The Tao of SingleTrack
Name: Tom LeCarner
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Job: Grad Student/Teacher
Follow @tlecarner
The New Ride, The Knee, and Gooseberry Mesa Prep
Well, the new road rig is finally complete and it’s absolutely sick:
I’ve taken it out about six times now and it rides as fantastic as it looks…very fast and responsive, but the carbon really damps the vibration nicely. Needless to say, I’m stoked.
What’s FAR more exciting to me than the new bike (which is really up there) is the major improvement in my knee. I’ve been dealing with a tenacious case of pes anserine bursitis (Google it) for almost two years now. As you read in my last post, I recently had a PRP injection, which seems to have provided some improvement. I’ve also had some cold laser therapy provided by Dr. Kevin Reichlin, one of the team docs for the ProTour Garmin Transitions team. I’ve also been incorporating a really serious stretching regimen–the reason for the stretching, apart from the fact that I’m just damn old, is that this condition is pervasive in people with tight hamstrings…which I have always had.
So I’ve had a host of 3D bike fits, a PRP injection, weeks of physical therapy, cold laser therapy, stretching routines, and cortisone injections. The question then becomes–how do you know which one was effective? The reality is–and I recognize that this might be contrary to all things scientific: I don’t care. The last two rides I’ve done have been 100% pain-free and after nearly two years of pain, I can’t begin to describe what that feels like. I’ve had ups and downs over the course of my therapy–good rides, and bad–but my knee has never felt this good; it feels like the knee I had before my injury…and I don’t care how it got this way, I only care that it IS this way. I have my personal suspicions as to what was most effective, but the reality is, I don’t know–and neither do any of my caregivers. I can only say that over the course of a long, chronic injury, it can get pretty damn depressing to be in pain doing the thing you love to do. And these past two rides have been nothing short of a miracle…
And now…we’re heading to Gooseberry Mesa with the TrailCrew this month and I couldn’t be more stoked. Although my fitness level isn’t where I’d like it to be, the fact that I can now ride without pain will make the trip that much more amazing. We’re heading out with the folks at Western Spirit, who are totally amazing. I’ve ridden with them in Fruita, Colorado and it was a blast. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Gooseberry, it’s an incredible place to ride. Just outside of St. George, Utah–about 2 hours from Vegas, it’s a mix of sick singletrack and slickrock that defies description; it must be experienced. The views are spectacular–particularly from atop the mesa itself–you can see miles of gorgeous Utah desert. Our first TrailCrew group trip will be one to remember for sure.
So, now, while I’ve got some weather that’s favorable to bikes, I’m going to get out on the Stumpy today and do some hill climbing drills…I don’t want to be too far off the back in Utah. Looking forward to it guys. See you in a few weeks!
MY NEW TOY…
Well, since Matt got to share his new car yesterday (totally sweet by the way Matt, congrats!), I felt it was only just to share my new toy as well… Here it is:
Yep…a 2010 S-Works Roubaix SL2. Not too shabby. I figured if it’s good enough for Tom Boonen to win Paris-Roubaix, it’s good enough for me–although I’m not sure about the winning Paris-Roubaix part. I’m building it up with full SRAM Red, an S-Works cockpit, and a set of Fulcrum 2-way wheels. I’m really looking forward to trying tubeless tires on this bad boy. We did a test in the latest VeloNews Buyer’s Guide on tubeless wheels/tires, and the test crew at VN are all psyched on them, so it should be nice. It’s like Christmas in Boulder–in February! Now if my other road bike would just sell!!
We’re heading out to Greeley, Colorado today for my son’s second BMX racing series…so stay tuned for some pics and vids from that!
A Vampire Weekend: PRP Injection Therapy for my knee…
I have had a nagging knee injury (pes anserine tendonitis) that has lasted nearly two years now. Here’s what my knee looked like before my injury:
As you can see, they were pristine; I’ve always taken good care of them…
I’ve had three 3-D fit sessions at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine to get my bike fit right; it’s perfect now. I’ve gone through weeks of physical therapy, massage, and have also had two cortisone injections. Through all of these efforts, my knee has improved tremendously. I can now ride my bike, mountain or road, pretty hard for more than two hours before feeling anything. And while these improvements are certainly encouraging, I still can’t go out on a Saturday and ride for four or five hours like I used to before the injury. After speaking with Andy Pruitt about the possible next steps, he said, “I think you’re a perfect candidate for a PRP injection.” “A What?” I said.
