plasticweld

6 weeks ago I was hit by a tree that blew over in the wind. One helicopter ride and 8 days in the hospital, my training plans have changed.


I ran 19 miles on Jan 1st of this year, it might have been my last run. I have run the number of miles to correspond to the year for the last 4 years. I was training to run 60 miles for my birthday, that is not going to happen.


I have run two to three ultra marathons, competed the Spartan events doing 4 to 5 a year, the last one was 15 miles, a half mile swim half way through with 30 obstacles all while running up and down Mt Killington. I have trained and run every week and have an obstacle course in my back yard. Being a semi invalid is new to me.


Now I am working my way back, with broken bones on mend, I bought one of these things for riding my bike on, it is a stationary deal and has some hydraulic motor on the back that I spin up.


So far I am up to about 10 minutes a day on the bike with about 20 minutes of weight lifting.


The new goal is to ride 60 miles in the middle of May I have been looking at the cycle cross bikes, I currently just have a mountain bike



Training tips and advice concerning how to get back in shape, with the goal of going from messed up, to doing 60 miles on the bike is appreciated. While I can envision running it, biking it, I am not so sure...Bob

delbiker1 

That is a hard start for 2019. I have never been so severely injured in an accident such as are dealing with. I have had numerous spinal surgeries which included long periods of being laid up with very limiting restrictions. Bicycling has been a large part of recovery, and still is, a large part of my living. My advice is to follow the regimen from the therapists, be patient and remember that recovery is not a straight line, it is a process. Set what for you are realistic goals and focus on accomplishing them. I wish you well and a full recovery.

cb400bill

Sorry to hear of your accident. Take your time, ease yourself into riding. Good luck with your adventure.

plasticweld

Moderation has never been part of my personality, can't say I have ever eased into anything. They had me off work for 3 months, I went back after 4 weeks. The only advice from the therapist that I am following is, no running for three months, due to torn ligaments in my ankle.

I read here a thread about riders who have crashed, broken bones, road rash, and read where they all worked their way back and still ride today. It was that thread that brought me to site. I figured there must be a wealth of information concerning the recovery process from the members here. Thanks for the well wishes. CB400bill, you said it best when you said adventure, so far it has been a very memorable ride.

Cyclist0108

If you can ride the bike on the fluid trainer safely, that is a good place to start. You might want to look into Zwift, which could make it a bit less boring and might appeal to your competitive instincts. I broke my ankle and had surgery on it all on Jan 1st (2013). Makes a delightful start to the year.

Nice job surviving the tree. We have redwoods that kill people like that fairly regulary.

djb

I am sure that you are aware that you cannot take strangers advice on the internet for your specific physical stuff, but in response to someone wanting to get into biking, and that it is still winter, using a bike trainer indoors is a good way to get the legs moving.
Its important that you learn about proper seat height, and listen to your knees. As a serious runner, you must have good self awareness of listening to your body, and knowing your body, but getting an understanding of bike seat bars setup , especially seat height, is important for the knees.

as a long time cyclist, I started using an indoor trainer that I put a bike on like yours, about 6 or 7 years ago. Mine is a regular old trainer, nothing fancy, and no matter, it works.
What I would suggest is setting it up in front of a tv or a computer screen, so you can ride while watching a show. Sitting seated indoors is harder on your keester, as we dont move like on a real bike, nor stand at times for a second or 5, so a good seat, and padded bike shorts help a lot. Also, taking little breaks, changing upper body position, and I get off and do some stretches while still watching the show, this all helps with passing the time, and following a show with sequentuel episodes is good to help a daily pattern lets say, of a bit of biking, a bit of stretching.
This also helps get your arse used to being on a seat, so makes riding a bit easier, easier anyway than someone who starts riding outside and has to get used to being seated, if you are a non rider.

if moderation isnt your thing andyou cant help yourself, well, thats on you, and your responsibility, but regular trainer rides will help with leg muscles, back muscles, hands, at least getting used to being on a bike and in position.

again, without the specifics of your injury, and not being physio experts, if you are able to start riding and increase endurance, this is going to help you in a goal to ride X kms out in the real world.
But it aint magic, you've got to put in the seat time, and riding time, and getting used to bike shorts, proper setup, proper gear changing, etc etc
If you are serious about this, it would be good to get some seasoned advice from real riders you know, not internet folks, about bike setup etc, even better if you can actually ride with others a bit to get proper advice, assuming they know what they are talking about and take into consideration you being banged up and potential issues from the injuries.

good luck

plasticweld

DJB thanks so much for the detailed response and the thought that went into it.

Thanks for the advice on seat height, I will do a search to find out what is correct.


