January 2014 to February 2015

This is my 4th blog entry and I am almost caught up to date, I am really looking forward to writing new posts as my disposition unfolds. Who knows what my destiny will be and if I will cycle again but writing is something I enjoy and it will continue to keep mind stimulated.

By mid January 2014 I went back to see Dr K in Ottawa and I shared my very detailed pain log with him. I am not sure if he is a speed reader or not but he certainly didn't read too much of it, he commented that I had done some good rides while I was in Brazil but in my opinion they were not that good at all. In the past 2 years I have built up quite a pain tolerance and each ride I did in Brazil had a certain level of pain that I am sure the average Joe wouldn't be able to tolerate.

I was still experiencing significant pain inside and outside the knee joint. While riding my pain was mostly at the insertion of the Vasus Medialis Oblique (VMO) which is the tear drop Quad muscle that inserts into the inside of the knee. The pain was slightly underneath the VMO in the Medial Patella Retinaculum.  I was experiencing even worse pain at all times at the medial joint line and just below it signalling possible meniscus disease or something else like damage to the medial femoral condyle articular cartilage, and some tendonitis at the pes anserine bursa which is where 3 hip tendons join and insert just below and inside the knee. Dr K offered me a diagnostic arthroscopy, basically another scope to have a look at what was going on and to correct any damage.  The surgery was booked rather fast for January 25th, 2014 at Ottawa Riverside Hospital.

I drove to Ottawa the night before and checked in to a rather cheap hotel which my 'employer' uses for overnight medical stays in the Ottawa Region. The hotel was near the hospital and it was safe, clean but the air in that hotel was the driest I had ever experienced. I barely slept and after the little bit of sleep I got when I did wake up it felt as though my throat was glued closed. But I was in good spirit even if I was anxious and nervous for the surgery that day. I had faith in Dr K and his surgical skills so I tried not to worry.

By 3pm I woke up in the Recovery Room after my surgery, Dr. K had promised to come and see me briefly in the recovery room to tell me what he found. Apparently this isn't common practice in Ontario and sometimes the patient doesn't actually find out what happened until the follow-up about 10-14 days later but Dr K did indeed briefly come over to see me and he mentioned he found a complex tear to the posterior horn of my medial meniscus which he trimmed and he also resected a remnant plica (which Dr P had missed).

pre-op but in a good mood. The staff at Riverside Campus was super nice to me.  

Post Op and feeling queasy. 

I ended up throwing up pretty bad and I had the dry heaves the entire way back from Ottawa from the medication and anesthesia. My GF Roberta flew to Canada a few days later to assist with my recover effort as I was immobile and stuck at home in the middle of winter and I had a dog (Owen) to take care of. We had horrific weather in February of 2014 with record cold and snow. It seemed like it was snowing every other day.  Without Roberta I am not sure what I would have done. She shovelled endless snow, walked Owen, fed him, got me ice, shovelled more, changed my bandages, shovelled more and made sure I was comfortable. She also learned to drive in the snow which proved to be a frightening experience for all but we survived and so did my CRV! But best of all she was the most amazing company which is half the battle as I am not one to sit around and watch TV all day, I am hardly a couch potato. Quite the opposite and I get bored very easily but Roberta is a talker and all you hear is nanana nanana nanana nanana all day and night so she kept me entertained nicely.

Roberta and Owen. This photo is priceless.

The early days of my recovery didn't go as well as the previous surgery just 9 months prior. I started to bleed a bit and also seemed to be in a lot more pain this time around. I did notice that the incision portals from the scope seemed to be much closer to the knee and not in the middle of my big muscles which would help prevent muscle atrophy and I was impressed with how neat this looked. A few days after my surgery I started to experience significant calf pain so much so that I couldn't even feel my knee pain. I figured it was a result of the surgery and didn't think much of it but when I was about to start physio therapy 3 days later the therapist said it was policy for me to be screened for a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) which is a blood clot in artery of the leg. I was totally sick of hospitals and medical professionals at this point and I wasn't thrilled about having to go to another hospital for ultra sounds but my clinic made me go and so did Roberta.

