The Prodigal Cyclist

The Roses

2013-05-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get frustrated. Okay, I'm not a spring chicken anymore at 54, even if I did ride almost 12,000 miles last year, and (finally) broke a 300-mile Wisconsin state record I dreamed of when I first rode across the state in one day back in 1982, over 30 years ago.

Sometimes I get frustrated with my recovery, which I've been told will take somewhere between 1 and 3 years. And then come the reminders from friends that give me permission to be patient, to stop and smell the roses.

Those are friends worth listening to, and worth keeping.

Another day in the rain

2013-04-10T08:14:00.001-05:00

This past week I had the best ride since my accident a little over 3 months ago. My average speed was almost 19 mph for 25 miles. It felt great! Today, however, we are in the middle of a week long forecast of solid rain. My body aches, my mind is wrestling with anxiety, and I have lost that zest for life I had just a few days ago. This morning, I search for a source of encouragement, and I pray that God might rescue me from this dark pit.

A few minutes later, I find a link that my Pastor shared on line, a link that carries a message to rescue me from this darkness. A message that, I now know, will bring me out of another day in the rain.

A Song of Hope – “You Never Let Go”

Just what I need

2013-04-02T18:44:00.000-05:00

One year ago, we were experiencing a spring that every cyclist living in Wisconsin dreams about. The months of March and April, when it's usually more common to suffer frostbite than a sunburn, were filled with gorgeous sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s and even touching 80 degrees at one point. I had ridden over 700 miles in March alone. It was just what I needed, allowing an early start to my training for the approaching record attempt, something I had planned for the past 3 years.

This spring has been quite opposite, to say the least. Except for a day or two last month that stretched toward the high 40s, most of our recent days have seen near-freezing highs, with more snow and cold winds. Oh well, recovery from a total hip replacement doesn't require 300 mile weeks. Fortunately, the snow has recently melted and the streets are now clear, except for an occasional small puddle. I'm just happy to be able to get out a few times during the week, with a 20-30 mile easy-paced ride. Even those are making my legs scream and my lungs burn.

And for now, that's just what I need.

Hard Copy Validation

2013-03-26T11:26:00.000-05:00

I had the witnesses: my crew and the UMCA official.
I had personal documents: photographs and mileage records on paper.
I had the governing body verification: an email from U.M.C.A. Records Chairman, Drew Clark.

But I was patiently waiting for something that would help me personally to believe we really did it. The "hard copy" validation came in the mail this past Saturday.

Back in the saddle again

2013-03-10T15:08:00.001-05:00

It was only a short, easy spin of 12 miles, but it was significant.

I've been riding up to 3 hours at a stretch in the Pain Cave, so I'm slowly returning. But yesterday was my first ride outside since the surgery. While driving home the shop, I surveyed the roads. I realized that most were clear and dry, with just an occasional puddle. Most important - no black ice. So I hurried to get my kit on, turned on the Garmin, and walked my bike to the end of the driveway.

There is nothing like the first spring ride outdoors. Especially when you can look an old demon straight in the eye and ride away with a smile on your face.

This would be a ride to remember.
It was only a short, easy spin of 12 miles, but it was significant.
God is good.

One (more) small step

2013-03-04T11:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I took a leap of faith. I had signed up for Ridin' for Research, an indoor cycling fund raising event for the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center. My longest indoor ride since the accident had been 70 minutes long, so I signed up for one of the four 80-minute sessions at the event. But I made myself a promise that if I felt good at the end of the first session, I would go for another one. And I did. But the big unknown was how I would feel the next day.

Well, here it is, one day later, and I my legs are still attached to my body. I expected the quads to feel a bit more tired, as I also did more out-of-the-saddle simulated climbing that I have done since the accident. But aside form a very slight tired feeling in the quads, I feel great!

One more small step.

Today will be a recovery day, focusing mostly on Pilates, stretching, and massage, and maybe some light spinning.

My pledge requests for the Ridin' for Research event were to recognise my friend, Kari Lee Admundson, who has been battling colon cancer for the past year. Because of some generous people who answered my call when I was looking for donations, we were able to raise $140, $40 over the goal I had set.

