The Organic Climber – Vegetarian running, cycling, swimming, rock climbing and raw foods.

This past Saturday I was sort of forced prematurely into getting back onto two wheels. For those of you that may be reading my blog for the first time, I was in a bike accident about a month ago. This past Saturday was my first time back on a bike after purchasing a new ride.

I wasn’t planning on getting back onto the bike this early for a number of reasons; one, I haven’t received a check from the insurance company yet to purchase a new one. Two, I’m just not ready yet. And three, my knees! But, an unfortunate loss of my fiancées car keys lead to the premature re-entry to bike commuting.

My fiancée had to be in Dallas for a wedding shower on Saturday, and takes my car on longer trips since it’s more reliable. So, when she takes my car I drive her old Toyota Camry. But unfortunately, we lost her keys. They are nowhere to be found, so without a means of transportation while she was in Dallas I was forced into getting back onto the bike a bit early.

As far as the condition of my knees goes, It wasn’t a huge concern since my chiropractor told me that light biking should be alright, running though was out of the question – which I miss dearly. So I went to test ride the bike I had been thinking about purchasing that morning; pedaling felt smooth and didn’t aggravate the torn meniscus. Riding felt pretty good too, but I was also riding in a controlled environment, without traffic.

So, after the second test ride I decided to take the plunge and purchase the bike. Since the future of my fiancées car was uncertain as is, I will eventually need transportation since she works in North Austin and I only require working from coffee shops or other places with an internet connection.

Later that afternoon, my fiancée left for Dallas and I was left with a new pair of wheels to get me around town. Within a couple hours of her leaving I already needed to head South to the apartment I was staying at to pick up a couple of things. The apartment was only about four miles away, but it was probably the longest four miles I have ridden in my life.

I stuck to the bike routes to get there, which actually put me on the busy street where I was hit just a month ago. I was hesitant! Every intersection I approached I went through with the utmost caution, checking out the cars trying to merge into traffic, attempting to make sure they saw me, and looking ahead into traffic for potential cars making a left hand turn… it was nerve-wracking to say the least.

As I continued on with my ride I approached my first turn safely and proceeded down another bike lane on another busy street. The first potential danger I saw on this street was a car attempting to come out of a parking lot while another car was coming turning in. I was blocked from the exiting cars view, so I proceeded with caution and safely passed the car that was attempting to come out. My senses of what is going on around me have greatly heightened. I know this seems like a good thing, but it has me a bit rattled. I felt like was ride wasn’t as enjoyable as they once were.

The next potential troublesome situation I came across was a guy holding an oversized sign in front of some retail stores that seemed to be blocking the vision of the car attempting to merge into traffic behind him, so I slowed down to make sure he saw me coming. Once we made eye contact I safely passed and arrived at my destination shortly after that.

The return ride was a bit easier as it takes you through a residential area with a wide street and bike lane. I felt pretty safe along this road, but the downside of this bike route ais that it doesn’t connect with any other routes going north, so I eventually had to merge onto a busy street that sees bike traffic fairly frequently (but doesn’t have a bike lane). Thankfully though the distance I had to go along this street was minimal… only a few blocks. I once again arrived safely back at my fiancées apartment.

Earlier in the day I had gotten a text message inviting me to watch the World Series game and cook out. So, rather than stay home by myself I hopped on the bike and made the trek a few miles east. This trip was less nerve-wracking than my first commute back on the bike, as the streets traveled on had bike lanes, less traffic, and a wide street.

Part of the journey took me through St. Edward’s campus and back onto a busy street, where I opted to stay on the sidewalk. Shortly after, I arrived at my destination. People there were surprised I was back on the bike this early. So was I. These past several weeks I had been jonesing to get back on my bike, but when the time actually came I was very apprehensive.

I feel my bad experience has taken away some of the joy and freedom I felt while riding. I wonder if I will ever feel as free as I did before the accident? I wonder how I will fare when I go on my first long bike ride? I know one thing for sure; I will be sticking to group rides. There is safety in numbers. I also hope that I will soon be able to fully enjoy bike commuting again.