I had the ultra sound and figured everything was fine and left the hospital against Roberta's wishes but as soon as I got home my cell phone rang and it was Belleville General Hospital saying I had a large blood clot and I needed to go back to Emergency ASAP. Five hours later I was leaving emergency with instructions to see my GP/Primary care nurse the next day. The emergency physician the night before had suggested serial ultra sounds as a course of action for the DVT (every 3-4 days) to monitor the clot, but my clinic was not so sure how to proceed. They referred me their local Internal Medicine Specialist named Dr J who they used as a consultant. He was adamant that I start an anticoagulation regime, to stop physical therapy, not swim and not fly anywhere for a minimum of 3-4 months. Roberta and I were not impressed by Dr J at all. (Roberta is a medical professional and a good judge of medical competency. She is very impressed with Dr K in Ottawa but not this guy). He was full of himself, arrogant, over weight and also wore clothes full of holes. We are not ones to judge but why would I want to be treated for a blood clot by a man who couldn't even dress himself like a professional that he is?

Blood Thinning

After consultation with a few other professionals and my Surgeon Dr K we decided to anti-coagulate after all. (go on blood thinning medication). The medication Dr J prescribed me did not require weekly blood tests to screen my INR levels - my bodies ability to clot blood. It was a single dose that I would take orally for 3 months but again, no flying, no physical therapy and no exercise. This was going to kill me!

Roberta had to go home to Brazil. With in a week of anticoagulation treatment I was experiencing significant joint pain all over my body particularly in my back and I had lost a lot of weight despite being docile at home. My back was so sore I could hardly walk or get out of bed every morning which proved difficult especially when I returned back to work. I was in agony, feeling down and not in good spirit over all. My knee was also feeling terrible even though the incisions were heeling nicely. Despite the pain I was rehabbing diligently and working hard 3-4 hours a day to do what I had to do and get better.

At around 3 weeks into anticoagulation my local GP recommended to see a colleague of hers from the University of Ottawa who specialized in Thrombosis to see about a medication change and also to inquire about flying as I had a previously booked a ticket to Brazil for mid-March. The Thrombosis specialist, Dr C was fantastic and she switched anticoagulation medication which didn't have joint or back pain as known side effects and she also gave me the all-clear to fly as I as already anti coagulated (my blood was thin), but I had to walk around the big jet every 40-60 minutes during the 10.5 hour flight down south.  No problem. I even gained my weight back within 2 weeks of the medication change!

Prior to flying to Brazil I saw Dr K again and he was quite pleased with how my knee was heeling but I was concerned about the significant pain I was still experiencing, my inability to ride  and also a rather bad catching inside my knee that had been present since the early days after my surgery some 8 weeks before. This was dismissed as crepitus and I was to keep doing what I was doing. He wanted me to get back on the bike asap to try to get that leg stronger. Tolerating what ever effort I could do. I wasn't too encouraged because this was causing significant pain. Fortunately I was able to do some light riding in Brazil during my two weeks and slowly ramped up when I came home. I am absolutely convinced that the cold weather here in Canada severely affects my knee and level of pain.

I started to cycle last spring the best I could but it was clear I was going to have significant issues and this disaster was on-going. My right knee almost exploded May 22nd while riding in cool, damp weather and my surgically repaired left knee never responded. Worst of all, I had to put my dog down in mid May as he was old, sick and really suffering. This absolutely destroyed me and it is an experience I never want to go through again. Owen was (and is) my best friend and I miss him dearly. There is not a day that goes by where I don't think of him. One of the legacies of Owen, I continue to walk as often as I can. I really miss walking him especially when I can't ride or do the other things I enjoy, I always had Owen to walk no matter what and now he is gone. I still go for my walks.

In June I raced the Surf N Turf the best I could, once again 1st place cyclist by 2.5 minutes and I did it on half a leg. By July I was off the bike completely because it just hurt too much to ride and I had developed pain almost everywhere in my knees especially in the quad tendons and hips. I couldn't cycle nor could I do anything else I enjoy - I did not have a good summer at all and it really affected me. Thankfully Roberta was here to spend the summer with me. Even though I missed cycling tremendously I encouraged Roberta to keep riding without me and she reluctantly did, cycling often with the local cycling club here in Belleville, a small club called the Belleville Chain Gang. Roberta's improvement on the bike in one short summer was remarkable and I am very proud of her!