Contributors in Kari's name:
- Ann Graf
- Eric Unrein
- Jacob Herber
- Mark Duchrow
- Sandra Cunneff
- Tim & Lis Neal

One more small step.
Thank you all, and God bless you.

Continuing Education

2013-02-24T19:41:00.002-06:00

I remember when I gave up ultra-marathon cycling back around 1990. I remember that I had been plagued with lower back pain for the last couple years. I remember realizing that if I were ever to return to ultra-cycling, I would have to learn new disciplines to keep me comfortable and efficient on the bike, exercises that I wouldn't necessarily like doing. Dreaded core work. Dreaded stretching. And so, when I returned to the sport about 4 years ago, I worked on those disciplines, because I knew they would allow me to return to this sport that I loved so much.

Now, a few years later, and with a new challenge of recovering from a total hip replacement, I am realizing the need for these exercises at an even greater level. As I work to regain strength in my legs, I've become aware of how tight these muscles have become during my several weeks of inactivity. In addition, one other component that has plagued many other athletes, but something I personally have never had to contend with before, is the tightness of the iliotibial band, otherwise known as the IT band. The thick, fibrous tissue that connects from the upper leg by the gluteus maximus and tensor fascia latae muscles, then runs down along the lateral side of the upper leg, and eventually connects to the tibia bone of the lower leg. After some initial encouragement during the early weeks of my rehabilitation, primarily through the strengthening of the gluteus muscles, things began to turn in the other direction. It seemed that at some point, the more I would try to strengthen the muscles around the hip, I would be rewarded with debilitating pain around the hip area and the lateral side of the knee.

What I've been doing to counter act this tightening of the IT band and it's connections to the muscles, is to use various tools to stretch and massage out the knots. Tool like "The Stick" and the "Rumble Roller" can provide the athlete a do-it-yourself deep tissue massage.

Chayim

2013-02-15T10:30:00.000-06:00

Word of the day: "chayim". It means "life," in Hebrew.
My friend Jacob Herber taught me that.

Over this past year, I've been blessed ten-thousandfold. Even thru the difficult times, the Lord has graced me with provision beyond anything I deserve. Even though I'm still in early recovery from my hip replacement, I've been able to get back on the bike for short rides, so I figure it's time to start giving back a little.

I just registered to do "Ridin' for Research", an indoor cycling fund raising event for the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center. I'm sure I'll be one of the slow ones there, but that's okay. Please consider making a pledge in my friend's name, Kari Lee Amundson, who is currently struggling with colon cancer.

Would you help give someone chayim today?
http://www.active.com/donate/R4R-2013/theprodigalcyclist

Prayer works

2013-02-14T21:02:00.001-06:00

Some people like to say that prayer doesn't work. Sometimes it appears that way when we don't get what we ask of God. We have to remember that what we ask for isn't always in God's plan for us. All we can do is trust in Him, and remember that whatever we do, we do for His glory, not ours. That doesn't mean that God doesn't want us to succeed, or that He doesn't want us to rejoice in our accomplishments. We just need to remember that it is because of Him that these victories actually happen. He gives us the passion. He gives us the strength. He gives us the victories. But sometimes those victories don't come when we want, or how we want them.

Prayer works. If you don't believe me, you've never really given it a chance.

Trusting in Him

2013-02-02T09:03:00.002-06:00

A little over a week ago, I was having a pretty discouraging day, probably the worst since the accident. On the other hand, yesterday I had about the best day since the accident. I've started to incorporate light weights into my physical therapy, in addition to regular cycling on the indoor trainer. Since I'm not allowed to swing my leg up high enough yet to get over my regular bike, I've had to use my wife's bike with the step-thru frame. The first 2 days I only rode for 15 minutes each, keeping the pedal pressure very light. It was more to test my leg, to see how things might feel. So far, so good.