The accident affected me far more than I thought it did. It has me pretty shaken up about riding in general. Before the accident there was never really a fear of getting hit, even thought I have heard stories and known people that have been hit. I just never thought it would happen to me. Being hit on a bike is far different than being hit in a car, where you are surrounded by metal and held in with seat belts. Riding a bike leaves you so exposed.

It’s an exposure that I’m not fully comfortable with yet, but I will only overcome my fear if I keep riding. I do hope though I can maintain my heightened since of awareness and still be able to enjoy riding.

As far as long distance rides go, I don’t know when I will be able to do that again. My knees don’t feel up to the challenge and I still haven’t meet with an Orthopedic Specialist to determine the extent of the damages. I hope that mere physical therapy will bring me down the road of recovery, but surgery is a definite possibility. I’m scared that this will end up being the case, but I pray that it is not.

Do you have a story about recovering from an injury that put a damper on doing the things you love? Please, share it here. I find it encouraging to hear others stories that have been through something similar.

Cycling by OrganicClimber
accident, biking, cannondale, cycling, recovery
2 comments

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Last week I posted on how to avoid an epic bike ride, but what I did not include was how to avoid getting hit by a car. This has been my worst fear since starting to cycle. I often talk about how I feel less safe biking than I do climbing. Well, this past Friday night my fears became reality. I had just spent part of my evening in a coffee shop in downtown Austin and was headed back to my fiancés apartment to finish getting my camera gear ready for a photography assignment the next day. On my way back to her apartment, just a few blocks way, I was hit by a car!

Overall, Austin is a very bike friendly city. Cyclists frequently ride as traffic and motorists seem to be very aware of them most of the time. There are also lots of bike routes to help bikers get around the city safely. I have been heavily relying on my bike for transportation for the past couple of weeks and have thoroughly enjoyed it. During this time I have never felt unsafe. Motorists seem to be very aware of cyclists, I often see them pulling back into parking lots and side streets when they are sticking out to far and notice I am coming towards them.

Friday night was different though. It was my first time since moving here that I have ridden at night. I was traveling south down South Congress (a busy four lane road with turn lanes) in the bike lane with blinking lights on the front and back of my bike. I was also heading down a long gradual downhill, so my speed was faster than normal for bike commuting.

As I was a few blocks away from the turn to my fiancés apartment I began to think about the likelihood of getting hit by a car if I continued to bike commute, but little did I know that would become reality, seconds later. As I neared a dark intersection I saw a car turning left onto a side street. I was already in the intersection. A million thoughts went through my head as the accident unfolded. The first thought was, “crap I don’t even have time to hit my brakes.” Then, CRASH! I was struck from the side and I thought I was going to die. I thought, “this is it, I’m dead.” I can’t remember the exact thoughts after that, but my fiancé, Kristy, went through my mind.

The next thing that happened was, I was flying through the air, doing a flip. It happened so fast, but I remember thinking, “holy crap, I’m flipping in the air.” I felt like a ragdoll. I’m pretty sure my feet were straight up in the air as I did at least one and a half rotations. As quickly as those thoughts went through my head I landed face down, like a pancake on the other side of the intersection along the sidewalk, right next to a utility pole.

The landing was the best I could have asked for. A foot further right I would have flew into the utility pole and would have likely been knocked down to the ground, head first. A few feet further to the left I would have ended up in oncoming traffic. Even my stride while pedaling was probably a blessing. Had my left let been in a forward stride I probably would have been pinned against the car and forced to the ground rather then being thrown off the bike.

I laid their stunned, not totally realizing I was alive yet, or if anything was broken. I was just in a lot of pain. I might have even blacked out for a brief second. It seems like at the very moment I landed somebody was next to me telling me not to move and that 911 had been called. I heard what was likely the person who hit me asking if I was okay. All I could say was, “no, I’m in pain.” The woman that was telling me not to move began asking me if I could feel her touching my legs and if I could wiggle my toes. After I was successful at wiggling my toes and feeling her touch I was pretty sure I was going to be all right, but still thought I probably shattered my hip or broke something.

The fire department EMT’s were the first on the scene, with the ambulance shortly behind. After being checked out by them I was allowed to sit up. I was asked numerous questions, for what I assume was to make sure I didn’t have a concussion or anything of that nature. But, I was also very blessed in that I never hit my head. After giving me a thorough check-up on the scene the paramedics suggested I go to the ER to be checked out more thoroughly. I decided this would be a good idea just in case I had a neck injury that wasn’t detected through external tests.