In July I ended up buying an ACL/unloader brace to protect my knee and to enable me to move around a bit better and maybe play a bit of golf on flat courses. Although I didn't have an ACL injury, this brace is excellent in preventing a knee to over torque/hyper extend and as such I was able to hit some golf balls and get a bit of exercise. I was also swimming as much as I could but I hated swimming with a passion. Something that would change in the fall - I would learn to like it.

My brace also allowed me to successfully complete a physical fitness evaluation at work and with that I was able to remove medical employment limitations that threatened my career and allowedme to attempt a career leadership course in the fall at CFB Borden. I had been scheduled for this course over 3 years prior and they were really getting down my back to do it despite my injuries. Without the brace I would not have been able to complete this demanding course.

A month prior to starting my course I went to see Dr K in early August and he was very concerned about both my knees. He said he wouldn't be surprised if my right meniscus was also torn, due to the nature of my left knee injuries, favouring my leg for 2 years and also genetics. He ordered MRI's and I had them on August 16th. I got the results about 10 days later and the MRI report was not good.

• massive re-tear of medial meniscus, with a flap tear measuring 7mm X 3mm that was stuck in the inter condylar notch of my femur
• half-thickness lesion on the weight bearing medial femoral condyle
• trochlear dysplasia (rounded off instead of triangular groove  - where the knee cap tracks) 
• high and lateral patellas
• joint effusion (swelling) 

I went back to see Dr K and he said he wasn't convinced that the meniscus tear was causing my pain that I had to try to keep building up strength slowly. To go back in see him in 3-4 months.

I had basically been off cycling since early July, and in mid October I graduated from my 6-week leadership course. Roberta flew for my graduation and then we went to Miami for some deserved R&R afterwards. While I was there I rented a Specialized Road Bike and I did two flat rides of 70 and 50km though it still hurt. Not only were both of my knees messed up but I had also developed snapping hip syndrome in both hips.

PRP

In August I had inquired about a new unconventional treatment called Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), which I had heard of before. Basically, my own blood is withdrawn, centrifuged and the platelet rich plasma (clear stuff in blood) is extracted and re-injected into the knee to a) cause a mild inflation to trigger and inflammatory response and b) inject thousands of growth factors into the joint for production of new cells (collagen). There was quite a wait and consultation process for PRP which I would receive in Kingston, ON in mid November. I was extremely sore for the first 14 days after PRP, not sore from the injections but sore where I was injured. Typical medial joint and retinaculum pain and pain under the patella. After 14 days the pain went away and I was feeling much better - I was walking without a limp and I was even able to do some indoor rides on my bike and not feeling too much pain afterwards (I was going easy though). This was the first positive news in this knee disaster in almost 2 years.

I went to Brazil and I was able to cycle quite a bit - about 1500km over 32 days which was fantastic. Not to the level of my racing days, not even close but better than most people would be able to do. I even schooled a few people. I was cycling with some pain during and after my rides but I felt it was manageable. If the pain was too much I didn't ride and took a day or two off.

While in Brazil I also had a fantastic bike fit, my second one in a year. The first fit was in Toronto from a former cyclist who had done some on-the-job training in bike fitting and received certification on a pro bike fit system called RETUL. I have learned that too many fitters today rely on these computer systems like RETUL to determine a fit and bike position. These fits are also extremely EXPENSIVE! RETUL is a useful 'tool' but it doesn't really take into consideration a persons flexibility or injury status. It places you into a position of pre-set, known cycling parameters for the average person.  We all know everybody is different. Everyone has different flexibility, different leg lengths, limb length discrepancies, flexibility, injuries and as such I feel I was put into an extremely  poor cycling and ergonomic position as a result of my RETUL fit and his lack of knowledge which severely loaded my knees and greatly contributed to the failing of my right knee in May.

