Okay, it has been exactly 16 days since I broke my thumb and ribs in Asheville.  Sometimes it seems like it was just a couple days ago, but most of the time it feels like it has been an eternity.

I’m not one that likes to just sit around much.  I like to fiddle with stuff and get things accomplished.  But, getting things accomplished with the use of only one hand is frustrating. So, I’m kind of sitting around.

I have been riding the trainer pretty consistently.  I think I’ve only missed two days since the accident.  Yesterday I rode 2 1/2 hours.  I was producing pretty good wattage I think, but still it is riding a trainer.

For some reason, I’m not sure why, the last couple years I’ve really enjoyed riding my bike. Historically, I like to ride bikes, but love to race bikes.  I still love to race bikes, but the training, or just riding has gotten more enjoyable.   So, overall, I’d say the sport is just better, since the training is more fun and the racing is just the same.

Riding a trainer isn’t the same.  It is a chore.  I don’t like sweating like that.  I don’t like the noise. I don’t like the pressure on my seat, the lack of standing. I don’t like just about everything about it.  One thing I do like that it keeps some resemblance of fitness for when I get to go back outside, which I’m hoping is very soon.

It is snowing right now in Topeka.  Supposed to snow all day.  If I weren’t injured, I’d probably call Bill and go ride trails over at the governor’s mansion.  I think riding when it is sketchy out is important.  It gives you skills and confidence to be able to do it during a race.  In actuality, most of the bike handling skills you get to race in sketchy conditions, happen during races, but you need the confidence to be able to attain those skills and that comes from training.

I called Vincent yesterday and he is in Sedona riding.  I was supposed to be there with him.  We were going to go to Arizona for a week and then race a 50 mile MTB race on Saturday.  I would love to be there.  But, I’m sitting around home, getting all sweaty and anzy.  Maybe that is a good thing in the long run?  I sure hope so.

My cross bike on the trainer at Dennis’. I need to put my road bike back together. Maybe I’ll make that a project for the day.

I’ve been using this Exogen ultrasound bone healing system to help my thumb get better faster. It is hard to tell, but I guess it works.

I went down to Lawrence with Bill and Trudi last night to eat with my team mates and have a couple beers.  We hadn’t gotten together this year and it was nice to catch up some. We were waiting at Freestate Brewery, but it was going to be over an hour so we ended up down the street eating Mexican food.

Anyway, after dinner we were all talking about how hard it was to train since there has been ice and snow on the roads for the last couple weeks.  Eventually, my two young team mates, Benn Stover and Garrick Valverde started talking about riding Zwift.  A couple days ago, a few guys left comments that I should try Zwift to help shorten the perceived trainer times.

Zwift is a 3D cycling app that allows a rider to participate with other riders on the internet.  It has different courses and you can race or just ride different places.

I’ve known about Zwift for quite a while.  My friend, Mike McCarthy sent me an email a couple years ago about trying it out  Mike was World Champions in pursuit and is in the Bicycling Hall of Fame.  It was in the prototype phase then and since I didn’t really think I’d ride a trainer that much, I just skipped it completely.

Now I’m sitting at a team dinner and listening to Garrick say that he was riding along the coast and a group of 60 guys blew by him and he had to chase them all day.  It was funnier than shit. Benn said the same thing, he was “riding” along with one other guy and the guy jumped him.  It is so weird listening to them talk like it was really happening when in reality, it is an interactive video game.

Anyway, I think I might have to try it out some, just to keep up to speed with current trends.  It would be like not knowing about Strava as a cyclist, so it is nearly mandatory to at least get up to speed with it.  It you go to the Zwift website, you can get a couple weeks free.  I think if you’re a Strava premium member, that expands to two months.  That would get you most of the way through the winter, unless you live on the Canadian border.

Anyway, I’ll let you know when, or if, I try it out.  I rode outside yesterday for a couple hours and have a scheduled ride again today at 12:30.  It is supposed to be nearly 40 today, but windy once again.