Hand surgery went well and I am now up walking around

Surgery on my thumb went very well yesterday. It hurts, ALOT! I go back on the first to have my cast placed on my hand, right now I am in just a plaster splint. I am also up walking on my left leg with full weight bearing. While it is sore and I am not got to win any running races at least I don't have to use my crutches!



Thanks for all of the well wishes everyone!

And now the hand...

Yesterday I had an MRI of my right thumb/hand taken. If you remember back on the 23rd during my first ski trip, I caught my thumb on my ski pole as I took a tumble. After the MRI, I went straight to the hand doc to find out the results and develop a plan to treat the pain in my thumb. Originally, when I went to the hand doc last Monday she said it was a partial tear of the UCL(Ulnar Collateral Ligament), also called skier's thumb. The first words out of her mouth were, "I just got the results from the radiologist of your MRI and your thumb has a complete tear of the UCL...." My heart sunk and I knew it would require yet another surgery. The doc immediately started talking about the surgery she had booked for me on the 22nd of January. It will be an outpatient surgery without the general antithetic using only a Bier block on my hand. I will be in a cast for 3 weeks and then a soft splint.... I guess when I play I play hard! Oh well I would rather have it fixed than go around with the pain I have in my thumb and lack of grip strength....

Surgery and a haircut

I had surgery on the leg again on the 3rd. All went well with about 4 hours under the knife. The doc removed the plate on my Fibula and all of it's associated screws. The nail (rod) was replaced with a slightly larger, 14 mm dia vs the 12 mm that was in my tibia, nail made from titanium (Ti). The doc found some studies that show that Ti resists infection slightly better than the stainless steel that was in my leg.

This is all of the hardware, below, that you see in the x-ray above!

The two screws that are broken below are the two in the bottom of my tibia above.

So overall the surgery went GREAT I had some trouble in the recovery room with pain and dosing of my pain meds. I spent 4 days in the hospital and I had an interesting roommate. Jeremy was a recovering heroin addict that was just a total character. He kept me company and I helped to encourage him as he looked forward to a new life, a clean life. I pray that he gets the help, treatment, and new life that he so desperately needs. On a lighter note he kept calling Christie my "girlfriend" even though we told him we were married and she is my wife. So it became the running joke to not tell my wife that my girlfriend had been there to visit me also. We watched the Seahawks game on Saturday together and hooted and hollered at the TV watching the Seahawks kick the Redskins arse!

When I got home I decided to cut my hair. My grandfather, M.C. Lockwood, always had the craziest wild hair that stuck up all over the place like it had a mind of it's own. Christie had taken to calling my hair "crazy grandpa" hair... So Christie got the scissors and clippers out and let Abigael have a go with the scissors.

They cut my length down and then Christie buzzed me down to a "no guard" length with the clippers. I want to keep my beard for awhile and I like the look of buzzed head and full beard. Christie says I look like the character on the old magnetic face creator, Wooly Willy.

Off topic, I have a meeting set up in early February with the city of Tacoma to start the preliminary planning process for my idea of a multi-use trail system with a mountain bike focus in the Wapato Hills greenspace park. I am also receiving a great deal of donated help from my father's enterprise Trails Unlimited. I have a vision for a true trail system similar to the Tapeworm, the Colonnade, Banner Forest, or Lake sawyer/Henry's Ridge to be built and maintained by local users to allow the citizens of Tacoma to have a unique area to ride mountain bikes in the city!


Late Edit: For those not familiar with WHY I had to have surgery it is to repair a nasty tib-fib fracture I sustained back in August 2005 from getting hit by a car while riding my bicycle. For the full story click here.... and here... and here... and here... and finally my poor destroyed bike!

2008...

