Dave's Bike Fit

Shannon suggested I contact Real Rehab in Seattle to have my bike properly fitted before our trip. This was a great idea.

It was interesting to see just how terrible my cycling form was with the help of "lasers" and computer diagnostics. My cadence was extremely uneven and inefficient. I was pushing and not pulling and my left leg was working much harder than my right. My knees were tweaked to the outside and swinging back and forth with each pedal stroke; my seat was so high that I was overextending my knee joint which often leads to pain and inflammation behind my knee; my wrists were under constant stress due to my high stem and poor grip angles causing numb hands; my arches were too high for the insoles in my shoes causing numb feet. Oh yeah, and the P.T. also discovered that my right leg is functionally shorter than my left leg most likely due to lack of flexibility in my right hip flexer - leading to the classic "Did this issue play a role in my ACL tear or is this issue a direct result of my ACL tear?". Who cares - at least now I have a list of great stretches and exercises to help even things out again. I will bend like a circus performer come August.

Ironically, I have very little desire to ride my bike right now as I look forward to two straight months in the saddle. Wahoo!