MSers in Training 2020

[JTHrider]

Got in a nice ride on the Buffalo, N.Y. Outer Harbor trail. 10 mile ride on paved trail, little crowded at times but not horrible. Legs still giving me issues near the end but working on the endurance. Thought about getting an ebike motor for the front wheel with peddle assist. That way if I push myself to far I will be able to get back to the truck. Any suggestions/comments on motors, needs to fit 700 wheel.

[AMFADVENTURES]

JT, yeah, I believe it, performance has always been good about that kind of stuff. Glad to hear they still are. And glad to see you're making progress.

No stopping here. I managed to get up the West side of Trail Ridge a couple of weeks ago, barely. Not everything about Covid is bad. Due to overcrowding concerns, Rocky Mountain National Park has instituted an entrance by reservation only policy, and they only issue a severely limited number of reservations, UNLESS... you're on a bike!!! If you are on a bike, you get VIP service and no reservation needed. You do have to have a parks pass but they bent over backwards to make sure we didn't waste any time getting through the gate! Pretty cool. Now if I could just breath at those high altitudes, something age doesn't seem to be helping.

I just turned over 2,000 miles and 90,000ft of ascent for the year.

[JTHrider]

Seems I had the peddles set too loose, took the bike outside for a ride and noticed my feet moving around, very sloppy in the peddles. Looked them over and noticed the adjustment screw backed all the way out on both peddles. Called Performance Bike assuming I would need to get another pair on my dime, but the customer service rep told me they can send me a 1 time replacement. Couldn't believe it, what a nice surprise.

[JTHrider]

Larry, making progress slow and sure. Got the peddles on the bike and been using them on the trainer. Really love the fact that I don't need to worry about where my feet are placed on the peddles. Unclipping is becoming easier (have them adjusted very loose) and I can do the with my weak leg. Took the bike out but just used the flat part of the peddle and that worked surprisingly well with regular sneakers.
Glad to hear your still peddling at 70!
John

[AMFADVENTURES]

Thanks for the birthday wishes guys. I think I credited the bike earlier but I owe just as much thanks to all of my friends here on ActiveMSers who have allowed and even encouraged me me to to stay active and keep trying. I truly do appreciate and am eternally grateful to all of you for your support and for putting up with me over these many years. All the best to all of you!

Larry

[ActiveMSers]

Everyone, to give you an idea of how far I go back with Larry on ActiveMSers... I knew him when he was in his 50s (I was in my 30s)! We've been inspiring each other for well over a decade and have had the good fortune to meet up on multiple occasions. He's as nice in person as he is on the forum. I'm proud to call him a friend, and I'm proud to wish him a Happy Birthday!

I cannot gush enough about how important he has been over the years to ActiveMSers and the community as a whole. One of his earlier stories is on our main site and is a doozy of a read.
https://www.activemsers.org/post/cyc...an-epic-ms-150

I cannot possibly hope to match his miles, but I'm out there. It's been crazy hot and today is over 100 degrees, and it will hang there for a few days. Some years we never get into triple digits, so this is roasty for being up a mile high. So riding might be on pause temporarily. Then starting Monday, because folks haven't been following the rules in NM, masks are going to be mandatory even during exercise. My bike tan is going to look crazy strange!!

My ride Wednesday though was great, got deep in the cardio zone on my 6 mile HIIT ride. Stay cool, everyone!

[Grady]

Larry, CONGRATS to you and Happy Birthday!! I have no doubt you will get your 70 mile day in. You are one tough dude.

[AMFADVENTURES]

Cruising over 70 on a bike

Veronica, that wasn’t exactly the story I was hoping for from you. Obviously, very happy you seem to be recovering pretty well. I’ve never experienced shingles but have heard from various friends and relatives that it is extreemly unpleasant. Can only imagine how much worse it might be for an MSer. Glad you’re back with us.

Dave, that’s pretty close to the trike I saw on the trail the other day. One MoFo mean machine for sure. Can’t help but think a person could get in a whole lot of trouble on a trike like that. I see Grady wants video and Veronica hasn’t wasted any time tempting you with a race challenge ... if we ever get out for a ride, I'm sure you'll be waiting on me to catch up. Looking forward to hearing all of the new adventures when it finally does arrive.

JT, making any progress?

Cruising over 70 on a bike
Maybe not quite what you’re thinking. Not 70 miles per hour, I have no desire to ever go that fast on a bicycle … not even 70 miles, I’ve done that a number of times and now looks like I’ll have to do it at least once more. Nope, we’re talking years here as in 70 years old with MS. Diagnosed over 20 years ago, suffered various symptoms 8 or 9 years before that but still riding. Quite an accomplishment I think although I’m reluctant to take the credit. The credit goes to the bike.