The second bike fit, in Brazil was fantastic. The fitter, named Rogerio studied biomechanics in San Diego, California and was an experienced bike fitter. He had studied the methods of Dr. Andy Pruitt who is one of 2 or 3 world famous bike fitting Guru's. Dr Pruit actually designed the Specialized Body Geometry system and I happen to use those shoes whicth are fabulous.  Rogerio doesn't use RETUL but his fitting methods are fantastic. During my bike fit he measured and observed that my flexibility was fantastic, better than most cyclists and this was certainly a result of all the hard recovery and rehab work I had done in the past 2 years. He took advantage of my flexibility, but best of all he also raised my seat 1.5 inches which greatly off-loaded my knee joints and also helped my hips to feel better. He put me into an excellent position and I actually looked like a racer again and I was instantly feeling much better on my bike.  Not great... but enough that I could almost enjoy a ride with my GF or my friends... and solo too. I even documented my Brazilian cycling in high definition video and produced a short 17 minute film called Pedalar Brasil.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idh6e84nAKo

I returned to the brutal cold and harsh Canadian Winter on January 12th and plan to meet Roberta and her family for a cycling trip at the end of February. In Tucson... where this fiasco started. And apparently will continue. I have recently experienced a massive set back to where I was in July 2014.

I had PRP during the first week of February but it isn't working this time. I have pretty bad pain on the side and bottom part of my knee where I am weight bearing - probably massive damage to cartilage of the medial femoral condole. I can feel the torn meniscus fragment catching inside my knee. I have pretty bad medial retinaculim and quad pain as well. I can't ride and it now even hurts to walk and stand. I have booked another appointment with Dr K in Ottawa and possibly will seek a second opinion. I do have faith in Dr K, but it is time to address the pathology in my knees and do something. Not necessarily to put me back on the bike but to give me my quality of life back because now I have none. Two weeks in a row a friend called and asked me to go skiing. I can't. I can't play squash with my friends. I can't cross country ski, skate or play hockey. I can't go snow shoeing. All I can do is swim, and I can't even do that right now because I am sick.

Surgery #1

I was nervous to have knee surgery but over and over again friends and family reminded me that I was going to be better off for it. It would prove to maybe be one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made.

My friend Stephanie drove me to the hospital and 5 hours later I was leaving with crutches. I had a plica resected and some fat pad de-brided. A plica is basically a fold inside the capsule lining around the knee joint. The capsule protects the joint and contains the synovial fluid that lubricates the joint, and it also provides some support to the knee. The plica had become thickened from overuse. The surgeon (Dr. P) noted it looked as though I had previously torn my medial meniscus but it had healed on it's own so he left it alone.

With in days I was in a lot of pain but weight bearing after 4 days which was expected for this type of surgery. One thing I noticed, some of the physiotherapists working on me didn't even know what a plica was. After 1.5 weeks post op, I began physic therapy and one of the exercises was to sit on a recumbent bike and pedal slowly for 10 minutes - this was a big step for me. Within my first few revolutions I could feel something wasn't right (outside of what is normal for just having had a scope). Something was seriously catching the inside of my knee and causing a bad pop upon every pedal revolution and also when I tried to squat. I hoped with time this would improve but it would not until further surgical intervention.

It is amazing just how much a knee and leg can atrophy after a surgery - from not using it. I continued   physical therapy and after three weeks post op the surgeon gave me clearance to get back on the bike. As for that popping in my knee, "Oh it's just scar tissue" he said without doing his due diligence and performing a proper examination. My physio therapist (who I have a lot of respect for) figured it was some sort of trauma to the patella retinaculum. Looking back today, in hind-sight I believe she was absolutely correct.

So I started to lightly ride my bike, with pain but with in reason. Three weeks would go by, the knee heeled from the arthroscopy but my knee symptoms did not. Same as pre-surgery except now I had a serious catch/pop going on inside the medial part of my knee and I also developed some IT Band syndrome. Watching me pedal looked horrific.

Being the stubborn person I am, I continue to ride and I actually raced the Surf N Turf (Time Trial) once again and place first by 2.5 minutes - just 6 weeks post op. I wasn't able to walk very well for the next week and took 4 weeks off the bike. I was feeling pretty bad, both physically and emotionally. One of the lowest times throughout the journey.

Warming up prior to my 25km time-trial (6 weeks post op)

I decided to take a last minute mini-vacation to Miami, Florida and I met a lovely young Brazilian woman named Roberta. We ended up spending a lot of time hanging out together. She was out-going, friendly, caring and beautiful - exactly what I needed during this time in my life. We shopped, we went to the beach and she even took me on a lovely road trip to Key West where I got to swim in the luke-warm waters at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. She also got e birthday cake on my birthday, July 1st. This get away was exactly what I needed and proved to be therapeutic in many ways. After 4 weeks off the bike I was anxious to get back on again, and that is exactly what I did slowly ramping up the km's for the rest of the summer.

