rumor has it, I'M BACK!

I took my first (real) ride last night since my accident. Followed by my second this morning. Holy @#!% it felt great. I have waited for this for six weeks and I thought most or all of my season was over but there is hope I can get it back. My legs seem fine but my cardio is way off. Sucking wind like this:

except I wasn't getting the benefits from it. This morning was a bit better but I covered the same distance in less time proven that gravity was helping. I did have some challenging section and it feels so good to go after them.

My immediate goal on the bike is to be ready to the 24hrs of Great Glen. I signed up on a four man team before I broke my collarbone and was all but sure I would have to scratch. This may not be the case and I hope that is how it plays out. The only damage from this is a stupid (ridiculous) medical bill, some missed races at Catamount, and sadly a Duathlon that I was going to do with my wife. I was pretty bummed about that because I feel like it had a small part to do with why my wife stopped running lately.

I have brakes and tires to get for my MTB, still need to lace the wheels and then get the rest together for some test rides. One month to get me and the bike dialed in and then this race will help prepare me for the VT50. The Grande Fritata of my season!

the start of assembly!

the makings of the TD training bike

I am down but I am not out. While being broken and slightly feeling sorry for myself, I setup shop in the living room with the A/C blasting and the TdF on the TV. It was like my own little bike shop. I dropped the post and saddle on to get the bike in the stand and do a few things that I could to the frame. I installed the BB and cranks. They are Camber cranks from MRP. Nice and blingy in white. Then I installed the Syncros headset and got my steer tube marked for cutting. This fork rules! It is 100% carbon. 1.25lbs of joy. I can't wait to push this thing through the trails. I cut my first carbon steerer and it went well. No worries at all. It doesn't show in this picture but it is done and the stem and bars are installed as well. Next I will take the 700c wheels off of my commuter and put them on this bike to set up the cockpit and figure out my cable routing for the IGH. More to come...

I went to the doctors' for new x rays and although things are looking good and feeling even better, it is a slow healing. I am allowed to start riding again soon. He said two weeks, I think maybe one. I did sneak out with the family to the park to see the fireworks last night. First time on the bike since the accident. It felt really good. Almost like that feeling as a kid when you get your first bike. Freedom!

on the mend!

Well, most of my time in the past couple of weeks have been spent with just enough energy to work and then crash. My body has taken advantage of rest to restore itself to a functional state. I tell you, the more days that went by, the more I found things that were destroyed with me. It finally came to the point where the days go by and I feel a little better with each one. It finally does not feel like a knife is being shoved into my chest when I sneeze. I have been able to get some good motion out of the arm. I go back to the doctor on Friday for another xray to see how things are looking. I am hopeful that I'm coming along quite well and hope to be back on the bike SOON!

It is driving me nuts. I am all but sure that I have lost the base that I had and will need to work on restoring it. I have a bunch of parts collected now for my new bike I'm building. Some of the parts I already talked about and some have just shown up in the last few days. I have my sweet @ss fork coming and should be here any day. I will post about that next. Thanks!

update on the game changer

I went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon today and we conceded to NOT having surgery. I am happy with this choice and feel positive that I will recover in a timely fashion and hopefully still get in some of the big rides that I was hoping for this year. I left the ER on Saturday, the day of the accident, in an arm sling. I have been irritated and uncomfortable that whole time. It all changed today when the doctor put me in a clavicle splint. It had two padded straps that pass under the armpits and figure 8s behind the back pulling the shoulders back and your chest out. Immediate relief from the pain that I was experiencing.

I loved it so instantly that the first thing out of my mouth was "I can ride my bike with this on". Shot down. A big no no. It does give a false sense of repair but it is nice not to suffer. I have a new spirit about this and I will be in my secret recovery lair pushing out big watts on the trainer to stay on mark for my plans. Day by day, we'll see.

game changer

left clavicle sheared with sliver fragment

I cant hardly stand the position I'm in until I think about how many ways I could've ended up dead or with serious head trauma.

came down from up there to about where my family is standing

ended up down here 15 feet away after 7 or 8 revolutions

just before my ride to Fletcher Allen

 Feel like I've been ran over a few times. My whole core feels crushed. Lost it at about 40mph. Helmet destroyed but glad it did it's job. Looks like surgery and who knows how long off the bike. Maybe I can get on the spin bike in a couple of weeks.

saw tooth

Ok, not exactly but I can say that its pretty damn close. This is the profile of the VT50 MTB race. ~9000 ft. of climbing in 50 miles of mixed dirt roads, ATV and snowmobile trails, logging roads, farmers' fields and nearly no pavement. This is "THE" race for me each year. I love this event.

The next chapter

The VT50 is a great event. It is also hard to get into. They limit the number of entries and it usually sells out in minutes. This will be the third year that I am doing it. The first year, '09, I got swept. You have to make it to aid stations within a certain amount of time or they pull you. I was about 9 hours in with 28 miles to go and got pulled that year. Last year I did it and finished. I had completed it is 9 hours 14 minutes, which happens to be the same time of where I was when i got swept the year before.

This year I am hoping for a finish of 8'30" or better. Four months and counting to prepare. Part of that preparation will include a Duathlon with my wife. She is running, I'm doing the bike leg. It should be a fun event. I am also one of a four man team for the 24hrs of Great Glen on 8/12. This is going to be a blast. It should be enough riding for each of us and not too much to blow us up. On 8/28 I will try and do the Race to the Top of Vermont. This course goes up the Auto Toll Road on Mount Mansfield, the tallest mountain in VT. The road is only opened once a year to this event for pedestrians. The elevation is 2,550 ft in just 4.3 miles. Up Up Up! That brings me full circle on this post with the VT50 which is on 9/25 which is my wife's birthday. I have to find something super nice to share the day with her. We plan on renting a room at the mountain for that weekend. Fun times!

10/1 is the 200k Fall Classic brevet that is made up of a lot of dirt. Since it is the weekend after the 50, I may ride my MTB on this ride. And let me not forget to mention that all of this will only be possible if I can get my bike built in time. I retired my old MTB and I don't want to go backwards here. Time to get busy.