Parents!

My last blog entry sort of has something to do with this entry which is a dedication to my parents. I am thankful to have had the parents that I had for what are 2 things that stand out most in my life.

MY FATHER: First about the hours upon hours my Dad spent building my race cars at the ages of 15-17. He was making a futile attempt to steer me away from the drug infected path I was leading. But, as I get older these efforts have not been forgotten & unfortunately what could have been a successful ending in this hobby turned out different. My Father taught me to drive a stick shift in the infield of a dirt track at the age of 15 & put me in my 1st race at the same age, before even having drivers license, as he told me they don't check for drivers license. Sure enough they didn't and I was driving around an oval dirt track at 15 banging bumpers. By the age of 17 he had built me a car good enough to have won a couple of races. Thank You Dad for those memories!!!

MY MOTHER: This situation came later in life as I had already been racing bicycles as a hobby for about 8 years. While out training I was hit by a pick up truck from behind causing some severe injuries. My left leg had been fractured in 7 places including the upper portion of the femur along with a torn ACL. Two seperate surgeries were needed, one to place a plate on my hip that would also attach the femur back together. The 2nd was to place a tube down thru my tibia to pull those fractures back together as well as reconstructive surgery on my ACL. I knew this was going to be a long road to recovery and all I wanted to do was lay around. Although both parents drove 25 miles each day to cater to my needs, it was my Mother that kicked me in the ass one day to finally jump start my rehab. Thank You Mom!!! For this I still had a successful cycling career for the next 10 years until I mostly retired the bike a couple of years ago. This happened in 1992 and to this day have no trouble with my leg or my knee. Also, an excellent orthopedic surgeon by the name of Daniel Daluga here in Lafayette is to be credited. He had me back on the bike in 3 weeks from the accident and actually raced 4 months after the accident finishing 4th. Still it was my Mom pushing the 6 hours a day rehab.