Well what do you know a thread about bike racing! Finally somebodies talking about actually racing a bike in the bike racing forum!
Well in the early '90's I was a very slow Cat3, I was actually a pretty average Cat 4 but do to several crashes in my crits I earned enough points and they moved me up. I was getting my butt handed to me every weekend so I decided I was going to quit racing in '93 and would make the Mullholland Hill Climb my last event. While training for that event I was struck by a hit and run driver and nearly killed. I suffered a major concusion and a broken rt shoulder, rt collar bone, rt femar, lft wrist and index finger. I also had road rash from head to toe. I couldn't ride for nearly 2.5 years and went from 185# to 240# (I'm 5'9"). I finally got on my butt back on the bike and into the gym and got back down to 190 in about 5 months. That was 1995 and I just rode for fun until this year. We moved to Austin in May of '04 and I really got back into riding hard again. I droped down to 155 (my current weight) and this year started racing for one of the local shops. I did my first ever road race (previously it had only been crits) and finished 12 out 65 guys in really bad conditions. I was pretty happy since I had been suffering from the flu the days leading up to the race and was unable to train or eat. So now at the ripe old age of 42 (43 in may) I'm back racing and I'm faster and fitter than I was at 30!