From the Iceman to the Operating Table

In the matter of 48 hours, I went from racing my bike at break neck speeds to laying on an operating table, barely able to tell the anesthesiologist that I loved her. It was quite the adventure....

Iceman this year was going to be a bit different than the other years. I first had to make a 12 hour drive north from Kentucky, I was racing the pro class, and as soon as I awoke Sunday after the race, I had to make the 12 hour drive south, back to Kentucky and finally the operating table on Monday. Hectic and crazy, to say the least. The race for me this year was incredible, though I did not have a flawless race, I had the most fun I've ever had this year. I suffered from a ridiculously hard crash at the beginning and bonked at the end. Not a great race at all.

From the start, the pace was blistering fast. Everyone wanted a spot at the front and no one wanted to give up their position at the front. 20 seconds into the race as we were speeding down the road, a shotgun went off. But it wasn't just any old shotgun, it was someone's tire exploding, mid pack. Before I knew it, the riders in front of me were slamming on their brakes and parting like the Red Sea. In the middle of that Red Sea, was a pile of broken bikes and mangled bodies, sliding to a halt. The smell of burning rubber in the air. For some, this was the end of their Iceman, for others it was going to be the most painful Iceman. Luckily, I was able to get around this wreck and continue on with the mayhem that was about to ensue just one more mile down the road.

As soon as we hit the first section of trail, it happened again. Another high speed crash that took half the field out again. And again, it happened directly in front of me. This time I was a little bit slower to get by the wreck, but made it through unscathed once again. So far, my Iceman experience at the pro level has been filled with two high speed crashes, and we were only at mile marker 2. Once I was clear of the crash, I had to bridge the gap that was formed back up to the lead group filled with the best pros in the world. This was not an easy task and I redlined quickly. I was only able to stay with the top pros for the first five miles of the race. In those five miles, I learned more about racing than in the four years that I have been riding.

As I watched the lead group ride away from me, I tried to settle in and recover a bit. Not easy when you're riding alone in the woods. I was able to grab onto some other riders wheels and ride with them for awhile, that is until I had my own little high speed crash. As we were cruising through the single track, my wheel hit what I thought was a hidden stump. I'm not sure what it was, or if there was anything there at all. Regardless of what was there, or wasn't there, I was sent flying over the handle bars and straight onto the shoulder that has been separated four times already. It didn't matter to me though, because I was soon to have surgery to fix anything that might need fixing. I picked myself up as quickly as I could and began to chase back to the group of about seven that I was with. I had two massive charley horses, one in my quad and the other in my hip. I was stuck in no man's land, the space between two pace lines where no one ever wants to find themselves in a race. I realized this and stopped chasing, waiting for the next group to come by and pick me up. Finally after riding solo for awhile, the next group of about four came by and I jumped on the train. They pulled me for quite some time and eventually pulled me back up to the group that I was with when I crashed earlier. My decision to recover and wait paid off.

With the newly formed group, it was time to put the hammer down and trade pulls. We rotated for what seemed like ten miles or so. With about 7 miles to the finish, I started to feel a little empty. Every time I would stand up on the bike, my legs would shake and I was losing power on the climbs. I knew what was happening and there was nothing I could do about it. I had no food or water; I had only taken one bottle, a rookie mistake. You can't expect to do well at the pro level if the mistakes you make are the ones that beginners make in the first race of their career. Before I knew it, I was off the back of the group I was riding with and trading pulls with a few others that were dropped. By this time, I was desperate for a drink of water and I had to ask one of the riders from the Panther RFG team for one of his bottles. Thankfully, he was willing to spare one for me and almost instantly after I took my first sip of water, I had my second wind. For the next five miles, I rode as hard as I could passing riders here and there until finally I was in the finishing shoot. I rounded the last corner, took one look back to make sure no one was there to sprint for pride and rolled across the line. That was it; I had finished my first ever pro race. It felt good to be done. My body was bruised and aching and my bike was making some of the most awful noises I had ever heard. But I was done.