Yesterday, after doing my weight workout (and taking an hour to let my leg recover), I rode for 25 minutes, and ramped up the effort so that I was actually getting a good sweat going. Oh man, did that feel good! I actually got in an aerobic workout! My leg felt great too. And afterward, even after having done the weights (which did fatigue to muscles a bit), my leg was feeling good. I actually felt a new level of strength returning. Last night, I was looking back at the progress I've made over the past month, and I was encouraged and grateful. Two weeks ago I was still taking pain-killers to feel good. Today, I'm making the pain to feel good!

I am thankful for where for where the Lord has already taken me, but I have a feeling that He has a lot more work to do with me. I don't care to look back and wonder (what might have been), because what I see ahead is better than anything I could have been before.

^"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
(Jeremiah 29:11)

Trusting in Him...

Better than before?

2013-01-25T07:29:00.001-06:00

Is it crazy to imagine bicycling even better than before? How about walking better than before?

I just watched a video of someone who had arthritis in the hip before her hip replacement. She displayed everything I had been experiencing before my accident:
- Years (decades) of walking with my leg left splayed out.
- Always feeling like my left leg was longer than my right leg.
- Always leaning more on my right leg when standing, to compensate for the "extra" length in the left leg.

Here's a link to the video I'm referring to:

Hip Replacement Walking

When my surgeon saw the x-ray of my left hip before performing surgery, he discovered some advanced arthritis in the hip socket. It's funny how the body compensates over time when it learns how to adjust to the progressive "wear and tear" disease of osteoarthritis. My walking never appeared to be as bad as it was for the woman in this video. But then, I learned how to compensate for the damage over time. Changes I had been making in my walking and standing over the years were mostly done without thought. I ever remember my dad making a comment about how I swung my left leg laterally when I walked. It was probably 30 years ago when he made that comment. That means I would have been experiencing arthritis in my hip when I was only 24 years old. More than half my life has been spent with an arthritic hip.

One of the very first things I noticed after my hip replacement, was how straight my left leg was now tracking. Never in my life do I remember my leg tracking this well.

This is going to be an interesting recovery.

Darkness

2013-01-23T07:15:00.001-06:00

6:00 am and I got up to take a pain killer. Feeling depressed this morning. Partly because of the pain, but mostly because of feeling useless.

Sometimes I cannot fill these pages with hope.

Morning

2013-01-16T13:09:00.001-06:00

My mornings certainly don't go any way they have ever gone before in my life. I can't just jump out of bed anymore. In fact, I have a regimen of exercises I do in bed, before I even sit up. It hasn't been easy to discipline myself to do these, but I've discovered that if I take that 10-15 minutes and do them, it becomes much easier to arise and greet the day. This morning, I also discovered another thing, that if I wake up early and just want to get up, don't do it. Most of my life, I've been one that's been able to get through the day very easily on 6 hours of sleep. Even if I had a long bike ride ahead of me on that day - 100 to 200 miles - I could do it on as little as 3 hours of sleep. Few people are aware of this, but when I did the Wisconsin record ride in August of last year, I had only 1 hour of sleep the night before. The crew had a "luxurious" 3 or 4 hours! LOL

But this morning, when I woke up at my usual time around 6 or 7 am, I decided to just go back and sleep a bit more. I woke up again at 9:15 am, and immediately proceeded to do my in-bed rehab exercises. About 20 minutes later, when I finally did sit up, I was actually feeling refreshed, something I haven't felt in a long time. I even arose from the bed differently, almost as if I had never broken my hip. I stood there and cherished that moment, and thanked God for giving it to me. Yesterday was not an easy one for me, so that little moment of reassurance was something I could truly appreciate.

The days are still slow and deliberate, as I'm sure they will be for quite some time yet. After a trip to the bathroom, I begin making my breakfast. I usually alternate between something "elaborate" like eggs and toast, or something simple like cereal and milk. This morning was a simple bowl of granola and milk, a glass of carrot juice, and a cup of hot tea. That helped to wash down my morning pain pill and daily dose of vitamins and nutritional supplements.

I'll usually bring my breakfast into the front living room, where I have a recliner chair set up, with a small table on each side. It is in this chair where I spend a good part of each day, between doing exercises, light-duty housework, and making my daily meals. In this chair is where I am also writing this blog entry, and where I communicate to the outside world each day on my computer, via Facebook and email. My chair also allows me an open view of our front yard with the large picture windows. I love to just sit here at times and watch the tree branches blow in the wind. It's the wind that makes them strong, you know.

