ronswilliams.com

Start of a new day….

ron — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:56:28 +0000

The memorial service was great. It was the hardest speech I have ever deliveried. I am thankful that I was able to share some words and memories of my ”Beautiful Lady”, I will continue to miss you “Ladda Potata”! I felt all the support and love from all my great friends and family, Brooke and I are truly blessed.

View photos from service

In Loving Memory of my mom, Thelma Louise Williams

ron — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:41:58 +0000

It has been a long week with the passing of my mom. I just wanted to share with everyone the memorial program… it really captures the wonderful beautiful lady that was my mom. Mom, thank you for all that you have done for me and our family…you will be physically missed, I will honor your spirit, and will listen to your guiding voice. May you finally rest in peace and walk and talk with the angels.

Details:

A memorial service is planned for Tuesday, April 6^th at 4:30 PM at Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, 4480 Peachtree Corners Circle, Norcross, GA, 30092. In lieu of flowers, the family has established a trust for Louise’s daughter Michelle, who has spent the last few years as Louise’s primary caregiver; donations can be sent to 1657 Olivia Way, Auburn, AL 35226.

Obituary

Memorial Program

Bike Day 2. Now that’s more like it!

ron — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:17:24 +0000

After 70 miles and 5000′ of climbing I feel more like myself! Maybe I can return to top fitness this year? All of the men on the team are really riding well and they are all much improved from 2008. The first part of the ride was very animated with a good dig on wild cat canyon. I was able to climb with the 135lbs’ers and the amazing climbing tandem of Dave/Clark, thanks to Mari for bridging me back on the climb. Mari Holden, Silver Medalist 2004 Games, is training with us. Mari will be riding as a tandem pilot this year. I guess you could say that our program is going in the right direction! We also have found a young guy, Reese, who is a double bk amputee and he is amazing. Reese climbs like its his job! He is going to well in the sport if he decides that’s what he wants to do. I am excited to be with the team and training again.

Today we are meeting with a nutritionist? I am a bit nervous about learning what I already know….I have a problem with food and discipline. I am going to commit myself to changing my lifestyle and diet.

If you want to see what Team Williams has been up to, Brooke update her blog!

http://brookeandron.blogspot.com/

Ron

2010 Season Starts with Bike Camp

ron — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:26:47 +0000

It’s good to have the 2009 season of injuries and set backs behind me! I am looking forward to a successful 2010 cycling season! For the last 10 years I have been privileged to start my season off with a training camp is SUNNY San Diego. This year we are actually holed up in a hotel in Alpine, California. The goal of this National Team Camp is to get in some good base miles and climb!

Personally, I have been waiting for this camp since I have not been able to ride with many folks, and I’ve been wanting to test myself since making my way back from injury to fitness. This whole comeback thing has taken many forms in the last ten months. I have had moments of greatness and moments of deep disappointment. One moment of greatness was riding the PINHOTI Trail with my good friends Cleve Blackwell and Trey Woodall. We rode our MTB bikes for about 8 hrs and climbed over 13,000′! I felt great on that ride and my mind was happy and clear. A moment of disappointment came on the first day of bike camp yesterday. The first day is always a measuring stick…all the guys are excited to be together and everyone wants to test themselves. I am no different and I personally needed this day of judgment.

I am the oldest male rider on the team and I am happy in that role as I feel that I bring the team leadership and experience. That title starts to get real heavy though when you race up a 30 minute climb with a couple of 20 year olds! It was about 20 minutes into this climb when I had to let the boys go and enter into my own personal pain cave! It’s been years since I have been there. When I was in the cave I started to think about a lot of things…am I too old? Where is my fitness? Do I still have something wrong with my lungs? How are those guys climbing so well? Then I said… all that is BS! I am out in California riding my bike, I have a beautiful wife, a successful career, and countless blessings, and not I am NOT too old! At that moment the pain was not as great… my mind was clearing and motivation came storming in.

I think Brooke (the wife) has been trying to motivate me and I didn’t even realize it! Since we returned from our NYC trip she has been planning meals to cook at home. She has also been going to the gym in the mornings before work. Each time she goes she asks me if I want to go to the gym with her, and I have been saying no!? Well now, I am going to say yes! This change has been building for many months and I have been making excuses and making some bad decisions.

