The worst thing that hurts speed?

I used to think that, as much as I rode, I could eat anything I wanted (ala those stupid Mongoose
commercials). So last August I see the doc and my cholesterol is 255. Unbelieveable. So I go on a
major diet campaign focusing strictly on cholesterol. I'm not even thinking about weight, 'cuz I'm
not thinking my weight's a problem. But by early October I've lost 12 pounds (and my cholesterol is
down in the 190s). It was the best couple of months I've ever had on the bike. Right up until I got
creamed by a teenager in a Saturn who ran over me while talking on her cell phone. Broken hip,
ankle, pelvis and fractured spine (plus other assorted lacerations, road rash and such). So I spent
November and December in rehab and I worked my ass off. Mostly I didn't want to regain the weight
I'd lost. (I couldn't walk, but I was figuring out ways to do intense exercise programs in the
recliner I was confined to for six weeks. I wasn't allowed to bear weight on my left leg, but I
could lay on my back and spin circles with my legs -- so I did hours of that!) Got back on the bike
in late January. Began training my ass off. Now I'm coming to the close of the best Spring I've ever
had -- despite the horrible crash and rehab. People who didn't see me during the late Fall and
Winter don't believe I ever had the bad accident. Those injuries could not offset the incredible
benefits of losing a dozen pounds. The difference that's made has been remarkable!

If you have weight to lose, LOSE IT!

Bob C. "Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...Getting fatter.

I mean, I can keep a decent base going and buff up my intervals and feel strong, but even on the
flats and especially on the HEELS the GUT is what KEELS.

So...I brewed up 10 new gallons of brew a couple days ago and toasted my new goal of losing 10
pounds this summer.

Weigh-in: 190. 180 here I come! Pilsner-assisted!

If I nail 180, I'm going to go right on past and get 175. That's my heaviest for decent
sportsmanship.

--

Jeff Potter [email hidden] outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ -- a friendly ezine of modern
folkways and culture revival...offering a line of alternative books and a world of bikes, boats,
skis...plus shops for great sleeper books, videos and music ...plus nationwide "Off the Beaten
Path" travel forums for local fun, bumperstickers and a new social magnet stickers! ...Holy
Smokes!!!

Wow, that's an AMAZING comeback story. Congrats!

Say, did your doc ever tell you your good/bad cholesterol ratio? I've heard this is the most impt
thing. But maybe the outright numbers are still very impt?

--

Jeff Potter [email hidden] outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ -- a friendly ezine of modern
folkways and culture revival...offering a line of alternative books and a world of bikes, boats,
skis...plus shops for great sleeper books, videos and music ...plus nationwide "Off the Beaten Path"
travel forums for local fun, bumperstickers and a new social magnet stickers! ...Holy Smokes!!!

Yes, any endurance athlete who trains a significant amount should make their doctors aware of this
fact. I was just speaking with a doctor in Boulder the other day about this and she said that they
added a new explanation to their blood test results because so many people (this is in Boulder, the
workout freak capital of the world) were getting "high" cholesterol counts by the numbers, but
actually were great because their HDL/LDL ratios are so high. HDL is good, LDL bad.

So, if they tell you have high cholesterol, make sure that you make them explain this and check
out your HDL/LDL ratios.

-Nathan

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wow, that's an AMAZING comeback story. Congrats!

Say, did your doc ever tell you your good/bad cholesterol ratio? I've

heard

Quoted message said:

this is the most impt thing. But maybe the outright numbers are still very impt?

--

Jeff Potter [email hidden] outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ -- a friendly ezine of modern
folkways and culture revival...offering a line of alternative books and a world of bikes, boats,
skis...plus shops for great sleeper books, videos and music ...plus nationwide "Off the Beaten
Path" travel forums for local fun, bumperstickers and a new social magnet stickers! ...Holy
Smokes!!!

psycolist-<< fractured spine (plus other assorted lacerations, road rash and such). So I spent
November and December in rehab.

<< Got back on the bike in late January.

Back on the bike in three months after breaking your back is very cool. I am just now getting back
on the bike after getting hit last July, broke L1, L3...

Coming back very slowly, PT is helping a lot but very slow...

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

This injury stuff is terrible. Knock on carbon!

My experience with rehab is to go twice as hard as they tell you for twice as long, twice as often.
Even a superior recovery with superior range of motion for THEM is going to be BAD for you. If you
do sports, you need to make yourself hurt throughout rehab to regain YOUR previous range of motion.
Don't settle for less! You have a very brief window of opportunity after a cast comes off (or you
get go-ahead to rehab) to regain what you lost. Otherwise a permanent loss sets
in...after about a month. Push your PT staffers! Obviously, don't rebreak or reinjure yourself but
make sure you go right up to that point!!!! It should be very painful, scary, sweaty, very hard
work for you. Also, remember that this will commonly include other joints that have been immobile
or unused during recovery. You can just as easily lose those permanently as your injured place.
Go to it! And best wishes.