Later this afternoon, Linda will take me to my physical therapy session. Afterwards, I hope to make a short visit to Wheel & Sprocket, the shop where I work. I'll meet with John Rodriguez who has organized a fundraiser for me to help us cover some of the medical costs from this accident. The event is happening this Friday at our Northshore store. I haven't really mentioned this event until now, but it's been on my mind quite a bit since it was first considered about 3 weeks ago. I won't say much other than it's about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.

When I first returned to cycling, I didn't really know how many of my old friends would welcome me back. And I knew even less if any of the new guard would care about an old man who was trying to give it another go. But I was blessed by both groups. I've been able to rekindle treasured, old friendships. And I've made many new friends, quite a few much younger than me, who have allowed me to share my old stories and even hang onto their wheel once in awhile on group rides. I have truly felt like the character my blog was named after, "The Prodigal Cyclist". But now with this fundraiser that is about to happen, the blogs title seems to be taking on a deeper and even more personal meaning. The love, compassion, and excitement that I have been seeing in people that will be part of the event, is causing me to be amazed at how God's word continues to literally come alive in my life. But it also reminds me that it is not me who does this. It is by God's grace.

Luke 15:11-32 "The Parable of the Lost Son"

In the end, there is nothing I can do, but to cherish and love the people who are helping me, brothers and sisters of the bike.

My Friends

On the way...

2013-01-08T22:27:00.002-06:00

Had my first physical therapy session today, and it went well. I have some additional soft tissue damage around the knee area, but that should resolve itself with time and proper exercises.

I also had my first follow up visit with my surgeon, Dr. Kurtin, and it went well. The staples came out easily and the wound is healing nicely. I learned more about the new hip, recovery process, and my cycling future. The doctor and I also discussed my somewhat narrow Q-angle (narrow hips), even for for the average male. What this means is that, from a structural standpoint, I would have made a heck of a ultra-marathon runner.

Hmmm...as a kid I used to dream about being a long-distance Hopi runner. But just like my dream of being a horse jockey, these dreams all went out the door when I got to over 5 feet high. ;)
But the good thing is, my narrow Q-angle should help my new hip last longer!

Recovery will be a continuing process. What I can't do now, I'll be able to do next week. What I can't do next week, I'll be able to do the following week, and so on.

A friend from work has offered to lend me his indoor exercise bike, which initally should work better than putting my own bike on the trainer. I'm also going to be using some adapters that will effectively shorten the crankarms on my bike, until my full range of motion returns.

Little by little, day by day, month by month, I hope to be riding on the road again sometime in spring. The doctor feels confident that I should be ready to do the annual "Race the Lake", a 90-mile race around Lake Winnebago in August.

The 2-week old Hip

2013-01-07T20:16:00.002-06:00

Two weeks ago today, my hip was replaced. Tomorrow I get the stapled removed and have my first therapy session. And hopefully, I'll also hear some promising news about the future of my cycling.

A New Year, a New Promise - Part Two

2013-01-04T17:50:00.000-06:00

I'm just not good at writing. It's such a chore for me. I don't possess a great vocabulary, and any creative skills I have are clearly lacking when it comes in this craft. So please bear with me as I attempt to write part two of "A New Year, A New Promise". It's been a rough 2 weeks (but also filled with many blessings), so I'm just going to do my best at laying out the facts. I've actually been doing quite a bit of writing on my Facebook page, so that's another source of updated information for anyone who might be interested.

The result of the fall on December 23 is that I fractured my left femur. After the surgeon, Dr. Steve Kurtin, saw the initial x-ray, and considering my relatively young age and high activity level, he suggested that we go with a complete hip replacement rather than just replace the ball of the femur. The result of x-ray showed that I had some progressive arthritis in the hip socket. After learning that, I began to realize that the pain and stiffness that I had been experiencing in my left leg over the past few years, was not necessarily a matter of a stiff muscle or tight connective tissue, but most likely the arthritis that the doc discovered. That was the other reason why DR. Kurtin wanted to do a complete replacement. With the worn out, arthritic hip socket, he didn't want to see me returning in a few years to get that replaced.

