I’m in Arvada at Vincent’s. Being here, I’m with Jack too. Jack is Vincent’s Vizsla. We go way back. But, we really bonded last February when I was out in Colorado for shoulder surgery in Vail. Jack stayed with us for nearly three weeks, up in the mountains. I was much more down and out than I am now, and Jack was a very loyal friend. He would stay with me nearly every hour of the day. Bromont wanted to go out and romp, which Jack would too, but Jack would return right back to me as soon as they got back.

I was out here a month ago and Jack took up his position. I was pretty much horizontal all day and Jack kept me company. Bromont too.

Jack and Bromont are buddies. Bromont isn’t much into other dogs, but Jack is an exception. He doesn’t mind if Jack plays dog pile right on top of him. And Jack is a piler oner. He likes to sleep on you.

Last night, Bromont was tired from Leadville. So he was trying to sleep, but Jack couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be closer to Bromont or me. A constant back and forth. It interrupted my sleep, but that is a given nowadays, so it doesn’t bother me as much as normal.

Vincent and Bill just went out for a long ride and I’m left sitting around. I hate it. It is super nice, though, having these guys around me while I try to stay motivated and heal. It takes a lot of the sting away.

This morning, while watching the Tour. Guess they wanted some attention.

Never any room for me on the bed.

They move around a lot.

Since yesterday was a rest day in the Tour, the morning was clear to do whatever. I got a late start and didn’t head out to ride until after 11 am. I have the go ahead, sort of, from a person that has a Dr. before their name or MD after, to go ahead and ride as hard as I want, regardless of pain. So, I did that for an hour yesterday, and the pain wasn’t “regardless”. I rode with Bill and Vincent over to Golden, got some coffee, and then back. They pussed of out and didn’t ride much further.

I had to hightail it back to drive to Fort Collins to see Trent Newcomer, DVM, who happens to ride on our team. Bromont has been a little down and out for a little while and I was just getting worried. Man, the traffic on I-25 from Denver to Ft. Collins is insane. More insane the way back. I got there just in time for my appointment.

Trent rode the Silver Rush last Saturday and qualified for Leadville. We talked a little about the race and then he did a super checkup. He said that he thought that Bromont had some arthritis in back by his tail, plus some in the hips. A few other things, but the arthritis was the big thing. Trent knew of a study that a drug company is doing on it, so I enrolled him in the study. He had x-rays and is going to get some blood tests, etc. It means that I have to drive back out here the middle of next week, the two weeks later and a week after that again. That is a lot of driving, 8 hours each way, but I doubt I’m going to be putting in huge miles by then and I love Bromont to death, so I don’t mind at all. And, there are worse places to hang out that Colorado in August.

I stopped at an Apple Store on the way back to Arvada. My phone’s battery has been draining super fast. The said my battery was dead and charged me $75 to replace it. I didn’t know if that seemed fair or not at the time. I know it doesn’t now because the battery is still draining crazy fast. It was after I did the software update last week. I thought it was because I was up in Vail and Leadville and my battery was draining because it was searching for cell service, but no. If anyone has any ideas out there, feel free to let me know.

I have to admit that my hip isn’t much sorer than when I just try to pedal 80% with my right leg and 20% with the left. It does stiffen up a ton when I sit, even just for a bit. I think I’ll be able to ride a lot more pretty soon, but like I’ve posted here before, I have pretty much given up an optimistic time frame.

Bromont pretty much hates all vet offices.

Trent explaining Bromont’s hip issues.

Trent took Bromont outside and watched his gait.