As many of you know, I had a rather a traumatic accident over spring break which left five transverse processes (use the Wikipedia machine if you don’t know what these are) on the left side of my lumbar vertebrae fractured and some internal organ damage. I was hospitalized for three days and then released and given a back brace to wear for the next few weeks.
(Note the Northwestern Cycling socks)
The doctors said that it would be about 6-8 weeks before I could even start to think about riding a bike, and some time after that where I would be able to do anything serious.
On Friday, I decided to restore my bicycle to it’s former glory, and then do a recalibration ride to get used to physical activity from 5 weeks of forced inactivity.
Saturday, I did a Century. Yes, that’s right. 100 MILES (actually 105). My longest ride ever by 21 miles. All the way to Highway 50 in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and back. Only 5 weeks after my incident.
But I’m THE ЯH!ИO.
I laugh at time lines, and several basic laws of physics/nature do not apply to me.
On Friday, I decided to restore my bicycle to it’s former glory, and then do a recalibration ride to get used to physical activity from 5 weeks of forced inactivity.
Saturday, I did a Century. Yes, that’s right. 100 MILES (actually 105). My longest ride ever by 21 miles. All the way to Highway 50 in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and back. Only 5 weeks after my incident.
With the encouragement/help of Doug, I completed this “fat burner” ride, and still had several hours to spare in between returning home and going to guard the rock. Sadly, there are no pictures, as I am extremely un-photogenic in any light.
Doug and I met at 10am at Ravinia, and headed on a slightly meandering path northwards. He was riding his Scott Addict R3 with his brand new MADFIBER wheels (they are SICK), and I was using my trusty Trek 2.1. Traffic was light, and most drivers were nice (one guy gave us the finger, some wannabe suburban gangster in his mom’s SUV told us to get on the sidewalk, and one sedan ran a red light and almost clipped me – all in all a good ride).
Doug and I met at 10am at Ravinia, and headed on a slightly meandering path northwards. He was riding his Scott Addict R3 with his brand new MADFIBER wheels (they are SICK), and I was using my trusty Trek 2.1. Traffic was light, and most drivers were nice (one guy gave us the finger, some wannabe suburban gangster in his mom’s SUV told us to get on the sidewalk, and one sedan ran a red light and almost clipped me – all in all a good ride).
(What would have occurred if that sedan got any closer)
The reason we called this an EPIC ride was three fold – foremost being that one of the riders involved was a recovering near-cripple and the other had only been on four outdoor rides this year, two was the distance covered, and three was the weather conditions. Those conditions ranged from sunny and calm to cloudy/drizzling with 20 MPH crosswinds. Somehow, I still managed to get a nice burn on my face, and a little around the whites of my eyes (yes, it’s possible to burn your eyes...). Don't let the little things scare you - the roads are perfect, scenery is pristine and the company makes it all the better.
That ride will be the start of hopefully many such (probably shorter distance) EPIC weekend rides from here on out. They are a great way to get to know your fellow riders, and frankly, riding a bike is (or at least should be) fun and non-stressful (damn cars).
Remember, if someone who fractured 5 spinal bones, suffered mild organ damage, and sat on his rather large/firm ass for 5 weeks straight can do these rides, so can you.
Keep an eye out for an email regarding the next EPIC ride - probably this upcoming Saturday.
Side note:
I'm probably not going to do many road races/crits this summer, but I'd like to make an effort to get out to the Northbrook velodrome and hopefully compete in the Allvoi cup. It would be awesome if we could get the Chicago-based riders to do track racing on a regular basis, and even be a force in the collegiate scene.
That ride will be the start of hopefully many such (probably shorter distance) EPIC weekend rides from here on out. They are a great way to get to know your fellow riders, and frankly, riding a bike is (or at least should be) fun and non-stressful (damn cars).
Remember, if someone who fractured 5 spinal bones, suffered mild organ damage, and sat on his rather large/firm ass for 5 weeks straight can do these rides, so can you.
Keep an eye out for an email regarding the next EPIC ride - probably this upcoming Saturday.
Side note:
I'm probably not going to do many road races/crits this summer, but I'd like to make an effort to get out to the Northbrook velodrome and hopefully compete in the Allvoi cup. It would be awesome if we could get the Chicago-based riders to do track racing on a regular basis, and even be a force in the collegiate scene.
1 comment:
glad to see you're okay and back on the bike. I want to participate in the next EPIC ride
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