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06-27-03, 05:58 PM
Yup, so I'm safe to go out and ride because it is her fault that I started biking again.
Sorry for the length. I just started typing, and this is what I got.
Basically, I hadn't ridden my bike since grad school and it had sat in the garage being unused. That is, until my wife (a runner) hurt her knee. As part of her rehab, she wanted to start biking. So, I hauled out the old schwinn and got it tuned up as best as possible for her to start riding. Yeah, it wouldn't hit a couple of the gears, but hey, it was just for rehab riding, right? After a bit of riding, we decided that it would be nice if I could go with her on her rides, and that the bike really didn't fit her. So we went out and bought my wife a bike of her own. She went for a comfort style bike. (Diamanback Wildwood)
I started riding more and more, until one day on a ride, the trusty schwinn became not so trustworthy. The right pedal sheared from the crank, I went over banged up the spokes and who knows what else. That, in combination with the already damaged derailer told me that it was time for me to get a new bike of my own. (Diamondback Response).
I had myself a nice route mapped out which I would go about twice a week. About 10 miles of road, and about 5-6 miles of trails. A nice fun ride. But then, I started getting the idea in my head that I really wanted to ride farther. So, I worked my way up to about a 30 mile ride. with only a couple of miles of easy trails.
About that time I had a doctor's appointment and my doc said, you know, we should really have your heart murmur checked out, we haven't had it checked out in a while. So, I went and had the test done and didn't think anything of it. Until about 2 days after the test when I got a call from my doc. I thought he was going to tell me that my cholesterol was too high or something like that. I didn't expect him to tell me that the backflow in my heart was really severe and I needed to see a cardiologist.
So, went to see the cardiologist. I was blind-sided when he told me I needed to have open heart surgery to correct a faulty valve. Basically, it was better to do the surgery now when I was healthy rather than later. So, I asked if I could continue biking. He said no problem, as long as it was easy riding.
So, I started taking my mountain bike on the roads doing mainly flat rides of 15-20 miles. That continued until the next battery of tests which said that the regurgitation (back through my heart) was really severe and I probably should cut way back on my exercise. Well, that time without biking bubbled up this latend idea in my head that I really wanted to do a century. Of course, that was during a time that I couldn't ride at all.
The idea of doing a century has persisted sincel the surgery, which obviously was succesful. I've been spending the last 6 months watching my wife do several tours and one road race. She "graduated" from her comfort bike to a (used) Schwinn Fastback Factory (all Ultegra). I've also been lurking in the background reading posts about people riding, while I've been (mostly) on sidelines. Still thinking about that century. Actually, I've set a goal for myself. The Amtrak centruy next year (2004)
Just yesterday, I had my final "checkout" appointment and I was cleared to start exercising more strenuosly. Today, on my way home from work, I put a deposit down on a Specialized Allez Comp Cr-Mo with a triple that I've had my eye on for a couple of weeks now. It should be ready for me to pick up late next week. It was more then I wanted to spend, but I figure I deserved a present to myself.
Besides, it's all my wife's fault for asking me to take down that old schwinn for her to rehab her knee..... :)
Sorry for the length. I just started typing, and this is what I got.
Basically, I hadn't ridden my bike since grad school and it had sat in the garage being unused. That is, until my wife (a runner) hurt her knee. As part of her rehab, she wanted to start biking. So, I hauled out the old schwinn and got it tuned up as best as possible for her to start riding. Yeah, it wouldn't hit a couple of the gears, but hey, it was just for rehab riding, right? After a bit of riding, we decided that it would be nice if I could go with her on her rides, and that the bike really didn't fit her. So we went out and bought my wife a bike of her own. She went for a comfort style bike. (Diamanback Wildwood)
I started riding more and more, until one day on a ride, the trusty schwinn became not so trustworthy. The right pedal sheared from the crank, I went over banged up the spokes and who knows what else. That, in combination with the already damaged derailer told me that it was time for me to get a new bike of my own. (Diamondback Response).
I had myself a nice route mapped out which I would go about twice a week. About 10 miles of road, and about 5-6 miles of trails. A nice fun ride. But then, I started getting the idea in my head that I really wanted to ride farther. So, I worked my way up to about a 30 mile ride. with only a couple of miles of easy trails.
About that time I had a doctor's appointment and my doc said, you know, we should really have your heart murmur checked out, we haven't had it checked out in a while. So, I went and had the test done and didn't think anything of it. Until about 2 days after the test when I got a call from my doc. I thought he was going to tell me that my cholesterol was too high or something like that. I didn't expect him to tell me that the backflow in my heart was really severe and I needed to see a cardiologist.
So, went to see the cardiologist. I was blind-sided when he told me I needed to have open heart surgery to correct a faulty valve. Basically, it was better to do the surgery now when I was healthy rather than later. So, I asked if I could continue biking. He said no problem, as long as it was easy riding.
So, I started taking my mountain bike on the roads doing mainly flat rides of 15-20 miles. That continued until the next battery of tests which said that the regurgitation (back through my heart) was really severe and I probably should cut way back on my exercise. Well, that time without biking bubbled up this latend idea in my head that I really wanted to do a century. Of course, that was during a time that I couldn't ride at all.
The idea of doing a century has persisted sincel the surgery, which obviously was succesful. I've been spending the last 6 months watching my wife do several tours and one road race. She "graduated" from her comfort bike to a (used) Schwinn Fastback Factory (all Ultegra). I've also been lurking in the background reading posts about people riding, while I've been (mostly) on sidelines. Still thinking about that century. Actually, I've set a goal for myself. The Amtrak centruy next year (2004)
Just yesterday, I had my final "checkout" appointment and I was cleared to start exercising more strenuosly. Today, on my way home from work, I put a deposit down on a Specialized Allez Comp Cr-Mo with a triple that I've had my eye on for a couple of weeks now. It should be ready for me to pick up late next week. It was more then I wanted to spend, but I figure I deserved a present to myself.
Besides, it's all my wife's fault for asking me to take down that old schwinn for her to rehab her knee..... :)