I saw Dr. P again and he didn't have much interest in further investigating my knee, suggesting I quit cycling and take up something else.  I was pretty mad so I decided to find some help elsewhere. I am not one to call people names but this guy is a total wanker. No offence to the elderly but he treated me like the rest of his elderly patients of which he mostly performs hip and shoulder replacements for quality of life reasons.

I was now working with an Athletic Therapist in Ottawa who was encouraging me to keep riding and keep doing my rehab, not to quit. He also suggested a great surgeon I could see in the future who I will call Dr K. Often I would be feeling terrible but I would leave his clinic in Ottawa feeling much better about myself and my rehab. I won't say his name because he has a high-profile job working with an NHL team in this area of the country but he is a real professional and tried his best with me.

With his encouragement and my hard work it didn't take long to get some decent fitness back and by August I could ride somewhat hard but I paid for it afterwards sometimes for several days or a week at a time. For the first part of the summer I was looking into changing bikes to get something more accommodating for my knee. I ended up selling my gorgeous S Works Venge, a decision I would later regret but I did buy a fabulous S Works Tarmac SL4 which was a sick looking machine and very light. Not as aero as the Venge, but lighter and a bit more comfortable to ride. The problem: our local bike shop cut the steer tube too short and I had to 'slam' the stem down to the headset and this would hurt my back during longer rides.

The bad knee pain an post op catching continued through the late summer and into the early autumn but unbelievably I am was getting my fitness back - probably from all the hard work I was doing and also training I did earlier in the year pre-surgery. The knee wasn't there but the engine still was.

I raced two Gran Fondos at Blue Mountain, Ontario and placed extremely well in racing at a very high level, 3rd place in the first one (50km) and 8th out of 1200 people in the other over 92km and I averaged just over 300 watts for the entire race.  I also raced a local road race in late September where some of Ontario's elite showed up and I placed a respectable 5th over all and 2nd in my Category over 120km and averaged 310 watts.

with my friends from the Belleville ChainGang. I am far right.

leading the peloton in the C25 Race

Looking very fit, after nearly winning the C50 Gran Fondo Blue Mountain. 8th out of 1200 people, missing 1st place by 1 bike length or .9 seconds.  

I tried to ride intermittently throughout the fall but with significant pain and as the snow started to fly I switched to indoors. I was also back into the weights although much lighter than I had the year prior. After the three races I was forced to take a few weeks off to recover from those efforts and it seemed like I was falling farther and farther behind. As a result of my hard work and great results, I procured sponsorship as a Giant Ambassador which was facilitated by my local bike shop and with that came some amazing deals on bike parts, kit, equipment etc. and an awesome new Giant Propel Advanced SL Aero Road bike which was even faster than my Venge.

In November I was referred to Dr K in Ottawa. During my initial consultation with him at his clinic in Ottawa, I was in the waiting area with my Girlfriend Roberta and a young teenage girl came out of his office crying. I thought to myself, this can't be good but to be honest my first meeting with Dr K was extremely positive. I was very impressed with his thorough examination, his questions and his kindness even if he wasn't the most out-going person I had ever met. He was very professional and seemed to want to help. Much different than the weenie in Belleville. We decided to do a diagnostic cortisone injection that would last 6 or 7 weeks to try to determine if the pain was coming from inside or outside the joint because at that point it was still kind of vague, despite the nasty catching that was still occurring inside the joint. He encouraged me to ride as much as I could during my up-coming trip with Roberta to Brazil but to keep a detailed pain log and that is exactly what I did.  

Prologue #2 December 2012 - January 2014

Soon after my autumn cortisone injection I started to train pretty hard in the gym with weights and also interval training on the spin bikes. I was riding at least 5 days a week for 1.5 to 2.5 hour sessions at a time and 2 weight workouts a week. My knee was feeling about the same, I could ride and push some tremendous power but I couldn't run at all. I also acquired two new, awesome bikes in this period of time. Brand new Felt F1, which was to be my training and climbing bike and a sick looking Specialized S Works Venge which was my aero machine for racing.

