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Old 01-13-10, 07:38 AM
  #17  
carmie
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Southern Wisconsin
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Inspiring Story

Originally Posted by Butcher
I have mentioned in the past that my son [Ethan] is autisic and although he is high functioning he has his issues. One of them is that he is overweight due to coordination issues [230lbs 5'9"]. He has not been riding bikes very long for someone that turned 17 years old [today]. It took almost a year to get him to ride a bike. I had to address all the issues that we take for granite. One of the most difficult issues was pedaling. It is easy for us to understand what it takes to move our legs up and down but for him to get all the muscles moving in the right directions at the right time was difficult and challenging. After tacking that, balancing, starting, stopping and turning we were finally successfull. We rode a few 20 mile rides but he was usually slow and ackward. I remember he got yelled at by some other biker on the bike path because he was in the way and so wobbly. I finally thought that maybe a tandem would be funner. For me I could at least ride the pace I wanted to and know that he would not be in danger of hurting himself or others on the bike path. After buying and rebuilding a tandem we started to ride more often. I convinced my wife that Ethan and I should tackle the one day Seattle to Portland [STP] ride. We could have a goal, practice for that goal, be together, loose a few pounds, and just be a little more fit. We did ride and trained a lot, but due to the Seattle weather [I do not ride in the rain], my work, and his school we did not train as much as I would have liked. We only did one 100 mile ride and that was two weeks before the STP. That century was not our best ride since we were both very tired and sore at the end of the ride. I did not think we were going to be able to complete the one day ride but I did not let him know that is what I felt. On the day of the ride I elected not to start at the starting gate due to his issues with large groups and I did not want to have a starting error and fall. We started at 4 am to get an early start [official start is at 4:30 I think]. We made it just before the first rest stop and we had some noise issues from the front wheel. I called my wife [who was chasing us] and let her know that I would need to have her stop at the 50 mile rest area. I almost lost him on when we went over a set of railroad tracks at the 40 mile mark. He has never come close to falling but he was able to hold on after smashing into my back. After changing front wheel and getting a little bite to eat we continued on. It took us 5 hours and 20 minutes to get to the half way mark. We were both surprised at our average speed for our second century we have ever had [we usually average 15-16mph]. We were both feeling OK at the time and we changed clothes to continue on the second part. The rollers on the second part of the ride it was taking a lot out of us. I was encouraging him as much as possible and since we were so fast during the first half of the ride I took longer breaks that I was planning on. I would tell him is was not much further and 'I think this is the last hill". Even when we were going down the hills faster than anyone else he was getting more discouraged with every new hill we came up to. I was getting tired by the 150 mile mark but I still thought we may do it. He has always complained about his butt hurting but he was doing OK at this mile mark. Just as we got to the 170 mile mark the rear wheel broke some spokes. It was getting late in the day and we were running out of time. My lovely wife was showed up within 15 minute of the break down and we were on the road again but we have lost about 30 minutes. I was very discouraged at that time and really thought we may not make it. All that day I thought we were. Things were going well, problems were arising but we over came them all. But after this rear wheel issue and the time lost, it took all the wind out of my sails. I was telling Ethan I did not think we could make it and he said 'Dad, we came all this way and I am not going to stop and you better not stop either!' With that I realised that he was right. My son has no real friends at school, works hard everyday dealing with his speech, learning difficulties, and muscle control. The roles were reversed and he was encouraging me to go on. My son complains of every pain and discomfort but if he is willing to go thru it all then I needed to also. The last 30 miles were the hardest but we did finally make it with 30 minutes to spare. I can assure you this, if my son was ready to pack it it I would have too. After crossing the finish line my wife and daughter showed up to congraduate us. Ethan was crying and could not believe he was able to do this. He was so happy. My wife did not think we were going to finish the ride in one day but started to believe the longer we were riding. The best thing is that the second day it rained and as stated before, I do not ride in the rain.
Butcher, I really enjoyed your story. Made me cry : )
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