Operation comeback......

Well the last photo shows leg propped and hairy legs (which Heather pointed out as the most noticable thing), but I'd say right after that post I had some issues with the boot cast rubbing the incision, so poof....away with it. That was the best thing ever b/c I the Doc after doing those 1st 3 rides I made a deal with Heath to make sure I only rode every other day. I continued to stare down the numbers on the Hand-erg at the gym and do some circuit training on the opposing days so my cardio and strength were pretty well on stable ground...or as I know now, improving. I think learning how to suffer doing intervals with the hand bike for an hour made riding on the bike oh sooooo much more enjoyable and feasible. After a few rides, I think the loss of a few lbs and the rest helped boost my ability to really hold a consistently hard pace. I know that may not sound like a good idea with a plate and 6 screws in my leg, but it felt fine and surely it's not equivalent to the weight-bearing force of walking down stairs. So I found myself hitting HRs higher than I have in over a year and holding higher wattages on climbs for longer periods than I'd seen all summer. With this confidence, of course I decided to plan a long rider route that headed N from the Springs, thru Black Forest, across into the foothills of Palmer Lake and Larkspur, then farther N past Castlerock, over the mtn pass (onto gravel roads for 20+ miles), into Deckers by the CT, then climb back into Woodland Park, then all back downhill in the Springs. The 125-130 mile loop may have been a bit more of ride than needed following an injury, 2 mths off, and a 4 day sinus cold, but hey tell me that at the start versus 60 miles in and compare my responses. Needless to say at the 60 mile mark, I felt like it was going to be a long day in the saddle and either way at this point was a long way home, so might as well enjoy the mtns, some climbing and getting away from the heat of the plains. The temp decrease was nice as the altitude climbed into the wooded forest, but seeing cadences of 40-45rpms didn't help me cover much ground. So to make a the story short I found myself climbing into Heather's car on the downhill back from Woodland Park. I admitted defeat at mile 113 while raining and just wanted to let my head drop and let my ribcage relax from breathing. I'd never wanted to not be in the bike position so bad in my life, and it showed by not finishing the ride even on a long descent back into to Colorado Springs.

Oh well I felt fine and recovered in t couple days, only to be amping up for the next set of plans...climbing Mt. Evans on the road bikes. Yeah that is right, climbing the highest paved road in America is very good recovery.

I give Heather total props for this one as she was lead planner on the whole day and got 7 people motivated to meet in Idaho Springs at 7am on a Sunday morning. That meant us rising at 3:50am to leave the house to make it on time. It was perfect to since little did we know that the next weekend (Labor Day) was the last weekend that the summit road was open to traffic. I not only give Heath props for the planning but also the solid ride for the day. As always with a climb of this proportion and the varying fitness levels, it is sure to detonate by default. But Heath was the one strong female of 4 that stuck on the pace of myself and 2 other guys. She was right there the whole way and rode the entire thing like a champ. Once we summited at above 14,200 ft the chilly descent was were Heather made some outstanding breakthroughs. Since my wreck causing the broken bones, we were both timid but I was proven wrong when Heather dropped the hammer to sprint around another rider (that was obviously going toooo slow for her fancy) and dive into the hairpin corner w/o guardrails. She took lead and kept accelerating into the next several switchbacks making me cringe as I followed. All the way down she kept pace even as I took the lead once my comfort for descending resurfaced and only finished several seconds behind me even as I passed cars doing 40+mph.

I'd say the mtn biking she has been doing is making her road skills step up a notch and her fitness is booming. I can't wait to help her get ready for the HarvestMoon Duathlon next year. I think she will crush it. And as for me, training is going great, did my first Acacia park group ride and stayed with the lead 3 up the climbs on Cheyenne Mtn last Saturday. Now I'm wishing I hadn't sold my CX bike, may have to get one of those and to get a little dirty this winter!