An introduction

My name is Chris. I am a husband to an amazing woman, a systems administrator, a sometimes coder, an accidental cat dad, and I used to be an avid mountain and road biker.

When I say I used to be an avid mountain and road biker, I didn't quit willingly. I was actually training back up to race cyclocross when my plans were distrupted by this.

Which then turned into this.

The first surgery to repair the elbow took seven and a half hours, and required a number of pins and plates and hinges. It was months in a cast, followed by a robot arm looking thing and much occupational therapy.

The second surgery was five and a half months later, and after all was said and done, I had about 85% function in the arm. My extension is around 16 degrees short of 180, and I won't race bikes again. My race bike, these days, is a spin bike and Zwift.

I do still bike, and wear arm armor if going around traffic, but all my bikes have been converted to swept bars, as I can't reach the old bars well enough. You might also see me around town on my 50cc fourstroke scooter. Curiously enough, the bikes and scooter are much easier on my elbow than driving a car.

There may be a third surgery coming up to try to restore additional function, but the thought of another recovery and its attendant disruptions of our lives is a heavy counterweight to any gains it might bring.

So, here I am, not biking to the extent I used to. I also used to be a prolific writer, and a voracious reader. So the loss of biking opens other avenues. I do have strong opinions on subjects, some of them even informed opinions, and this seems a good place to ponder them in public. It's not quite a soapbox on the corner, or a disjointed rant on a bus, but at least I can get them out there from here.