SONJ State Competition yesterday

[Bicycle808]

I coach S.Olympics cycling, and we ended our season on a very positive note yesterday. All of the athletes on my team earned medals, but more importantly, most of them far exceeded their performance compared to last year, and even from the beginning of the season. One guy, in his late 30s, had often been to our practices but never rode. Last XMas, we convinced his family to buy him a Worksman trike, and dude's been riding all the time, getting fit, and just kicking ___ in general on it. He went from struggling to pedal a borrowed trike last year to passing competitors on 2-wheelers on the uphill with his own trike. I'm really proud of him, and the whole team.

Craziest thing about the State Finals is, seeing the really fast athletes and their various bikes/riding styles/adaptations to their bikes. There's some really fast guys, and some of them are rocking fully modern CF road bikes with drop bars. But, the fastest guy these past 2 years is a young dude, real big like 6'2" and maybe 275 lbs, who rides an aluminum hybrid with 26x1.75 all-around rubber. He doesn't look fast, and his bike is definitely not fast, but he just puts the thing in high gear and wails on it hard-- he only slows down to pull his water from the bottle cage and take a chug, which he does with surprising frequency, but he's still pretty much untouchable out there. The top ten guys besides him are all on 700x23c rubber, mostly drop bars or road bikes adapted to flatbar controls, and mostly aluminum or CF frames. Guess it goes to show that, often, the bike doesn't matter in these races.

If you have a SO Cycling team near you, I urge you to volunteer as a coach, or even just to help out wrenching on the bikes. We've found that we gotta at least tune-up all the bikes at the beginning of each season, and minor mechanicals tend to occur at most practices and competitions. In speaking with some of the other teams' coaches, it seems that a lot of teams are lacking knowledgeable/mechanically inclined support. Often, money is a problem, and getting the bikes into the LBS is a financial burden. Our team is lucky in that we have 2 ex-mechanics coaching. Please consider giving your local team (if ya got one) a similar advantage.

-Rob

 

[Jamie825]

Thank you for what you are doing it sounds great I will check in my area to see if there is anything here I live in east Tn I don't see many riders of any kind around just a few collectors

 

[Nagant]

I want to say than you for volunteering as well. So few of us take the time to do so these days. IIRC you volunteer at your bike coop as well.

 

[user 135]

Not cycling but I am an instructor with the adaptive snowsports program in town. I have volunteered for the last 8 seasons as standup ski instructor. This next year I am moving to the sit-down side of the program. I also sit on the board of directors and the resident tech guy ( I just completed the new website). recreation-unlimited.org

It is very rewarding to help individuals with disabilities learn to ski. It becomes especially awesome when they gain independence. Either by making their first turns without help or making turns all the way down the hill.

 

[Bicycle808]

Not cycling but I am an instructor with the adaptive snowsports program in town. I have volunteered for the last 8 seasons as standup ski instructor. This next year I am moving to the sit-down side of the program. I also sit on the board of directors and the resident tech guy ( I just completed the new website). recreation-unlimited.org

It is very rewarding to help individuals with disabilities learn to ski. It becomes especially awesome when they gain independence. Either by making their first turns without help or making turns all the way down the hill.

That' awesome, Clancy. I never got into skiing (South Jersey is bereft of mountains, and we get just enough snow to be inconvenient, but usually not enough for any snowsports), but it has always impressed me. Thanks for doing your part to support ppl of various abilities with their skiing adventures. Independence is the prize, and if I look at each step towards true independence as a victory, it helps me keep my eye on that prize. For the events that my team is engaged in, they all have to ride the course independently. We're close by, just in case, but we had another year without any incidents.

I want to say than you for volunteering as well. So few of us take the time to do so these days. IIRC you volunteer at your bike coop as well.

It's funny; I'm wearing my "Camden County Bike Share t-shirt as I wear this, but i've really been slacking at the co-op lately. Now that cycling is over, I'll have more time to get out there and wrench on some bikes. You don't have to thank me for volunteering; I think that kind of thing is its own reward, but I do appreciate the kind words, Paul.

Thank you for what you are doing it sounds great I will check in my area to see if there is anything here I live in east Tn I don't see many riders of any kind around just a few collectors

Even if they don't have a cycling team, there's usually some sort of way to help out. Whereabouts in east TN do you live? I used to hang my hat in Hamblen County (Morristown); it's beautiful country there.

 

[user 135]

This quote from Warren Miller is related to skiing, but could be used for any sports activity. Whether it is skiing , cycling, swimming or some other activity, independence is the key. It does not matter if you are disabled, abled, young or old. To often we let our goals get in the way of what really matters, Independence and FUN!

" You can go wherever you want, at whatever speed you want, using any style you want. And whoever you are skiing with will be waiting for you when you get there. It doesn't really matter who gets there first because both of you have your freedom on the way down."
- Warren Miller​

 

[Jamie825]

Hawkins county , Rogersville it's just above Moristown

 

[Bicycle808]

Hawkins county , Rogersville it's just above Moristown

Sure, I've driven thru Rogersville a few times BITD--- probably around 1998/1999.

 

[Jamie825]

Apparently you didn't blink you might miss it

 

[mornview]

Awesome, now I see where our career paths overlap. I know you have experience working on bikes; did you need any other experience to do this? (Seems like a knowledge of anatomy/kinesiology would be helpful).

 

[Bicycle808]

Awesome, now I see where our career paths overlap. I know you have experience working on bikes; did you need any other experience to do this? (Seems like a knowledge of anatomy/kinesiology would be helpful).

Most of the athletes on my team suffer from little or no physical disability, with the primary physical concern being related to balance. One of the athletes has limited use of one arm, so we set up his trike accordingly, and had the PT take a gander at it, for approval. When I see some of the other teams and their bikes at competitions, the mechanical solutions to more serious challenges are apparent, and they fascinate me.

A lot of what we work on at practice are strategies to learn new skills and improve existing skills. I've been working with the DD population for about ten years, and i hold an MSE-- all of that helps, but getting to know each athlete as an individual and building a rapport is the biggest factor. Many of our volunteer coaches have very little formal experience when they start, and things tend to fall into place as we go.

But, yes, having a kinesiologist available would be incredibly helpful to the teams. We'd have to figure out a way to attract volunteers with that kind of qualification.

 

[mornview]

Those are some really brave atheletes; balance is a serious issue for anyone, much less in the sport of cycling. In some sense, that's an even more challenging hurdle to overcome than other physical disabilities.

And, in all due respect to my own interests, being a MSE is probably more advantageous than being a PT for your job anyways. What an awesome place to put that degree to use.