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Beasty's back - 2018, 2019 and beyond....

  • 24-12-2017 12:10pm
    #1
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭


    In 2010 I kicked off this “series” in a fashion that may be a little familiar

    Beasty’s objectives for 2010 were interrupted by a fall on ice in February of that year, resulting in a broken wrist. I then managed to start my racing career a couple of weeks after getting the cast off, at the ripe old age of 49

    The following year saw my failed Assault on the vets but it did deliver some success on the track with the IVCA pursuit championship for my age group

    I managed to retain that championship for Beasty’s 2012 cycling pursuits – a year that also delivered my one and only road race victory.

    2013 was never going to be The Year of the Beasty, although did again deliver some track success

    2014 started off positively with a newly appointed coach getting me well prepared for the racing season. Alas that’s as far as it went, and the first and only race of that year resulted in a serious head injuries complemented by 11 fractures and a long lay-off. This resulted in Beasty’s Sweaty Plaster Cast which was to outlive it’s original year timescale as the road to recovery persisted all the way through to 2017
    Hopefully most of that’s behind me now, and it’s time for a “fresh” log

    I’m not going to tempt fate by stating any objectives for the year, beyond a desire to do much more than I managed in 2017, with the hope of a return to racing, both on the track, and the road. I do think I will try and focus a little more on TTs ahead of road races (although I set that out as a desire when I started this racing lark nearly 8 years ago).

    Hopefully I’ll be able to update this a bit more than the previous log….


Comments

  • #2
    uck51js9zml2yt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,268 ✭✭✭✭uck51js9zml2yt


    Having read your exploits, maybe you should try a hi Viz vest and stabilisers :D


  • #3
    rash
    Registered Users Posts: 305 ✭✭rash


    Haven't read your epic threads but seen enough posts to know you had a long layoff due to a bad crash. Best of luck for 2018, enjoy the bike and stay safe.


  • #4
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Was pleased with myself putting in a decent Wattbike session this evening. Thinking things really are starting to get better....


    ...then I was brining some pressies down the stairs a while ago and missed the bottom step. Don't think any of the presents were damaged fortunately, but I've certainly got a sore left knee. Of more concern though is the right ankle which is now starting to swell up. The good news though is that's the side where they deadened the nerves, so although there is some pain, it may not feel as bad as it could! I'm guessing tomorrow morning will be when I really start to feel any consequences


  • #5
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,234 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    any updates on the ankle?


  • #6
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Well yesterday there was no way I could put a shoe on. Today I can just about squeeze one on but I feel as if I'll risk more damage if I try walking in one.

    It's still quite swollen and bruising is starting to spread across the foot and down into the toes. Looks like any damage is across the top of the foot rather than ankle. I can walk without too much pain, although that could be down to the ibuprofen and/or the fact they deadened a couple of nerves that feed into that leg. Had thought about heading off to the Swiftcare Clinic because of the possibility that something may be being masked due to that procedure, but I'll see if it settles down any more overnight and head off to the GP if I think it may need further investigation

    At least it means I can watch the cricket into the early hours as there's not much to get up for when pretty much all I can do is lounge around watching TV and stuffing my face with chocolate:o


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  • #7
    RobFowl
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    RICE !
    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Elevation

    Get well soon Beasty


  • #8
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Dammit!! Knew something was not right - was using frozen peas instead of ice - until someone needed them for XMas lunch:(


    :)

    Going to head off to VHI Swiftcare later to get it checked out


  • #9
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Foot and ankle now x-rayed. All soft tissue damage (plus a few "floating" bits they say is arthritis - thought that was something the older folk like Rob and his neighbour (whatever name he goes by nowadays) got. They also asked if I had broken the foot before :eek:

    Can't drive until the swelling goes down. Didn't say anything about cycling though (and I never thought to ask ;))

    Anyway I can at least head out for a drink without having to worry about the car (but for the fact I don't drink)

    Guess I'll just be resting up for a few more days then...


