Road My First 20 miles

Naphtali said:

I've had a heart condition all my life, a Right Ventrical Out Flow Tract Tachycardia. Its meant that I could never work out for long before almost blacking out. In February they finally figured out exactly what was wrong and I had surgery to fix it. A couple months later I started cycling to try to drop some weigh. I could only manage 1.5 miles a couple of times a week. Two months ago I got up to 8 miles a day at an average speed of 6.2 mph. This weekend I road 20 miles for the first time in my LIFE and averaged 10.3 mph. I never had to stop even on the hills. I know thats not much but for me its a big deal. I'm planning to take part in a century ride at the end of September. They have a shorter 45 mile loop which is my goal for this year. By next year my goal will be the 65 or 100 mile loop. I started at almost 300 lbs and am down to 270.

Warms my pea-pickin little heart. Congrats and keep it up. I started with a 3 mile ride that I thought was going to kill me about 2 months ago, and am up to 25-30 mile rides @ 12-13 mph. Never would have thought it possible.

The biggest obstacle to overcome is mental and it sounds like you have that battle well in hand.
Good going, don't ever quit.

Naphtali said:

I've had a heart condition all my life, a Right Ventrical Out Flow Tract Tachycardia. Its meant that I could never work out for long before almost blacking out. In February they finally figured out exactly what was wrong and I had surgery to fix it. A couple months later I started cycling to try to drop some weigh. I could only manage 1.5 miles a couple of times a week. Two months ago I got up to 8 miles a day at an average speed of 6.2 mph. This weekend I road 20 miles for the first time in my LIFE and averaged 10.3 mph. I never had to stop even on the hills. I know thats not much but for me its a big deal. I'm planning to take part in a century ride at the end of September. They have a shorter 45 mile loop which is my goal for this year. By next year my goal will be the 65 or 100 mile loop. I started at almost 300 lbs and am down to 270.

I have perfect health but it is people like you that I admire the most overcoming the things that you have the next time I am out on the bike and I am getting it tough I will think of you and get through it THANK YOU

Good for you and just keep riding!

Naphtali said:

I've had a heart condition all my life, a Right Ventrical Out Flow Tract Tachycardia. Its meant that I could never work out for long before almost blacking out. In February they finally figured out exactly what was wrong and I had surgery to fix it. A couple months later I started cycling to try to drop some weigh. I could only manage 1.5 miles a couple of times a week. Two months ago I got up to 8 miles a day at an average speed of 6.2 mph. This weekend I road 20 miles for the first time in my LIFE and averaged 10.3 mph. I never had to stop even on the hills. I know thats not much but for me its a big deal. I'm planning to take part in a century ride at the end of September. They have a shorter 45 mile loop which is my goal for this year. By next year my goal will be the 65 or 100 mile loop. I started at almost 300 lbs and am down to 270.

tyr this: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Heft-Wheels-Field-Guide-Doing/dp/1400052408]Amazon.com: Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180 (9781400052400): Mike Magnuson: Books[/ame].

it's not as hard as they may make you think when you first get a bike, they just so happen to be them and nothing more.

and i like the way you used 'road'.

Congrats man! it may not sound like much but i definately remember when i first started riding doing little out and back 5 mile rides. If someone would have told me 5 years ago that I would ride 100 miles in a morning on my bike (or even 20 for that matter) I would have told them they were crazy!

Be careful, its addictive!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I've sent for a copy of "Heft on Wheels." Great suggestion! Its a bit hard for me to relate to books written about guys like Lance right now. Its so true that the mind plays a big part in cycling. I've found what helps me the most to keep motivated is prayer. No Jesus doesn't want me to be the next Lance Armstrong. But He does want me to be healthy and set a good example for my family; all for His Glory.

Thanks again for all the encouragement.

All I can say is FANTASTIC!!!!

Congratulations. I think that's just great. I ride with a kidney transplant, myself. There was a point when I was on dialysis for 4 years when I could hardly ride more than a few blocks (even though I had ridden road bikes for decades before that). Now I can easily ride 25-30 miles a day, weather-permitting, and that includes riding up every hill I can find.

I say, keep doing it, within whatever limits your cardiologist suggests. I can't think of any situation where it's better to sit on a couch watching TV than it is to exercise, as long as you don't overreach.

People without health problems often don't realize the special courage it takes to hop on a road bike and ride away when you have any kind of medical condition that affects heart function.

longfemur said:

Congratulations. I think that's just great. I ride with a kidney transplant, myself. There was a point when I was on dialysis for 4 years when I could hardly ride more than a few blocks (even though I had ridden road bikes for decades before that). Now I can easily ride 25-30 miles a day, weather-permitting, and that includes riding up every hill I can find.

I say, keep doing it, within whatever limits your cardiologist suggests. I can't think of any situation where it's better to sit on a couch watching TV than it is to exercise, as long as you don't overreach.

People without health problems often don't realize the special courage it takes to hop on a road bike and ride away when you have any kind of medical condition that affects heart function.

Hey, brother. I had a pancreas transplant only 10 months ago. Getting back on the bike after the surgery was a bit of torture, made worse by fighting CMV (it feels like mono), aquired from my donor, for 7 months. Riding is again in the torture phase, but I hope in the not too far distant future to be back at the 200+ miles a week I was doing.

I don't understand why everyone eligible doesn't have an organ donor card already filled out.

That's great Naphtali! You are an insiration already.

Unfortunately I am not qualified to donate organs. For some odd reason they don't want the organs from a recovering malaria victim. Even though you are "cured" or at least no longer affected, the virus remains in you for the rest of your life.

je te fait une boite clapet plus performante que une conti crx...

kdelong said:

That's great Naphtali! You are an insiration already.

Unfortunately I am not qualified to donate organs. For some odd reason they don't want the organs from a recovering malaria victim. Even though you are "cured" or at least no longer affected, the virus remains in you for the rest of your life.

Yep. One dose of an organ from you, and you'd have a soon to be dead transplant patient. One of the things the docs do immediately after the transplant is murder your immune system. Then you're on immuno-suppressants the rest of your life.

i have epilepsy so other than for my organs being a little bit banged up, i guess they're good.