Going Nowhere Slow

Yesterday I went for the inaugural ride of 2009. Not to be confused with another inaugural event that had way less media coverage.



Quit laughing. It's hard not to look like a retard (oh, sorry, mentally challenged individual) on a road bike when you are out of shape. Even harder when you are 40, out of shape, pasty white, and on a trainer in your basement.



As promised a full ride report:

Weather: Cloudy and 27'F Outside (inside lights on and 68'F)

Route: My basement.

Elevation gain (loss): 0 feet

Distance: The equivalent of 4.58 miles.

Duration: 0:21:51

Heart rate:
Max: 135
Avg: 125
Min: 100

EPOC Peak: 18 ml/kg

Training effect: 2

Hardly worth even strapping on the heart rate belt for that. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even changed out of my work clothes.

Everyone else is packing on the base miles with 3 to 5 hr rides in January and I am spinning for 20 minutes. Very different from years past, not that I made an attempt at base training or training at all, but at least I was riding a lot in January and February. Maybe this injury is a good thing and I needed this downtime to enable me start from scratch and build up a good base with a more directed approach. Blah, blah, blah. Really what this is, is a good excuse for my upcoming mediocre racing performance this year.

Healing Spinabilities

Today I visited Dr. Caine and he gave me the thumbs up, might as well go ahead and see what happens, clearance, permission, okay to spin on my indoor trainer for 20 minutes. He emphasized the "spin", "no mashing" concept that will be my mantra for 20 short minutes a day for the rest of this week (assuming it doesn't cause unbearable pain).

Log on tomorrow for the full ride report on my first ride of 2009.




The spin tent at the 24hrs of Adrenalin, 2005 edition. You can't see the trainer I am attached to, but I assure you I am not demonstrating my mad track stand skills on this particular occasion.


~

Winter "Training" Camp

It is now less than one month before I make my sojourn to the desert for some riding in and around Tucson, AZ. This trip was planned to add sunny warm miles to my cold weather training plan (which typically consists of complaining about how it is too cold to ride) and also to catch up with Declan who lives in a place less sunny and more gloomy than I do.

As you, the faithful readers of this interesting and informative narrative of mediocre riding experiences know, I have been suffering from an injury. I have been off the bike now for over two weeks which is the longest span of time I have gone without riding in many years. I will be off the bike for a few more weeks while I try to heal and avoid half drunk spine and neuro surgeons with sharp rusty knives. It has been against the advice of all of the so called experts (doctors, physiatirsts, and surgeons) that I have chosen to attempt to allow my body to heal itself with alternative care (stretching, walking, mental awareness of stress induced pain, and no lifting). It seems to be working, although this is the least amount of physical activity my body has seen since I was an infant. However, I have become more aware about the psychosomatic causes of pain and illness, and this, if nothing else has been enlightening.

If all goes well I will be able to get back on the bike about the time I arrive in the desert. If all does not go well I will be training for my new hobby, bird watching.

Declan and I met riding in Jamaica with the SMORBA crew. He lived and worked in Jamaica for a number of years and started Island Sport Trust while there.





Since then Declan, who rides all over the world, places like Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, etc. has been duped into traveling to the U.S. to ride, help me renovate my house while he was promised a lot of riding, and witness how lost I can get on trails I claim to ride all the time.



Riding at the Pisgah. Just arriving on top of the Laurel Mountain climb and ready to head down Pilot Rock.



Stream crossing in Dupont.

Chasing Declan around on a mountain bike in the desert will be the same as trying to keep up with him in the Pisgah, Jamaica, and the Ocoee only with different trail obstacles to hopefully slow him down a little.







Log in often as I will be providing periodic updates so all three of you that read this blog can stay abreast of the winter training camp plans that may consist of riding a mountain bike in the desert or bird watching or a little of both.

Last MTB Ride of the Year

Sunday December 14th was my last Mountain Bike ride of the year.




I was glad to finish up the year at Sewanee but not so happy to finish the year on the 14th and not the 31st as is typical. After that ride I was relegated to easy road rides for two to three weeks. Now it is no riding and no Tour de Felasco. Physical therapy has not helped my ruptured discs nor has it solved any of the nerve pain shooting down my leg. In fact things are worse, much, much worse. I am going to another doctor today, a surgeon on Wednesday, and an acupuncturist on Friday. I really want someone to give me some hope that I can get better without surgery.

I was much better when I ignored the pain and kept on riding. Seeing all of these doctors and their prescribed medicines and therapy has seemingly made me worse. Would this have happened if I would have just kept on riding? Somehow I don't think so because I had only mild pain for 8 months until I stopped riding and went to the doctors.