (sold)

Cotic Road Rat - 2008 - (Still got)

Salsa Mamasita - 2008 (best MTB I've had)

Cervelo R3SL - 2008 (sexiest bike in the world)

Cervelo soloist team - 2009

Cooold

It was nice to have another weekend without any real obligations other than being at home and entertaining the kids. I had planned to spend some hours out on my bike during the weekend, but the 2 hours that I spent on Saturday proved to be enough to persuade me that I shouldn't go out again on Sunday.

It was about -4C (low 20s F for those of you who reside in the past) and there was an icy wind blowing across from Russia to keep everything deeply frozen. I was pretty damned cold for most of the 2 hours that I was out although I did enjoy the opportunity to get some fresh air and daylight. When the chance came to ride again on Sunday, I chose to ride in the basement and watch the end of Watchmen on DVD and get in some power intervals instead of risking the ice again. A good choice I think.

This morning I have been to the Chiropractor to get my neck sorted out a bit. The problem is a trapped nerve that is always brought on by a great combination of stress and desk work. I can thank DK for this one which makes a change from work causing both of the problems!

DK is continuing to do well, he had his stitches out this morning and is currently at the cleft palate centre seeing a doctor for a check up and a speech therapist for the same I suppose. He makes a lot of different noises and seems to communicate quite well considering that the only word he can annunciate clearly is "more".

MK and I have another hour planned with Darcey this evening. Hopefully the yoga will be good for MK's cold.

Back on the straight and hopefully narrower

After an autumn and Christmas of easier training and slackened eating control I am ready to get down to some serious training and dieting again. Something clicked this week that made me realise that I need to get serious again. It wasn't so much of a click as a squelch as I forced myself into my smallest pair of trousers yesterday that I realised it was time to take control of the calories.

I don't think I have gained much weight, maybe 2 kg but as I was aiming to get down to 90kg this year and I think I am at about 98kg at the moment, there is plenty of work to do.

A review of the rules:

• No white stuff - sugar, mayo, lard, ice cream, cream or cauliflower if I can help it. ( I'm still allowed a little butter)
• No refined sugar, cakes, sweets, biscuits unless it is during or immediately before/after exercise
• Limited starchy food - rice, pasta potatoes
• No milky coffee
• Lots of grated carrots

As some sort of encouragement, I have entered the 2010 dust cup which is a series of mid week mountain bike races much like the slush cup, but in the summer - hence dust cup. The races are around Copenhagen and on Wednesday evenings so there won't be too much upheaval and I will be able to fit them in around club training and hopefully some road races at the weekends...

Before any of that I want to lose at least 5 kg by easter which is a good 10 weeks away and get to a point where my trousers are comfortable again.

Pilates with Darcey

For her birthday I bought MK a yoga kit (a mat, some blocks and a belt - don't know what that's for though) and a Darcy Bussell Pilates DVD. Last night after we put the kids to bed we got the mats out and did the workout. It took a bit more than an hour to go through the tips, warm up, work out and cool down.

By the end we had agreed that it wasn't too hard, she is a lot more flexible than we are (really she is, I know it's hard to believe) and it went too slowly. The best thing was that we enjoyed it and it was really relaxing so we are planning on doing it again 2 or 3 times a week but maybe using the shorter mini workout whenwe can't be bothere with the full hour. I think it may well help my neck and shoulders and also the core strength will help a lot when I am cycling.

Fancy pants

At last I can do a post about something other than DK.

Last night I had another go at tempura batter with a reasonable amount of success. I did some cod slices that were OK, but I don't think the oil was deep enough and there was no more in the cupboard. The main success were the tempura basil leaves that were light, crispy delicious and very poncy. I also tried some onion rings that were pretty good and some boiled carrots that were, at the very least, improved by the coating of crispy batter.

Sorry there aren't any pictures to enjoy thins time, but I'm pretty sure I'll try it again at some point.

Business as usual

Today was a fairly normal day of disagreements, stamped feet and demands all around. DK is really getting back to his usual self with a good appetite and about 15 nappies used before lunch!

I have worked at home and MK and I have been trying to decide how to use our vacation this year. I have about 3 weeks to take before the end of April, but it is looking as though we will not be doing anything exotic partly for financial reasons and partly because there just doesn't seem to be much time to fit it in. I had hoped to fit in a sneaky lunch time bike ride, but work was somewhat crazy with problems to solve and the slush/snow all over the place was not exactly inviting so I will have to get myself onto the trainer when the kids have gone to bed.

Look who's home!

There's one problem with making his bum work better. We have to keep changins shitty nappies!

