Over 16 weeks since surgery

I have 3000TFX Bovine Tissue Valve, 29mm, in the Aortic position installed in my heart. I carry a card to that effect in my wallet. It's an Edwards valve, by the way. Just in case you wondered "hmmm, I wonder what brand of valve Chris selected for his heart." I wanted a HEMI. The left side of my chest hurts and I'm occasionally light headed. I can't sleep with out taking drugs, and I'm continually tired. I need to take 5mg of lisinopril every day for the rest of my life (to reduce my blood pressure) and an aspirin to thin my blood. But, if you didn't know I had heart valve replacement surgery four month ago, you'd never know that I had heart valve replacement surgery.

My heart rate seems to be dropping slightly, but it's not where I want it to be. When I check it in the a.m., it's somewhere around 70 BPM. Not bad. But, usually, throughout the day, it's around 75 - 100 depending upon what I am doing. I wear a Polar Heart Rate Monitor, a lot. Probably more than I should. But it's interesting to see how my heart performs under different situations. I try to keep it below 80% of my maximum heart rate (178??), which would be around 148bpm.

Ryan and I headed out west to Frutia last week for some warmer temperatures and desert riding. Chutes and Ladders, Joe's Ridge, Front Side, Zippety-doo-dah, the Kessel run (which I was able to do in less than twelve parsecs, I have the fastest Yeti in the galaxy), and Prime Cut were all under our wheels in short order. One new Coleman stove (best $50 cup of coffee I've ever had), more information about camels than you really need, and a few beers later (and an awesome $10 cigar {which I didn't pay for}), we were on our way back to Summit just in time for good weather to roll back in.

Ripping technical single track, way faster than you should, is undoubtedly one of the most fun things you can do with your time. Getting right on the edge (over the edge), and pulling it back is invigorating. I don't fall much, but when I do, I usually end up in the hospital. Luckily for me, my bread "twist-tied" sternum is solid.

Oh yea...check out this crazy "ant-like" bug that I ran into in Fruita. It was about 2 inches long. It was pretty scary and gigantic. In fact, this image is about "actual size." If you know what the hell this is, please let me know.










All my best...Chris