WOW is about all I can muster. 2008 has got to be better than 2007, yet 2007 was a year full of amazingly awesome immensely important events. 2007 was a surgery free year, yeah! We bought a house and moved to Tacoma. My son, Mason Campbell, was born. Abigael grew up so much including being fully potty trained going into 2007, going to "school" for most of the beginning of the year, and getting her first haircut/trim. I fell back in love with my beautiful wife after not quite realizing that I have had it so good for the past ELEVEN years!
Bought a new car, a MINI VAN!! I tried my hand at endurance mountain bike racing (more like riding than actully being competitively racing) , finding my new love on the bike, as well as went fully 29er. I found myself trying, 4 1/2 months out of 6, but not able to complete firefighter recruit school with KCFD 20 due to my not fully healed leg. Starting the EMT class and then not being able to complete it due to the craziness of life. Getting my first "clock in clock out" regular job in over three years with REI. I made some awesome new friends in 2007 and look forward to making many more in 2008! Built and almost finished my very own bike shop in my "garage/shop" with help from friends and mostly family. Made a change in my cycling team and have decided to go back to AVA/Counterbalance in 2008, thanks so much for 2007 Viking Sport!!


So I start out 2008 with a vandalized car and MAJOR leg surgery so it can only get better right? I stayed in the hospital at Harborview from the 3rd till the 6th and everything in surgery went excellent! I just have a deep down feeling that 2008 is going to be an amazingly awesome better year. I plan on taking 2008 to focus on my healing and recovery, my family, our house and new life in Tacoma, training to become a better cyclist and mountain biker, getting ready for nursing school in 2009, working at REI and raising the kids, improving our house and most importantly learning to love my wife all over again...!

New found love of an old sport, SKIING!! and stuff....

So about a month ago a friend of mine, and avid skier, Patrick gave me a pair of 185cm Salomon Pocket Rocket shape skis. They did not come with bindings so I had to get a new pair, but I had kept my old Dachstein boots that I bought new in Boone over ten years ago so I had boots. I picked up a pair of Look Pivot 12 demo binding super cheap on eBay and had them mounted and the skis tuned at the Tacoma REI. I got some powder baskets for my Leki trekking poles and went skiing on the 23rd with Patrick and Billy up at Crystal Ski Mountain. I had a blast and picked it (skiing) right back up even if it has been almost 10 years since I last skied (my ski bibs still had a lift ticket from Sugar Mountain Ski Resort, NC from 12/26/97!!!). Unfortunately after about the third run down the mountain I took a tumble and felt my right thumb bend almost all the way back after getting caught on my ski pole, OUCH!!! I skied everything Patrick threw at me including Upper Ferks Run and Sunnyside (a black diamond run!) full of steep soft snow. I finished skiing out the day regardless and we went home around 1pm due to the fact that it started to RAIN, ugh! My leg took a beating too but I left with a BIG SHIT EATING GRIN on my face, I was hooked again!!

I came home and fell asleep on the couch and the next morning my thumb was bright red and very swollen. So off to the ER at Tacoma General on Christmas Eve day. After a few X-rays I did not have a fracture but a severe sprain, given a soft thumb/wrist splint, some pain meds, and sent on my way after almost 4 hours! I now have a pretty bruise and it is getting better but is still very sore. I have an appointment to see a hand specialist ortho doc on the 7th. I also got a get out of work free (as do not pass go or collect any income) note from the doc since I can't really build bikes with a bum right thumb, I can't shift or turn a spoke wrench. I am having, what I hope to be the seventh and final, surgery on my leg to replace the nail/rod in my tibia on January 3rd. So since I knew I would be down for the rest of the season I wanted to get one more day on the slopes.

On the the 29th my best friend, Eric Ewing, came over from Spokane with his three boys for the weekend and New Years. On the 30th Eric, his 7 year old son Noah, and Patrick went up to Crystal to go skiing again. This was Eric's first trip to Crystal as well and, well, conditions were great! Crystal had received almost a foot of new pow! It snowed on us the entire drive up and was almost white conditions at times on the mountain. Patrick went off to ski the deep steep and Eric and I skied down the green and some blue runs taking turns skiing with Noah and helping him up when he took a spill. I did not take any falls and I had prepped my left leg with mole skin and a neoprene sleeve to prevent any rubbing on my misshapen bony shin. I actually felt great at the end of the day! The only thing missing was bright blue skies and then it would have been "THE" perfect day of skiing! I am hooked and even though I am out for the rest of the 2007-08 season I will be back for it next season with a private lesson session to hone my skills and I plan of starting Abigael next year as well! Hmmmm, I just need some new boots now.......

