Hemophilia...

So the combination of cold, dry air and long rides is taking its toll on my nasal capillaries once again. I typically get chronic nosebleeds at this time of year and it is not much fun. Waking up at 3:00 AM with blood dripping on your pillow is not a lot of fun. Neither is having to soft pedal for ten minutes while riding in an attempt to not bleed out and die in a gutter. On top of having frequent bleeds, I don't clot too well and I've actually had my nose packed full of cotton and continued to have blood pour out in a stream. One such incident led me to having my nose cauterized which is not a fun experience.

I suppose that it could be worse, TIAA-CREF rider Mike Friedman recently had a pulmonary embolism resulting from saddle sore surgery and a genetic clotting disorder. Mike pretty much summed it up "I went from being able to race for six or seven hours to not even being able to walk. That scares the shit out of you!".