Veterans with brain injuries

I was in Oregon with high school buddies the previous weekend, then in Toronto all last week, so no cycling. But I fit in a run in Beaverton, Oregon which coincidentally is the Nike headquarers. I also fit in a boardwalk run in the Beaches, Toronto with old friend Steve, so didn't feel like a complete slouch.

Here at work in Vancouver the company launched a staff "stepping" program to encourage everyone to get active, so we all have pedometers and daily tracking sheets. I did a run/hike last night around West Van and built up 8,500 steps, then the ride this morning picked up another 4,000. I calculated it would be 5,500 rotations, so with the downhill coasting, 4,000 makes sense. It should be a lot higher on the ride home.

I bought a bike repair stand in Portland, and also picked up some tools over the weekend as well as a cycle computer. I replaced the worn rear cassette by taking it off with the new cassette remover and chainwhip tools. When you replace a worn cassette, you have to also replace the chain so I did that as well. That last sentence implied it was easy, but with trial and error it took about four hours. When I rode in today I found the cranking to be far smoother with better power transmission. Unfortunately my rear wheel started wobbling, and a check on the internet showed I didn't lock down the axle enough. So I get to do it all over again tomorrow.

The new bike computer is great and tells me that I biked on average about 30 kilometers per hour, with a maximum speed of 65 down a long hill. The ride is exactly 18.5 kilometers and not 18.1. Time was 48 minutes, but I needed about 4 minutes to check out my wobbly rear wheel. The weather was sunny, with some wind, and it was a fine ride.

The show today was on veterans who experience hidden brain injury from shock waves during bombings. Because the symptons aren't connected to visible injuries the traditional military response has been to toughen up the soldier and get rid of the psychological problem. However, the problems are not always psychological and can be from damage to the brain. The army is not doing enough to diagnose, treat and take care of soldiers with this type of injury. The associated cost could be huge to the military, because soldiers can suffer permanent brain damage that affects their ability to earn an income and live a full life after their service.