Author Archives: Steve Tilford

Bromont

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Yesterday went pretty badly.  Much worse than I’d anticipated.  We took Bromont over to K-State with the intention of leaving him there for 3 days, having a splenectomy, plus recovery.  We had our fingers crossed that maybe the hemangiosarcoma was isolated to his skin.  Looking back now, I should have realized that wouldn’t be the case.

We gave him a kiss and drove the hour home.  Just a couple hours later, the surgeon called me and told me that in the chest x-rays they found nodules, cancer nodules.  And he wanted to know what we wanted to do.  Of course we got back in the car and drove back and got him.

So, it’s a pretty done deal.  There is no treatment for this specific cancer in dogs.  He has slowed down so remarkable quick, it is disturbing.  Maybe he was just super worn out from the whole ordeal at K-State, but he only did about 100 meters on his evening walk.  Plus, he’s barely eating.

We’re going to take him up to Wisconsin this weekend for a last romp in the Northwoods.  It’s his favorite place in the world and he is super comfortable up there.  I’m not sure what we’ll do after that.

He’s been a very good friend the last 11 years.  I’m going to miss him like crazy.

He loves Northern Wisconsin.

He loves Northern Wisconsin.

And Dennis' couch.

And Dennis’ couch.

We got him a ice cream at DQ after we picked him up. It's his favorite treat.

We got him a ice cream at DQ after we picked him up. It’s his favorite treat.

 

 

Bored with the Sport?

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People ask me all the time how I could possible be still interested in racing bikes after all this time.  They truly don’t understand how  I could not be bored and it could still be interesting after all these years.

Before needing to focus on Bromont now, I was in a quandary of what to do this week. If I didn’t have this chest cold thing going on, I would most likely have driven down to Austin and done the La Primavera Lago Vista.   The weekend consists of a very hard circuit race that sometimes changes my fitness a whole level.

Feeling iffy, I would have just stayed here and done a local criterium and road race here in Lawrence and Perry Kansas.  I can ride to both these races and end up with close to 100 miles each day, which is always welcome in March.

And last, the Handmade Bike Show is going on in Louisville, starting tomorrow.  Kent Eriksen, and Katie, are showing there, of course, plus, the show is a candy store for anyone interested in bicycles.  My friend Stacie lives there, so it would be such an no-brainer.

But, I’m driving up into the snow of the Northwoods.  The Fat BIke Birkie is being held on Saturday.  They closed the field a couple weeks ago at 750 riders. Compare that to the 18 starters in the Elite Men’s Nationals a couple weeks ago in Ogden, or the 4 women starters and it makes you wonder how USAC decided to promote its own Nationals and not just award the National Championships to this event?   It is 47 km,  going from Telemark to OO on the Birkie Trail and back North on The Classic Trail.  Ned is heading up there today, so it will be nice seeing him.

Anyway, I could list a dozen other options of things I could do this weekend related to cycling.  From just sitting on my ass to watch Strade Bianche on the internet, Saturday morning, to meeting up with a bunch of friends to ride trails off-road.

And this is only March.  As the season gets rolling, the choices multiply .  And this is just the physical stuff.  Mentally, cycling is even more vast.  If you’re bored with the sport mentally, then you have closed off your ability to absorb knowledge.

Losing interest is another story.  I can understand losing interest or changing focus, but being bored with the sport, if you are a true cyclist, couldn’t possibly occur.

Anyway, cycling is going to be on the back burner for a while.  I plan to spend as much time as I possibly can with Bromont.

choices