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures due to my camera finally taking a dump. One to many trips to a wet Capitol Forest finally did it in... RIP.

On an awesome note I did build up and give to Christie a new used Specialized Epic mountain bike, her first ever!, for Christmas. It is a medium silver 2003 Epic comp that I stripped down and rebuilt with discs and pretty nice components. I put a 50mm stem and straight Thomson seatpost on it so that it would fit her. She has expressed interest in taking a mountain bike boot camp/skills class in the spring to learn the necessary skills to be able to go riding with me at some point next year.... Christie and her parents got me a new pack for Christmas, a Wingnut Hyper 2.5! I can't wait to try it out! I also will be getting the last bit of wood to wall in the last of the shop! I will be getting some help from my dad and Trails Unlimited to help design and plan a multi use/mountain bike park trails proposal/plan for a local area called Wapato Hills Park not far from my house. I have received a few responses from the proper people to start the planning process!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 WILL BE A BETTER YEAR!!!!

Late edit 1/1/08: Woke up this morning to find the hatchback window in our Subaru busted out and vandalized!!!
(What happened to 2008 being a better year???)

Busy being a dad....

Christie went back to work a little over two weeks ago and I've had my hands full with two kids, work and other news in our lives.... Christie seems to be doing "OK" with going back to work but she did not go back easily! She reluctantly went back to work kicking and screaming after almost 3 months off! I don't blame her but we have a mortgage and a new car payment now and we have no other choice.... I on the other hand have been enjoying working swing shift building bicycles for REI (working a modified schedule now, in at 5pm instead of 2:30pm) but the strain of the extra drive time for Christie to dive to my work to meet me and pick up the kids then drive home is going to be a challenge.

I have not been able to get out on my bike as much as I would like due to helping take care of the kids but I am working it in when I can. I have been able to steal away the past two Saturdays to the Super Secret trails close by our house for about a 2 hour ride.

In the past two weeks I/we have been dealing with some sad news. A very good friend of ours miscarried, three former messenger co-workers and good friends went missing in the backcountry of Crystal mountain snowboarding presumed dead, and Christie's Grandfather passed away. I also found out that two of my closest friends that have been in the process with me trying to get hired on as a paid professional firefighter just got the good news from Seattle Fire Department that they will be starting in the next recruit class in February, while I am overjoyed form them and their families it is just another reminder that I tried and failed to become a firefighter...

Night mountain bike riding is so much fun!! Cyclocross not so much...

This picture came out the best of all, Mike stylin!

"All I want is frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!!"

Courtland with no front brake!

Lately I have been doing most of my riding at night with a pretty awesome group of friends. During our "Full Moon night ride at Lake Sawyer" last Saturday Mike took some pretty cool pictures with his new camera. It almost makes it look like I have laser beams shooting from my head. The ride was great the rain halted just for us. We never did actually see the full moon due to the cloud cover but thanks the that cover the temps were above freezing!

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	2:19:47	15:15 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	1:43:03	11:14 pace
Distance (mi )	9.16
Moving Speed (mph)	5.3 avg.	17.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+1,104 / -1,093
Avg. Heart Rate	129 bpm	Zone 3.0
Temperature (°F)	42.8°F avg.	42.8°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)	N 0.0 avg.	N 0.0 max.

Then on Sunday I brutalized myself in the cyclocross race at South Seatac. 60 minutes of pure pain.

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	0:54:37	5:35 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	0:54:29	5:34 pace
Distance (mi )	9.76
Moving Speed (mph)	10.8 avg.	27.5 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+1,204 / -1,145
Avg. Heart Rate	167 bpm	Zone 5.0
Temperature (°F)	45.8°F avg.	46.4°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)	SE 9.2 avg.	SE 10.4 max.

