Biggest post-WLS physical challenge

great job boner. i remember when you were just contemplating riding again and now look! glad to hear you can maintain. it's a lot easier this time for me and i suppose you too. i find i can maintain because i'm more active and just don't get the starving thing going on. the surgery helped big time with hunger pains. so keep up the good work, you're an inspiration to lots of us on the board.....carbonblob

Thanks CB! Yepper, I can remember coming home from the hospital and thinking about what type of exercise I could do which would be interesting over the long haul. Walking is great for starters but "kickin' it up a notch" is a whole hell of a lot more fun. Boner

Boner!

Congrats on a hell of a climb/ ride. Looks like mostly climbing. Don't have access to any high altitute climbs like that here, but wish I did. Nothing like Colorado for altitude.

Pretty much everything I do now would have made me miserable when I was MO - sprinting, lifting, you name it - but the most unattainable thing was...

THINNESS.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave! I too never thought I would ever be thin again. The cool thing is being thin has allowed me do so many things I never thought I would or could do. Keep pumpin' that iron!

 

Boner

Fantastic! Is that the ride that heads out from Estes Park through the Rocky Mountain National Park? I have a few friends in Boulder that have done that ride before. I have driven it many times, and the scenery is incredible. Have a great time with it! JP

Thanks JP - This ride is deeper in the heart of the Rockies although the Estes Park ride can be tough as well. I usually go up around there every couple weeks or so. As a matter of fact I was just south of Estes this last weekend. Pretty stormy so I didn't go too far up into the mountains. Predicting weather here in Colorado can be a ***** and I've gotten caught in a couple of bad storms where I nearly got hypothermia. Beautiful - yes but dangerous if you're unprepared or stupid like I was. 

Boner

   

I can only imagine. I got caught up on flatrocks once, within sight of Boulder, during an electrical storm and almost pissed my pants. I miss going there. I spent about 6 months living in Boulder working on a project. I had a cabin in the chataqua (Spelling) reserve all that summer. It was great. I have access to a friends cabin about 20 miles South of Estes Park off Peak to Peak Highway. I didn't make it up there this summer, and it doesn't look likely before fall. If the ride is more challenging than the one from Estes Park, it is likely the "Biggest post-WLS physical challenge" ever attempted, unless some has climbed K-2 or something. Kick it's ass! JP

When I want get back to Phoenix next month I want to climb Camelback Mountain - it's not a major mountain or anything like that, very fit people can run up the trail and get to the top in under a half an hour - but I did it once in high school. I was huffing and puffing and took me more like an hour. The views are great from the top and it is above the smog. I'll be ready to give it a shot when it cools off in September or October.

Great goal, Michael. Camelback Mountain looks like a good one. All I know is climbing mountains on a bicycle for us ex-bigguns is extremely challenging. Most of the world's greatest climbers are in the 145-150 pound range given the importance of a high power to weight ratio. I can kick some serious ass on the flat lands which may have a few rollers and bumps but once I get into the mountains, it's tough as hell at 215 pounds. Thow in 3 category 1 mountain climbs with the lack of oxygen at 11K feet plus and what I have is --- well, kind of scary to be honest.  Challenging oneself is what it is all about though, isn't it?  Good luck with your goals!! Boner     

Terry! Congratulations! Isn’t it amazing what is possible with the gravity turned down? Keep up the great work! Hope the rest of life is rolling along smoothly And presenting less of a challenge each day! You are "Mr. Bike" when it comes to Post-Op advances. Good to see "The Copper Triangle" Event is with in your List of possibilities (even Most Probable) now-a-days. Keep it Up! Good Luck! Best Wishes- Dx