So a while back, my buddy Griff had a little scare with some of his plumbing and now he's got to get checked by the pros every year. They have to do a pretty comprehensive exam which includes looking at his lungs. Every time, he's proud to tell me, they have to readjust the camera so that they can get all of his lungs into the frame. The way he tells it, they practically have to pull back to outer space. The doctors always tell him that his lung size is very unusual.

As a result of a lot of people dropping dead around me from heart failure (lady at work's husband, associate at a company we represent, president of a company we represent, brother of a guy I know in Minnesota--all recently flat lined) I figured it couldn't hurt to get a check up from the old family practitioner. So he hooked me up to about 10 wires that were attached to these metal things that they attached with tape to my chest. Then they flicked some buttons and a machine nearby whirred to life. Shortly thereafter, some paper spit out of the machine and the doctor ripped it and held it up to his eyes for a better look. He checked some knobs on the machine and then he looked at me. "Do you work out a lot," he asked as he continued to adjust some knobs on the machine. "I do a lot of bike racing," I answered. "Ah, that explains it. You have a heartbeat that is consistent with what we see in professional athletes." I beamed. "Just to be certain, I would like to do an ultrasound and measure the side of your heart wall." The ultrasound confirmed his original suspicion and then he added, "your heart is extremely healthy."

So take that Griff. You may have the lungs, but I've got the heart. He did say that if I stop working out, my heart will grow old very quickly so I need to keep at it. Whatever, I think I'm all in at this point so I'll worry about that later. For now, I think I'll take my PRO heart for a ride up Diablo.

Johnny GoFast