If you have never heard of PRP (Platelet-Rich-Plasma) injection therapy, that will likely change very soon. PRP therapy is on the forefront of sports medicine and orthopedics and is poised to make great strides in the very near future as technological advances are making the procedure more affordable and staff members at top sports medicine facilities are being trained in the procedure.
What is PRP therapy? It’s a relatively simple procedure actually. The first step is to take out some of your own blood, in my case, approximately 60cc worth. The blood is then placed into a specialized separation container—which is a euphemism for a Tupperware cup. The container is then placed into a centrifuge:
The blood is then spun at 400-500Gs for 14 minutes. The spinning separates the blood into red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. The result looks something like this:
After the platelets and plasma have been separated out, a needle is inserted into the container and the platelets, in my case approximately 1 billion of them, are extracted with a little bit of plasma into a syringe (the plasma is what makes it possible to reinject the platelets into my body). After the spinning was done, my very own platelet-rich plasma was reinjected into my knee—approximately 8ccs. It wasn’t a painless injection; I’ll leave it at that.
The science behind this therapy concerns the properties of the platelets themselves. When the platelets are activated, (i.e., injected) into the body, they release healing proteins called growth factors. By increasing the baseline concentration of platelets in the patient’s blood, the process triggers a massive healing response in the affected area. Early studies have shown dramatic improvement in patients suffering from tendon injuries in various areas including the knees, elbows, and ankles, among others.
As the New York Times reported just last February, “two of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ biggest stars, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu, used their own blood in an innovative injury treatment before winning the Super Bowl. At least one major league pitcher, about 20 professional soccer players and perhaps hundreds of recreational athletes have also undergone the procedure.” Tiger Woods had the procedure done last year on his knee, but that’s as far as the comparisons between the Tiger and myself will go.
In many cases, PRP has aided in actually regenerating ligaments and tendon fibers, which obviously shortens rehab time out of the saddle for us cyclists; it can even obviate the need for surgery in some cases. By introducing blood platelets in areas that have low blood circulation, like tendons, the result is often a dramatic shortening of the healing process.
What the New York Times article failed to mention, however, is the disparity in the way PRP therapy has been conducted. The Times claims that the process introduces “high concentrations” of platelets, which it considers to be between three and 10 times higher than a patient’s baseline. This is where the disparity comes in. The vast majority of centrifuge machines on the market today produce these types of numbers. The very latest machines however, like the one used at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, produce figures as high as 700-800 times higher than baseline. This is critical because recent studies have shown a direct correlation between the number of platelets and the rate of success.
Because the injection is autologous, there is virtually no risk of rejection or allergic reaction. And while the procedure remains, at the moment, “off-label” or “experimental” that will likely change as more and more studies are coming forth showing the benefits of PRP.
While the Boulder Community Hospital has done many PRP procedures, I was the very first patient to have the procedure done at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, which has just recently invested in the most advanced equipment available for PRP therapy. I will likely be off the bike for two, possibly three weeks, after which time I can begin training again that will eventually ramp up and hopefully put me close to where I was before the injury–like in the photo above. I will be documenting my progress here, so stay tuned for more.
A mountain biking holiday with my son…
One of the many great things about being a teacher is having winter break. A three-plus week period to enjoy the holidays and spend time with family and friends. Of course that also means that my son, Jacob, who is in second grade, is also out of school and at home–um, all day. 
Needless to say, with many of his friends on vacation, he can get bored rather quickly (playing legos with Laura and me only goes so far). So, this break we took the opportunity to send him to an indoor mountain bike skills camp here in Boulder. The Boulder Indoor Cycling Center (www.boulderindoorcycling.com) is a velodrome and mountain bike skills park that provides a great alternative to Boulder’s thriving cycling communities when the weather turns sour. Over the holidays, they hosted mountain bike skills camps for kids–with all day or half day options. We signed Jake up for three 1/2 days, packed up the Specialized HotRock 20, and hit the ramps:
The first few hours were a bit frustrating for him, particularly the woops, but by the end of the first day, he was riding the double black diamond routes–as fearless as ever:
While we were at camp, we met a young boy named Wyatt Bell. Wyatt is the youngest world champion, in any cycling discipline, ever. He won the world BMX championship in China at 5-1/2 years old…needless to say, now at age seven, he’s very impressive on his bike. Wyatt’s dad invited us to the first weekend of the new Colorado Indoor BMX Racing series up in Greeley, Colorado. So, we headed up to Greeley last weekend to watch the pros (and Wyatt) tear up the indoor track. Jake doesn’t have a BMX bike, but we brought the HotRock along to try out the course with his newly-honed MTB skills. After a few laps of practice, Jake was hooked–he wanted to race. So, we signed him up, borrowed a BMX rig, and the rest is, well…history. He didn’t win his first race, but he didn’t let a fall stop him from finishing either–I was very proud. It was an amazing way to spend our break, as a family, riding bikes…too cool.
