road i.d.

Well back again. Not too much has happened this week for me. The biggest thing being the arrival of my Road I.D. For the longest time, I thought road i.d.s were "uncool." I always sore not to wear one due to the uncool-ness. But, it only took one bad wreck to change my mind. I know think they are the greatest things in the world. BIG thanks to Jamie and Danny Johnson a.k.a the Mayors of Gulf Wood for getting my road i.d. for me. Before, I didn't know they cared about me that much. But now, it is good to know they do! I am very thankful for those to going through the trouble of getting it for me. As soon as I get out of the shower, it is the second thing I put on, and it is the last thing I take off before I go to bed. It is now apart of me. Big thanks to them!
As I enjoy my Sunday, I begin watching the movie Road to Roubaix. It is not the most motivating movie, but a good movie none the less. It is a documentary about the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race. In my opinion, it is more of a documentary of the atmosphere of the race, and not the race its self. Non the less, it is a good movie. Something about it makes me feel very happy to be able to ride again. As I was watching the movie, I was riding on the rollers for the first time. Just by watching it, I was imagining I was on the Cobbles of Northern France. It was a very good feeling. One of the people on the movie said something that really struck a chord with me. He said, "the people come out to watch these cyclist ride THEIR roads. The admire the cyclist for riding on the cobbles and not giving up. That is pride. The locals have pride in those roads." For some reason that hit home with me. Maybe it's because people over in Europe have a different life style, a lifestyle that I admire. Over here in America, people are always looking out for themselves. Over in Europe, especially in the small towns, people think about other people. Not that I've been to Europe, but just from the things I've noticed. I really enjoy that lifestyle and hopefully one day, I will be able to make an extended trip over there. There is just something about the culture and way of life that I absolutely admire. I'm sure some off that has to do with the border line socialism of many countries over there, but still, everything is so laid back. I love it. Well anyways, thanks for reading. Look for an update maybe mid-week about how I'm doing with physical therapy and things like that. Til nest time, thanks for reading and have a safe and happy Halloween,
The Crow

therapy

Well I have been to physical therapy a couple of times and its helping a lot. I have learned that my wrist is in worse shape than my thumb. I guess I had a pretty severe sprain. I have heard a lot of times, sprains are worse than actually fractures. This is probably one of those cases. I can ride and do some other things (changing flats not included) and my thumb will be fine, however my wrist is generally the cause of pain. It, like everything else, is going to take time.
My motivation is something that is going to take time. I talk about riding and building up to some epic rides, however when the time comes to actually ride, I don't. Perhaps it is because I know the level of fitness I was at, and knowing where I am at now is very frustrating. It's like I expect myself to go out and ride for a couple of hours with no problem. When in reality, I bonk 2 hours into a 2:15 minute ride. The level I was at before the wreck and even last winter, that's when my legs would have started coming around. Last year I was riding outside; rain, snow, sleet, or shine I was riding. Where as now, it has to be absolutely perfect. When I say perfect I don't mean the temperature, I mean wind. The wind has always been my achilles heel and I hate it. It turns me into a sketchy rider and if I am sketchy, I run a risk of wrecking. I am not afraid of wrecking again, I am afraid of the repercussions. Like yesterday for example, it was slightly windy. So I decide to move 6 tons of gravel instead of ride. I figure I will ride later in the day, but when the time came I was so tired from moving all the gravel around I just didn't have it in me.
O well. Riding is riding. What good is it if I'm not having fun? I have to keep having fun. Granite it is frustrating knowing how much fitness I have lost, but at the same time, riding bikes is supposed to be fun. If I have fun by doing a 45 minute ride then so be it. Where as if I do a 2 hour ride, and I don't have fun then that is not good. The way I see it, This is the time of my life where I am rebuilding the mental capability of riding long hours. I will begin the physical part later, but I need to get the motivation first. I apologize for the rambling about the same stuff over and over again, but it's amazing how one experience can change everything. Thanks for reading my repetitious ramblings,
The Crow