It's great to have them home, we weren't expecting it so soon, but he has recovered well and we're all happy.

All going well

J and I visited the dynamic duo again yesterday, this time taking the train to make the experience a little more exciting for J. All went well and DK was noticably better than Tue day before. He has been eating some real food and seems to be getting stronger again.

Sunday morning I was supposed to do the next round of the slushcup mountain bike race. This was the urban round and is around a derelict warehoue/dock area. I got there 1,5 hours before my start time to find -2C and a howling wind to go with the ice underfoot. It didn't take many seconds to realise that I'd rather be in the hospital with M&D Ks that risking my neck out there so I went to the really good baker on Christianshavn and got some bread and cakes and then headed for the hospital.

During the night DK had removed his own drip so he now only the tube in the othe end to deal with although the IV may well have to go back in unless he starts drinking a lot.

Now it's tme for some of my home made Thai vegetable soup with the over priced bread before I head of to get J from the outlaws later.

DK improving more than MK

I took J into the hospital this afternoon to see the dynamic duo of the Danish health care system.

Both of the inmates were happy to see us and DK has picked up a great deal since yesterday and had apparently eaten 5 ice-pop things during the afternoon whilst MK's mum was there. Whistl DK is improving, MK is rather tired and was obviously sad to see J for such a short time and then say goodbye to him again.

Unfortunately it is all a bit late in the week and late in the day for J who was rather tired so he wasn't at his best. We didn't stay too long, but we will go back tomorrow on the train for some added excitement. On the way home J decided that he was too hungry to get home without starving to death so I decided to try out McDonalds for the first time in a very very long time. Suffice to say that J will not be asking to go back and I am pretty much certain that I will never eat another McDonalds again as long as I live.

Weight off the shoulders

It's been a long week for us all. After the stress of Wednesdays operation, I was completed exhausted and it was only yesterday that I realised how much worry I have been carrying around since last September when we found out about his Hirschsprungs disease. I can really feel a weight lifted from my shoulders and hopefully MK does too although I can see she is still worried and is reluctant to go further than the toilet or the kitchen in the ward. DK still has a long way to go in terms of recovery and we don't know if the operation will have solved his problems, but the operation is out of the way, he still has most of his bowel and everything seems to be about as good as it can be under the circumstances.

It has been something of a struggle to keep up with my work during the week, I haven't had a great deal of motivation for it or energy left by the time I get home, but I am confident that I can keep up for another few days.

J and I are going to visit MK and DK this afternoon and take get something to eat for MK who is stuck in the ward without food to hand unless someone delivers it to her. I'll take the camera today.

Movement

Thank you to everyone for your comments and thoughts. DK managed to
throw up over everything this afternoon which ended with his clothes
being removed with scissors. At least they were hospital clothes.

He even managed to have a poo on his own later in the evening so we
know they connected the right tubes up! In general he is sleepy and
feeling sorry for himself but things should keep getting better
although we are told it is a slow process.

Update

Daniel went in for his operation at about 9:30 yesterday morning and was gone for about 4 hours. The surgeon removed about 30cm from the bottom of his large intestine where the nerve cells were missing to make it work properly and where it had been stretched and damaged from being bloated for so long. She then connected the good section of bowel to the exit.

He slept most of the afternoon and MK just told me that he has slept most of the night. He has an epidural for pain killers to be put in and otherwise seems to be OK, but groggy. This morning he has been farting which is apparently a good sign.

I am going in to the hospital shortly to see them both and give MK some company, support and lunch.

He's out

We have just spoken to the surgeon and she said everything went fine.
No colostomy and she took about 30cm of bowel out. We are waiting for
him o wake up now. More later when we've seen him.

He is in the theatre now

We went into the theatre with him so we know he is asleep already. Apparently they will use an epidural for the pain and gas to keep him asleep for the 3-4 hour operation.
We are out for breakfast and to try and think about something else.

Ready for the operation

Today was the usual pre-op routine: Into the hospital, fill some forms, out again, take the same blood tests again, see a doctor, see an ansesthetist, and flush out DKs bowels. That took the best part of the day and we are now ready for the operation tomorrow having done another bowel flush this evening.

Now it's the real deal and I am terrified.

I don't know what else to write, they're going to take part of his bowel out and we don't really know what the result will be. We hope that it fixes his problems, but our faith in the medical profession is not that great and they're not even making any promises anyway.

I'll try to keep the blog up to date with his progress over the coming days.

I don't do praying, but if you do, then feel free to say one for DK tomorrow.

January Quick Quiz

What happened just before this picture was taken?

What is special about this picture?

What is this?

