Ride # 32: The Physical Exam

April 8, 2014 around 5:00 in the afternoon, 60+ degrees

I had my semi-annual physical yesterday. Like most health care visits of any kind in America, I was kept waiting in the waiting room (today, 25 minutes past my appointment time). Par for the course. When I was finally ushered into the inner sanctum, a nurse took my blood pressure (123/70) and I was told to strip completely and put on a tie-in-the-back threadbare cotton hospital johnny that was sized more for an NFL offensive lineman than the lost-20-pounds-since-the-last-visit Shad. And of course it was freezing in the examining room so, johnny-be-clad, I huddled in a chair, my socks kept on lest my bare feet come in contact with the icy tile flooring.

At the time of my last physical, in 2012, my cholesterol levels had been alarmingly high and caused her, my PCP ('primary care provider'), to fret aloud and remonstrate with me about seeing a specialist in cholesterol and cardiology. With reservations, I complied though I knew in advance what the specialist, Dr. B, would say.

After looking at my numbers he all but got on his knees and BEGGED me to go on statin medication immediately. Why? Because my total cholesterol count was 310 (68 good 219 malo). That's like when the strongman at the circus hefts the hammer and smacks the launching pad and sends the metal weight rocketing toward the pole top where it hits the bell and goes BING!

I resisted. Rejected the statin regimen. Told Dr. B that I wasn't convinced that cholesterol was even a viable marker of cardio health. He insisted on a carotid artery scan. I consented to that, curious to know what it would reveal. Thick artery plaque? One lane dray track? Another round of emergency bells and whistles?

The results clearly disappointed. Though my carotid artery was no more occluded than could be expected of anyone my age, he STILL insisted on statins based on my cholesterol levels alone. I cancelled my follow-up appointment.

Fast forward two years. Some personal demons have since abated, I've lost 20+ lbs, and I am riding again in earnest. The result?

"In ten years of practice, I have never seen a cholesterol reduction of this magnitude without medication. It's astonishing." My PCP could not stop remarking on it.

I dropped 70+ points, to 238. Just like that the examining room was filled with the sounds of chirping birds and babbling brooks. Butterflies fluttered in the corners.

"Whatever you're doing, keep doing it," she advised.

At last! Medical counsel I could embrace.

Within the hour I set off on ride # 32.

A balmy, overcast, blustery, but warm day. Hard to dress for. I yipped wildly & repeatedly and delayed my departure by twenty minutes. I changed my upper body wear three times. Pathetic! But in the end, I got it right and had an excellent ride in the soft, vaguely humid, definitely fecund, spring air.

Lucas Rd., Sterling

Celestial Shad

"I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline that separated you from me."
The dividing line between the Princeton and Sterling Hills.

Shad control center

Up ahead

Ride Summary: 19.82 miles (30 K), 13.4 mph, about 88 minutes in the saddle. A warm, breezy, overcast day of spring. Almost all the snow is gone. At the outset, I didn't feel that strong but after a few miles I felt much better. Tried to power hard on the hills, tried to ignore the protestations from my quads. Oh, and a few rides ago, I slightly upped my saddle height and I think that has made a positive difference vis a vis the nagging groin/hip soreness that has been chronic all year, my "repetitive motion" aggravation. That area no longer bears the brunt of the exertion required throughout the ride and particularly on long, difficult climbs. An adjustment of about a quarter inch seems to have made a huge difference. Time will tell.

Road Kill: A porcupine. The evidence of trauma was disconcerting, a horrendous scrapping-away of spikes, fur, and flesh along the back, possibly a broken spine. Its corpse straddled the pavement and the shoulder as if it had been hit and then crawled toward the forest in anguish, only to collapse at the road's edge. To honor its spirit and prevent desecration of its corpse by more automobiles, I used a large stick to move its body off the edge of the road and into the trees.

Porcupine on the edge of the road

Parting Shot

Hey drivers, watch out for the fuckin' animals, eh?