Oh My!

What an amazing day for a ride! I have been able to get in a bit of
riding! Yesterday was my first real test of climbing! Mike and I hit
up Chumash. We rode from his house and climbed Lajas Canyon which is a
steady 1000 ft. Fireroad climb. In the 40 mph winds funneling down the
canyon...it was tough! When we turned off towards Chumash there was
1500 ft if climbing over the next two miles. As we crested one hill we
got a little freaked out when we saw a herd of bullhorns! We
proceeded slowly and realized they were not mean angry bulls! As we
got closer to the top the wind got INSANE! The gusts had to be over
60 mph! It was a bit scary! The ride was awesome and it was great to
get some miles and climbing in.
Today I hit the road with the mission of more climbing and another
2 plus hours in the saddle. It has been MONTHS since I rode Rockstore
and I was feeling the call! My legs felt good on the way out and I
hit the bottom of the hill and headed up. My goal was to not stop and
just keep a steady pace. I did it! I was stoked! I was WAY in pain
at the top! Next hill is Power Climb and there is not much recovery
between Rockstore and it. That was a killer for me today but I made it
up loving every minute of it! Then as I crested the hill I saw two
cyclists stopped and kind of looking around. As I pulled up and they
stopped me to ask directions. IT WAS GEORGE HINCAPIE!!! So freaking
cool. He was with Steve Blick from Oakley and they were trying to get
back to the valley! After giving directions I told him that he was
awesome and wished him luck for his season and took off with a little
extra pep in my pedals! So cool! Once I dropped down into Westlake I
had absolutely no power left! Riding the last ten miles uphill into
the wind was horrible! I felt like I had been out for 4 plus hours!
All in all I was pretty stoked with the ride! It feels so good to be
back on the bike!

Keep Climbing,
Lucas

Riding in the Winter Sun!

I've been on the bike a bit in the last two weeks! I actually rode
for 2 hours in the dirt on Monday! I felt great afterwords to which
is very inspiring! I need to get some steady paced miles in to rebuild
the base but the wind has prevented that! I finally got out on the
road bike for the first time since the crash! Let's just say I took
that corner pretty slow!

Keep Climbing,

Lucas Crawford
http://riding-to-live.blogspot.com

Bath Time!

Finally a day warm enough to give the pups a bath! I forget how small
Bean is until he gets wet!

Time Has Come

Now that the back is feeling better, (thanks Dr. Wong and
accupuncture!) it's time to start rebuild version 3.0! I decided to
get my chubby Lola involved! We took a hike in the hills and she did
pretty well! I had to carry her a little bit but she will make the
whole loop in no time!
Also got in a ride yesterday which was awesome. Legs felt like crap
but it was amazing to be on the bike! Stay tunes for some Christmas
pictures!

Early Morning Hike

Monday I went on an early morning hike with my friend Justin and his dog Indy! These were the views that we were treated with once we made it above the fog! It was absolutely amazing! By the time we got back to the bottom, all the fog had burnt off! It was a great way to start the work week!

Sunday after church I took my dad out on his first "real" mountain bike ride! I had a really great time! We hit the Chesebro loop and he took it like a true champion! The first 20 times that I did this loop I had to walk large portions of it! Besides a couple bobbles on the two most technical parts...he rode the whole thing! I am way proud!

My health seems to be getting MUCH better! My back seems to be finally coming around as well. I am really anxious to get back to riding on a schedule but WILL NOT over do it. I am looking forward to a turkey day ride if the rain stops! Until then, I will be praying for the people in the burn areas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've Never Crashed My Road Bike...

Until now! I feel like an idiot! This was the first time I have been on my bike since Sacramento and I think I forgot how to keep the rubber side down?
I have been lacking in the post department because I got some bad news a few weeks ago. Rebuild version 2.0 has been put on hold because my worries were finally diagnosed. For the second time in my life I have been diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus.(EBV) The symptoms that come along with this, complete lack of energy, no immune system, depression, muscle aches and pains, put me in a bad place a few weeks ago. I was shattered with fear and frustration of how I was going to make it through. My last bout with this virus lasted about 9 months, saw me gain 60 pounds, and was very difficult to come out of.
The first time I contracted EBV my Dr. put me on medication that would give me energy so I was able to make it through the work day. This medication was an anti-depressant and had tons of side effects. This was a rough 9 months for sure! If you go back to the very first post of this blog you can read more about it! I decided to do things a little different this time. I have to give a big thanks to Mom and Dad for their prayers and encouragement over the last few weeks. It's such a blessing to have parents that understand sickness, fear, depression, and ENCOURAGEMENT! I scheduled an appointment with Lisa Wong who is a Holistic Doctor. I have seen her change the life of many of my family members and even some co-workers. I have been saying for months that I was going to go see her for preventative care...should of, would of, could of?! I saw her a week and a half ago and she did a full evaluation and an acupuncture treatment. She put me on a few supplements and told me that I will be well in no time! This first course of supplements are to detox my body. I will follow that with tons of anti-oxidents to build my system back up. She believes that we can keep this from happening again! It seems very possible that training and not allowing my body to recover may have caused all this. I was also not filling my body back up with nutrients that kept my immune system strong and present.
I WILL be back. Stronger and faster than ever!
Keep Climbing,
Lucas

Senate Floor

Stopped by the Senate to give them a piece if my mind but they were
out to lunch! What's new?