This is kind of long, because I explain how I started, stopped, and started cycling again. So I apologize for the long windedness! ;-)

When I was in high school most of my friends played sports. Even though I was from an athletic family, my CP was definitely a show stopper to some degree. I could play basketball and "go left" all day long, but when it came to going right...forget it! Baseball and golf seemed to be my only saving graces. At that time golf was not a school sport, so in school I focused on baseball. Jim Abbott, who wound up playing in the MLB, was making the news as a gifted athlete playing without his right hand. Even though I had started my unique form of playing parallel to his (we are roughly the same age), when I saw him in the media for the first time I was sooo inspired. I was like "He plays like I do!" This unique technic encompasses catching the ball with your good hand, cradling the glove with you bad hand against your chest, picking the ball out of the glove's web with your good hand and throwing. It took practice, but I got pretty efficient at it. Batting wasn't a challenge, except for strength and bat speed, but a base hit doesn't really require either. I just had to anticipate more, to react quick enough. Running was slow, but I could make it to first on a hit.

With baseball and golf being it. I wanted to excel in something else. I had been watching bicycle races on TV and I always thought I could be decent at it. I had a cheap Murray Ten Speed, so I started riding...more and more and more. This cheap Murray had it drawbacks. It had warped wheels, squeaky chain action, and was really heavy. I made a deal with my parents, if I could come up with half the money for a bike shop bicycle, would they meet me halfway? They were enthusiastically agreeable. So I saved and sold some stuff to classmates and plopped down cash for a pristinely new Schwinn Le Tour in 1983. Back then Schwinn was not mass marketed in big box stores...they were like a Trek or Cannondale. From then on, I cycled constantly. The one good thing about my mild Spastic CP is it never really affected my balance. Sure, I'm vulnerable to my right, but I try to avoid those situations and take my lumps when I can't. Two concussions and lots of road rash are the results of that vulnerability. But you can't lay on the couch in fear of bumping your noggin...Right? Later on, I got a dream job in college working at the bike shop near campus. That was such a cool job! The owner would sell us anything we needed at cost...so basically that meant almost half priced bikes! Then he would let us pay them off a paycheck at a time. Needless to say, this was when I bought my first really, really nice bike. I also tried racing. However, for obvious reasons I couldn't keep up. I just didn't have the quick twitch muscles in my right side for accelerating and sprinting. But what I could do was sustain a high pace for a long period of time. So I would train with my hammerhead friends, who did race, pacing them at high speeds for long periods of time.

Here's the sad part. When I started my career as an Industrial Engineer and Tool Designer, it was extremely stressful and hectic. So I slowly rode less and less. When the kids started coming, riding was nonexistent. From about 1999 until last year, I didn't ride, I gained 45 lbs., and I worked my butt off at my job. Unfortunately when you have CP, even mildly, having added weight and being out of shape takes their toll. It didn't help I was on my feet constantly during work. To top this off, I could never find a pair of steel toed shoes (had to have them) that would break in correctly. I think it had something to do with the steel toe itself. Anyway, this would make my outward ankle rolling, during my gait, worse. So to compensate for that pain I would walk with as little weight on that step as possible. Logically, this was not good for an already compromised lower back. Those last ten years of my career were brutal and I finally gave it up. I decided I needed to find something where I had more freedom to sit and stand when I needed, and something not so stressful. Manufacturing is a brutal cutthroat business anymore. Gone are the days of good pensions and employment stability. So I retired early. I ultimately decided to stay home with the kids as a house husband, and wound up having more marital problems which eventually led to a divorce. I believe a lot of these added problems were stemming from my then wife having deep seeded resentment because I was able to retire and she couldn't. The reason I say this with such confidence is because she basically admitted this to me more than once.

OK enough about the soap opera...back to cycling! The separation before the divorce was tough, so I started walking...I walked a ton and immediately started feeling better. By the way, the age old clich about exercise reducing stress is so very true! I also had received a bad blood test during a physical which showed my triglycerides off the charts, so I had already started avoiding saturated fats and monitoring my carbs. These two together worked their magic and before I could say "Lickity Split" I had dropped 40 pounds and I was feeling really good. So fast forward to the next year when I moved into an apartment (I was living with a buddy for a few months before this). I started getting my stuff back from my old house where I was married. Stuff that included my bicycles. I gave my racing road bike, a Cannondale, to a friend who was getting into triathlons. Lets face it, getting back on that thing was way too big of a step. It had very high gears and it forced me to lean forward way too much. With my lower back being trashed, I decided my only option was to modify my mountain bike, an aluminum alloy Giant, to allow me to sit more upright. Even though it wasnt as bad as the Cannondale, it was a pretty tight geometry as well. So, one Delta Stem Extender (device which lifts handlebars) later and Im riding again...WooHoo! Ive been riding seriously and consistently for the last three months, and Ive noticed several little things that let me know its helping. First off, I can splurge a little more on my diet because I burn it off quicker (Fun Fun...Right!). I have noticed when I climb my basement steps, (I have bought a home since) my right ankle doesnt roll like it did when I was out of shape. I have noticed when Im walking a good distance (like through a parking lot or through a store) my stride is smoother...my balance is better. Granted, I have a whole new set of aches and pains and I think Im going to have to go to the chiropractor more often, but I feel these are positive versus negative.

We, as CPers, are always going to have an uphill climb...I understood that as a child. We are also going to have more pain than the average person, which usually equates to a higher pain threshold. I think this is Gods way of saying...You can do it! So Im going to keep on keeping on until I get close to the shape I used to be in or something breaks...And then Ill just get it fixed and keep on keeping on some more!

I would highly suggest, all of you that can, to try cycling. Even if you have to get a trike or a recumbent...the bike where you sit low to the ground and kind of lean back...or a stationary bike. The old Schwinn Aerodyne or similar, that had the arm action as well, are superb to combat the ills of our condition. Cycling is really easy on your joints (knees, ankles, and hips) and it is extremely therapeutic. Even if you cant push the pedals with much strength, the motion alone is great for muscle tone. I would put this awesome aerobic exercise up there right under aquatics. I dont know where I would be if it werent for my bicycle. As Freddy Mercury once belted I want to ride my bicycle...I want to riiddee my biikkee. Does anyone out there in CP Support group have similar experiences? Cheers!