I laid around in the cottage at the finish line for quite some time after, never changing out of my kit. I was hurting, but it was a good hurt. Even though I didn't achieve my goal time or placing, I was happy. I know that with a perfect race, I would have been minutes faster. The mistakes I made in this race are easily fixable. I over heated from over dressing, didn't eat enough before or bring enough water during, and crashed on something that I should be able to ride with my eyes closed. Even though I got shelled by the pros, I still feel like I accomplished something by racing with the best of them. Many people told me that I was stupid or it was a waste of my time to race the pro class. I disagree. I learned more from this race than I have in any other race I have ever competed in. I had the most fun in this race than any other race I have ever done also. In the long run, I think this experience will help me in my journey to turn pro. I don't regret my decision at all and I'm glad I stood behind it.

Now that the race was over, it was time to relax a little before my 12 hour journey home. Sunday arrived bright and early. I was extremely sore from the previous day's events and wanted nothing more than to just get back to Kentucky so I could prepare myself for the next day's events that were sure to be nothing short of an adventure, for me at least.....

Monday rolled around and it was time to get my world turned upside down. I was up 4:30 to take a special shower with a special kind of soap that kills literally everything moving on your skin. From there, it was on the road with Sarah Lukas, who you met in the previous post. For those of you who don't know, I was to have surgery to reconstruct my right AC joint in my shoulder. It's the same injury that Sam Bradford had. We hurried to get there bright and early so that we could have plenty of time to sit and wait. Hospitals take forever to do anything, no matter how early you show up. Finally the nurse came in, I pulled on my very nice hospital gown with arm pit stains, she started my IV, and we played 20 questions. After waiting for two hours or more, it was time to get my shoulder fixed. They rolled me to the operating prep area and once again, made me wait another 45 minutes before they finally started shooting me up with every drug known to man. The last thing I can remember before I passed out was Brandy, the anesthesiologist, telling me that what she was giving me was oxygen. It was not oxygen. I was only able to take two breaths before I passed out.

I awoke a few hours later with a sore throat and a throbbing shoulder. Apparently, I had been very adamant that I didn't want the sheets on me because I was too hot, even though my core body temp was only 97 degrees. I kept pulling the sheet off of me and throwing them on the floor, each time passing out directly after my rampage. Finally the nurses had enough of me a decided it was time for me to go back to my room, where Sarah was patiently awaiting my arrival. I had one last question for the nurse though; I asked her how fast the bed went. I didn't even wait for an answer, I was out once again.

The afternoon continued on like this for a few more hours, with me waking up, saying something completely off the wall and then passing out again. At one point, I told Sarah a story about how Brandy was beautiful and she told me that she was just giving me oxygen, but it wasn't oxygen, it was drugs. I said she was nothing but a drug dealer and she lied to me. I don't really remember saying much of this, but apparently it was pretty funny. I was also telling all of the nurses about how much I liked them and how cool they were, giving them the thumbs up. When I woke up for the final time, the first words out of my mouth to Sarah were, "let's get the fuck out of here". She was elated to hear me say that and I don't blame her. For some reason, the only thing I could think about was a Snickers bar. Lucky for me, there was a Kroger nearby, and I got my Snickers bar. The best Snickers bar I've ever eaten. From then on, there was more passing out and me saying weird things all the way back home. Once we arrived home, Sarah had to run to class. It was now Michael Palevo's turn to take the reins of guiding me back to my room and getting me the best chicken McNuggets I have ever had. Michael has also been changing my bandages all week and doing some odd jobs here and there for me, he's a true teammate. Both on and off the bike.

That was quite the adventure, to say the least. I went from being a fully active person, racing my bike, to someone barely able to stand up on my own. I really can't remember much from this past week because of the heavy dose of drugs that I was prescribed but I've been told that I was a little weird. I'm happy that the pain has subsided enough that I no longer have to take them. A big thanks goes out to Sarah and Michael for putting up with me and helping me out, I couldn't have done it without you guys. I am lucky to have such good friends.

Now it's time for me to sit back and relax a little. I need to enjoy these few weeks that I have off and prepare myself for what promises to be a very successful year for me. I have big plans for next season.