And if you look carefully at the video in our “Videos” section of the website, you’ll see me on my Stumpy hittin’ the BMX track myself, like the good ol’ days. I might have to try the 4X race next month!
Ok, not so much a “group” ride then…
While I didn’t expect a huge crowd this morning at 9am and a temp of 30F, my expectations were right on. Camran Taylor, from Sports Garage Bike Shop here in Boulder was my one compatriot for what ended up being a fantastic Sunday morning. The storm that was supposed to arrive last night and last into this morning steered to the west and south of us and we ended up with this:
After a good two-mile climb through the canopy of pine trees, we hit the top and made our way down the rocky, but really fun singletrack–(although I’m not sure how “fun” it would be on a hard tail…). The Stumpjumper performed flawlessly; and this was my second ride since getting fit at BCSM, and I have to say the suspension is really dialed in nicely. The Brain can have a bit of a “flutter” before it engages, if it’s set up improperly, or if it’s at set up toward the “hard” end of the dial, in which case the bike really rides more like a hard tail–but to have such a wide range of options–from 5.5 inches of plush travel to 4 inches of fast, cross-country racing style travel–is one of the things that sets this bike apart from others. Pretty sweet. So, it was cool, sunny and nobody was out there today–Camran and I pretty much had the entire mountain to ourselves.
So, needless to say, we took advantage of it:
As the Thanksgiving weekend comes to an end, I’m thankful for my family, my health, the many sunny days here in Boulder, Colorado, and the fact that I have this amazing bike to enjoy them on. And while I’m ready for some snow and to get up into the high country for some skiing, I’m going to revel in days like today when the trails are empty and the smiles are long… I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.
Heil Meet Up Ride Tomorrow!
Thanksgiving is behind us, we’re stuffed and snow is on the horizon…but that won’t stop us from heading out tomorrow. Me and some of the guys from Sports Garage here in Boulder are going to head up to Heil Ranch tomorrow morning at 9am, bright and (too) early. Forecast shows 20% chance of snow tomorrow and that’s after a 40% chance tonight, but should only be a dusting (hopefully). So if you’re up for some cold-weather antics, meet us up at Heil Ranch tomorrow. Look for pics and vids after we thaw out. See you up there!
Heil Ranch
In Boulder, Colorado in the month of November the number of days one can ride off road is severely limited…it’s often sunny here, but the temps are typically around 40-45 in the daytime and into the 20s at night…and if it has snowed recently, the trails are often pretty mucked up for weeks or even months. Thankfully, we’ve had some dry weather and temps into the 50s here lately and the sun has melted nearly all of the snow off the trails.
Laura and I headed up to Heil today to try out the Stumpjumper with the new settings since my fit at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine–AND, lest I forget, we got Laura an early birthday/Christmas present yesterday in the form of a Santa Cruz Juliana…so she was just as eager to get out today as I was…
Needless to say, we had a great ride. The weather was awesome (relatively speaking…) and the trails were in great shape. The fit worked wonders too. With the new suspension set up, the otherwise very rock trails at Heil felt like a fire road–so a huge shout out to Sean Madsen at BCSM for all your help with the fit session–the bike is dialed; now let’s just hope the weather holds for a bit longer!
