10 Months Later. 90 Mile 'Suffer-Fest' on a bike!

[Quig]

It was supposed to be 100 miles but the crazy California weather this winter led to a slightly shorter course than was originally planned.


So there's an event here in Bakersfield called 'The Rock Cobbler'. It's a crazy gravel race/adventure ride/suffer fest. I ride a lot of mountain bike but spend almost no time on the pavement. This race mixes the two and adds considerably with craziness, difficulty, distance and shenanigans. It's a really good time but very, very, very difficult. I participated in the first 'Rock Cobbler' a few years ago but haven't been ready for it since. When I booked my bilateral surgeries for April 2016 I was already tentatively planning or, better yet, hoping, to possibly recover enough to take part in 2017. Even though I knew maybe I was biting off more than I could chew in that amount of time I desperately wanted to accomplish this task if at all possible.


Very early in my recovery I began riding a spin bike a bit at home for very short periods of time. Over the summer I rode as much as I felt like I could, including more time outside in the mountains than I should have for my early stage of recovery. I learned quickly that this 'recovery' thing was going to be a long process and I had muscles that still had plenty of healing to do. I over did it plenty of times and learned a lot about how hard to push. I had big plans to put in the time and effort to get back into shape... and then, winter arrived. Let's just say riding outside, in the dirt has been difficult. So, back to the spin bike I went... HARD. I rode the thing 2-4 times a week for months and tried to put in a few big weekend rides. Sometimes these rides were in the dirt, if the weather permitted, or I jumped on my hardtail mountain bike and logged miles and climb. My last training ride was from my house to our mountain cabin. 55 miles and 7700 feet of elevation gain. It was a long day but I pedaled well. I was as ready as I could be.


So the Rock Cobbler was Sunday the 12th of February. 300 entries from as far away as Canada from what I hear. Over the course of the day I rode with guys from the Bay Area of Ca, San Diego, and a big group from Las Vegas. I set very realistic goals for my race/ride and that was simply to take my time and finish the race and check it off my list of recovery goals. Holding back was difficult as I'm usually a pretty hard-charger but 'racing' wasn't the goal today. We've had an  incredible amount of rain here this year so the course was a muddy mess in many places. There were two creek crossings, one with water deep enough and fast enough that they put up safety ropes. The water was nearly waist deep and moving very fast. There were two several hundred foot tall 'Run ups' that we all basically crawled up, with our bikes, while being cheered, heckled, and having beach balls thrown at us all to be applauded at the top and offered water, or pineapple juice, or a beer, or a shot of Fireball Whiskey  while a DJ blasted party music. Many of the climbs that accounted for the 6,000 or so feet of climbing were very, very steep and the scenery was pretty amazing. While the rain made for slow, sloppy, sticky conditions it also made for beautiful lush green foothills which is nice in such a dry area.


Seems like I'm rambling a bit so I'll try to wrap it up. I know I still am recovering but for where I'm at I pedaled well and could not be more pleased with how it went. I finished very respectably about mid pack I'd guess. My hips were never, ever an issue and things like the 'Run ups' were much easier(than before) with properly functioning hips. I am so incredibly humbly grateful to have been offered another chance at athletic activities like this following my hip replacements that I have a hard time putting it into words. Anyway, I'm going to take a couple rest days to recover and then it's back on the bike and to the gym to keep up the progress! My girlfriend and I and our dog have lots of outdoor adventures planned for the summer if the rain ever stops and the snow melts.


I hope everyone else here recovering well and/or enjoying their new hips as much as I am.  8)

[gasyz]

Thats ace.Glad your enjoying and using your hips to the max.Gr8 feeling when you can go out there and be competative again.keep it up. ;D

[Joe_CA]

That's amazing Quig! 90 miles and 6K vertical, with a lot of mud??!! And you're only 10 months out! What a great story! Hearing these accounts from relatively recent patients like yourself, and including the veterans who graciously return here to inform us of their continued success 5, 8, 10+ years out is such a great benefit of this website.

I have never even mountain biked more than 20 miles at one time, even when I was relatively healthy. Going almost 100 miles while not being completely 100% recovered yet is a tremendous feat. All that hard work you put into your recovery (before and after surgery) has truly paid off. I could tell your emotions coming through while telling us of your current success, and it is completely understandable. It can only come from the emotional pain most of us went through when we had to face the possibility of losing a vital part of lives.

[Pat Walter]

Quig  Thanks for the update.  Keep peddling!  Good Luck.  Pat

[Quig]

Thanks so much everyone.


Yeah, it's been a wild ride Joe. And definitely an emotional one. I've had a few big moments during my recovery as I'm sure we all do. The first of which was me solo mountain bike climbing to the top of a difficult favorite local mountain trail 10 weeks post surgery. I sat down, reflected, and cried my eyes out at the top I was so proud and pleased. The last 10 miles or so of this last big ride I definitely had to work hard more than once to keep it together.  ;)


Life is good again.  8)

[blinky]

Quig, that is so great! And you are only ten months out.

[moe]

Great job, congrats. There is no feeling like riding a bike well again after being hobbled by bad hips. Keep it up, it only gets better.


moe

[Quig]

Thanks! A buddy just texted me the results. I finished 160th of 300+ entries. Normally I would not be at all pleased with that but I figure it's not too shabby for someone breaking in new parts!  ;D 


I stressed sooooooo much about recovering and prepping for this race/ride for the last couple months it feels great for it to have been such a success. Now I can relax at least a little and get back to having a bit more *fun* with my recovery.

[hernanu]

Congrats Quig, you still haven't done improving. I still find some things getting better at six years.

[Quig]

Thanks Hernanu, that's amazing to know that the progress can continue that long. I hope you continue to be happy with your new hips for many, many years.