Rocky and Oscar

Some of the best bikes rides I've ever been on, have always had something random that happens. If it weren't for this spontaneous randomness, then riding wouldn't be quite as adventurous and fun. Today, Sarah Lukas and I embarked on a windy ride that would take us to outer Mongolia and back, just like every ride in Kentucky. For most of the ride, it stayed pretty normal, just two bikes rolling through the Tucky country side. A few dogs here and there that would give chase but none that really stuck. It wasn't until we came to a stop at an intersection and were contemplating on which way to turn that we noticed an allusive little kitten hiding under an SUV. He was very shy and rather standoffish as he would not come out to greet us. Then, from around the rear tire came another little kitten that was much smaller and much more sociable. He became affectionately known as Oscar. Oscar was a cool cat, very playful and he loved the bikes. He would weave himself in and out of the spokes and at one point, he was sitting on Sarah's saddle. It wasn't until Rocky saw how much fun that Oscar was having that he ventured out from under the car and decided to join the fun. However, he had more fun pouncing on the hundreds of little rocks that were all over the driveway rather than playing on the jungle gym of bikes. We knew that these kittens were stray and had obviously just been born as they were skinnier than me... For a few minutes, we sat there and tried to figure out a way that we might be able to bring them to the animal shelter that was over 10 miles away. We tried putting them in our jerseys and jersey pockets and tried to figure out a way to safely hold them on our way home but to no avail. Finally, we just decided that it was best for both parties that we leave them be. It turned out to be the right decision as I was run into the ditch by a semi truck on the way back...imagine if I was holding Oscar or Rocky. Anyways, Rocky or Oscar, if you're reading this, we'll see you again and thanks for the spontaneously random moment. If it weren't for you guys then it would have just been another ride to outer Mongolia and back.

Mark My Words...

"There are no gains without pains."

-Benjamin Franklin-

This quote is something that I can look to on one of those bad days which I have come accustomed to this season. When I look at it, it gives me hope that what I'm doing right now will only make me stronger both on the bike and later on in life. When I look back on this past season, all I can remember is all of the pains that I have experienced. It seems like I have to sift through ten negatives to find one positive. This year was supposed to be a break out year for me on the bike. I had huge ambitions and goals that back in January seemed obtainable. I was going to be racing on the biggest stage and in the best class. I had 22 races planned which includes the collegiate season and I have only been able to do ten. With one of them being a DNF that I my mother and I drove 14 hours one way for. It seemed like when things were starting to look up for me, I would receive yet another swift kick in the nuts from David Beckham that would drop me back down to my knees. When people are faced with challenges in life, they always ask the question, "why me?" Why not that guy or this guy, why me? The only real answer that I could come up with is that shit happens. If I were to right a book about my year in review, I would entitle it "Shit Happens" because that is simply the best explanation for it. Then I look at the quote that Benjamin Franklin wrote and it all comes together. "Shit happens" because "There are no gains without pains." I can only grow from what I've experienced in the last year according to Benjamin Franklin and that is what I plan on doing. I have one race left this year and that is the Iceman. I plan on transforming what I have become accustomed to into fuel to get me through the hard training days and life in general, and I plan on taking back what I have become accustomed to in the past and that is SUCCESS. I will no longer settle for excellence in mediocrity. No longer will I end a race report with "all things considered..." Because that's not good enough. Today is a new day for me. I will live life like a dog and achieve nothing but the best. Mark my words...

Life As a Dog

Wouldn't be great to be a dog? Talk about livin' the simple life. No worries or responsibility or dead lines. You can go to the bathroom just about anywhere you want as long as it's not in the house. If you do something wrong, and your owner yells at you, all you have to do is open your eyes up really wide and stare directly into there eyes. It works every time. You get rewarded for chasing a ball and shaking hands. If you play dead and roll over, that's a major plus for some reason. Goals in life are simple as a dog. Sleep at least 20 hours a day, eat, make sexy time with the dog down the street, learn to catch a Frisbee, swim at least six days a week during the summer, and finally, have nothing but fun. Dogs have the right idea, life is short so live up to the fullest. We should all just drop what we're doing and go swimming or catch a Frisbee. And when we're done, eat lots of food and then go catch some Z's. How did dogs figure out how to live life to the fullest and humans haven't? I thought humans were the smartest thing since sliced bread. Apparently not because so far the k9's are the only ones that have life figured out...

