My New Season Begins?

I'm fat .. yup going to just put that right out there.. it's March whatever it is, I don't need to know, the site knows for me! Last year ended in a train wreck. Not really a train but a car. Not only was I hit buy a car on my bike but my wife was also in an accident when a goon ran a red light and smashed into her. Then work got all busy and life as well.

Not to sugar coat it, i got discouraged. Big time. My riding slowed down and on the last Mtn Bike ride of the year I broke my shoes! Old Faithfuls .. Nike Mtn Shoes (model : AWESOME in case you were wondering) that I bought when I first decided clipless was the way to go. I've had/wore/used them for somewhere around 15 years. I can still remember buying them.

Into Performance I walked, at that time that was the shop I went too, I didn't know any better. But anyway, so I'm looking around and back then my budget was non existent. I pick up a pair of Wellgo SPD pedals, can I just say screw that whole system. Maybe better pedals would have given me a better experience but no matter what i did or how i adjusted them I could never release when doom was inevitable. Down down down into that burning ring of fire I would go.

*disclaimer- In case you haven't noticed. My stories are never short and never ever get to the point quickly. My stories never go in a straight line they are more akin to a Mountain Profile from the Tour. Half the time I have to reread what I started with to even remember what story I started to tell. * end disclaimer

As I looked around I noticed all the shoes were high dollar. Well for me at the time they seemed to be. But they did have a closeout table which i walked over to and saw a Nike box that looked interesting. I looked at the side and it said they were 71/2, whoa that was small. But I pulled them out and tried them on. They fit perfectly, at first I thought it must be a different sizing system until I looked in the shoes themselves, 91/2. So either they just didn't have the right box or someone was trying to hold them all sneaky like. Written on the outside of the box, 29.99. Awesome.

The only thing i ever had to replace on them was the cushion, some of the foam was actually drying up and breaking apart but what can you expect from 15 years of use. As my brother in law pointed out as we got back to the car on their final day, " Basically you spent two dollars per year for them". Wow, I hadn't really thought about it like that. Not to sound nutty but I'll miss those shoes. Blue with Yellow Swoosh and Highlights. Not to mention I'm a Nike man, the only athletic shoes I'll wear.

So I had to get something new, Nike doesn't make them any more so that limited the choices. The two Cycling shoe brands I've ridden and like are Nike and Sidi so my choice was now laid out before me. I put off buying them for awhile as I wasn't motivated to ride and didn't want to spend the money at the time plus the mourning period had to be observed. But the time was upon me. I was getting Fat, well fatter at this point. So after watching prices on numerous sites I got a deal on a pair of Sidi Spyders.

Now I'm excited about getting new shoes. I've been wanted to get on the trainer but I don't feel comfortable putting the Wilier up on the trainer with it being full Carbon ( and me now being fat ). Don't know why, but to me the trainer seems to put a lot of stress on the rear triangle, so I usually throw my single speed up there. But, my SS has MTN pedals, Candy SLs to be exact. And just let me say that they are also made of AWESOME, I can release without issue but they don't pop free at the worst possible moment. If you are looking for pedals I highly recommend them ( any eggbeater really but I prefer a bit of a platform ). I had been saying I was going to switch the pedals for some Looks but never did. So now I'd have no excuses, well I'm sure I could make some more other lame ones up but now i was determined to get on the trainer.

I ordered them on a Thursday and they were set to be delivered the following Thursday. Sweet. Enter life. The Saturday in between shoe Thursdays I went to my friends house to cut some molding for him. Brought my Miter saw down, measured some and then went out on some errands. On the way back we picked up his daughter and went to home depot. On the way I had to make a quick side check and felt a little tweak in my back but didn't think anything about it. On the way out of Home Depot his daughter and I were goofing around and I scooped her up. POP! Yup.. that was my back.

That night I finished up the molding for him. Hung out with some friends and then went home. It was sore but not terrible. Sunday was pretty much the same. Monday and Tuesday I went to work and the horrible chairs their must have aggravated it. It was now uber tender so when I went home I put a heating pad on it and even slept with it. The next morning I tried to get out of bed but I couldn't even lift my leg! Every time I moved I'd get a feeling like someone was shiv'n me in the back. I'd lock up. Called out of work and then called the Doctor. Got an appointment at 10:30 and figured if I just took it real slow I could get up and get a shower then head to the doctor.

A slow torturous trip out of bed to the bathroom to then realize I had no clean towels. I'd have to go downstairs to retrieve one and then return. Down i went trying to bend as little as possible. Every step; Boom fire, Boom fire, BOOM fire, and so on. I tried to speed up to get it over with, turned and hit the laundry scooped up a towel and then right back to the steps. Going down the steps was hateful but trying to go back up was brutal. I was two steps short of the landing when my back could take no more and I collapsed on the steps. The pain was terrible. I laid there cussing for at least ten mins before I just got so angry I stood up through the towel into the bathroom hobbled to the bed and fell onto it. My face was wet with tears it hurt so bad. I had to call the Doctor and cancel. There was no possible way I was going to make it anywhere. She called in a prescription for Muscle Relaxers which my wife picked up for me. Thankfully they brought the pain down to a tolerable level. I laid in bed the rest of the day and called to make an appointed for the next day.

The pills had helped and I could at least move the following day but it was still ultra painful. It was like the shiv was still in my lower back and if I turned a certain way or moved my leg too far it would cut off all feeling below my waist. My legs would give out and almost fall. But I made it to the Doctors which is only one mile from my house though it sucked the entire way. Couldn't twist to look any way but straight and every push of the clutch was pain. I get there early but i still wait a fun 45 mins trying to find a comfortable position to sit in. Then watch people who got there after me going in before me. Yah!

But once I got in there she did her doctoring stuff and and told me I needed to rest as much as possible and gave me some pain meds which I normally don't take. I don't like to be out of my gord, I prefer to be in control with just a smidge of OCD thrown in for fun. So I roll home and tell Angela I have more meds that she'll have to get for me. When she got home she picked them up and I took the first bit of them. Whoa, enter the Zombie. I'm pretty sure I was drooling on myself a good portion of the night and that was with me only taking half of the pill! But I rested the whole weekend and felt better come Monday. I figured I'd be able to make it to work. That didn't work out so well. I ended up hurting the back again and was back in bed that night in pain until the zombie pill kicked in. Now it's Thursday and I've been taking it super easy. Haven't carried anything heavier then a cup of something to drink and have avoided bending as much possible. Because bending is the devil.

And just to rub it in the weather has broken and it's been in the 60's all week. 60's, new shoes just sitting there looking at me. Oh do I want to ride. Should I try the trainer this weekend or give it another week? A smart man would wait, but right now I'm more fat then smart and I hear the Sidi's calling .. actually I think they are saying " Wass a matta U? "