The hospital visit wasn’t very pleasant. I was there for about five hours. My fiancé had enough time to drive back to Austin from Dallas before I had been released. I was also thankful to have other friends from Church visit me while I was there. I’m blessed to have so many people that care about me after having only lived here in Austin for a month.

While at the hospital I was giving morphine to help with the pain, was given an ultrasound to make sure I had no internal bleeding and x-rays were taken of my neck and upper back. The morphine actually helped with the pain more than I realized. I hadn’t noticed it until I was on my way out, but my right hip had swollen up to the size of an ostrich egg. It was the most swelling I have ever experienced, or seen.

After about five hours of being in the ER, I was released. I didn’t get to bed until around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. I slept most of Saturday morning and part of the afternoon, but was able to get up and move around a bit and pick up my bike from the fire station down the road from where the accident occurred. The bike, although damaged pretty bad was not as bad as I thought it would have been.

The seat saddle was knocked off, the bike bag on the saddle also detached from the fibers, the frame was dented and the front and rear fork scratched up pretty badly, and the front tire bent badly. I’m actually shocked the frame wasn’t folded in half, but either way I will probably have to replace the bike because of the damaged frame.

I am TRULY blessed to be alive though. I don’t feel for one second I was lucky. I see my survival and escape from any extremely serious injury as a gift from God. It was caused me to take a step back a bit too and evaluate how I am living my life. I will likely be spending more time in prayer over the next few days after this near death experience. It’s so crazy to think if certain things happened in a slightly different way I would likely be dead or seriously injured. Praise God though, I am alive. It’s hard to say for sure what the extent of my injuries are though because of the pain killers, but hopefully I will know soon.

I have also realized how blessed I am to have Kristy as my future wife. She has been taken such good care of me; bandaging my wounds, bringing my ice packs, and making sure I take my medication. I have also had an awesome community of support around me from people at Church, friends and even people on Twitter.

Even though I am pretty shook up from the event I will probably ride my bike again after I fully recover and get a replacement. But for now I will enjoy the extra time I have resting to mediate, pray and read scripture. I will also utilize this time to work on my business, Adventure Naturals, and work on getting some more freelance projects. Hopefully I can make up for the income lost in the photography assignments I had to cancel.

I will also be enjoying one of my great recovery smoothies that is great for reducing inflammation later this afternoon. Check it out here.

Cycling, Trip Reports by OrganicClimber
accident, austin, biking, car, commuting, cycling, hit by car, safety, survive, texas
15 comments

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This past Saturday, I went on my first bike ride since moving to Austin. I teamed up with a group ride that left from Mellow Johny’s bike shop in downtown Austin – the shop is owned by Lance Armstrong. I was torn between two different rides they offered, one of them being a slower paced ride that explored the bike routes of Austin, the other being a faster paced ride that leads you outside of town through the scenic hill country. I ended up opting for the second ride, because I figured I would be bored riding 12 mph and having to wait for people every few blocks. I’m very glad I chose the faster ride, we ended up getting back from our 35 mile ride around the same time the other group got back from their 15 mile ride.

The ride left from the bike shop in downtown Austin and headed out west, down Bee Cave road. The highway eventually ends up in the town of Bee Cave where we turned around. I don’t know the exact distance for the trip out, because I accidently paused RunKeeper at one of the stops. The ride was a “no drop ride”, meaning that no rider is left behind. We had about three stops total through the course of the trip.

Coming from North Texas, I expected the hills to be a bit of a challenge, but surprisingly I found myself doing fairly well. I never had any problems making it up the hills, and often times I was at the head of the pack going up the hills. I did however end up getting passed on a few of them towards the top of the hill. I am definitely not as efficient at attacking the hills as I could be. I’m sure I will learn though the more I ride. Throughout the course of the ride we had well over 2,00 feet of elevation gain.

