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03-12-07, 08:12 AM
Hello. I'm 43, from central North Carolina, and although I'm not new to biking, I've been out of it since 2000. It was at that time that my life took a completely different direction. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, in May of that year, and I began a journey filled with disappointments, and physical limitations.
Being a very active person made it hard to adapt to a much more laid back lifestyle. I'm still a hyper-active person (mentally) but sometimes my mind and body are on different pages. I've learned to rest, when my body tells me to, or suffer the consequense. After several attacks, I've suffered some lasting affects, from the disease, but I'm still mobile. My legs are weaker than they used to be, but after getting the OK from my doctor, I decided about a year ago to buy a stationary bike (recumbent) to build strength.
I've trained for six days a week, in hopes of getting back in the saddle. Well, last month I decided it was time. I knocked the dust off my ol' mountain bike, and took it for a short spin. That five minute ride took me back seven years in time! I got a piece of my old self back! Woooo! Hooooo! I got so excited that I bought myself a new road bike. It's a Dawes LT1000 24 sp, and I know it's not an upper end bike, but I'm on a fixed income, and it's the most I could afford ($369), and I like it. I'm hoping I'll be able to reward myself with a Trek or something similar in the future, but the Dawes is fine, for now. I just recently worked up to a 20 mile ride, which probably doesn't seem like much to most, but to me it's huge! I'll never be able to ride for speed, due to more frequent rest stops than the average person, but I'm setting goals for longer distance. I believe I can see a 50 mile ride, in the distant future. Who knows.......maybe even a century??:) :) Sorry for the long introduction, but I wanted to share my story, in hopes of meeting other cyclers with physical limitations.
Mike
Being a very active person made it hard to adapt to a much more laid back lifestyle. I'm still a hyper-active person (mentally) but sometimes my mind and body are on different pages. I've learned to rest, when my body tells me to, or suffer the consequense. After several attacks, I've suffered some lasting affects, from the disease, but I'm still mobile. My legs are weaker than they used to be, but after getting the OK from my doctor, I decided about a year ago to buy a stationary bike (recumbent) to build strength.
I've trained for six days a week, in hopes of getting back in the saddle. Well, last month I decided it was time. I knocked the dust off my ol' mountain bike, and took it for a short spin. That five minute ride took me back seven years in time! I got a piece of my old self back! Woooo! Hooooo! I got so excited that I bought myself a new road bike. It's a Dawes LT1000 24 sp, and I know it's not an upper end bike, but I'm on a fixed income, and it's the most I could afford ($369), and I like it. I'm hoping I'll be able to reward myself with a Trek or something similar in the future, but the Dawes is fine, for now. I just recently worked up to a 20 mile ride, which probably doesn't seem like much to most, but to me it's huge! I'll never be able to ride for speed, due to more frequent rest stops than the average person, but I'm setting goals for longer distance. I believe I can see a 50 mile ride, in the distant future. Who knows.......maybe even a century??:) :) Sorry for the long introduction, but I wanted to share my story, in hopes of meeting other cyclers with physical limitations.
Mike