Smoothies and the importance of fruit

So my diet isn't so bad, and since I moved to the great state of Colorado, I've stopped eating fast food. I still eat out at restaurants on occasion, but for the most parts I avoid greasy food. I take a vitamin every day, and I make sure I get all of my calcium and not too much fat etc. Recently, I offered to record the show "The Truth about Food" for one of my coworkers. I ended up having to watch it to burn it to a DVD, but I actually learned how important fruits and vegetables are to the human diet. We've been evolving or adapting over thousands of years, and long before we knew how to barbecue, we foraged for fruits and vegetables. So I figured I'd give fruit a shot. Here's what I discovered:

Good Smoothie:
1 banana
2 chunks of pineapple
1 handful of white seedless grapes
a few blueberries
a few blackberries
a splash of OJ

Blend that together, and it won't be impossible to eat the fruit you should be eating. And most of that fruit can be kept in the fridge or freezer. I for one keep the blueberries frozen. I really don't care how much fruit you eat, I just wanted to remember the recipe.

Bury my skis at wounded knee

I was so excited for ski season this year. I had my skis, helmet, goggles, new ski pants, and a great ski pass. I was ready to go. All I needed were some lessons and some snow. Well, that was until the night of Tuesday, Sepetember 18th. It was our young adult group's flag football night, and I was excited. I hadn't played flag football in a couple years, and I had missed out on ultimate frisbee the previous Sunday because I was salmon fishing. This was going to be awesome. I started out playing quarterback for our team, but people were having difficulty catching, so I switched to a receiver. I was wide open, but our quarterback threw an interception trying to throw to another guy who was pretty well covered. The quarterback did a good job of grabbing the guys flag though, so we were good. So the other team is on offense. It's first down. They throw up a pass, and I knocked it down. I thought to myself, "I should have intercepted that". So on second down, I did just that. I took the ball and I started running. I made it about 15 feet, and as I attempted to juice it around a guy, I heard an awful noise come from my right knee. That's when I went down and felt the pain. I had twisted my knee again, and it was almost identitical to the time I had twisted it playing tennis with my father in Florida. The pain just wouldn't stop, and then the endorphins started rushing through my body. I think it was the endorphins made me woozy because soon, I started feeling like I was going to pass out, so I just laid down. The nice people at the group grabbed me some ice for my knee and some gatorade and a granola bar to give me some energy. Pretty soon, I was feeling better, but my knee was in pretty bad shape.

The next day, I called my sister, and she said I should see an orthopedic surgeon, so I called around to a few places in my plan. Most of them were booked, but one place said they could get me an appointment with a Physician's Assistant, that's what my sister is, the following day, which sounded fine to me.

So Thursday the 20th, I made my way to the Steadman Hawkins clinic, which I later found out is pretty much the best place you can go for knee injuries in Denver if not the United States. I met with the PA, he took some XRays, and then he said that my bones looked good, but he though we should schedule an MRI. He also gave me crutches and a knee brace that won't let my knee bend past 45 degrees. So I setup an appointment for an MRI on Tuesday, and then I headed over to start physical therapy. I was a little surprised that they would do this without knowing what the problem is, but these guys really know what they're doing. By doing therapy early and through knee repairs, recovery time is significantly decreased. Who knew? They mainly worked on my range of motion, and they put the world's most expensive ice pack on my knee, which was awesome. It's actually a machine that fills up a sleeve with cold water, so you have the cold and pressure, which works wonders.

So Tuesday I went in and got my MRI, and yesterday, I received the results. So the PA informed me that my ACL is torn, I have a small tear in my Medial Meniscus, there is a lot of bone bruising, and I should stay on the crutches. I have to schedule a follow up meeting, but I'm probably headed for surgery. So much for ski season! I'm pretty sure that I tore my ACL playing tennis in Florida in April of 2006, which is why I injured my knee so easily this time. I guess the good news is that I'll have some really qualified people performing the surgery and helping me recover. Here's a picture of what's wrong with my knee:


Please send gifts and donations to the Ryan Kane Knee Memorial Surgery Assistance Fund (RKKMSAF).

Salmon Fishing in Almont, CO

About two weeks ago, I was salmon fishing near a little town called Almont, CO, which is in western Colorado. My dad's friend Gary from Vietnam invited me to join he and his family for this annual salmon extravaganza. He told me we were guaranteed to catch a lot of fish, but I had no idea until I got there. Every year, some land-locked version of the Sockeye Salmon called Kokone, head back up to the Roaring Judy fish hatchery. The fish are four years old, and after spawning, they'll die. This makes for some good fishing. We left on Friday, 9/14 at around 9:45AM. We took 285 through South Park, and stopped below the Taylor Reservoir to observe the huge trout that sit below the dam. We're talking 20 pounders. The fish love the oxygen rich water created by the flow going through the dam, and nobody is allowed on the land near the dam, so the fish never get caught and just keep growing. It is truly spectacular. Along the way, we'd check out the aspen leaves, which were starting to change, and I got to see more of the west slope than I'd seen before. The west side of the Rocky Mountains is much more moist than the east side, so it has a different look to it. All in all, it was a great weekend, and I probably caught close to 50 fish on Friday and Saturday. It was one of my favorite weekends here in Colorado, and I'm definitely going back next year. Here's some pictures:

What I've been doing...