Thanks Brooke for leading by example and giving me the time to attend bike camp! Thanks to my teammates for taking the National Team seriously and raising the bar!

Its been a long week!

jesse — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:33:13 +0000

I have had a very trying week. I am very thankful that Brooke is a doctor and she treated my situation with a keen sense of urgency! It all started about two weeks ago when I woke up one morning in some pain in the left side of my back. I dismissed it as a reminder that I was out of shape, as I have started training again on the bike. I had some good rides and some rides that hurt way too much for the effort. The pain seemed to get worse at night, and it reached its peak when I awoke Sunday night screaming in pain and drenched in sweat. The pain was sharp and I thought that it had to be a kidney stone, even though I have never experienced a kidney stone before. I also thought maybe my liver had finally given up, but Brooke informed me that my liver is located on the right side (phew). Given my past medical history, I was tired of worrying about what could be going on inside my body, so we were off to the hospital for a chest xray and blood work. One good thing about a small town is that we were able to get in and out of the hospital in about 1 hr. We went to Brooke’s office to read the xray and lab work. Brooke pulled the xray up on the computer and that’s when my week got worse… She immediately said that the left side looked concerning! I started to freak out and all I wanted was someone to fix me and tell me I was ok. I took a pic of the xrays and emailed them to my cycling Doctor Andy, and he immediately called me and said that the left side did not look normal? Both Brooke and Andy used some big words to describe what was wrong, but all I wanted to know was, was it CANCER!? It took some time to get the official read on the xray, and the good new was it was not CANCER, but there was a problem.

That was Monday. Since Monday I have had:

5 chest xrays

5 doctor office visits

3 trips to the hospital

1 CT scan of my chest

300 cc of fluid drained from around my left lung

Brooke was been taking care of me and following up on all my labs and test results. We have had a very interesting experience with how different doctors practice and we are now well versed in the Insurance game. Basically you can be dying as you wait for a pre-authorization from insurance. We now have every one on the same page and I am again on the road to recovery.

I have some form of pneumonia…we probably will never know the exact cause of that. The pneumonia is causing inflammation and fluid to build up in my left side in the area between the chest wall and the lungs. They drained that fluid (see picture above of the thoracentesis!) and have tested it and all the results point to an infection. So I am on some high dose antibiotics and rest. My lung capacity is compromised and could take several weeks to get back to normal. I have been feeling about the same, not worse, since starting my antibiotics. I am hoping that today I turn the corner!

Thanks to Brooke and all her partners for helping fix me!

Its been a long week!, originally uploaded by ronswilliams123.

/Media Card/BlackBerry/pictures/IMG00064-20090703-0803.jpg

jesse — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:06:15 +0000

/Media Card/BlackBerry/pictures/IMG00064-20090703-0803.jpg, originally uploaded by ronswilliams123.

Enjoying a nice cup of coffee at home! We are in a recession, sorry Starbucks.

95 degrees + 80% humidity+ Dirt Roads= red clay legs!

jesse — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:01:54 +0000

95 degrees + 80% humidity= red clay legs!, originally uploaded by ronswilliams123.

Camp sunshine

jesse — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:52:06 +0000

Camp sunshine, originally uploaded by ronswilliams123.

All is right with the world. I have a new camp bracelet! Its a long story. I will have to share it sometime.
Think before you print this e-mail. By not printing it, you preserve precious natural resources. It’s another step in growing green. The information in this communication is the property of Southwire Company and intended only for the use of the addressee.

Riding Outside Again!

jesse — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:29:01 +0000

Riding Outside Again!, originally uploaded by ronswilliams123.

The wrist is still very stiff, but I am able to ride outside! I have
missed riding my bike, but the down time has been good. Brooke and I have
gotten to spend a lot of time together and we were able to buy a new house!
That probably would not have happened if I was racing my bicycle very
weekend. The new house is awesome and we are all settled in thanks Brooke’s
mom Barbara! Barbara and Brooke are a great house decorating team. Well I
am off to ride my bike!

The arm is free!

jesse — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:56:25 +0000

The arm is free!, originally uploaded by ronswilliams123.

Finally! The cast is off. I now have a splint and rehab twice a week. My wrist is very stiff, so it’s going to take some work!?