After I've gotten through a good amount of my recovery and my biking form has returned, it should be interesting to see how different this leg might feel without the arthritis. There's also been another interesting phenomenon I've discovered since my surgery. For as long as I can remember...maybe 20-30 years...my left leg has always had a tendency to toe out some, compared to my right leg. Until this past year or so, as I've studied my bike positioning more and more, I came to the conclusion that this "misalignment" was not initiating from my knee, foot, or ankle as I had thought for so many years. Rather, the misalignment was coming from the hip joint.

I remember considering this discovery a couple months a go, and even discussing it briefly with my friend and co-worker, Phillip Godkin, who serves as a professional bike fitter at the shop I work at, Wheel & Sprocket Northshore. Even with just a brief examination, Phil could also see that the misalignment was indeed coming from the hip. But the question that still remained was the source of the misalignment a result of soft tissue problems, such as muscle imbalances and/or tight connective tissue, or was a bone deformity? I had done regular stretching over the past few years, not necessarily to re-align the leg, but more so to just minimize any stress that it might be causing on my muscles. And for the past 3 years or so, I even did some experimenting with cleat alignment and using various wedges on my cleats and in my shoes. At times, it felt that there were small improvements in how my foot to hip structure felt, as far as alignment and power transfer went. But in the end, nothing seemed to make a significant improvement. And the same lack of stability and inability to transfer power to the left pedal as well (compared to the right leg) that has plagued me for years was still there. The muscle tone in my right leg proved that it had become the primary source of propulsion while riding, and the left leg was just doing...well, what it could until fatigue or injury would set in. It was the left knee that initially gave me problems when I first began to get serious about ultra-marathon cycling back in the early '80s. And in retrospect, it's quite possible that this is when some hip problem began to rear it's ugly head.

And in these more recent years after returning to the sport, it was always the left leg that was the first to fatigue when nearing the end of one of my longer rides, 120 miles or more. And when I did my record breaking ride last August, it even got so bad that the left leg was hardly much more than useless weight that I had to keep moving rather than 1/2 of the source of my propulsion.

Well, after my surgery, I immediately noticed a very interesting change in the natural position of my leg and how it aligned up with the center line of my body. For the first time in my life, for as long as I can remember, my left leg didn't naturally toe out. It now hangs there straight, and in line with the center line of my body. Even when looking ahead, and I feel that my left leg must be toed out, I look down and with a sense of amazement discover that it is actually sitting perfectly straight.

It will be interesting to see how this new alignment might affect my cycling. I'm obviously curious to see if there is any change and improvement in how stable my left foot feels on the pedal compared to all the years previous to the surgery. Will that "new" leg enable me to, for the first time since I began long-distant cycling, a new sense of power? Will that new leg for the first time be able to work as hard as the right leg, so that muscle tone might actually become equal to the right leg? Right now I have a long road of recovery ahead of me. And it's strange to even think about it this way, but is it possible that this accident will actually result to be a blessing in the end?

Well, I'll just put any expectations away for the moment. I'm just happy that this happened to me in a day and age when hip replacement is quite refined. I've been told that new ceramic and titanium hip will last a long time, and hopefully for the many, many miles ahead of me. Maybe even longer than the ceramic and titanium parts on my bike?!

A New Year, a New Promise - Part One

2012-12-29T14:24:00.002-06:00

For the latter half of December, I had been taking my winter bike out with studded tires, mostly through the wooded trails in nearby Brown Deer Park. I went there at night, after a recent snowfalls, with my high-powered LED headlight leading a visual path through the darkness. I was an incredible experience: peaceful, moody, and even a bit spooky. A nice change of pace from riding on the roads. I had no concern of traffic, but the narrow trails still offered a bit of a challenge. A whole new world. Then there was a day of partial melting about a week ago. Last Sunday, the day before Christmas Eve, I decided to go for a ride. A road ride. There still were patches of ice on the roads, but it seemed clear enough that I could maneuver my way around them. The traffic was light. It all would have been fine, except for the fact that I decided to take my regular road bike out with smooth, narrow tires. I was no more than 4 blocks from home that choice of ride proved to be the mistake. As I was slowly climbing a hill when my tires suddenly slipped from under me. I was climbing out of the saddle, firmly gripping the handlebars, so there was no way to react in time and brace myself. Within a matter of a second, I landed directly and completely on my left hip.

