Where do I begin?

Ok, let's see...

The Kenda Pro Cycling (KPC) training camp was awesome! The weather didn't exactly cooperate, but that didn't stop the camp from being both productive and fun. Many of the guys on the team I have met before over the past 3 previous seasons, but there are a lot of other new faces too. Watching these guys ride together and get to know each other was pretty cool and exciting. All the ingredients are there for the team to succeed in races of all types this year. I think a lot of folks are going to be surprised when the pinstripes and flames of KPC step on the podium of the larger races in the country this season. I won't be surprised... but some other folks might be.

I hopped back on the rollers this evening and began getting back into my regular routine. Last week, thanks to travel days and bad weather, I missed a few days of riding. And thanks to the good food in Greenville, I added a couple pounds and fell off the cholesterol wagon once or twice. So now it is back to obeying the rules and riding as often as I can. With the next trip to Taipei just a little over a week away, I'm trying to get as much riding and exercise in as I can before then. The legs felt pretty flat at first tonight, but they eventually warmed up and felt pretty good in the end. And, the weight update; 210.2 this morning.

Tomorrow is a medium sized big day for me- I'll elaborate and hopefully have pictures tomorrow. Until then... just keep guessing.

Since my eyelids are slamming shut on me, I guess it is time for bed. So until the next time...

Tim

It's good to not feel bad

Since getting back on the bike after returning from Taiwan and the suffering I did during the epic ride there, I have only missed a few days of being on my bike. Even if modest, I've been logging miles as often as I can. Add to that, the fact that I have a few health issues to deal with and I've been more motivated to ride than I have been for a long time. And the icing on the motivation cake is that I sincerely feel like I owe it to all of you who have supported me so much since the crash to get back on the bike (and stay there this time) and race again. Yes, selfishly I want to race for ME too... but I feel like I owe it to so many other people to get back on the bike and ride again.

At one point in December, I was up to a whopping 225+ lbs- that is after dropping from 205 the night of my crash to 184 when they released me from the hospital the second time. As of today, after my ride on the rollers, I am back down to a more reasonable (and healthy) 208.4. I'm not back in race shape yet, but I'm a helluva lot closer than I was in December!

Here are the weight numbers since 2/7;
2/7- 210
2/8- 212
2/9- 211
2/10- 211
2/11- 212
2/12- 212
2/13- 210.4
2/14- 210.8
2/15- 209.6/ 208.4 (before my roller workout/ after my roller workout)

I know I won't be winning any mountaintop finishes, but I'm feeling a heck of a lot better at that weight than I was at 225.

I've been eating better and riding a lot more, as well as taking my cholesterol meds, so I am looking forward to seeing what the blood test results look like in April. I've also returned to the gym... well, once, for the first time since my crash. I went to the YMCA yesterday for the first post-accident workout and it didn't feel as bad as I feared it would. My right knee was a little sore last night after the workout and I was a little spooked by that, since that is the knee that had the double fracture and has/ had a micro tear in the lateral meniscus. BUT... the soreness was almost entirely gone this morning and my ride on the rollers this afternoon was pain-free. Today, on the rollers, I pushed a little harder too- I did my rock-n-roll sprint interval workout on my fixed gear on the rollers. The point is to sprint as hard as you can during each full-on guitar solo/ riff that happens in each song. I have my Shuffle packed with LOTS of great songs for this type of workout and was pretty much flogging myself for awhile there. I had one block of White Zombie, Rage Against the Machine, Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters. But in the end, it was a great workout and I was dripping with sweat by the time I was done... and it felt great!

I still think I want to try and do some kind of weight loss/ get-in-shape support group type of thing, but I have to find the time to focus long enough to get it going... but stay tuned.

Again, I feel compelled to thank all of you who have been so supportive during my recovery from the crash (and before then too). Without your help and support, I know I wouldn't be as strong and on the road to recovery as I am now. Thank you, from deep within me.

Tim

It's official...

Saw my doc' this morning; my cholesterol is terrible and I have no choice but to significantly alter my diet, continue to exercise (or in my case, stay on the bike) and take a little statin drug called Prevachol. As of this evening, with my first dose, I am now one of the millions of people taking anti-cholesterol statin drugs.

My family history is thick with all kinds of heart problems ranging from high blood pressure to high cholesterol to heart attacks. Given that history and the fact that my first high cholesterol reading came nearly six years ago, my doctor and I agreed that there was little reason to put off the inevitable- so I am on statins now. I am going to be improving my diet and getting back on the bike as much as my schedule will allow... and now I have doctor's orders to exercise!

The terrible crash I had at the end of April nearly killed me... but it didn't. I don't plan to let high cholesterol kill me either. Ultimately, I have too much I want to live for. Life is tenuous at best and I got a lot closer to understanding that fact than I would like to ever get again.

So now my desire to return to riding full-time and losing weight takes on a whole new level of importance for me. I'll certainly have breaks in the riding again and again, especially with all the travel I normally have to do, but I am hoping I can keep my commitment to myself to stay healthy and stay alive.

We'll see what happens...

Tim

Rollers

The thing with riding rollers is that there is absolutely nowhere to hide any imperfections in the way you ride. It's kinda like standing naked in front of a full length mirror with really harsh lighting.

It's been about a year and a half since I've ridden on rollers. Mostly because I've been too lazy to go get a replacement belt for my old rollers and I've been doing lots of ILT (Isolated Leg Training) exercises on my stationary trainer. ILT's are really great for improving your hip flexor muscle strength- which really increases your power at the top of your pedal stroke, which is great for improving your climbing power. So I've been doing lots of riding on my stationary trainer with fluid resistance unit. The only real negative to stationary trainer workouts is that you don't improve your pedal stroke or overall fluidity and you can even dig yourself a hole with your technique.

Yesterday I finally cracked and got roller'ed-up again. So last night I got out and rode the rollers for nearly an hour, for the first time in about 18 months +/-. For those who don't know from experience, riding rollers is close to a 1.5:1 ratio- an hour on the rollers is like an hour and a half on the road (or so). I was happy that I hadn't forgotten how to ride rollers and that the form wasn't all that bad. I did manage to get out of the saddle and ride without riding off the drums, as well as being able to drink from my bottle, wipe my sweat off with my towel and change position on the bike. I didn't go full bore in my seated sprints, but I did get the legs going at a good turn of speed.

The bad news is that I found that it has been too long since I spent time on my rollers. I was riding my fixed gear, which also highlights your pedal stroke deficiencies, and at speed I was bouncing enough to make me worry about riding off the drums. I didn't, but I had to pay attention. The one time I did ride off the drums, I was wiping my face with my towel and had my eyes closed and couldn't see that I was drifting across the drums. Fortunately, I just rolled off on to the frame and then caught myself on the fence next to me. But, it does mean that I have to work on my form again... so it's good that I am on the rollers now.

And, that 50+ minutes on the rollers had me "sweating like a redneck at a spelling bee". Afterwards, my bathroom scale claimed that I weighed a mere 198! That's even lower than the 199 I saw a few weeks ago for the first time in about 10 years. The weight is coming off, the legs are feeling good and the power is coming back. April 1st is the beginning of Tuesday Night Racing here at the San Diego Velodrome... and I'm trying to bring the heat this year. I was pretty far off the pace last year, so I'm hoping this year is better because I'm hunting for medals at the State Masters track championships in the Kilo, Sprint and Team Sprint (maybe).

Ok, time to get a few things done here and then it's off to the gym. Then I need to write some new copy for the catalog- I had to change a few things from what I wrote earlier.

Enjoy your day!

Tim