My amatuer cycling career!

Many, many years ago I rode a bicycle with my 3 best friends from Otterbein into West Lafayette, a distance of about 12 miles. Now this was quite a feat for me at the time but from that time on I knew I wanted to ride more. I bought a bicycle the very next day and rode it home in Attice, IN. I had no idea as to the enjoyment this would provide me over the next 20 odd years. It was Jerry (my best friend ) that 15 years would team up for thousands of miles with me & on some most memorable rides. I have seen many, many wonderful places around Indiana, Kentucky and southern parts of Michigan & even into Ohio. I was blessed to also meet some of the finest people in the world at these events. I have lost track of how many races I have traveled to but will never forget the experiences. The first year we started out as party riding hounds with 2 riders carrying huge coolers full of beer and the other 2 carrying extra cases of beer. Jerry, upon relating to me that we were getting pretty fast on the bikes should race. I had no idea there was such a thing as bicycle races. We did find a race in Zanesville Ohio & went. Not knowing how the categories related to skill level we got into the wrong class and found ourselves lining up with pro riders from all over The US and some from Europe. The officials allowed us to go ahead and start. From that point on, I still have never seen a rider pass me as easily as these riders did. This was incredible.

I then made up my mind I was going to purchase a race bike and do this. The next 15 years Jerry and I trained and trained and trained. We raced many weekends in Kentucky, Indiana & Illinois with good results. The second year we made out a route to King's Island in Ohio & rode it. Leaving at 5am & arriving at 8pm that evening provided many memories made this ride possible. That was just one of the feats achieved riding a bicycle. But the greatest feat didn't involve winning a race or going fast anywhere. It was a life threatening crash and a possible career ending crash involving a truck!

In 1991 Jerry and I put our brains together and decided we wanted to start our own cycling team. On January 28th of 1992 Jerry and I held a practice TT of 10 miles. Four riders showed up in freezing weather and a bit of snow to ride this demanding course and every rider flew thru the course. Three days later I would be tested to my ability to overcome adversity. While out on a training ride and climbing a small hill 5 miles outside of Lafayette a pick up truck traveling about 60 mph hit me from behind and on my left leg. Yep, the trauma was extensive with 7 fractures in the left leg, 2 broken cheek bones and a torn ACL. I stayed conscious thru the entire ordeal until arriving at the hospital and even then was aware of some of the things going on around me. That night, not having a clear head thought I was paralized for life not being able to feel or move my legs. I am very grateful for my sister Deanna ( a surgery nurse at this hospital) for begging a certain surgeon to drop his family stuff while at home at 10pm in the evening to perform this 1st surgery. I do not remember much over the next several days as I was under the influence of some really good drugs. I do know this, Jerry whose friendship is priceless visited every single day. Nor will the value of his friendship ever, ever be forgotten.

The 1st surgery involved attaching a plate to my upper femur near my hip. According to my surgeon Danial Daluga this was the most serious as the femur supports so much weight. This put me on crutches for 4 months. The 2nd surgery was to drill out the shin bone and place a tube down thru the knee to pull the fractures back into place in both shin bones and support it. Of course at this time re constructive surgery on the ACL took place. Using several $155 screws to re construct it makes my knee worth a bit more I guess. LOL Next comes REHAB!!!

I want to take a minute to say thank you to my father and my mother for making my rehab and return to competitive cycling possible.

I could not drive my truck because of it being a stick shift and all the damage was to my left leg, the clutch pedal side. I traded vehicles for a short period of time with my parents. They drove 50 miles round trip every day to assist in my rehab. I had tons of trouble getting started because of the pain and the 1st few days involved of only wanting to be a couch potato. This is where my mother ripped into me about getting off my ass.

THE REHAB: THIS WAS DONE ENTIRELY BY ME AT HOME AND THE GYM AND THE ROAD ON MY BIKE!!
The days were designed around 1) using a flexibility machine 2x a day 3 hours each bending the knee 10% past it's stiffness stage which was painful to say the least. This was to get the knee back to stretching the ACL so I could bend the knees completely. It involved my parents taking me to my local gym which had a small indoor running track. While on crutches I had to learn to use my left foot which had a ton of damage just above the ankle and learn to walk all over again. Not only was it painful but these surgeries took so much out of my energy. At first, 2 laps was all I good muster around that short track before I had to sit and take a break. Against Dr. Daluga's orders I hit the weights with little weight.

I was in the hospital only 2 weeks and had Dr. orders to go ahead and get back on the bike inside ONLY! On the 3rd day out of the hospital I tried to get back on the bike sitting the seat high because of the lack of being able to bend the knee much. Another good friend named Chad was there that day. I sit the bike on a wind trainer ( a machine designed to hold a bike for inside riding) and climbed on. I could not pull it off due to the lack of flexibility in the knee. Frustrated to absolutely no end I picked the bike up and gave it a toss across the room. Chad who is a great cyclist and an athlete left for fear that it was a turning point into me not coming back., he left immediately. I myself had the same fear. Fortunately, I was able to make the connection between being able to bend the knee more to that 6 hour a day machine. Never did I ever forget to do those 2 a days on that machine again. Three more days later I was able to get on the bike and ride on the wind trainer. I went 5 straight 20 mile days, then had a 60 degree day outside, pulled the wind trainer outside and rode 4 hours in front of my apartment. This was less than 2 weeks out of the hospital.

From that point on and again against Dr.'s orders started riding outside. Four months after this accident I entered my 1st race while still out on crutches and finished 4th. Six months after the accident I was back training with Jerry and the newly formed racing team and putting the hurt on the entire group.

Never ever will I forget these guys. And never will I meet 2 friends such as Jerry and Chad...thank you guys for being there thru these times and most of all being my friends.

Out of all the races I won, the places I've been and the 12 hour races I completed, the return from this adversity is my greatest accomplishment on a bicycle. After this, I never ever bitched or complained how difficult a climb was or how hard a ride was. To this day, thanks to my higher power, 2 great friends, my parents, my sister Deanna and a wonderful surgeon who dropped family to do a late night surgeryI have no trouble or no pain whatsoever with any part of my injuries.

Cycling Websites:

Cycling photos!

Velonews
Our original team manager's (Matt) new team and sport
Paceline (Also Lance Armstrong's website)
Daily Peloton
Matt's Team after he left The Wheel Warriors