Last January, after my three month check up, you had asked me to check in after the Triple Bypass ride to update you on my cycling and recovery progress. I’m a bit late with that but the news is all good. I had a BHR on my right hip October 15th, 2007. I was back on my wind trainer less than two weeks after surgery. Four weeks after surgery I was off my crutches and completed my first road ride. Granted it was only 20 miles, flat and a bit slow, but I did it. Fast forward to today.

At this point I’ve ridden over 4,300 miles for the year. In hip terms that is over 20,000 revolutions of my hip. On July 12th I did the 3X bypass for the fifth year in a row and completed the ride in 8:43. The best thing about this riding season is no hip pain. I sleep through the night and my recovery time is a night and day difference from last year. I’ve been able to challenge myself with multi-day hard rides and do much better than in the past because of my improved recovery time. On August 1st my son, a co-worker and I started a three day ride that consisted of the following:

Day 1 – We rode from our homes in Denver to Copper Mountain (107 miles)
Day 2 – We rode the Copper Triangle ride (80 miles)
Day 3 – We rode from Copper back home (Another 107 miles)

It was 20,000 feet of climbing and almost 300 miles. It was a great three days, hard but fun. The most important recovery point is I can walk again. Last November I went to the zoo with my grandson and walked the whole zoo with him. That was something that left me crippled with pain a year ago. I walk straight, I can stand up straight again, I smile again, I’ve gotten my life back. Thank you.

I have my one year check up in October and I hope to be able to report I have over 5,000 miles in that time. Something I’ve never been able to do before. I’ve attached a picture of me in this year’s triple jersey.

Sam McCandless