By mid December I was very fit and my legs were getting massive and very strong. I flew to Florida to ride everyday and that is exactly what I did with the exception of Christmas day when on a training ride with the St. Petes Cycling Club my crankset fell off, and I had to cycle 8km back to my hotel with one leg. Hilarious! In St. Petersburg, there is a big cycling club (plus other riders) who meet every morning at 0830 sharp for a brisk 25 mile ride over the same route everyday. In the last km of the ride there is a sprint to the finish and I was winning this sprint with ease most days. I put in some excellent training over 2 weeks in Florida and came back to Canada quite fit. But I was still having problems with my knee, it didn't hurt much to ride but it hurt a lot to walk and I certainly could not run.

My new Specialized S Works Venge - in Florida.

By late January I went to see Dr. P again and he ordered a new MRI. I continued to train hard, lift weights and put many indoor km's into my legs.  We had a mild spell in mid January and I rode over two days, doing a ftp Power test on the second day achieving 329 watts on my test which is very good winter power for me.

Winter training during unusual mild January - Kingston ON

After my FTP test. 329 watts - mid January 2013.  

I had the MRI in late January and then continued to train indoors and lift weights. I was getting huge legs and feeling good. In late February I did an epic road trip with one of my cycling buddies, Andrew from Belleville ON. We loaded our bikes into his VW wagon and dieseled all the way down to Greenville, NC. It was one of the longest road trips I have ever done as his radio wasn't working! Great guy though - super easy-going and a good cyclist and a good friend.

Greenville is a phenomenal place to ride. Like Tucson, it has excellent variety of terrain and cycling infrastructure to train. Urban cycling paths, rural road and mountains! We spent a lot of time training in the mountains, climbing Caesar's Head MTN, Table Rock and the Jocosee Gorge as well as a road trip to central South Carolina (Columbia) to do a century ride in the midlands. I was absolutely flying and crushing the climbs down there. Mid trip I did a ftp power test on Caesar's Head and I was right around 330 watts.  My knee was sore from all the climbing but I was having fun. However my limp was getting pretty bad and my knee was really bothering me off the bike. I was again getting worried.

While in South Carolina Dr P's assistant called to say they had my MRI results back and he would like to see me, so I booked an appointment for when I returned to Canada in early March.

By the time I got back to Canada I was exhausted from the fantastic training I did in South Carolina. I was probably riding as strong as ever at that point. But I was walking like an old man and could run about 3 feet before excruciation pain in my left knee.

Perhaps the strongest I have been on a bike. But can barely stand up. South Carolina February 2013.

A week after my return to Canada from training in South Carolina was my first race of the season, the Kingston Criterium. I am the first to admit that I am not a great criterium rider but this would serve to be fantastic training for my goals later in the season. Plus it was close to home. It would be the coldest race I have ever started, with a race day temperature of only 2C with snow lining the circuit. (see photos). I didn't race overly well in the Crit, but in fairness I was still recovering from training and the race was packed with Canadian elite riders however I did hold my own and got some fantastic training in. I even earned kudos from the race director who commented I was so strong but need to race better tactically. One thing I noticed: before the start of the race I warmed up in the Military gym at Royal Canadian Military College of Canada using a spin bike and the vibration from these bikes was absolutely killing my knee, so what ever was going on in my knee is seriously bothered by vibration.  Patella Retinaculum perhaps?

Kingston Criterium. March, 2013

I was called to Dr. P's office to discuss the MRI, the imaging was showing a thickened 'Plica', essentially a fold in the capsule of the knee joint that has become inflamed from over use. Dr P offers a surgery to remove the Plica and figures I would be better off than I am now. I accept the surgery and am booked for April 23rd at Trenton Memorial Hospital.

I continue to train for the rest of the week through the weekend and taper a bit before my next race, The Good Friday Road Race held in Ancaster, Ontario. During my taper week I am very sore and I go to physic twice. I almost bailed on the Good Friday race due to knee pain although I am sure the cold and moist atrocious April weather is not helping my cause. My physio, Jillian is fantastic and works some wonders on my leg although I am still sore and when I awake in my hotel race morning I almost decide to not go but I had already paid and decided to give it ago - if anything it would be a great training ride. 