I rode a little less than 20 miles on my birthday. Rode to a coffee shop a few miles away to meet my brother for birthday wishes. Not far, didn’t try to go fast, no hills, just time in the saddle to reflect on 70 years, the last 30 with MS. The next day I rode faster and longer and threw in a few small hills just so I could say I'm over 70 and still riding. Some time in my 70th year I’ll ride 70 miles in a day. I might need to work up to that, do a little increasing distance training. Also, the heats on right now and it’ll take me a good 6 hours to do 70 miles and I know better than to get caught out in hot temperatures for any length of time. But I will do it. I have to. It’s the middle finger to the MS. I’m 70 years old and I have MS, but I’ve still got miles to ride and hills to climb.

Year to date: 1,590 miles, 76,743 ft. of ascent

Larry

[ActiveMSers]

Just got word that my future bike is still in the future. I was hopeful it was going to arrive soon, but Covid has disrupted manufacturing. July is a big maybe.

That said, I've been cranking every other day. Friday it was cloudy in the low 80s and I crushed it. I'm definitely fresher in cooler weather. Got in a 10.5-mile ride, longer than my typical 6-8 mile rides. Also, got out on the off-road section of our bike trail for the first time since the pandemic started. To say I was happy would be an understatement!

I'm trying to increase my leg workouts and core. We'll see how that goes. It's not as fun, ha.

Great to see you out, Veronica!! Hope others are getting out there, too.

[Veronica]

Well, it’s about time for me to resurface and tell my latest story.

I got hit with shingles on my FACE in early May. It marched from the tip of my nose and across and through my left eye and up and over the left side of my head. Dangerous stuff marching through the eye, and I found myself seeing my eye doc weekly. Saw him more than anyone else during this pandemic… Really….

Not gonna go on about what it was like…. Let’s just say you don’t want this anywhere, and certainly not on your face or in your eye. I had no idea how bad this could be…

And I will answer the question that some will be probably asking…. No, I did not get the vaccine…was actually in the process of doing it in March when New York went on Pause….

In the early weeks I was still able to do rowing (obviously outside riding was out…. ) but then about three weeks into it, that wasn’t gonna happen as it was just too painful to do much besides applying ice very gently to my face and head, and eye drops to the poor left eye… I was wobbly, no energy, just a Hot Mess….

I am much, much better now, I’d say 90% improved, but I still have some pain in the eye as the virus is still in there ( but no damage to my vision so far…Yahoo!) I can’t wear the contact in that eye, and the bridge of my nose is still so sensitive to eyeglasses, plus I still have some light sensitivity. I’ve gotten back to rowing inside a few times a week and getting better at doing my balance checks and stretching, but BOY, did I fall off that wagon!

And I missed two months of riding….May and June…the best months for comfortable weather riding around here besides the fall…grrr…

I want so badly to RIDE!!! And I think I have my plan of action at this point. I expect to not be able to wear the contact in that eye for awhile yet, so I just ordered a good pair of high quality polarized ‘fit overs” for the glasses that should arrive by week’s end, and By Cracky, I am gonna ride in the next week! I have lidocaine creme that I will apply to my nose so I can tolerate the glasses if that is still an issue.

Even for a short distance would be heaven, as my endurance took a beating with this, but I am gaining it back. And the head is now able to tolerate wearing a helmet…

I am so glad I got some good rides in early in the Spring, otherwise I would be quite morose by now… I’ve gotten back outside much more now and have been working on weeding my poor neglected garden. Using the outside time to work a bit on stair climbing too.

But really, if I had to get shingles, it was good timing…. during a pandemic shutdown. I didn’t miss a single social event, did I??

Of course, I will share my first ride back….

[Suebee]

Keep moving EU MS exercise videos

For those of us without such an awesome bike as Dave, and who need some extra motivation to exercise during covid, the European MS Platform produced six short videos to get us moving! Focus is on strength, balance, stability, and flexibility. Also includes instruction to do with walker. Granted this is basic stuff, but it will get you off the couch. The drop down menu on the right let’s you select a 2 min video targeting certain type of exercise. It is available in a doz languages and downloadable in pdf. No excuses now! Bien.
http://www.emsp.org/news-messages/keep-moving-with-ms/

[Veronica]

Make that triple WOW..... that IS one sweet looking machine Dave. Makes me want to pack up my trike and come out and RACE you....
you will be doing a different type of Zooming for sure with that ride!

[Grady]

Double WOW. That is one sweet ride.

[Suebee]

WOW! (Whistle whistle )

[ActiveMSers]

Larry, that ride sounds great! I love that area and have explored it a lot (not on a bike, though).

Getting out for rides every other day or so. I've been on major deadline with several projects including a website redesign, so it's been a bit crazy lately. So posting has been limited lately, sorry.

My new bike has yet to arrive. But here's a preview! Imagine the Comp CC in yellow. It is being built in Austria by Alois Praschberger, a leader in adaptive gear. The wait is killing me!

https://praschberger.com/en/