The importance of Independence

Last weekend I went to Squamish to help out with an Aphasia camp by leading the cycling activity. The cycling went well but the real bonus came from the people who wanted to try out my trike. One man who I will call Mr. H. has the ability to use a cane but spends most of his time in a wheelchair. Well we got him on the trike and got his feet strapped so he could use both legs and off he went. Although he only rode up and down the driveway, the look on his face when he went by me made the whole trip worthwhile. The other two people had the same reactions of exaltation.

I think I ignited the spark in a few more people to help them rehabilitate themselves. For these people to see that there is more to what they are capable of is an incredible feeling. I hope they follow through on it.

I Did it

I am happy to say that the rains held off and I was able to complete the ride in 7 hours and fifty minutes. The first 60 plus kilometers to Squamish took me 3 hours and 5 minutes. The next slightly less than 60 kilometers took 4 hours and 45 minutes. It's not hard to tell which segment had the most hills. I had hoped to break 8 hours but I was really unsure how slow I would be with all those hills. It's hard to believe but I actually finished ahead of 40 people who had recorded times.

Unfortunately I have been unable to register for next year yet since they have made a decision not to allow recumbents next year for some reason I have yet to fathom. I am hoping that they will reconsider since I want to see if I can improve on this year's time.

One week to Go

Well it has been challenging training for this event as my normal training buddies have quickly out paced me as their training has ramped up. Although I have had more time than I expected, I still have found it hard to get some of the longer rides in. My longest ride to date has been only 90 km. I am very slow on the uphills. That is partly from my fitness level and partly because of my trike. I have been averaging about 100 - 150 km per week cycling so I am hoping that will be enough. I am not worried about finishing the ride, however, the segment from Squamish to Whistler has a lot of climbing and last year on the Rodger's Pass leg I averaged only 10 km per hour. I need to average about 15 km per hour to make the time cutoff. I feel like I am ready though. Yesterday I rode 40 km in fastest time ever post stroke @ 1:56:33PS. I have decided that my times in events now will be followed with a PS for post-stroke.

As a side note, my running/jogging is starting to progress. I can now go for about 400 yards before I have to walk, but I did walk/run for 6 km. I can actually run long enough to elevate my breathing rate so it is becoming an aerobic activity. I am hoping that the wound in my leg will be sufficiently healed to go back to swimming in October. One of the after effects of my stroke is the swelling in my weak leg from the blod clot I had during my hospital stay. The swelling inhibits the healing process for flesh wounds so I haven't been able to go in the water since March.

Now if I can just find a job. Happy recovering.

I am giving serious thought to returning to triathlon as a TTRI3 disabled athlete.