any vr.com group/charity rides??

[Jas0n]

okay, so perhaps im only 4 weeks post op, but i will get the okay to start riding again on sept 22 (my next appointment). i already feel great, but my doc is hesitant to let me back on the bike knowing my history; he suggested that ordinarily, he would have already allowed a patient exhibiting my recovery progress to start riding, but beign a former semi-pro rider (and a 22 year old who thinks hes superman), he (justly) suggested we wait a bit longer so that i dont overdue it. i will be fit for a new bike on sept 20 (my flexibility is gonna suck though) and barring any complications, i will dive head first into training as soon as i am allowed.

so, are there any vr.com charity rides one can participate in?? any group rides?? im planning a century ride with my group to mark my 3 month anniversay (nov 5th) and i gladly invite any member to join us (westchester, ny). i know a century is ambititious, but i dont think it will be an issue; muscle memory alone should get me through it).

anyway, im just too excited to not make plans.

 

[Ross]

That's an idea that I don't think has passed through here before. This will be interesting to see. You might be able to pull something together!

 

[kodi]

JasOn,
You certainly have ambitious goals and I wish you the best of luck in achieving them with such a short recovery time. I'm still pre-surgery and have set Feb 2008 as my return to running marathons. It's been suggested that even that may be a little aggressive, but I'll work towards it. As for the charity events, I used to run marathons and ride centuries to raise money for the Leukemia society. If there is one out there for Heart Charities, I'd be there in a heartbeat (No pun intended). I'm also an 11 year cancer survivor so now I have to biggies to support.
Good luck in your recovery and your upcoming century.

 

[Jas0n]

i've been known to be a little too ambitious, but i think it is very important - esp when facing something as monumentous as avr - to set difficult goals for one's self. the greatest feeling i have post op is knowing that after only 4 weeks of recovery, i literally feel as if i never had surgery. aside from a sneeze here or there to remind me of my sternum's fragility, i have no real anymore. perhaps my recovery might have been helped by my age and the fact that my heart was in great shape before my surgery, but knowing my limits as a cyclist pre op, i think 100 miles is very much within reach.

i may not riding a 5 hour century again for many more months, but just getting the miles in my legs will be an achievement for me. i also take some solice in my doctors' suggestions that as a cyclist, i will be able to perform much better with a properly working aortic valve; whereas i have spent the last few years riding amongst some very fit amateur and pro cyclists, i did so with a flawed valve. so i guess only time will tell. i will be certain not to push it if im not physically capable of my goal, but we set goals so that we have something to work towards. and i have alot of work to do in the next few months!!

 

[dstakel]

Hey Jason,

Congrats on the surgery and especially the recovery so far. Please keep me posted on the ride. While I live in Baltimore now, I recently moved from NYC and still get up there quite often for work. If I'm in town, I'd love to get out with you guys. Keep kicking a$$ with your recovery!

David

 

[Jas0n]

david,

this is prob a bit ot, but are you active at all with any of the groups in baltimore?? i attended loyola college (just graduated) and did a bit of riding with the hopkins kids and lsv (before the whole valve issue came into play, of course).

 

[BillCobit]

I think Mntbiker and AdamT are looking for Assault on Mt. Mitchell companions.

 

[dstakel]

Jason,

I haven't done too much with the local guys. I'm actually a triathlete, so the roadies are always real psyched when I show up...it becomes a fun game of them trying to drop me throughout the entire ride. I need to go ahead and finish rebuilding my road bike (showing up with a tri bike doesn't help matters)! Anyway, I just finished my key race of the season last week, so I'll probably try to get out with those guys more now. I've ridden some with the Hunt Valley team and have seen the LSV guys everywhere, but never joined them. By the way, congrats on graduation!

d

 

[Jas0n]

dave,

thanks. i liked the riding scene in baltimore quite a bit; in fact, i wish - for more reasons than just the riding - that i was still attending college in baltimore (i love that city and i loved college, so ...). lsv is a good bunch of guys. they are very cool with new riders/non club members and there is always a small group of straglers who dont want to hammer. its def not a gimbels type ride. plus, its cool to ride with the pro guys. how many other people can claim to have world champion on thier saturday group ride?? if you're not into the mtn scene, chris eatough is the 24 hour world champ - i think 3 time, he keeps beating tinker - who rides for trek's east coast factory team (which is incidentally tied to joe's bike shop through john pozner, a mechanic for joe and manager to the team) and trains with the lsv guys. lsv also formerly hosted the trek factory road team, but severed ties when lsv went pro. perhaps ill see you on the road some time.

 

[dstakel]

Hey Jason,

I think you've inspired me to get some rides in with lsv. don't count on me ending up with the straglers though...i love to hammer and hate getting dropped (it's just not an option!). And yeah, the biking around here is fantastic. I just PR'd by close to 30 minutes on my bike split of a recent tri in canada. Granted the course was slightly easier than the one I had previously PR'd at, but most of that 30 minutes was due to training on all these rollers in MD. Love 'em. Continued best wishes to a speedy recovery and enjoy your ride on the 22nd. Please keep me posted on the status of the Nov. century.

Ciao,
d

 

[Adam T]

Jason,

The Assault on Marion is a definite go. It's next June by the way. You can't ride Mt. Mitchell until you ride Marion. My goal is to ride Mt. Mitchell in '08, hope to see you there.

How about Blood, Sweat and Gears, or the Bridge to Bridge challenge? Both are challenge centuries in Western North Carolina. I love riding up there.

Adam

 

[Jas0n]

im not familiar with any of those rides, but i have been eyeing the mt. washington hill climb for a few seasons now. i suppose early next season would be a great time to really start planning rides. i have goals set, but im so early in my recovery that i do not yet know what goals are realistic and what goals have been set with my previous fitnesss as its barometer.

 

[mntbiker]

the American Heart Association does walks. No rides that I know of. I would imagine they don't want a bunch of heart patients going out and do a century.

I am up for doing an event as a team. We have lots of 24 hour endurance races here in Georgia that we could be a team together for, of course it's off road stuff, not that paved stuff, you roadies are nuts.

And as a sad aside did you guys see this?
15 year old girl killed by a car during the MS 150.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/15545943.htm

 

[Jas0n]

the 24 hour is a great idea! i did a 24 hours of adrenaline race a few years ago in dalton, MA and it was a blast. the whole atmosphere is much more like a festival than a race, though some people take it very very seriously. i would be willing to dust off the lights and get my road shoes a little dirty for a 24! anyone else?

 

[LLJ]

I am fairly spazzy on mountain bike races of any degree of technical difficulty. I have done MB races before but they were pretty tame as far as you guys go. I am up to ride anything as long as I dont do an endo. Just did the MS 100 this weekend in NJ and really the only thing that hurt was saddle contact points!
Laura