A great training ride it was! After lap 4/5 during the 83km Masters Cat 2 race I broke away with another guy in tow from the Peloton - in the cross winds going up a short, steep climb. The other guy was with me for 3-4 km's but I was taking the majority of the pulls and when I signalled (with the funky chicken arm signal) for him to take his turn he said he was fucked and I was too strong. I said ok, I would pull hard on the climbs and he could take small pulls in the flats. The break wasn't going to succeed anyway but I figured why not it was great training but we had to work together. After a monster pull up a hill, I turned around and he was gone, I had dropped him and was racing solo with 17km to go. So I put my head down and absolutely buried myself just like my hero Fabian Cancellara would. With 10km to go I had a 30 second lead which I was sure would not last. The moto said I could do it to keep going. Fuck that, they are going to catch me. With 5km to go I still had 30 seconds and with 3 km I had 35 seconds. The commissaire on the moto was happy for me and said "She's all yours buddy". I was actually able to let up a bit inside the last 500 meters and crossed the line, arms in the air. I had won. All the hard work had paid off. This was one of my proudest moments on a bike. Still is to this day.

Crossing the finish line hands in the air. The guy in front of me is a lap down and about to get lapped. 

On the highest step of the podium.

In the coming weeks I put a lot of km's into my bike - once spring finally arrived for good. My final ride pre-surgery was with the local ChainGang Cycling club on Tuesday April 21st and one of our elite riders named Eric was out to do my final ride before surgery on Thursday. This day I was riding so strong with minimal pain while riding and perhaps was the strongest I have ever been but as usual still walking like an old man and I couldn't run at all. 

Prologue (part 1)

It has been an arduous journey. In 2012 I was the happiest guy in the world, I was living in a spectacular sea-side hotel, cycling on a Mediterranean Island everyday - and getting paid to do it; a situation I found myself in as a result of being deployed as part of an Air Detachment of the Royal Canadian Air Force Boeing C17 Globemaster Operations. There wasn't too much work to be done, due to having a great group of co-workers keen to keep our two jets flying and a scheduled that allowed us to split our group in two mini-groups that off-set each other. And good luck.

I logged about 4,000km during my 7 week in Cyprus, much of it over hilly and mountainous terrain with an average ride giving me a minimum of 3,000 feet of climbing. I was having the time of my life, one day I cycled 180km with 14,500 vertical feet which was basically from our resort on the far west end of Paphos all the way up to the top of Mt. Olympus in the Troodos Mountains and back. Basically from 25C with palm tress and beaches at sea level all the way up to high alpine and 18 foot high snowbanks and back. Everyone else drove and complained how long the drive too. I cycled it.

Petra Tou Romiou, Cyprus. The birthplace of Aphrodite

Nea Dimmata, Cyprus. North end of the Island near the Turkish border. 25C - March 2012

Cyprus Lines. Paphos, Cyprus.

Me, ready for engine start prior to flying from Cyprus to Kuwait February 2012

The day of my epic ride from sea level to the top of Mt. Olympus in Triodes. 25C to 0C over 90km. 14,500 vertical feet that day, 180km. This photo was captured riding the old road and just outside of the Presidents summer home. Triodes is a place where Cypriots come to cool off from the oppressive heat in the summer.  

Descending over 85km/h down to sea level, riding from South to North.

This was going to be my season. So I thought.

I returned home feeling great, I was healthy, very fit and I had missed the worst half of the Canadian winter and in just a few short days I was off to Tucson, Arizona for two more weeks of cycling bliss. If you don't know, Tucson is a cycling Mecca and an amazing place to go train in the winter. What ever the terrain you wish to ride, Tucson has it.  With guaranteed sunshine too! I was going to Tucson to train and build upon the tremendous base I had acquired during my time in Cyprus.

I arrived in Tucson in late March and met up with some cycling friends from Nova Scotia, Canada with whom I would be cycling/training everyday. One of the things I really enjoy about Tucson besides the great riding is that it is a 3-hour time zone difference from Ontario so it is easy to get into a routine of going to bed early and even sleeping in a bit. Every am I feel refreshed and ready to go again.

