Recovering from illness and helping it along with exercise.

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As my friends in SOS know, I like road cycling and racing. As I feel better, I start riding again. It's invigorating (after you recover from the ride).

Last Monday I went with the old boys for a bike ride. Nobody under 60 y.o. in this group, so it was at an easy 17-18 mph (27-29 kph) pace. Well we certianly did not go far. After 5 miles (8 kms) three guys hit the deck. It was an ambulance job. Two guys in their mid 70s were taken to hospital. David cracked a vertibrae, broke a fingure, spit an eyelid open, and part of his broken sunglasses got embedded into his cheek. Alan got a few cracked ribs and a damaged elbow. I tell you what, David is one tough dude. Not a whimper from him, but everybody else that looked at him went into shock. His face looked a real mess.

All it takes is one front wheel to touch anothers back wheel. Front wheel going down, back wheel going up, opposite forces touch and WHAMO, the guy in the back hits the deck instantly. We all now that this can happen to us too, and we accept the risks. But when it does happen, we all basically question our sanity.

Tomorrow I am going for a bike ride (alone). Need to ride 50 miles (80 km). Every week I'll ride a bit further. There is a 100 mile (160 km) ride-come-race in October. They always race the last 20 kms. I am obliged to participate. It will be ten years since I started this annual event. Every year more riders attend. Last year we had over 60 riders. A third of them I have never met before. There's a huge BBQ after the ride. Guaranteed some riders will have sore legs the next day. But it's all insane fun. :D
 
hits the deck instantly. We all now that this can happen to us too, and we accept the risks. But when it does happen, we all basically question our sanity.

that is a spooky story and no matter how careful you are in a split second all can go wrong. One of the most dangerous jobs is logging your using an open spinning sharp chain no safety guards and if that end of the bar hits something the kick back is so fast you can not react in time. One time the saw kicked back and came so close to my leg it ripped off the pant leg and missed me by a hair. That shakes you to the bone and insane as it sounds it is back to using the chain saw.
Or using a bandsaw with a claw tooth blade. This type of blade has a tooth that looks like bird talons when your cutting the tooth hooks into the wood and pulls it into the blade. Some wood might have a very fine hairline crack you can not see so as your pushing the wood into the blade it hits that crack so the wood goes forward and the force of your pushing your hand goes right into the blade. The claw will grab your hand and pull in in and down ripping it apart. OMG that happened once and I pulled back in the nick of time and then your knees go weak when I sinks in how close you were. Never again ALWAYS use a push stick.
 
Be careful out there Brother. I used to mountain bike a good bit lots of extreme trails. took a nasty spill of the side of a cliff when a rider in front of me decided the jump ahead was to scary for him and stopped on the narrow bike path. I made it out ok with bruised ribs and ego but it changed my taste for off road biking. I do still ride my bike just not in the woods anymore. I'm 52 years old and no longer need excitement in my life lol I go out putting around on my Honda VTX that's all the excitement I need.
 
G'day Peter
I think you all should take up a new from if exercise, like Tia chi....
That is so funny.

Several years ago I hit the deck when racing in the Masters World Championships in Austria. Was alone at the time. Cannot remember what happened. Was unconscious for 40 miniutes before paramedics brought me to consciousness. Was flown by helicopter the St Johann of Tirol hospital. Lost a tooth, needed eleven stiches across chin, and had slight brain damage for several months. Had trouble walking in a straight line. My body always wanted to vear to one side. For first few months I was slow to answer questions. (Discovered that we really don't have to answer most questions, because it's obvious or irrelevant).

My carbon bike frame broke into four pieces. . . there goes $3,000.

Anyway, this is me after I got out of the hospital.
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Here is a funny thing. I could ride a bike as straight as an arrow, but as soon as I got off it, I walked like a drunk.

This is me racing at the Masters World Games (Olympics for older folk).
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Racing a few years ago.
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I am a racer. Racers race. I always feel better if I race. It's invigorating. My riding mates know what I am like. Often, on the return leg of a ride, some 20-40 kms, I break away and race home. Most of the time the others try and chase me down. Half the time they catch me too. They always scream of disapproval when I take off, mainly because they feel compelled to chase, and will suffer to do so. At the end, at the cafe, they all express how much fun that was.

Tai Chi? Perhaps in my next life.
 
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Wow brother I've never been unconscious from a crash, that has to be crazy to wake and wonder WTH happened. There is an old saying amongst us folks who ride on 2 wheels. "there are those who have been down and those who will go down" yet we get back up dust off and have at it again. We do what we love regardless of the danger. It takes strong will and a great love to get back on that horse and ride again. I do love to ride my bike in the trails, but at the end of the day I realize I'm no spring chicken anymore and don't heal like a young man does, so that coupled with a Grandson who needs me around and in good shape, I gave it up. Its difficult when your heart and soul aches to do it, but I have made a decision to stay my new course and that's what I'll do.

How fast have you been on those Bikes? I like to watch the road racers it amazes me how much stamina you guys have. Trails can be daunting, but we do it for the adrenalin rush not to win a race so we can stop and break anytime we want. There are no winners just who was the craziest and pulled off the best jumps or rode the sickest trails.
 
...How fast have you been on those Bikes? I like to watch the road racers it amazes me how much stamina you guys have. . .
As the Masters age groups (5 year incruments) go up, they restrict the race distance. "Damn!"
The MWC in the 55-60 age group covers a 76 km (47 mile) course, consisting of two laps, with hills to slow you down. The leaders finish the course just under 2 hours. Average speed around 39+ kph (24+ mph).

There is a hill at home which is quite steep and long. We (some of us) race down it to see how fast we can go. My fastest is 105 kph (65 mph).

In regards to stamina, for me, it's all in the head. Determination to push yourself through mental boundaries. Once I started going beyond personal limits it also started a new addiction of sorts. Whenever the body-mind starts whining, I shift focus on purely riding the bike, and not on perceived limits. Sometimes I go into the zone, where fear leaves me and I become aware of everything within and outside of me at the one time. I can also foresee what is happening. And know exactly what to do with my muscles to keep the bike moving at maximum efficiency. It really is a wake up call to realize, without the 'zone', how much energy gets wasted through fear (doubt, worry, etc). Racing really becomes a mind over matter scenario. It's perfect for the rebel in me.

I love it when the race weather quickly turns soar (wet, cold and windy). Everybody gets more fearful of the perceived struggle. My mind does the opposite, and I often break away and finish the race in time-trial mode (as fast as I can). In such cases I often feel like a kid playing in the rain.

So, as the say in sport psychology (cycology), the mind is the last frontier. Seventy percent of the winning effort is mental.
 
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