Well, it's been awhile, since I've last posted, but I've been busier lately. I've started attending a young adult group at my church every Tuesday night, and that's great because they're really nice people, and it gives me something to do. I also started playing in an ultimate frisbee league on Sunday mornings, which is another great bunch of people. Along with that, I've also been going to CU football home games, which has taken up a few Saturdays. Unfortunately, last weekend Miami University, my alma mater, got spanked 42-0 playing (I'm using that word loosely) CU. I also saw Superbad a couple weeks ago, which is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. Oh, and I should mention that two weeks ago, I went salmon fishing near Gunnison in Almont, CO, which is on the west side of the state. I'll write more about that in another post, as well as some not so good news. Stay tuned....

Light Rail Drinking Policy

Food and drink are not allowed on the RTD Light Rail system, so that they don't create mess. So today, when some a-hole sitting across from me on the train spilled his French roast all over, I was not happy. It got the straps of my backpack and a few spots on my pants, so people are calling me "Seattle's Best" now. Thanks a lot buddy for not obeying the no drinks on the train policy. If he wasn't violating a rule, I wouldn't be so upset, but you're not supposed to drink stuff on the train for this very reason. So I will remain as bitter as the coffee he spilled on me. Thanks a lot dumb ass!

Skiing

I'm pumped for ski season to get here. Mind you, I know nothing about skiing at the moment, but that will all change soon enough. I've got my skis. I've got my boots. I'll soon receive my goggles and helmet. There's only two things missing: snow and my ski pass. So the prices for ski passes are set to rise on Tuesday 9/4. This means that by Monday I have to decide between the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus and the Five Mountain Pass. Here's the breakdown:

Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus:
Unlimited skiing at Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Mary Jane
6 unrestricted days at Steamboat Springs
Free skiing at Steamboat Springs after 12PM on Fridays

Five Mountain Pass:
Unlimited skiing at Keystone, A-Basin, Breckenridge
10 restricted days split between Vail and Beaver Creek

I've been told so many different things about both passes, that I no longer know what to believe. Here's what I'll use to base my decision:

Where do the locals go?
Winner: Copper Mountain
- I would like to know where the most locals go because then, I can wear my "Don't hassle me, I'm local" T-Shirt. All kidding aside, I would like to trust that the people who live here would know the best place for your practical skiing.

What's the fastest place to get to?
Winner: Copper Mountain
Runers Up: A-Basin and Keystone
- Getting there is half the battle. Although Keystone and A-Basin are closer in mileage, Loveland Pass can close and change that. Also, Copper Mountain is right off the interstate, so you get there just as quickly, if not faster.

Which place has the best snow?
Winner: Steamboat Springs
Runner up: Vail
- Everybody says Steamboat has the best snow. It's farther away, but it's great snow.

Where do all the a-holes ski?
Loser: Vail and Breckenridge
- I've heard that some of the skiers at Vail and Breckenridge can be a little on the stuck up side.

What else is there to take into consideration? Parking costs maybe? Well, since it costs $20 to park at Vail, that's a lot of money over 10 days of skiing. Even if Brett and I carpooled and split parking, thats $100 bucks. That could buy me 10 hot chocolates at the resorts. What about the skiing restrictions at Vail? I guess even though I would get 4 less days at Steamboat, at least there's no parking fees and I can go whenever I want. So I guess you could say I'm leaning towards the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus. It costs a bit more, but I think I'll enjoy my first season a bit more. Writing this actually helped me realize how much better the RM Pass sounds. Anyhow, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow marks my first concert at Red Rocks: Yonder Mountain String Band. I could use some bluegrass:)

I said it sucks... to be... a CSU Ram!

Twice in a row the CU vs. CSU game has been very close and has displayed some of the closest matched teams I've been able to see play football. Although this game wasn't quite as good as the game I got to see 4 years ago with Tripp, it was still pretty cool. Being at Invesco field was pretty cool, but I prefer Folsom Field. Anayhow, here's the breakdown of things I liked and didn't like to see today:

Pros:
CU beat CSU in overtime.
OSU beat Youngstown State
Michigan fell victim to one of the biggest upsets in the history of college football
Miami University beat Ball State

Cons:
The Irish got whooped
The Illini still suck