Category Archives: Personal stuff

Past performance is not a predictor of future results

Personal stuff, Ride reports (not Tu/Th), Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

Got a new bike computer, the Garmin 1050. It is *so* nice!!! Super-bright screen with greater contrast, easier for 68-year-old eyes to see, easier for gloved hands to work the screen, and displays relevant information regarding your fitness level and what might be done to improve it.

Cruising through the menus, I found one (that’s also available on the Garmin 1030 and 1040 I think) that gives your past best accomplishments, going back to the beginning of time (not really; goes back to when you first started logging rides with a Garmin). One of the items shown was 20 minute power, which, of course, couldn’t be measured until I got my first power meter. That peak 20 minute power reading was from October 13, 2013. So I had to go back and look it up, right? And the title of that ride…

First real ride with “Power” (Stages power meter)

That’s right. My first ride with a power meter demonstrated the highest-20-minute-power I’ve ever seen. Which means, basically, that it’s been all downhill ever since. I have no way of knowing when my peak power readings might have been; when I was 50 I had a bit of a second “peak” in fitness (the first being the years I raced, which prehistoric times… no power meters, no cell phones, no bike computers of any kind). But I do know that I’ve been on a steadily-downhill trend since 2013 at least.

The good news is that my Garmin-estimated VO2 max is coming off it’s low and back up to 47 (was 46 a few weeks ago) and hopefully I can get it up a bit higher as I get ready for France. I’ve also got another glass-booth breathing test coming up, where I’ll get an idea of how the lungs are working and push for more attention to the cause of my breathing issues.

Yesterday’s Kings ride- not too bad. I was feeling pretty good on Kings, possibly feeling the effects of taking Ketones about 35 minutes prior to the ride, rather than waiting until just heading out. As with most things, seems like I need a bit more time to warm up and for meds to take effect.

Also finally on blood pressure meds. Losartan, which will hopefully not have an affect on my performance like Amlodipine did. First dose last night. Think if I take it just before sleep, I can sleep through the worst of any side-effects.

Here’s that ride from 11 years ago-

Are Ketones the solutions to Life, The Universe, and Everything?

Personal stuff, Tdf trip planning


As most know, Kevin has epilepsy, and has been getting an increasing number of seizures lately at work, and occasionally elsewhere. Thankfully, he has about 20 seconds warning before they hit… otherwise, riding a bike would be a bit too exciting. It’s already bad enough when he has a seizure out on the road, and I’ve got him flat on his back, looking like he’s in a bad way, maybe people thinking he crashed and/or got run over. Gets old having to explain to people he’s fine, he’ll be back on his bike in a couple minutes. But you also start thinking about all the people who just fly by when it looks like someone’s in real trouble.

He’s tried various different meds over the years, and even has a computer implanted (or rather, planted) on top of his brain. Literally. As in, saw the top of your skull off, stick in a computer, then stitch everything back together. But even with all that, he’s still getting seizures.

Traditionally, for reasons unexplained, he has very, very few seizures in France. So we’re hoping the upcoming trip might put them on pause for a while, but it’s also possible that since this is going to be a very short and intense trip, it might not be optimal for seizures this time.

But there is a plan B. There’s this crazy, impossible-to-follow diet, call Ketogenic, that tricks your body into thinking you’re starving and changes brain chemistry in a way to reduces seizures. OK, we ruled it out previously because it was so tough to stick to, but now, you can get exogenous Ketones (basically ingest ketones directly into the body instead of processing them through food). And if you work hard enough at the research, you can find stuff from 2019 showing that exogenous ketones work to reduce seizures, just like the ketogenic diet does. What hadn’t happened, yet, was proof that ketones were safe to take in that fashion.

That was then, this is now. Ketones have also been shown to improve athletic endurance and speed… finding their way into… bike racing! And since they’re (so far) legal, they’ve become quite a big thing, and have proven themselves safe.

So guess what Kevin’s going to be on shortly? Praying that it works! Only downside is, if it makes him even faster…