OUCH Zone 5 for an hour!!!!!

The picture of pain!!

Abigael feeding Meatball a Cheeto (note the Pavlov drool!)

The rest of Christie's awesome photos are here

Start training them when they are young...

Yesterday I wanted to go help my friend Courtland do some trail maintenance work out at the Super Secret trail network, but Christie was not in the mood to deal with both kids alone. So I volunteered to take my exceptionally awesome daughter with me out into the woods so she could run and let loose some of her pent up winter energy! The only "problem" was that in order to get to the section of trail that needed clearing we had to ride a few miles into the woods via mountain bike.

Best team around dad and daughter. photo by Mike

Snacks with dad on the trail.

SO BEFORE ANY PARENTS (OR GRANDPARENTS FOR THAT MATTER...) FREAK OUT ALL WAS SAFE AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT!!

I have ridden with Abigael in my messenger bag before around the neighborhood back in Seattle so she knows how to be still and be safe while riding. But this was the first time I have ever taken her riding in the bag off-road mountain biking on trails. In a word, she did AWESOME!! We had so much fun!! She wore her helmet the entire time without complaint! When I rounded the corner to meet up with Courtland and Mike their jaws dropped and they started laughing with amazement!

Mike whipped out his camera and snapped some shots and Courtland insisted on getting in the pic with the coolest dad/daughter trail work team in Washington State!! We rode out to the work site with ease and spent about an hour and a half clearing out a section of trail of blow downs and overgrown brush and even walked out some new sections of trail. Abigael ran up and down the trail while we worked and had a BLAST to the point that when it was time to go home she did not want to leave! I can't wait until she can ride behind me on a trail-a-long bike.... And then ride with me on our various mountain bike adventures!!!

Clearing the trail with Mike, Courtland and Abigael.

The littlest trail gnome!

Needless to say I got to get out and help with the trail maintenance and Christie got a break form the 3 1/2 year old hell on wheels!

Tuesday evening SUPER secret night rides...

For the past couple of weeks I have been riding with a local group of riders on Tuesday evenings. The trails are maintained by my friend Courtland and a few others. The trail system is fun, fast, and twisty. We typically ride about an hour and a half or so and cover about 8 to 9 miles of pure singletrack. We stopped last Tuesday night about half way through for a Cliff Bar break and Mike took so pictures of the group.

We had FIVE hardcore "Betty's" riding in the group with a total of twelve riders.

The group ranges in size from about 8 up to 15 people all by word of mouth. We typically meet around 6:15 and are out in the trails for about 2 hours total. For me it has been a great chance to get some extra weekday riding in and test out my new light system. I have since turned at least two other people onto my Ay Up! LED lighting system. I hope to be able to convert more people to Ay Up! as in my opinion it is the best system around! I am even working Wednesday - Friday so I can have Monday night with the family and ride Tuesday night.

PS yes I know I have crazy helmet hair!!

Riding and working my a$$ off!!

Saturday I packed the whole family up and we drove down to Capitol Forrest to take part in the monthly Saturday volunteer trail work party with the "Friends of Capitol Forest". I brought the whole family because I knew we would be working on improving the parking area at the "Y" and not out on some trail somewhere in the forest. I was glad I brought my little chainsaw as I ended up running it almost non-stop helping to build the fence around the parking area. Abigael dug in the dirt and played in the mud. Christie walked around carrying Mason and took pictures to help document the work. There was a good amount of people that showed up and we got almost all of the fence up and would have finished it if 50 of our posts had not been stolen the night before!!

Sunday I got a 'kitchen pass" from the wife to go ride. Courtland and I drove down to Olympia and met up with his friend Brian to go mountain biking even further south just outside of Longview, WA. We linked up with a bunch of local guys and they guided us on their amazing trail system in and around Growler's Gultch! We rode over 14 miles and did some impressive climbing and super fast, super fun descending. Four of the local guys were riding 29er full suspention moutain bikes and one guy, Bob aka Red-haze.com, was kicking ass on his fully rigid singlespeed!!