I knew it was a hard fall. I don't remember much of the next few minutes, other than trying to get up and just stand. My left leg was out of commission. I believe it took me almost 10 minutes before I could actually pull myself up with the power of my right leg alone. I'm sure it took me so long to get back up because of the pain. And when I finally did get up, I confirmed the fact that I could not apply any weight on the left leg. Besides the pain, even the smallest amount of weight applied produced the sensation that my foot was slipping on ice. And yet, when I looked down, the foot was on dry, solid pavement. A vert strange feeling. It was obvious to me at that point that the slippage was occurring in the leg itself, and most likely in the hip are. Had I torn a muscle or other connective tissue so that there was no reliable physical connection between my hip and foot? I had never experienced anything like this before, so I figured this is probably what had happened.

Even when I tried to lift it, the weight on the leg alone produced the same excruciating pain. I immediately pulled my cell phone out and called my wife. I needed to be picked.

When Linda got there, she tried to position that car so I could just take a couple very short hops to the car seat on my right leg. But because I couldn't even left the leg hang by it's own weight, that proved impossible and very, VERY painful. I couldn't move from that stop one inch! At this point I was concerned with the cold and possibly going into shock. My wife found her trusty old wool car blanket, a gift from her late father from WWII. Then she called 911. Within minutes, paramedics were there and assessing the situation. A few of them cautiously helped lower me onto a stretcher, and I was loaded into the ambulance.

Return of Race Across Wisconsin?

2012-12-07T23:10:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's seriously being considered. The one-day "Race Across Wisconsin" that was held from 1984 though 1987 might be returning for 2014! There seems to be a strong interest from several people I've been in contact with recently. For those who aren't familiar with the race's history and design, you can find out a bit more at this link: Race Across Wisconsin.

I will begin working on the plans over the next few months. If you have any interest in participating, whether it be as a cyclist or race official, please contact me at: mlehlers@att.net, and put the words "2014 Race Across Wisconsin" in the subject line.

Thank you,
Mark Ehlers
The Prodigal Cyclist

Holy Hill in December?

2012-12-04T18:21:00.001-06:00

Well, I think I can honestly say that this was the first time in my life that I've ridden to Holy Hill during the month of December. The latest month of the year I've ever made it out to this location is probably October, although September is more likely. In the past, by this time of year I usually don't feel any desire to take that hilly trip. The truth is, there is no practical reason for it. As the riding season has gone into maintenance mode, hills and 50+ mile rides aren't needed for training purposes. But for the past 2 months I've been hoping to make one more trip out there for the year.

Unfortunately, something always seems to come up that keeps me to a shorter and/or flatter route...until today. The weather forecast was for sunny skies and winds directly from the west. If I could accept the struggle of a direct headwind for the 25 mile ride out there, I would be rewarded with nearly a free ride on the 25 mile ride back. So I did, and so I was. It was a beautiful day for another first in my life on the bike.

December 4, 2012 Holy Hill Ride

High 40s and SUNNY!!!

2012-11-29T15:20:00.001-06:00

After a few blustery, dreary days this week, we finally got a good dose of sun today, with temperatures in the high 40s!

I had a great ride out to the north end of Port Washington, which ends my week on the road. Sunday and Monday looks like we might be getting into the high 50s. Could there be another day of riding in shorts in the plan?!

Here's a link to today's ride, compliments of Garmin and Strava:

http://app.strava.com/runs/30160637/embed/125ffb9bad76b229827066bba8571705e4f19087

Pre-Thanksgiving Day ride

2012-11-21T20:52:00.001-06:00

I've recently been introduced to the Strava application, used to log workouts. I'm usually a bit late when it comes to adopting any kind of new technology into my training, and this is no exception. But I can easily see what all the hoopla is about.

