Bad news (century training)

[Nick]

Oh my goodness. Scary stuff. Eyes are precious, take care of yourself. Biking can wait... you'll be ready, stronger and in full force once you get through all this. Retinal medicine can do wonders, nowadays. Wishing you a rapid healing.

[skywalkerbeth]

Hello everyone

Thank you for all the good vibes! I'm in a much better mood today. The bad eye is slowly improving, and, I asked the doc today about the "good eye" which has the retinal issue. There is only one "thin" spot that he saw, so far, and it's at the bottom which he said is the best place to have it if you are going to have it. Gravity will help.

I cannot get it "tacked down" (think of a tent you don't want to flap all over, you nail it down) until my bad eye heals up more than it is.

But I still cannot risk it. There is too much at stake. I am blind in one eye (the bad eye) and the good eye is the only one I have.

Indy, so sorry to hear about the Graves disease! What is the prognosis, is it mostly under control?

Vixen, I think that someone must be watching out for me. This would never have been discovered if my "bad eye" were not bad enough to warrant being sent to this specialist. Must have been a reason.

Crankin, that is a great time! I was hoping to finish in 8 hours. I guess this time off gives me a huge head start for the next year's rides...

Darcy, those are great points. And I know how tough exercise is when you have diabetes, both of my parents have it and when we go do things we have to keep a constant eye on their blood sugar.

Everyone, thank you again, I was really down yesterday. I feel better today and I'm going to be well ready for next year!

[ny biker]

There are also plenty of other rides you could do before the Sea Gull next year -- various metrics and half-metrics -- to help you get in shape for it and have some fun along the way.

I like these alot --

http://endhungercalvert.org/bike/

http://www.ohbike.org/events/rural_legacy_eflyer.html

They are both in southern Maryland, on the western side of the Chesapeake, if that's not too far from you.

[skywalkerbeth]

ny biker, I will be looking for other rides so thank you for the heads up. I had the Seagull on my mind because it seemed like a good "first century" because it is flat, and, I have several friends who are riding in it.

I didn't mention this earlier, but, the reason the "good eye" issues are freaking me out so much is that I am blind in my bad eye. Meaning I only have one eye that actually works. If the good eye goes bad, I am SOL. For real.

The bad eye started going bad in my mid-20s, and at the risk of sounding like "poor pity me", 45 is a bit young to be going through all this bullshit with the other eye.

[tzvia]

Oh my, plenty of time for cycling later, yes take care of yourself first. Vision is priceless. Hope you get better soon.

[tulip]

ny biker, I will be looking for other rides so thank you for the heads up. I had the Seagull on my mind because it seemed like a good "first century" because it is flat, and, I have several friends who are riding in it.

I didn't mention this earlier, but, the reason the "good eye" issues are freaking me out so much is that I am blind in my bad eye. Meaning I only have one eye that actually works. If the good eye goes bad, I am SOL. For real.

The bad eye started going bad in my mid-20s, and at the risk of sounding like "poor pity me", 45 is a bit young to be going through all this bullshit with the other eye.

Thinking of you, Beth. I, too, am blind in one eye (since I was 17; I'm 43 now) and take extra care of the good one. It's just something that we have to live with. PM me if you want, as I don't want to get into details here but will be happy to listen and commiserate and exchange experiences, ideas, and coping strategies offline.

There are many metric and English centuries next year in central and eastern Virginia next year, too. I hope to see you at one!