--

Jeff Potter [email hidden] outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ -- a friendly ezine of modern
folkways and culture revival...offering a line of alternative books and a world of bikes, boats,
skis...plus shops for great sleeper books, videos and music ...plus nationwide "Off the Beaten Path"
travel forums for local fun, bumperstickers and a new social magnet stickers! ...Holy Smokes!!!

Be careful....that weight loss may be good for your self image, but try getting those 210cm stiffs
down on the snow after you've dropped a few pounds...I'm a little over 87 right now and will be
happy to go into the season at 85 or a little under - so I don't have to buy new boards next year!

bt

I know that over the long haul I may be in trouble with this. I get head nods and shoulder shrugs
from cardiologists. My HDLs run in low/mid 20's. My LDLs are ok. Ratio is horrible. Now the docs say
diet can't raise HDLs. (Believe me, I eat boatloads of herring and other fatty cold water fish.)
Only exercise can raise HDLs. Diet impacts LDLs, and some nasty (IMHO) drugs can lower it and
improve ratio. My mother had a HDL value of 16 once. Maybe a mistake, but I must get those genes
from her. She's never seen 25 HDL value. At age 30 a cardiologist told me that in order to live I
have to keep doing endurance exercise. So there, now everyone knows why I am the LSD king.

BTW I think that it is becoming well accepted that cholesterol is just a part of the
diagnostic/pathologic picture. Homosystine and a newer marker, C reactive protein, may prove to
tell the entire story, Thankfully my homosystine value indicated no arterial inflammation of
plaque. Please excuse this pseudo-medicine and spelling. I trust others really know what I am
trying to say. Basically there seems to be new and soon to be accepted tests for blood indicators
of cardiovascular health.

And in the end most research indicates that being aerobically fit is the most important indicator
for a life without cardiovascular disease caused by behavior.

Gary Jacobson Rosendale, NY

"Nathan Schultz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:thXxa.888637$3D1.508592@sccrnsc01...

Quoted message said:

Yes, any endurance athlete who trains a significant amount should make their doctors aware of
this fact. I was just speaking with a doctor in Boulder the other day about this and she said
that they added a new explanation to their blood test results because so many people (this is
in Boulder, the workout freak capital of the world) were getting "high" cholesterol counts by
the numbers, but actually were great because their HDL/LDL ratios are so high. HDL is good,
LDL bad.

So, if they tell you have high cholesterol, make sure that you make

them

Quoted message said:

explain this and check out your HDL/LDL ratios.

-Nathan

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wow, that's an AMAZING comeback story. Congrats!

Say, did your doc ever tell you your good/bad cholesterol ratio? I've

heard

Quoted message said:

this is the most impt thing. But maybe the outright numbers are still

very

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

impt?

--

Jeff Potter [email hidden] outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ -- a friendly ezine of
modern folkways and culture revival...offering a line of alternative books and a world of bikes,
boats, skis...plus shops for great sleeper books, videos and

music

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

...plus nationwide "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums for local fun, bumperstickers and a new
social magnet stickers! ...Holy Smokes!!!

Gary,

I'm just the opposite of you... I've got high LDL and high HDL. I'm trying to change the diet but
high LDL runs in the family. I get the high HDL from the exercise. Last time I had the cholesterol
checked, about a year ago, I test at 250. They tole me to fast and come back... I did and registered
260. Then, they told me to come back two days later so they could check my lipids and something
else. I tested
272... My only risk factor is cholesterol and my HDL is high so that helps. I don't know about blood
pressure now that the healthy zone limits have changed.

Jay Tegeder "I faders spar for framtids segrar"

"Gary Jacobson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I know that over the long haul I may be in trouble with this. I get head nods and shoulder shrugs
from cardiologists. My HDLs run in low/mid 20's. My LDLs are ok. Ratio is horrible. Now the docs
say diet can't raise HDLs. (Believe me, I eat boatloads of herring and other fatty cold water
fish.) Only exercise can raise HDLs. Diet impacts LDLs, and some nasty (IMHO) drugs can lower it
and improve ratio. My mother had a HDL value of 16 once. Maybe a mistake, but I must get those
genes from her. She's never seen 25 HDL value. At age 30 a cardiologist told me that in order to
live I have to keep doing endurance exercise. So there, now everyone knows why I am the LSD king.

BTW I think that it is becoming well accepted that cholesterol is just a part of the
diagnostic/pathologic picture. Homosystine and a newer marker, C reactive protein, may prove to
tell the entire story, Thankfully my homosystine value indicated no arterial inflammation of
plaque. Please excuse this pseudo-medicine and spelling. I trust others really know what I am
trying to say. Basically there seems to be new and soon to be accepted tests for blood indicators
of cardiovascular health.

And in the end most research indicates that being aerobically fit is the most important indicator
for a life without cardiovascular disease caused by behavior.