I got my ass handed to me a few times, bailed a few times on some steep technical terrain features (TTF's), nailed some more TTF's on the money, and ended up with a good sized bruise on my left quad, ouch!

Photo courtesy red-haze.com

Thanks to the local guys for showing us their kick arse trail system and inviting us back anytime we want! I have decided to make it mandatory that I ride at least one day a week on the mountain bike as it is good for my soul and my health!! I can't wait to be able to take Abigael along with me and eventually Mason as well!! By then I will have to be riding 5 or 6 days a week just to stay in shape enough to keep up with the kids!!

Photo courtesy red-haze.com

On the home front all is well. We had a great time trick-or-treating on Wednesday and last week I started working at REI. working swing shift has taken some getting used to, and not just by me, as Christie now has to put the girl to bed and deal with them both in the evening when they are cranky and tired. I am scheduled 3 days a week now and have the option for more or less depending how hard I work and how many hours I want to work. So far the job is pretty easy and "fun". I will work until I can go back to school and finish my nursing degree!! When Christie goes back to work I will adjust my schedule to go in at 5pm instead of 2:30 and we will meet and swap kids in the parking lot at work. I hope to be able to get the shop walls painted in the man cave this week so I can start hanging and organizing my tools and get the clutter cleaned up!

Christie turns 20 fifteen on Wednesday. Unfortunately I have to work but we will do something nice for her....

New happenings in the Lockwood household....

So we finally went out and took the plunge and bought a new vehicle!!! We bought a MINIVAN!!!! Yesterday we finally decided on a 2006 Kia Sedona LX minivan it is light blue with a light gray interior. It is a used 2006 with 22,660 miles and it is in immaculate condition. We get the remainder of the 5 year 60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty and we purchased an extended 109 month (9year) 100,000 mile bumper to bumper (include wear and tear!!) warranty. The dealership threw in a factory installed 2 inch class 3 tow hitch as well! I am actually quite excited about owning a minivan and do not dread the stigma attached to owning a "minivan". We got our loan for 60 months at 4.94% and we are paying less than $400 a month!!!



On another note I worked my first shift at my new job with REI as a bicycle production specialist at the REI national distribution center!! I actually clocked in and out for a complete 8 hour shift!!! I get today off so I can take Abigael and Mason out about in the neighborhood to go Trick-or-Treating and experience our first Halloween holiday in eleven years of being married in a neighborhood where we might actually get kid knocking on the door asking for candy. We have two pumpkins that picked at a local pumpkin patch and we have carved on the front porch. As well as a few decorations ta boot! Abigael is dressing up as a "scary" witch for Halloween and I think I may go dressed as a "roadie" cyclist??? Pictures to come....

Puke part Deux

Group shot before the start of the ride.

I rode the Sick Puke again on Saturday. The weather was PHENOMENAL!!! I rode with about 10 other people including Daniel Meyers an old friend from my cross country racing days. I think I have my Garmin Edge 305 figured out now and I have a link to the data from the ride HERE. I took a few more pictures as well and posted them on my Flickr account HERE. After the ride we met at Jim's house for a feast of a meal prepare by him and his wife. I also rode Friday night out at Lake Sawyer on a BBTC ride led by Courtland call the Sawyer Full Moon ride for about 2 hours under a cloudless full moon night sky!! This week I have ridden almost 65 miles of singletrack alone AND I LOVE IT!!!!
I got the job working at REI as a Bicycle Assembly Technician at the Sumner distribution center. My first day at work other than last Thursday spent filling out paper work will be this Tuesday, wish me luck! Christie's mom and grandmother have been here this weekend for a visit and it has been very fun to watch Abigael play with them both as they pine after the new baby boy....

A view from one of the clearcuts, quite beautiful!

A bit more mud than last week!!!

A video from last weekends ride in the wet....
(this was taken while riding with one hand on the handlebars and the other holding the camera!)