Early Season Setbacks

In cycling, setbacks typically mean injury or illness.

For the first time in my cycling career I have an injury that may effect my training and racing.
Almost two weeks ago during a mountain bike training ride on trails around my house I dumped it and landed hard on my side. The wind was knocked out of me but that's only temporary and I thought nothing more about it. Now I'm thinking that I fractured or have a badly bruised rib.

Yeah, you can say I'm a typical guy - avoiding a doctors check. But today I'm heading over to the training center to get an x-ray. I'm not sure what can be done but as others have told me I should know how I bad I hurt myself.

On the topic of injuries - my team has had a string of bad luck which includes broken hands, a wrist and a dislocated shoulder. Injuries are a aspect of the sport that everyone is aware of but after 5 years of relative healthy racing the team has had a rough start to the 09 campaign.
I'm just glad that it happening 7 months after the Olympic Year and not 2 months before.

A new season!

April has arrived and unfortunately so has the rain and snow.

Racing has started around the region and it's time for me to test my preseason fitness.
Compared to other seasons, I've relaxed my efforts over the winter. A new position at work and a needed rest after the Olympic year are my excuses.
To start the season, I'll race local time trials and road races all in preparation for the National Championships in July.
In the past I've attended team training camps in Chula Vista Co. and have raced in Paralympic events in Canada. I've planned a trip to my hometown on Cape Cod for the first time in 4 years. It's time to see the family and my friends who I've ignored for too long. Of course I'll have my bike and a training program from my coach. Sending my power files to him to make sure I'm not just vacationing.
My main focus this year will be the US paralympic Road National Championships which will be in late July and held in Bend OR. As always I'll race to win. Beyond that will be the IPC/UCI World Championships in (I think) Spain sometime in early Sept.
Again, I'll be in the black and yellow of the Spike Shooter race team. Spike is an Energy Drink that makes Red Bull feel like a diet cola.

Like last year, I'll post updates on my training, travels and racing throughout the season.
Any comments and/or questions please don't hesitate.
-mike

TV coverage of the Games

U.S. Paralympic Team | News | NBC Sports to Broadcast 2008 Paralympic Games Documentary on Sunday, November 9

There will be a TV special this Sunday on NBC.
2:30 eastern time

I do know that the Pats are playing.

Even though I didn't get my photo taken with the Chief I had a blast at the White House.
Reconnecting with my fellow Paralympians and meeting many of the Olympic athletes was the highlight of my trip. We shared thoughts and stories of our events and of our time spent in Beijing. The trip was a perfect way to conclude what was a magical year for me.
I was close but not close enough to personally say hello to our President. But I was close enough to see that he was honestly excited to be there and to meet some of the 600 athletes that showed. Even with the Secret Service hinting at him to leave, President Bush spent a few extra minutes with us.

A role model?

10.4.08

A few different elementary school teachers have come up and mentioned how they use this Blog to educate their class on how disabilities do not need to limit any one's desire to reach a goal.
Remembering back to when I was the one the only disabled kids in my school such a program would have opened my eyes. Role models are valuable to kids and I was no different. Even now I catch myself standing in awe at the determination and desire that some athletes have. Never have I seen this on a greater scale than while at the Paralympic Games.
Now being a part of this impressive group of people I see first hand how the "role model" label can easily be attached.
Coming home to find letters from elementary school students re enforces those thoughts. Never did I think that riding my bike would put me into this position.
Thanks for the letters and thanks for reading.

A change in roles

9.28.08

5 years ago I sat in a conference room at the OTC amazed at just being there.
It was during a developmental camp that I attended.
This past weekend I was at that camp again but not with the wide-eyed, open mouth expression
that I remember having. This time I had a new role, that of a paralympic veteran.

For years now, Former Paralympic Cyclist Pam Fernandez has used these Developmental camps to introduce disabled athletes to the Paralympic Movement . The camp is based at the Colo. Springs OTC and offers the athlete the chance to live among the best of the best and train in that fashion. Training rides are accompanied by a support vehicle and led by elite level coaches. For myself, this camp gave me a taste of what it's like to be a pro athlete. Many of my current teammates had their start at Pam's camp.
Many of the riders asked about the training and the level of competition we face internationally. Everyone seemed impressed by the facility and the excited about the possibility of joining the team. I stressed that even though the Elite Team receives many perks it only comes after lots of hard work. I spoke about how excited I was but also how "green" I was when I attended the this camp. How race training goes from riding hard to nearly a science. Most of the guys were unfazed bye my horror stories of training in the snow and cold. I think it only made them want to get out and ride that much more.
This morning I said goodbye to maybe a few of my future teammates.

9.26.08
Before watching the Olympic Games on TV a month and a half ago one of my main visual stereotypes of China was that everyone rode Bikes. That was one aspect of Chinese Culture that I was hoping to see first hand. Personally, I'd love to see our country depend more on the bicycle in our daily lives.
With so many people living in Beijing, Cars populated the streets even with a Driving restriction. But I did see that a large portion of Beijing rode bikes. Most rodes offered a full sized bike lane which often had as many people pedaling as the motorized lanes had driving.
While there I saw bikes of every shape & size, used for reasons I never though possible.
These are images that I'm guessing would not be found in our
city streets.