  • #10
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    437327.jpg

    At least the swelling has gone down quite a lot


  • #11
    smacl
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 15,705 Mod ✭✭✭✭smacl


    Ouch! Surprised you haven't got a recumbent in the fleet yet, might let you get and and use the few remaining parts that aren't bashed, battered and bruised.


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  • #12
    CramCycle
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,419 Mod ✭✭✭✭CramCycle


    Tricycle racing FTW


  • #13
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So it's 3 months since I fell down the stairs, and in that time all my training has been done indoors, as the foot has continued to play up

    Went for a scan on it yesterday and got the results today. Minimally displaced fracture of the heel:eek: So I've been walking round for 3 months with a broken foot

    Now need to head off to get it properly checked out. Swiftcare can't do it as it's such an old fracture. They should be able to refer me to an orthopaedic surgeon though

    My fear, having googled it all, is that I won't be able to put any weight on it for a few weeks at least, and that may mean a cast rather than "boot". May be relying on crutches and taxis for a couple of months or so. Just hope they don't need to re-set it (hoping the "minimally" bit means that's not necessary)


  • #14
    RobFowl
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Hope all is ok, looking forward to seeing you back on a bike !


  • #15
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Cheers Rob. Off to see the specialist tomorrow. It's been getting worse so at best I think I may end up with an extended period of immobilisation of my foot and ankle. May be a while before I'm back on a bike, so I'm thinking about letting the wee Beastie out to run rampage on the track. Went to Alkmaar with him on the youth session over there a few weeks ago. He's done very little on the track, but did a 19.1s flying lap which is nor far off my fastest! He's back at Sundrive in the morning for his Easter camp. I'll be driving him there, but there's a chance I won't be able to drive, let alone ride a bike, for a while after that


  • #16
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    I went to see the foot specialist - the good news is the fracture had healed, although the joint was crushed - not a particularly important joint (according to the specialist), but I've found unclipping, particularly from the track bike which has very high tension, is both difficult and painful.

    After some physio I had a cortisone injection just under 2 weeks ago. The idea is to take the pain away, although it may need repeating, and the foot is going to be much more susceptible to arthritis

    I was on the road bike for the first time since the fall on XMas Eve a few days later, and was back on for an hour the following day. Since then I did the track league and have been out for an hour on each of the past 3 days

    And the result - for the first time in nearly 2 years I'm feeling no pain in the foot, leg or back either during or after a ride. I'd pretty much forgotten what riding a bike pain-free was like

    So now I can try and build up with a view to doing some road racing. I may try a 10m TT on the road bike (don't want to tempt providence with the back, certainly not yet anyway), and I may give some vets races a go - either going out with the "slow" race, or perhaps doing one or two laps until I get back into the swing of it


  • #17
    RobFowl
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Should you not just be put down at this stage ?????


  • #18
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Shuuurrrruuuupppp you!!!

    I've a cup final to go to next week - I know that every day is a day closer to your team winning the league again. I'm comforted by the expectation that I won't be alive by the time it happens....

    Hope you enjoy Kiev - I understand your mate Putin is expected to arrive the day of that final (or his representatives in their tanks)....


  • #19
    RobFowl
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Beasty wrote: »
    Shuuurrrruuuupppp you!!!

    I've a cup final to go to next week - I know that every day is a day closer to your team winning the league again. I'm comforted by the expectation that I won't be alive by the time it happens....

    Hope you enjoy Kiev - I understand your mate Putin is expected to arrive the day of that final (or his representatives in their tanks)....

    We are on the Up :)

    #YNWA

    Ps rooting for old beetroot face, the world is a more interesting place with him in it, hope he recovers and gets on with enjoying life


  • #20
    lennymc
    Registered Users Posts: 6,457 ✭✭✭lennymc


    RobFowl wrote: »
    Ps rooting for old beetroot face

    That's not a nice way to talk about Beasty


  • #21
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Happy to resurrect this thread as we move into a new era.....