oops

Well my apologies for not giving my mid week update. There has been nothing to update you on. Life has been normal. I planned on wrenching at the Blackberry farms cycling camp, however those plans fell through. I just got back from Michigan. I went up there to see my Grandfather. He is not very well and we (my parents ad I) needed to see him. We left on Friday and came back on Sunday. It was a very short trip to say the least. I saw my Grandpa for 20 minutes, andd he was sleeping at that. I am not disappointed at that, I understand he is loosing control of his body and he cannot do anything to gain control of it. He is currently at a nursing home which is good for my grandma. She would kill herself trying to help him, and there was only so much she could do. She loves him so much, but like I said, there is only so much she can do. He is always sleeping and she would always have to clean up after him. Him being in a nursing home was the best thing she could have done.
The drive to and from Michigan was good. As I grow older, I am enjoying traveling a little bit more, even if it is in a car. I used to hate going through Ohio. It used to be and endless road with nothing but farmland. Now, Cincinnati and Dayton are two of my favorite cities and the flat farmland is somewhat reminiscent of the Tour of Ohio, my first big stag race. I am learning to l0ve the drive. The leaves were unbelievable this trip. Absolutely breath taking! Going through the Cumberlands all the way to Michigan they were gorgeous! The beauty carried over to today. On my ride today, I really learned how blessed I am to be able to ride a bike again. I went out and did a 2-2.5 hour ride (which is the longest ride I have been on since the wreck) With my friend Mig. I was taking the beauty of rural roads for granite. Today was like a beauty overload for me. I even stopped to take a picture. I couldn't believe how perfect it was.
Tomorrow, I will start consistently weight lifting. I teach my 5:30am spin class then I go about lifting. At this point, I am unsure if I will ride again after that, or if I will call it a day after the lifting and my 1.5 hour class. Either way I am becoming more consistent and that is what I need the most right now. Regardless if there is something to update you on or not, I will update the blog again before the week is over with. Until then, thanks for reading,
The Crow

catching the bug...again

Ok, I'm not getting a bacterial virus or anything like that, I am catching the cycling bug again. In other words, I am getting motivated to train again. The last part of my recovery, I was getting pretty demoralized and discouraged about riding. I had just had my crash, and I would just stare at my bike and dread riding. I didn't even hook it up to the trainer, I would just dread riding. It's not the fact that I was scared of wrecking again, to be honest I don't know why I was dreading it. Perhaps it was because I couldn't rest on my hand, or grip a bar. Or maybe it was because I couldn't shift. Who knows, all I know is I didn't want to ride. Well starting today, I want to ride again. Today was my FIRST time riding outside since my crash. It was my fourth time in five weeks that I had ridden. I just rode for a hour, but just the sensation I was getting was making me feel like I was a beginner. It was a good feeling. I was like a little kid, not knowing how to clip in my pedals, and not holding my line straight. I wasn't holding my wattage, and my heart rate would spike very frequently. To most racers this is aggravating, but for me, this is a good feeling. After "training" for the past four years, it felt great to let loose. Not only am I feeling like a beginner, but I have the fitness of one as well. I was extremely slow, and my wattage was pretty horrible. But you know what, I don't care about that. The wattage will get back to where it was sooner or later. The past five weeks were the first time in a year and a half I have had a real break. Last off season break, I was forced to do a couple of rides in the middle of it. My mid season break this year was interrupted by my spin classes. So the past couple of weeks were the first weeks I had not ridden in more than a year, I needed that. Now I am in the mood to start rebuilding my base. Not only am I prepared physically to do long slow miles, but I am mentally prepared as well. I have turned my music choice around and I am listening to more calmer bands. Bands like Iron and Wine and Nickel Creek. For me, I have learned that long endurance rides require a different attitude, and the music change helps with the attitude change. Like I said, I am trying to update my blog a little more frequently so I will try to update on Tuesday. That is when I will be a volunteer mechanic at the Blackberry Farms cycling camp. George Hincapie will be there, and the will be the first person I will have talked to that was at the race that I crashed in. It will be good to hear if he can recall anything from the race and tell me about the wreck. Til then, thanks for reading,
Jon

pin-less

Well, I got the pins out of my thumb this morning and I am on the home stretch, sort of. I am still recovering from my concussion, but I haven't had any loss of balance or dizziness issues of late, so I am trying to ride again. I am starting with very little riding. To be honest, I don't see myself doing more than a hour and a half this week. The start of the endurance time has been pretty anticlimactic, for obvious reasons. I was hoping to put in another good winter. Last year I begun to enjoy riding in the winter. I love the long hours in the saddle. The slow pace or extremely low intensity. I was hoping to ride my but off, but that will not be the case. I foresee myself taking it easy on the bike for the next month. No intensity, and nothing really over two hours. Oh well, that is life. This whole experience is another hurdle life has thrown my way. I am not only learning from this experience, but getting stronger from it.
Well anyway, it's been a month since the wreck and it's time to quit talking about it. I am starting my weight lifting today. I can't wait. I am limited to exercises because I still have some road rash on my shoulder. Because of that I can't really lift a bar or put anything on my shoulder. Also, I can't really lift with my right arm cause my hand is still in a brace/cast. There are still several things I can do. My friend Mig got my bike in riding condition yesterday, I got my pins out this morning, just those two things have me wanting to ride outside. I was contemplating about riding outside for a good long while. However, I realized I have to teach a spin class this evening, so I will just do that and lift weights afterward. Seeing how I am doing better, I hope to be blogging more. All you readers out there will be a little more informed on how the Crow is doing.
Til next time,
The Crow