Thanks for mentioning about getting on and off the bike periodically, I was feeling like a wuss for having a sore butt and arms from holding myself up. When I train to run, I go more for how many hours I have put in verses my times per mile. Realistically I need to be able to run more than 12 hours without stopping for me to finish a 50 mile trail run. I sat on the bike yesterday and pedaled away with the concept I should be able to do this for 6 hours. What is a reasonable length of time to spend on a trainer? I do listen to music and I have the goal of doing upper body workouts on my universal gym while spelling myself from too many straight hours on the bike... How much upper body strength is needed to ride a bike, silly question but I have no idea. I have a broken shoulder, collarbone and scapula, I have broken ribs and a punctured lung that collapsed plus a badly sprained ankle with torn ligaments. I have been basically immobilized for almost a month. I have to work to get my endurance back and my lung capacity. Before the accident, I had a resting heart rate of 46 now it is up around 65, It does not seem to take much to get me out of breath.

Back in the early 70s it was not uncommon for me to do rides of a 75 to a 100 miles, Getting my motorcycle license put an end to going anywhere on the bike. That was 45 years ago and so much has changed, what I could do incorrectly through youth and stamina no longer exist. I have used the mountain bike only occasionally over the years just to give my knees a rest from the running, this will be my first attempt at using it to help heal and get back in shape.

WGScott thanks for the suggestion about Zwift. As far as surviving, going back and looking at what hit me, it makes no sense that I am alive. The piece that hit me was about a foot in diameter and 30 feet long, it was one half of the top of the tree that fell more than 25 feet before hitting me. I never saw it or even heard it coming in the wind. If someone asks, "If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound?" I am going to say if you're under it, not even a whisper.

wphamilton

Minor injuries (compared to yours) like collarbone or sprain it's just a matter of tolerating the pain and risk. What I'd be worried about as a well-conditioned endurance athlete and not having a lot of training on the bike, coming back from an injury, is the potential to injure muscles and ligaments that aren't as well trained. I'm sure you can do 60 miles in short order, but I'd let the limiter be how the legs felt and not a mapped out progression by calendar dates.

djb

you're welcome, no problem.
re time on a trainer, I really only do maybe an hour or 1.5 hours, and thats with breaks, and stretching, so I certainly dont do that much.
As with most of this aspect of what you can do, its really on you to go with what feels ok. Heck, even Lee Majors took 6 million clams and a lot of time to get him going again, and you sound like you're in the same shape he was after his X plane went for a spin.

StanSeven

LAJ

Welcome to Bike Forums. Everything in moderation, including moderation. Tons of info in the forums. Maybe check this out.... https://www.bikeforums.net/training-nutrition/

mrv 

Nuts! Glad you're well enough to get back at it.
Did you get your bike advice yet? If you're going to use your MTB for a 60 miler, I'd recommend the following:
1. Less knobby tires. Maybe something branded a hybrid tire or a straight up slick road tire depending where you're riding.
2. Skinnier tires are higher pressure, so maybe a fatter slicker will be more comfortable.
3. More up right riding is more comfortable, so raise the bars. Probably just a new stem will do. Maybe you need some swept back type bars if it's an old MTB with a long top tube (relative to the seat tube / relative to what you need).
4. New seat. Lots of people find wide and firm saddles more comfortable for up right riding.

The new version of the sport touring bikes being sold today all seem quite nice. Branded mostly as "gravel bikes" ~ gotta be the worst name ever... Or cyclocross bikes.
My vote would be the drop bar style. Seems like lots of folks like having the "hands on the hoods" position.
happy trails.

Trsnrtr

What he said...

Welcome!

plasticweld

I have been looking at cyclocross bikes, It looks like I can get a used bike for 900 to 1200. I figure that is still a month away. I used my mountain bike doing downhill biking. Years ago I rode motorcycle trials and the downhill skills seemed pretty comparable. My mountain bike is better suited for jumping over logs and rocks than going any distance.

I figured as time gets closer to just ask the members here what they recommend. After doing a bunch of research I realize I am completely ignorant about bikes and what to use and what to stay away from.



As a general question. I would assume that the calorie, hydration, demands on bikers is less than it is for long distance runners. Everything I have done as a runner to stay fueled has been the difference between finishing a 50 mile race and DNF Then again, I have never peddled a bike at full steam for 12 hours either. From the outside looking in, you guys at least get to sit down :** and the down hills look pretty good on a bike compared to doing it on foot.

Thanks, LAJ, Trsnrtr, for the link to the training and nutrition section on the forum. I have kind of been lurking as I have no real ability to comment on any of the topics with any knowledge. I assume that it takes some getting used to, for any new member here to get used to the jargon and begin to even get some of the technical stuff posted here.