Gary Jacobson Rosendale, NY

"Nathan Schultz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:thXxa.888637$3D1.508592@sccrnsc01...

Quoted message said:

Yes, any endurance athlete who trains a significant amount should make their doctors aware
of this fact. I was just speaking with a doctor in Boulder the other day about this and she
said that they added a new explanation to their blood test results because so many people
(this is in Boulder, the workout freak capital of the world) were getting "high" cholesterol
counts by the numbers, but actually were great because their HDL/LDL ratios are so high. HDL
is good, LDL bad.

So, if they tell you have high cholesterol, make sure that you make

them

Quoted message said:

explain this and check out your HDL/LDL ratios.

-Nathan

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wow, that's an AMAZING comeback story. Congrats!

Say, did your doc ever tell you your good/bad cholesterol ratio? I've

heard

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

this is the most impt thing. But maybe the outright numbers are still

very

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

impt?

--

Jeff Potter [email hidden] outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ -- a friendly ezine of
modern folkways and culture revival...offering a line of alternative books and a world of
bikes, boats, skis...plus shops for great sleeper books, videos and

music

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

...plus nationwide "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums for local fun, bumperstickers and a new
social magnet stickers! ...Holy Smokes!!!

Jeff Potter said:

This injury stuff is terrible. Knock on carbon!

My experience with rehab is to go twice as hard as they tell you for twice as long, twice as
often. Even a superior recovery with superior range of motion for THEM is going to be BAD for you.
If you do sports, you need to make yourself hurt throughout rehab to regain YOUR previous range of
motion. Don't settle for less! You have a very brief window of opportunity after a cast comes off
(or you get go-ahead to rehab) to regain what you lost. Otherwise a permanent loss sets
in...after about a month. Push your PT staffers! Obviously, don't rebreak or reinjure yourself but
make sure you go right up to that point!!!! It should be very painful, scary, sweaty, very hard
work for you. Also, remember that this will commonly include other joints that have been
immobile or unused during recovery. You can just as easily lose those permanently as your
injured place. Go to it! And best wishes.

Too bad Jeff's not so gung ho about his training. FWIW, I think this is bad advice. As someone who
broke a hip recently, I did just fine by doing the regular PT exercises and riding a lot. If
anything, they had me doing too much and I used my own judgment to back off. Any experienced athlete
will know their body well enough to apply that sort of judgment.

Bret

Actually, ski-fit is another incentive for my weightloss! I bought my skis when I was 170lbs and I
prefer them soft! I'm 190 now. DOH! I was really squashing them this season. Totally washing out the
skaters. 10" wax pocket on the kickers. If I can get back to 170, I'll have proper skis again! : )
Everyone tells me I need to buy new skis. Bah! Old skis are fine...if you fit em! : )

sknyski said:

Be careful....that weight loss may be good for your self image, but try getting those 210cm stiffs
down on the snow after you've dropped a few pounds...I'm a little over 87 right now and will be
happy to go into the season at 85 or a little under - so I don't have to buy new boards next year!

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, skis, books, movies... ...new books featuring: XC
ski culture, a thriller about small town drug smuggling, and folding bicycles ... radical novels
coming up! ...lots more books, downloadable music and videos ... articles galore! plus national "Off
the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Actually, ski-fit is another incentive for my weightloss! I bought my skis when I was 170lbs and I
prefer them soft! I'm 190 now. DOH!

Dude.

You're are almost certainly within a standard deviation of the mean weight in the Masters Fattie
category. Go race with those Fatties in a race w/ a steep climb - you'll have better luck than in
your Cat 5 race where you got dropped.

Jay Tegeder said:

"I faders spar for framtids segrar"

You need to do something about your keyboard 😉 This is how your sigline is spelled "I fäders spår
för framtids segrar"

BTW did you do the Vasaloppet? For those that don't know, it's a 90 km historic Cross Country ski
race in Sweden.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Per Elmsäter said:

Jay Tegeder said:

"I faders spar for framtids segrar"

You need to do something about your keyboard 😉 This is how your sigline is spelled "I fäders spår
för framtids segrar"

BTW did you do the Vasaloppet? For those that don't know, it's a 90 km historic Cross Country ski
race in Sweden.

Per, har inte du förirrat dig lite från swnet.sport.cykel gruppen nu? Eller tänker du åka
skidor i vinter?

--

Forward in all directions

Janne G

Janne G said:

Per Elmsäter said:

Jay Tegeder said:

"I faders spar for framtids segrar"

You need to do something about your keyboard 😉 This is how your sigline is spelled "I fäders
spår för framtids segrar"

BTW did you do the Vasaloppet? For those that don't know, it's a 90 km historic Cross Country ski
race in Sweden.

Per, har inte du förirrat dig lite från swnet.sport.cykel gruppen nu? Eller tänker du åka skidor
i vinter?

Bara om jag fixar Vansbrosimmet först 😉

Sorry about the foreign interlude here. Nothing important was said and nobody was flamed 😉

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.