Bike Fitting at BCSM
Chris Matthews from Specialized came out to Boulder this past week to attend a Bikes Belong meeting that was happening here at the St. Julien hotel. He also decided to take the opportunity to head up to the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine with me to get a fit on his road bike, while I got fit on my new Stumpjumper. For those of you how aren’t familiar with BCSM, it is one of the world’s leading facilities for athletes from around the world in the areas of biomechanics, nutrition, recovery, physical therapy, and a host of other related services. The center is led by Andy Pruitt, Ed.d, PA, who has been instrumental in developing the BG Fit System used by Specialized dealers around the globe. He has worked with many ProTour teams, including the entire Saxo Bank team, fitting the likes of Fabian Cancellara and the Schleck brothers. Sean Madsen is the lead biomechanist at BSCM and he did Chris’ fit as well as mine.
I’ve had some knee issues over the course of the last year and have been to see both Andy and Sean; in fact I wrote a continuing column about my experiences at BCSM, which you can find here: http://velonews.com/article/85817
There are several different types of fits available at BCSM, however, the 3D fit process is the most comprehensive that you will find anywhere. There are six infra-red cameras surrounding you as you sit on your bike, in addition to a video camera that captures the entire process from the side view. You are fitted with “anatomical landmarks,” which are little globe-looking dots, strategically placed at critical points on your body to track your movements on all planes. As you pedal, the cameras capture the data which is then fed into the computer system. Then you can see an animated version of “you.” You can then watch your knees, feet, and hips as they go through the entire pedaling process–for better or worse.
Since I’ve done extensive 3D fits on my other bikes, a 3D fit wasn’t necessary for me at this point, but we did set up the suspension for my weight and riding style as well as adjust the saddle height and the width of the shifters and brake levers.
The end result was the saddle was raised a few millimeters, and the shifters and brake levers were brought in a few millimeters and the suspension was set at 190psi for the rear shock and 80psi for the fork. I’m heading out today to try it out for the first time since the fit. I’ll report back later.
Doudy Draw Trail Ride…
Well today was a sweet day here in Boulder. 68 degrees, sunny, and no wind–beautiful all around. Laura and I packed up the car and headed out to the Eldorado Canyon area, which is home to some fun single track, most of which was built just in the last couple of years in the open space by the canyon. We headed out on High Plains trail for some twisty fun and then crossed over to the Doudy Draw trail system. A steady, but not too steep, climb took us up through the Ponderosa pines…
I have to say, the way that the Stumpjumper climbs really defies everything you’ve ever expected from a trail bike. I think there are lots of bikes out there with 140mm of travel that do a good job going uphill, but this bike, with the Brain suspension dialed in to my weight and riding style, climbs exactly like a hard tail–no exaggeration at all. The FutureShock locks out automatically when you’re climbing because of the inertia valve system so there is absolutely no front-end bobbing. You can stand up while climbing and it feels exactly like a hard tail. The back end has the same system and it truly floats uphill.
And while we all have to go uphill, and some of us actually like that masochistic part of cycling…most of us get the rush of mountain biking when it’s time to come down; and that is where this bike is really at home. Along the lower part of the Doudy Trail there is a section of singletrack that has quite of few of those pesky baby-head rocks along the way–the suspension eats them up (kind of a gross image I guess there–eating baby heads, but hey, you get the idea). The SRAM XX drivetrain was flawless, particularly the massive brakes on this thing–you can nose stand without even thinking about it if you’re not careful.
Anyway, the trails were in great shape, despite two feet of snow just a few days ago! We hit a few muddy spots…but it was all good.
All in all, it was yet another amazing day on the Stumpjumper. I just have to hope that this weather holds up for as long as possible so I can get as much riding in as time will allow. That’s it for today; although I might try to sneak in another ride tomorrow, if I can get some studying done for my PhD exam, which is the 20th. We’ll see how it goes and how strong the Siren’s call is from the basement…
Twilight after work ride…
I went into work today convinced that I’d be done around 1 or 2pm, as it was the last day of shipping the January issue of VeloNews. I had my new Stumpy on the roof of the car, all my gear was packed up and I was really looking forward to a nice afternoon ride on an unusually warm Boulder day–77 degrees in November–unreal. I got to work, and all that was left were five pages and the cover to get through–no problem. So I thought. Well, alas, the great Irishman Murphy and his law prevailed today, and I ended up getting out of work at about 4pm, rushing to the trailhead and squeezing in about 45 minutes of riding before heading back to the car in the dark…
well, it beats the couch, that’s for damn sure…and tomorrow’s Saturday and I’ve got a good ride planned up around Eldorado Canyon. Look for more tomorrow…