Thanks, StanSeven, for the advice on cross training, I had not thought about the pool, our school has one and I know they have it open to the public at times. I am currently using my universal gym to work out on, I was not sure about the high reps and if it was best or not, thanks for clarifying

mrv 

I used to run - two 50k runs and 1 marathon. Many half marathons and too many 10k / 5ks to count. So diet is different. I do long rides, but low intensity - think CampAndGoSlow.
If you are wanting Fast and Long riding, you might investigate Randonneuring. That's a bike like this style on road: https://www.somafab.com/archives/pro...neur-frame-set
Off road / unimproved roads you can do lots of quality reading here: 29+ Bikes (The Complete List) - BIKEPACKING.com - these are the type of bikes, but the website is good.
Another good place for long distance, fast riding is Bicycle Quarterly: https://www.bikequarterly.com/ -- click on the blog link.

My touring bike is an 80s RockHopper MTB. It's nice because the initial cost was nothing. But over the past 5 years I've spent a bit on it. Wheels fenders racks bars saddle everything but the frame....
I just recently acquire a GUNNAR CrossHairs that too small for me. So the good wife willing, I'll get the exact same frame in a larger size and move all the parts. Then maybe, possibly sell all the other bikes.

OK. my two cents. Enjoy the Ride

asilversun

So sorry to hear about your injuries. I hope you heal fast and that biking is everything you hope it will be!

Darth Lefty 

HowardCraigKorn

Hi

plasticweld

I am doing about an hour a day on the trainer now, the last ten minutes are supposed to full out, most of the time I am doing well to make it 5 minutes of the full push. The pace of activity does take some getting used to, I can't figure out if it is the lack of swinging arms or if it just take more calories per hour to run than bike.

I would say good luck in your recovery, but luck has nothing to do with it. I think being an athlete in the past, and having dealt with the pain of just pushing yourself way past the point of comfort has a lot to do with how hard you push yourself when training to recover.

I do notice a common think on the boards, people ride bikes to recover and get back in shape, yet I don't see many bikers who run to improve endurance. The Tri athletes are of course the exception. I have debated about trying to get into a pool and do laps again.

Thanks for sharing your story, it is nice to know I am one of many here exploring this route to recovery. So far the only down side of the forum is the inability to say anything in any of the sub forums and topics, so far the only experience I have is in the cellar and on the trainer. I am looking forward to the day when I can say something or share something based on what I did :**

imakecircles

Hi,

Wow that's a really tough situation, but great job resetting goals and approaching it positively. The best piece of advice I could give that hasn't already been covered, especially since you're new to biking, is to read up on bike fit and consider getting seen by a professional fitter, the sooner after you get your bike as possible. You'll want to avoid creating any bad habits now in your stroke and position that could lead to further injury.

mrv 

Yes - pacing is quite different running to cycling. Cycling can be enjoyable at a talking pace. Running can be enjoyable when you stop (like hitting yourself with a hammer! .... it feels so good when you stop!).
Probably - my guess - is muscle efficiency. Eventually you will gain cycling efficiency with your cycling muscles, and the last 10 minute hard push will be extended to a 15 minute push. I've cycled with runners before, and wow - they just ..... on the bike. It's really sad. But when they run, they crank out 6 min / mile or something crazy. I've got a friend I ride with. Easy to drop him! But if we get in a pool I'm done at half a lap and he's cruising for as long as he wishes. Muscle efficiency.

I'm sprinkling in a bit of running. To get the stretching out part of it. Impacting the bones to improve bone density. Just a bit. Nothing to make all the old aches come back. Keeping to soft surfaces. Trying to run with low structure 0-drop shoes. (I guess that's still the current thinking to run injury free.... not sure.)

Curious to know if you have started adapting your stomach yet. Running I could only stomach liquids and not much. Cycling I can eat just about everything with no issues. Just about!

cheers.

plasticweld

Thank you Imakecircles, that is good advice about having someone knowledgeable watch me when I get going, it is easier to learn the right way the first time, then have to unlearn a few bad habits.

mrv I run for the shear pleasure of being able to eat "Everything" The best part of the ultra marathons are the aid stations, normally spaced around 10 to 12 miles apart. Stocked with bacon, pizza, potato chips, fruit, watermelon cookies. One of the best training runs I ever had was 22 miles, about half way through one of my friends happened to drive by. After making the normal comments, about me being crazy, he offered me a beer and a piece of chicken. I can think of very few things that ever tasted as good.

On the bike front I am going to go look at a Kona Jake Cyclocross bike tomorrow, used, in my size with some new tires on it, from the reviews of the bike, the stock tires got pretty poor feedback.

On my trainer, I have a vintage Schwinn Le tour. I did some research here about how to adjust the seat and bars and made some fine tunes after spending some time in the saddle.

I am looking forward to just getting some time on the road instead of the cellar. My ankle and knees are still pretty sore and walking is still tough to do. They told me to not run for 3 months, in reality, I don't see me running anytime soon. Biking may have to replace running this year. They said broken bones would have healed quicker than torn ligaments, I have already paid for three Spartan races this year, I am not sure at this point if I will be able to compete.

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice it is really appreciated...Bob