Well "fit" Part 1

It's now been 12 weeks and two days since my spectacular wreck on Northwest Highway, which resulted in three pelvic bone breaks/cracks.  The doc said i wouldnt be able to ride until October, pretty much dashing any dreams of returning to the sport until the season is well over.

However, at my July doc visit, the doc himself proclaimed me approved to ride again. Excited to hop on my roadie, i tried. I tried a few times. Still, the seat bone pain was so dibilitating, that no more than 9 miles were possible. This wasn't the crash pain site either, the same old issue kept rearing it's ugly head.  Without being too graphic, it's a nerve on the inside of the left seat bone. Saddle after saddle, fitting after fitting, that same nerve let's me know it's there. If you've ever felt that pain before, you know you can't ride any distance.

A few weeks ago, my boss suggested a new bike shop that opened in Plano..The Tri Shop. After not being able to find my old fitter, i decided to give them a personal look.  Trent Nix, one of the owners, greeted me and Ramsey immediately and chatted us up. One thing was apparent, you werent going to stand around long without anyone to help you. That's important. Most bike shops wont even acknowledge you, unless they either know you, or see you staring at the pricey bikes. (I gotta comment here..RBM has some exceptional sales staff who will get to you quickly).

We began a dialog about my fitting issues, and right off Trent analyzes my gait. He noted a few issues, and told us to come back when I felt ready.

Last week, i became ready.

Trent is on FaceBook, as is The Tri Shop. He quickly sent me a schedule fitting link, where i could choose not only the time but the level of fitting i desired. To my surprise, they had fittings on saturdays!!  That's unheard of! Most shops are way too busy selling stuff to get in a fitting.

I chose the Super Duper Professional fit. The price is around $220.  Yes, that's a lot clams, but it's comparable to any of the shops in the two state area that offer an indepth fit.

I grabbed my bf, and we get there with bike in tow, me wearing a tank top jersey (important so he can see your shoulders), bike shorts, shoes and socks.

After filling out paperwork which includes a disclaimer, a goal's sheet, and a list of all medical issues, he gets my bike on a trainer and tells me to remove my shoes.

First, an assesment of my bod.  He measures my legs, watches me walk again, asks me to do a few pushups and checks my flexibility not only in my legs, but torso and arms/shoulders. He even had me dangle my feet from a chair to check my hip to foot alignment.

The the dots. Lots and lots of velcro dots are stuck on all my joints. He puts me on the bike, velcroes a string of wires and has me cycle. He records me on both sides, spinning the trainer platform around. Then he puts lasers on my knees and records my pedal stroke. All this great data is going straight to a computer.

Now the adjustments.  First, the cleats.  On the bike, off the bike, adjustment, on the bike, pedal and more adjustments until Trent felt they were in the proper place. No one ever noticed that i was breaking my wrists by putting my palm on the hoods.  No wonder my wrists and shoulders hurt.  He pulled the handlebar stem off and replaced it with one that had more of a pitch to it.  He pointed out my knees were swinging outward.  A ton of adjustments followed. Macro ADjustments.  He tweeked all sorts of parts until he felt i was in the best position possible.

Now, im on a bike on a trainer. IT's different than the open road, so while i felt better, i couldn't be sure. We tried different saddles, and none were as comfortable as my old one, limited as that comfort was before the adjustments.

Satisfied he could do no more that day, he hooked me back up to the sensors, had me pedal, and took video and measurements of the final positions.

Then he showed me a pretty in-depth report of before and now changes.  He insisted on NOT changing my saddle..which was surprising since all fittings usually resulted in a new bike seat.

The only extra charge was the bike stem, and that wasn't a deal breaker.  During the whole fitting, Trent explained every adjustment, and why he placed me where he wanted on the bike.

The whole event took approx 2 hours.

That was last saturday, and I'll put the results in my next blog entry....Stay Tuned!

Clear Skies