My first few days were awesome and I was really enjoying myself. Then it happened.

That night back at the hotel I noticed my left knee was quite tender on the medial side. I didn't think anything of it and I would just ride through it. Over the period of the next few days my left knee would get super tender especially when trying to apply power and it got to the point where I needed a trip to the Pharmacy (Walgreens) to get some Advil, and a compression sleeve to ride with. (see photos on Mt Lemmon).

During my second trip to the top of Mt. Lemmon my knee was really bothering me, I tried not to think about it too much because I was having an incredible time riding with my friends to the very top, 9,000 feet above sea level and then back to the valley and my hotel for a total of about 160km. (100 miles) return trip.

The next day I knew I was in big trouble. My knee really hurt. I was also getting sick, with a bad cold, fever and I felt really lousy overall. I figured I was just worn out and had hit the wall. I tried to ride solo the next day, an easy 80km route around Saguaro Nat Monument East but I was barely able to ride and I was coughing like crazy so at that point I made the decision to fly home early to rest before the spring Ontario Cup races. Little that I know that would be my last time cycling in Tucson.

Descending Mt. Lemmon with Ambrose Delaney

Riding 'The Shootout' with Scott

 

On my way to the top of Mt. Lemmon. This is a 29 mile climb but you pass 8,000 feet elevation twice.  Notice the sleeve over my left knee. Little did I know the disaster this was eventually going to be.

I would take a week off the bike when I got home. I was still sick with a severe cold, flu and injured.

Good Friday came and went and so did the Good Friday Road Race of which I was previously registered to race.  Fortunately the Cold and Flu went but the sore knee didn't. Off to the Dr I go, in April 2012.

According to the physical therapist (PT) I was diagnosed with acute inflammation of the medial left knee but they didn't exactly know what it was. I did not have a positive McMurray Test for meniscal tear and my ligaments were stable. Very stable. So what was making my inner left knee so painful? Why couldn't I ride a bike where there is no impact on the pavement? Weeks later and I was still unable to ride without pain and discomfort.

With in a few weeks I was starting to get back on the bike. Not against the wishes of the PT but perhaps I was riding a bit more than I should have been. I wasn't cycling very hard.  Since they don't know what is wrong with my knee how do they know cycling is going to hurt my knee? With the help of Naproxen 500mg which is a prescription strength NSAID medication, I proceeded to put some km's on my bike in the following weeks. Nothing like Cyprus but certainly not enough to keep me happy. My knee started to progressively but slowly get worse. One thing I did find was that by performing traction, it allowed me to pedal almost pain free for a little while, like 10 km. For those of you who don't know, traction is where you let your leg hand off the bike, unclipped and you sort of shake it to make the joint space wider.

By May long weekend my knee was still hurting and I decided to shut er down for a few weeks, after attempting a ride around the Niagara Parkway. I picked it back up around June 1st, cycling with pain but there was a race to be done - the CFB Trenton Annual Surf N Turf relay race of which I had been easily the fastest cyclist in a 25km time-trial during previous editions. So off I went and despite racing a 25 km hilly time-trial on a bad knee, I was fastest by over 5 minutes. But I am sure I did some damage to my knee because I wasn't able to cycle at all the following week.

I continued physic therapy to no avail. By this time it is starting to hurt to walk and I cannot run at all, nor can I golf. The twisting and torque from my powerful golf swing is putting too much medial stress on my knee. In early July I am referred to a local Orthopaedic Surgeon, I will refer to Dr P. He spends about 5 minutes with me during my initial consultation, gives me a painful cortisone injection and sends me on my way with the advice to do what I can, what the pain allows and in 3 months if I still have symptoms to come back. So off I with cortisone in my knee and I feel great!

I am able to gradually start cycling more and more during the coming days and weeks. The only time the knee is really hurting is when I try to climb too much. This is what happens with Cortisone in the knee, it magically makes you feel better for a period of weeks/few months.

I did a stage race in Nova Scotia in mid August and although my knee bothered me, I had showed up to the race over-trained and a bit fatigued and didn't do as well as I would have wanted.  I continued to cycle through the summer and into the autumn with no improvement in my knee. As the weather turned cold and the cortisone wore off, my knee started to hurt even more. Off to Dr P I went for another shot.