OldMansRevenge.com

I hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July.  It is a quiet one around here.  Jill’s in upstate NY, touring that part of the country visiting family.  Both her Mom and Dad grew up there - lots of family still alive and in the area.

Her sister Linda (Mom of Anna - the one who’s living in our basement this summer), Linda’s husband Steven and their other daughter Nina joined the festivities for the weekend.  I’m DELIGHTED I wasn’t invited.  

I had a pretty quiet day.  A pretty hard bike ride this morning.  Then back home to do a little work before taking my Mac to the Apple store where it was supposed to get repaired.  There was some sort of Apple mess up and it isn’t fixed.  Something about a part ordered that was DOA.  I got my Mac back - but have to wait a few more days before taking it again.

Oh, well.

Then a little more work.  I’ll go enjoy fireworks later.

Boring…but healthy!

Happy 4th to you and your loved ones.

How does this happen?  It seems like I updated this blog a couple days ago.  But NO - it’s been a week.  I HAVE to get better at this stuff.

I’m sitting at Denver International Airport, waiting for a flight to San Diego.  I don’t fly often.  My bad eye REALLY doesn’t like airplanes.  I didn’t see any other choice this trip.  I’m going to San Diego for a couple days to work, across the border to Tijuana to let Doctors try to beat up on my bad eye, then up to the San Francisco area for Brendon Burchard’s seminar next weekend.  If I drove all that - it is almost 3,000 miles.  I don’t have 5 days - at least - to spend on the Interstate system right now.

So…I sit here nervous as a wh*** in church.  Know what I mean?

I’m seriously looking forward to Brendon’s seminar.  I didn’t know him when I called him to speak at my The Capital Factor (www.TheCapitalFactor.com) conference last month.  I LOVED what he talked about and decided while he was making his presentation to attend his event.  Ms. Jill is coming along, too.  I’m interested in what Brendon has to teach.  It is a bullseye as far as Jill’s business; she really needs to go.

I was pleasantly surprised Jill’s eye doctor is letting her fly.  Her shingles are better - but there is still a lot going on.  She’s tired and in pain.  Not a good combination.  Poor baby.  If you guys have any spare good thoughts PLEASE send them her way.

I had some fun yesterday.  Another oldster decided she’s going to train and ride her bike in Ms. Jill’s Celebration ride.  I have no idea how many years it has been since she’s been on a bike.   Let’s just speculate that kids could have been born and be in college by now…

I took her to my favorite bike shop (CycleAnalyst in Denver) and helped her buy a new bike for the training and event.  Another old fart converted.  YEAH!

I rode 4 times this week.  Not as hard as I should have ridden - but was at least out there spinning.  

I also think I came up with the idea for a dynamite new business this week.  More about that later.

One of my primary goals this year is to comfortably ride my bicycle 100 miles on October 11 for Jill’s Celebration Ride. I’m getting a later start than I would like to get in shape for the event. I have an excuse or two-a brain surgery in February followed by a 2 1/2 day seminar in April.

But I don’t really believe in excuses.

One of the reasons I bought a fixed gear bike last winter was the theory that riding a ‘fixie’ will get you in shape faster than riding a regular bicycle.  I haven’t tested it enough to know yet - but after today I’m encouraged.

I haven’t ridden much - but what I have has been almost all on the fixie.  I pulled out my trusty road bike today for a spin.  I didn’t ride real far…only about 1/3 of the October goal.  BUT - I did ride pretty hard.  In fact, I averaged 1.8 miles per hour faster than any other ride this year!

The old man is makin’ progress.  That’s a good thing!

Wow!  It is late Saturday night and I just realized I haven’t posted to this blog all week.  Blame it on a senior mind?

NOT!!

I just got busy and, frankly, oldmansrevenge.com wasn’t at the forefront of what was going on.

I missed my first Big Seminar in years last weekend.  Armand Morin puts on a world-class event.  I love the learning and networking at BIG.  But, I’d been traveling the week before and had considerable problems with my bad eye during flights.  I just couldn’t face another plane trip a few days after.  So…I missed out.

Friends who were there report it was, as always, a super event.  I’ll be at the next one in October (assuming it isn’t the same weekend as Jill’s Celebration Ride - I haven’t checked the dates).

I also probably buried a business last week.  It is a long story - but one of my partners went off on another and his family.  I see no way to recover from that.  My guess is all of us will walk away.  Too bad.  The company hadn’t done as well as it should - but things were looking up for it.

Love of my life Ms. Jill had a tough week.  Those of you who know us know she recently survived breast cancer.  Last Sunday she started complaining - a lot - about a headache and pain in her eye.  Believe me, eye pain is something I can relate to.  She got in to see her oncologist Monday.  It seems she has shingles - in her eye!  She feels awful.  She looks awful.  My heart goes out to her - but all I can do is support whatever she asks for.  There is no way I can think of to do anything else.

I’ve never had shingles.  It is supposed to be very painful.  Ms. Jill is going through that.  Kind thoughts toward her will be appreciated!

Something fun did happen.  Lynn Pierce asked me to speak this August in Scottsdale at her Woman’s Business Empowerment Summit.  I hear Lynn puts on a terrific event.  A few friends will also be speaking.  I’m looking forward to it.

I spent today trying to learn a few things about the real estate market at a bootcamp sponsored by the Real Talk Network.  I’m the first to say I know less about real estate than anyone else I know.  That said - it was an interesting day and I learned a lot.

I did get three fixed gear bike rides in this week.  Not riding enough yet - but three rides is better than none!

There was a bad downside to the week, too.  I was out of line and went off on the best employee I’ve had in years.  She wasn’t performing well - but there are reasons for that and I knew them.  She deserved support - not stress.

Do you think I have a chance of growing up soon?  Maybe by the time I’m 90??  DAMN - I know better.  

I got up early today - ready for my weekly database lesson at the local Apple Store.  I remembered right before I went to the mall that a major running race was in the neighborhood and driving and parking would almost certainly be a hassle.

So…I decided to ride my bike over.  It is only a few miles.  Easy.  But it was only 33 degrees!  Damn, it was cold.  I went to my class - it was good as always - and while I was in the shopping center it warmed up.  Riding home was warm and comfortable.

I also had another eye doctor appointment.  I don’t want to think about what they are saying yet.  Too painful.

Too much of the rest of the day I moped.  I have to stop that.  Feeling sorry for oneself is a losing proposition.

The Wisehart home is a place where people beat cancer.  I’m a two time survivor (brain in the late ’70s, prostate in 1999); my wife Jill beat breast cancer earlier this year.

To celebrate the Love of My Life being cancer free, we decided to hold a celebration century bike ride on our 16th anniversary - October 11th.  I will design three 33 mile loops - starting and ending at our house.  We expect a couple hundred people will ride.  Some may ride their bikes 5 miles, some will ride all 100 with Jill and me.  Hell, one of our friends is planning to ride his motorcycle with the group to help the cause and lend some (loud and stinky) support!

It will all be to raise money for the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center.  Jill found, during her treatment last winter, that a number of women were driving hours to get home after either chemo or radiation because they were spending all their money on medical treatment.  There was nothing left in the piggy bank for a hotel.

We think that is awful.  Jill’s celebration century ride will be a fundraiser for to help women with breast and other forms or cancer with the rest of life.

I’m damned proud of that goal.

To make a long story short, I’m in about as bad shape as possible.  I started today to get ready for Jill’s ride.  I rode my fixed gear bike (if you don’t know - don’t ask.  If you do know - you are likely a bicycle person) a few miles.  My creaky knees hurt but it was fun.  I’m going to try to get a few miles in tomorrow, too.