gaining experience

Well time for somewhat of an update. My bike is finally here, but I still can't ride it. I had been frequently loosing my balance and feeling light headed so I decided to go to the Doctor. He informed me that it is caused by my blood pressure. Just by doing an activty such as standing up spikes my blood pressure. That sharp blood pressure change is what causes me to fall and loose my balnce. Also, just by standing, my heart rate increases by about 25 beats per minute. This is a normal post concussion side effect, however my blood pressure and heart rate changes are a little high compared to normal. Therefor, even though I got my bike back almost 3 weeks after my last race, I am deciding to take another week off of exercising. Ever since 2006 I have been in a hurry to start training. This time, I could care less. If I don't allow my HEAD to heal properly, then I will regret it sooner or later. At this point, it is between being mentally off for the rest of my life, and having a bad upcoming season. I would definitely take the later of the two, and just by taking a 4-5 week break in September an October doesn't mean I'll have a bad year. It doesn't even mean I'll have a bad early season. It does mean that I will have done everything possible to prevent some sort of permanent injury. Some may thing I am over reacting to my concussion, however better safe than sorry.
So what does that last rambling have to do with gaining experience? Well, look back to Avery Trace 2006. I had a similar crash that ripped off half my face. Instead of taking time of the bike, or even visiting the hospital, I ended up racing a couple of hours later. I believe that because I did not take the proper recovery steps, I "dulled my edge" (if that makes any sense.) It takes me a little longer to process things. And that was after a wreck where I was conscious the whole time. This wreck, I was unconscious for 30-35 minutes. I am sure that came with repercussions. Because of the experience I gained at Avery Trace, I am smart enough to know to recover properly. I feel like this wreck will dwarf wrecks that I used to think were serious. Kind of like showing up to big races, then going to local races. The big races will ease the nerves during local races. I think this wreck will ease the nerves during smaller wrecks (I am refering to my own wrecks and no one elses of course. Every wreck has a different affect on different people.)
With all that being said, I am still planning some epic rides for whenever I do get back on the bike. I figure, I am missing out on my century season so I have to make it up. Right now I am for sure doing a century to Crap Orchard and back. As well as a century to Tellico Plains and back. I am working on an epic 4 day block that I will fill people in later on. In the immediate future (this weekend to be exact) I am going to middle Tennessee. I am hoping to hang out with friends as well as family. I have been missing middle Tennessee as well as a lot of my friends and family. Anyways, thanks for reading my ramblings,
The Crow