For the past 3 years, I've been manually entering each workout into Map My Ride. It's been great, far easier than using the old pen & notebook style of years ago. But now, with a Garmin and a number of similar on-line workout logging applications, the world has really changed for athletes. All the detailed information that is available from the Garmin, and quickly transferred to the web-journal of your choice, can be a bit over-whelming. But hey, for now I'm having fun!

I'm also trying to decide which web-journal is going to suit me best. I like Garmin Connect, because it's designed by the very people who make the GPS computer. I also like Strava, mostly because it records segments of rides chosen by other cyclists (or yourself), that become friendly challenges viewed by everyone in your area, that you can go back and ride again, and improve your performance as you move on up the "virtual podium".

Today I went for my last ride of the week, at least as far as an outdoor ride goes. It was beautiful out, especially for a late November day, when the weather can often be quite gloomy. But today was sunny with temps reaching the high 50s and creeping to near 60. I wore arm warmers, but opted to keep my legs bare and let them soak up possibly the last amount of sun that they will see for this year. It was heaven! And after cranking out an enjoyable 57 mile ride, I think I'll be reaching for an extra piece of pumpkin pie tomorrow when I gather with family to celebrate all the things that God has blessed me with this past year.

I hope you and your loved ones have a happy and a blessed Thanksgiving Day.

Here's a link to my Pre-Thanksgiving Day ride.

Get'r dun!

2012-11-20T20:53:00.000-06:00

My last cycling goal for the year was accomplished today as I reached the 10,000 mile total for 2012. I haven't done this in 25 years, when I was almost half my present age.

Yee-haw!!!

The Blessed Reunion

2012-11-07T18:59:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to be a guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Cream City Cycle Club, Milwaukee's oldest bike club. I was one of the original members of this club, back in the early '80s. I haven't been a member for over 20 years though, so I didn't know if I would see any familiar faces. But to my surprize, it was a real pleasure when I walked through the doors and was warmly welcomed by several of my old friends, still alive and kicking and riding. To be able to share the experience of breaking the Wisconsin cross-state record with these old familiar faces was a true blessing.

In a big way, it felt like a reunion, maybe even a home-coming. Back in the '80s, this club was a big part of my life, and these friendships gave my life a richness I had never before experienced. My wife was there too, and got to meet some of my old friends. And Brian, my crew chief, also a former club member from the old days, also received a warm welcome.

We also had Nick, the UMCA official, along with Ruth, Nick's wife. Ruth had been part of the SSC (Secret Support Crew) during the latter hours, guiding us into Marinette and the victory party at the finish.

After I gave my presentation, each crew member and official offered their own perspective on the experience. I was glad to have them there, as they were able to fill in many thoughts that I had left out, in addition to providing me with moral support (and they thought their job was all done at the finish line!).

Now, as the days get shorter and colder, my rides have also grown shorter and less frequent. I recently picked up a new indoor trainer, the Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll trainer. This will help me during those long, cold winter days when I just don't feel like getting me and my bike all full of the winter slush.

My plan for next year? Well, I won't be attempting to break anymore cross-state records. I plan to compete in the annual 95-mile Race the Lake again in 2013, after taking a break from it this year. I also hope to complete at least one double-century, probably with a bunch of old friends who still organize one each year. And since we're all over 50, I'm sure there will be no crazy sprints involved. At least that's what we're all sayin'. ;)

On Milwaukee.com interview

2012-09-14T23:33:00.002-05:00

Thank you to Tom Held for telling my story:

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/rideacrosswisconsin.html

More pictures from 3 weeks ago...

2012-09-12T03:05:00.002-05:00

Dave and Nancy, our dear friends from Sturgeon Bay, WI. took these pictures at the finish. Over the past two years, their home has been a destination for me while on my 140-mile rides from Milwaukee to Sturgeon Bay. It's always good to have nice friends who let you use their shower after a long, hot day in the saddle.

Get this man a motel room!

Time for sleep?