As a kid I liked riding my bike and watching the TDF, but we lived in a hilly area and I only had a fixie, so it was hard to ride anywhere except for the one block I lived on. So instead I played sports and in high school I became a runner. After spending my early adult life being unhealthy and overweight, I tore a disc in my back and it’s plagued me ever since. And after that I slid into being overweight and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. And it was while I was a couple years into my back treatments that my doctor warned me that I was only a couple pounds away from being labeled as obese.
At first I started to walk and lost a little weight. A couple years later my wife and I started to lose more weight and I started to run again. I fell back in love with running and got into what was then the best shape of my adult life. However, if I run, but don’t do enough core exercises, my back will go out and I’ll end up lying around for 2-3 weeks. I tend to be very unmotivated to do those exercises. After the birth of my second child I was tired and unmotivated and quit racing and largely quit running and allowed myself to slip back into being out of shape.
Around that time my dad began becoming noticeably old even tho he was in great physical shape from riding his bike and running. He was eventually diagnosed with PSP - one of many untreatable and incurable Atypical Parkinsonism syndromes - which is a neurodegenerative disease similar to Parkinson’s Disease and ALS. In just 2 years he went from running a half marathon and riding 3-4 hours in the mountains to using a walker or a cane and losing his balance and falling at least once a month. He was only 2-3 years into his retirement. He had bought his dream titanium bike that he used to do long mountain rides. Once it was clear he would never be able to ride it again, he gave it to me.
I didn’t know what to do with it, but I accepted it very gratefully. It was amazing compared to the heavy steel/aluminum bikes I rode as a kid. It sat in my garage for a year. But, I after that year I felt horrible that my dad had given me his dream bike and it was just collecting dust in my garage. I felt I needed to really do something with this bike. So, with my dad’s health continuing to decline I decided I needed to figure out what to do with it. Being a runner, I decided to look for some duathlons to participate in. I didn’t find any good ones, but I did find a number of local triathlons. And so a dream was born. A dream to honor my dad with the bike that he gave me.
My wife had purchased a second-hand bike trainer for $20 5 years before when she competed in a single recreational triathlon. So, I began using that during the week and then riding outside on the weekends. I went to the gym and began to swim 2 and then 3 days a week. I found that the additional core and upper body exercise I got from the swimming and the low-impact workouts I got from cycling were a perfect complement to my running which I could then do less often. This helped improve the condition of my back immeasurably. I haven’t had any major back issues since starting triathlon, and I have been in the best shape of my life.
So, I joined the local triathlon club and I competed in 5 sprint triathlons in 2019. I ran my 13th half marathon in Nov of 2019. I completed my first ever marathon in March of this year with the plan to do my first Olympic Triathlon in May and another marathon in Nov. This was all on a progression to eventually complete a 70.3 tri with a full Ironman being my Mt Sufferlandria. The rest of those plans, however, were completely derailed because of Covid.
I had seen The Sufferfest in a number of GCN videos over the past couple years, so in April with the lockdowns I decided to give it a try. I’ve since fallen in love with the SUF style of suffering. I was in reasonable bicycle shape since I had been riding for the previous 2 years, however I was mostly a long-distance time trialist because as a novice rider I was planning my own workouts. The Sufferfest has increased my bicycle fitness immensely. I’ve completed a metric century and a full 100 mile century ride on my bike trainer while riding along to SUF videos.
So why do I suffer? I suffer for my dad. My dad is suffering day-in and day-out from PSP whether he wants to or not. He is no longer able to do the things he loved. Through him I’ve re-discovered my own love of riding. When I ran I ran to live a longer and healthier life for me, my wife, and kids. When I suffer on my bike I also ride for my dad. Because I’m riding his bike. And because of his suffering. For my Knighthood attempt next month I am fundraising for Cure PSP. Even tho it is likely too late for and fundraising to help him, at least the money raised in his name can help future sufferers suffer less. Because while suffering on a bicycle is a choice, suffering from incurable diseases isn’t.
I didn’t intend to write this much, but too often, as I write, the words and details just pour out of me. Anyway, this is why I suffer.