Answers:

An al fresco poo

DK is standing up unsupported

A glorious toad in the hole

That walk in the forest

You can click on the pictures to see them in their full glory now (apparently).

Happy Birthday MK

We've had to postpone the real celebration becuase most of MK's family are sick to some extent or other (runny noses, ear ache coughs etc) and we are making a big effort to avoid DK picking anything up before his operation on Wednesday.

We've just had some pancakes for breakfast #2 (3 or 4 for DK) and in a minute we're off to the forest for a walk. Pictures to follow...

Warming up

It isn't warming up at all, but I am keeping warm by not venturing outside the house. Working from home has some big advantages in this weather. I save 2 hours in the car, about £10 worth of petrol and I don't even have to get dressed! I have used some of that time to find out how to use my DSLR camera properly or at least to find out what the contolls do so perhaps I'll get some better pictures with it now. Wait and see.

MK and the boys have just gone out for supplies and are planning a sledgin trip later in the day whilst I get on with my work and wait for lunchtime to arrive.

This weekend is MK's birthday, we are expecting a low key affair as MKs parents are probably not welcome with their assorted viruses and we are psyching ourselves up for the trauma of DKs operation next week.

Have a good weekend everyone and enjoy the snow, you'll miss it when it's gone.

TV addicts

These 2 are getting addicted to the TV. DK gets up before 6 and is angry that the kids TV hasn't started and J just wants to watch it every waking minute so we are implementing some new rules.
MK won't let them watch more than about 30 minutes in the morning and an hour in the evening and that is probably already too much, but when it is so cold and dark outside and they have been playing inside most of the day, sometimes there is nothing else that pacifies them quite as well.

A history of Violence

Live is very much back to normal after the Christmas break now, MK is on her 2nd of 3 hospital apointments for the week and work is really busy. J is off nursey to try and avoid contaminating DK with anything before his operation and there is a slight feeling of cabin fever in the house as a result.

Anyway, last night we saw a history of violence on DVD. I thought it was a really excellent film although I think MK was a little scared by it all. Despite the title, it wasn't really a slasher fillm, but there was a little gore to deal with.

MK is hoping that we can get a night off to go and see the new film with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. Great.

Favourite Christmas Presents

It may be a little late, but I thought I'd share my favourite Christmas presents with you. The first was a 3 pack of Rapha (luxury cycling gear) merino wool base layers (underwear to some of you) which are fabulous. They keep me warm and wick sweat away from my body but even when they get a bit damp, they are still really warm in the way that wool is but nothing synthetic seems to manage. Toasty

Perhaps my absolute favourite and certainly my most terrifying present was a Merkur Vision safety razor. Unlike the usual Gilette razors with 5 blades, this has only 1 normal razor blade, it is big, heavy, sharp and frightening. The first time I used it I was amazed that I only had a couple of nicks and since then I have gotten better and better at using it although I did bleed quite a lot this morning after removing part of a mole...

The blades are really cheap compared with Gilette razors and the whole experience of shaving is completely different. You have to take your time and normally do the whole things twice, but I am enjoying the 5-10 minutes I spend shaving with it in the morning and am now looking forward to the arrival of my new shaving brush...

Thanks to MK and T&B for the ever generous gifts.

Slush Cup #4

It was damned cold yesterday morning, but we decided that the entire family should come with me to Helsingør to watch the latest stage of the Slush Cup anyway. By cold, I mean it was -8C when we left home and -9C when we got to the race site. Given that, I guess it is no surprise that there were some slippery patches out on the course and the turnout was a little lower than at previous races.

I had a really good race and enjoyed it a lot once I was warm. I think the rest of the family froze somewhat, but they looked happy and it was great to have some support

You can see a video made of the race here and about 3/4 of thw way through, J and DK appear eating the finishers cake.

In the end I can 75th which was somewhere near the middle as usual although it was closer to the front than previous races.

After a very rapid change and reloading of the car, we set off hoping that the boys would fall asleep in the car, that was not to happen, but after an emergency garage stop for m&ms, things got a lot better for us all. Hopefully the next one will be a little warmer.

Happy New Year

We had the usual New Years Eve - staying in on our own with a bottle of wine and going to bed before midnight only to be kept awake by the blitz style non-stop fire works that are mandatory in Denmark.

For some reason we never seem to manage much on NYE, we have been to one party since moving here and had a rather bizare evening with D&M overlooking the town square war zone in Copenhagen as people tried to kill each other with fireworks. Perhaps we'll have our own party next year...

I hope that everyone has a great 2010 but more than anything else, I hope that DK has a good January and he is able to get on with being a normal little boy without being interfered with so much.