The scenery was amazing too. It beats riding down the flat lands of North Texas. The surroundings themselves make the ride more enjoyable. I can hardly wait until the next ride. I look forward to trying out other routes and pressing my limits. I’ve already been tempted to upgrade my bike to a carbon frame after visiting another local bike shop and learning of the advantages a carbon frame brings. During this trip the faster people in the group had a max average speed of 18.5 mph. On a carbon frame I would probably easily be riding 21+ mph. However, with climbing and running being a huge hobby of mine too, I’m unsure if I will ever make that investment.

To fuel my ride I consumed a delicious smoothie and drank lots of water. I did however feel lacking in the energy department during the ride. I felt I would have performed a lot better had I brought a little bit of food with me. On my next long ride I will be sure to pack some raw snacks with me. I had planned on doing that for this ride, but never got around to making anything.

The bike community here is pretty huge. There are numerous bike lanes and excellent bike routes. Just check out this bike route map of the city. I plan on riding my bike around town for general commuting purposes a lot on the near future. The first week I spent just getting used to being here and this week it has been raining every day. Hopefully, I will begin my bike commuting habit very soon.

I am very excited to live in such a bike friendly city. Not only do I look forward to more bike commuting, but getting plugged into that community and meeting other people that are passionate about cycling and bike commuting.

Cross Training, Cycling by OrganicClimber
austin, bee cave, biking, community, cycling, hill country, ride, texas
1 comment

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Today I finally broke down and bought a road bike. I have been thinking about it for a couple weeks now after reading Thrive, by Brendan Brazier.  My roommate had also been trying to convince me to get a bike as well, but ultimately it was something Brendan had said about the way our body burns fat. He states, “during lower (longer exercise bouts) intensity exercise the body burns primarily fat.” What this essentially does is teach the body to become more efficient at burning fat as fuel, resulting in better endurance. Simply put, doing long distance bike rides will help me burn fat more efficiently so that I will be able to run further and faster.

It’s crazy to think I am actually going to start cycling as well. I have always given a fellow climbing buddy a hard time about cycling, especially when he misses a climb due to a race. But after hearing him talk about his recent trip to Mount Rainier I change my tune a bit. He and another biker out paced two marathon runners in the group. I think that speaks quite a bit to the benefits cycling can bring to both my running and climbing expeditions.

Raw Energy

During my training thus far I have managed to stay away from store bought energy drinks like Gatorade and have been making my own raw energy drinks consisting of dates, lemon juice, lime juice, coconut oil, agave nectar, salt and water. This concoction has done a wonderful job at replenishing electrolytes and providing simple carbohydrates. Brendon points out something interesting about coconut water. It had been used by Brazilian soccer teams for decades to replenish electrolytes lost in sweat.

Another highly marketed energy product is sports gels. I have actually never tried these myself, but want to try one of Brendan’s raw versions during my runs. I have tried eating LaraBars for energy, but find them difficult to consume while on the run. The only down side to the homemade gels is they don’t come in convenient squeeze packets like the ones you buy in the store. It is for this reason I have yet to try making them, but recently I discovered gel flasks. So, I plan on purchasing one of these soon and trying they raw energy gels on a long run.

When it comes to my recovery I always make sure to have a recovery smoothie after my workout.  For me this is usually a mixed berry smoothie with almond butter and hemp seed protein and flax seed oil if I have it on-hand. This will ensure I get enough protein to help with muscle recovery and the flax seed oil helps with inflammation. If you are going to use flax seed make sure to ground them first so your body will be able to access the nutrients and benefit from the anti-inflammatory properties. This is something I only recently found out after reading Thrive.

I have found raw foods to be a tremendous benefit to my overall health and a contributing factor to my overall fitness level. One of my first posts here was Eating for energy, where I talk about what I typically eat on my climbing trips. I find it kind of strange that I usually eat more raw foods when I am out climbing or on days I run, but Brendan talked about the correlation in fitness and diet. When you look at it like that (that there is a correlation) it makes a lot of sense. The days I have great runs or climbs I am more inspired to eat better than when I perform poorly. I also feel I perform better when I eat better. There is a definite relation between diet and fitness.

Climbing, Cross Training, Health & Fitness, RAW Food, Running by OrganicClimber
biking, Climbing, cycling, energy, gel, RAW, raw energy drink, specialized, training
1 comment

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