    Having fractured the heel last XMas, I've had 2 cortisone injections since. I was told I could expect swelling for a year or so, but it's been as bad in the past month as it was when I was last posting in this thread. Add to that I suspect plantar fasciitis in the other heel, probably due to overcompensation. My foot specialist thinks the same, and I'll be heading back for injections in both feet in the New Year

    The back is currently OK'ish, but I had another procedure a couple of months ago to deaden the nerve again. Before that I was in pretty much constant spasm/pain, but the procedure took that away immediately. I suspect though that it's something that will need repeating regularly

    The racing season petered out, with the back and foot problems limiting opportunities. I had to abandon the IVCA championships after the TT, as my back went straight into spasm after that race. I may continue to make up the numbers when required in the TT, but my standing starts at anything approaching full effort will be limited to the occasional pursuit going forward as the last 2 TT all-out efforts have resulted in spasms (due to the effort of getting out of the gate).

    In terms of time on the bike, it's been very limited due to injury and family commitments. Most of my time has been on the WB, although I have managed to get out a couple of times on the road over the past few weeks, and yesterday was my longest spin YTD, albeit only 1hr 45mins. I do think though that I will be able to build up through January and February, and hopefully will be fit enough for some IVCA racing when it opens up at the end of March (only managed one lap of one race all year, which is as much as I managed in 2017).

    Track will yet again be the main focus, and the shorter events are much more manageable than road races. If things go well this year, hopefully I'll be OK for the British Masters in July, the IVCA champs in September, the World Masters in Manchester probably some time in October (although dates are to be confirmed) and the LVRC championships in October/November . Equally I will need to take care not to overdo things, and there is every chance I'll end up missing something due to further procedures, particularly on the back.


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  • #22
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    This log has been very quiet - and for good reason - I feel like I've not done much at all in recent times. There have been a number of reasons for that, some of which I will report separately. Today though was the culmination of a sequence of events that started 2 years, 9 months and 10 days ago.That was the day a guy rammed into the back of my car - twice!

    Since then I've had numerous treatments, and indeed have another back procedure lined up in a few weeks. However the lasting impact from that day has been on my mental health. Basically I had fought my way back from the serious accident back in 2014. I was getting back to a decent level of fitness. I had been placing in IVCA races and my track racing was going well

    Everything changed on 14 August 2016. My world turned upside down. I had put all that effort into my recovery, only to be terrorised by some scumbag looking for his Sunday morning kicks. Since then I've not completed a road race. In fact I've only ever done a single lap, and probably only 3 or 4 times in those 33 months.

    Today that culminated in a trip to the Four Courts. I was taking my claim against the c*nt who had wrecked my life to the High Court. 2 prior court dates had been adjourned. This time it was on. I spent the morning speaking to my lawyer and barrister. The other side were clearly skeptical over their own client - the car driver, but were actually being instructed by the insurance company.

    Not everything went to plan but eventually we quite literally reached a settlement on the step to No 1 Court. That was not before my barrister had ensured the other driver had gone into the court in expectation the hearing was going ahead. First time I had seen the toerag since that fateful day. Hopefully he'll never get insurance again.

    This experience has been mentally more challenging that recovering from 11 facial, 1 wrist, 1 elbow, 1 neck and 1 back fracture, a traumatic brain injury and a swallowed tongue back in 2014.

    Hopefully I'll never see that low-life again. This brings to an end a chapter of my life that I hope no-one else ever has to experience.

    With all of that I'm bringing this thread to a close.

    Tomorrow they say is another day. But it's going to be a day when I restart my life. A new day, a new chapter


  • #23
    RobFowl
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Sadness and misery involved looking at the past or worrying about the future. Enjoy the present and all the opportunities it entails.
    Would love to see you back on the bike and best wishes from a fellow nutjob ;)


  • #24
    koutoubia
    Registered Users Posts: 2,259 ✭✭✭koutoubia


    Hope to see you back on the road sooner rather then later Beasty Boy!


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