Bike Racing at its Best

I've come to find out that the adventures of bike racing don't always happen in the bike race. Sure, bike racing is fun and creates memories that will last a life time, but for me it's what goes on behind the scenes that creates the lasting memories. For example, this past weekend we traveled to Wisconsin for the second weekend of racing, to make a long story short, we killed it and ended up beating second place by over 500 points. That's great, but the 28 hours of driving that we all had to endure, was the highlight of the trip. I learned more about all of my van mates than I know about myself. We shared hilarious stories amongst one another and some personal ones too. Things that we would normally only keep to ourselves. It was great, this is what makes our team so dangerous. It's not that we have the best riders or the biggest budget (even though we do). We have each other, that's what makes a team a team. Whether it's ninja star dance parties, breaking chains, killing the competition or getting killed by the competition, the team is always there. When we show up to the races, we show up as one well oiled machine. It's hard to beat a single rider with the strength of 42.

It doesn't get much better than this...

Training and learning time

So, it's been about two weeks since I started school. I expected to be totally overwhelmed and to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Trying to balance a 24 hour training week and school at the same time was a task that I wasn't sure I could handle. However, it has been surprisingly easy. The area that I'm in is very slow with nothing to do but go to Walmart, so when I'm done training, I just do my homework, it's simple. College is easy!!

The first collegiate mountain bike race is this weekend at Butler. My legs are extremely sore, but not tired so I'm not sure what to expect from them. Hopefully they come around a little bit and will be ready for some ass kickin'. Since I've been down here, I've lost another 5 lbs, which brings me down to a body weight of 145 lbs and I feel stronger than ever. My scale at home said I was about 3% body fat at 150 lbs, so I really have no idea where I'm losing the weight from. I know that getting down into the 1-2% body fat range is dangerous whether your an endurance athlete or not. I'll have to get the proper test done to see where I'm really at.

Well, it's game time now, tomorrow it's total cafeteria domination. Saturday starts early at 3am to get on the bus for Butler and ends with LWC sweeping the podium in all disciplines and Sunday is all about the STXC, again, LWC sweeping the podium.

My New Home

So far, my new home in Kentucky has been great. My dorm room with nothing in it slightly resembles a jail cell, with cinder block walls and tile floors. 10 ft by 12 ft is a little on the small side for two guys and bikes, but at least we're skinny. The worst part about the living conditions is the fact that we're stuck with all of the football players. Every time when I come in from a ride, they look at my riding buddy/room ate and I sideways. I can only venture to guess what they may be thinking. Probably something like "are those guys gay" or they may take a more direct approach and think "Wow, those guys are gay!" I can't wait to hear what they say when they see the shaved legs. Then, they always ask how far we rode today. It doesn't matter what we say, it can be 10 miles or 150 miles, in their eyes, we're Lance Armstrong.

The shower situation is a little weird, with two showers and 32 guys, but lucky for me, I don't shower until after I ride which is always at a strange time when everyone else is out doing something.

The food here at Lindsey Wilson is great! It's all you can eat buffet style. This place was voted the best food in the country over any other college. It's always nice to be able to go into a ride full and come back with a nice meal waiting for you.

Riding down here has been absolutely amazing. The rodes are all in great condition and the people around here are the nicest I've ever encountered. You can ride for miles free of traffic and not have to worry about hugging the shoulder. On every ride we've been on, we've taken up the whole lane to ourselves. The drivers don't care, in fact, most of them wave to us as they drive by. The heat can be a little much at times. I've never been in a situation where you stop on the side of the road for something and you can literally watch the sweat seeping out through your pores.

School starts tomorrow, I get done at noon, so that's a plus! Then it's on to do some more riding!