This trip has not gone particularly as planned so far. On day 1 we were not able to bring out bikes onto Lido for the Team Time Trial. Lido is an island that you must take a ferry to, and the city of Venice absolutely would not let any bikes on the ferry; no matter how frequently we threw out Lance Armstrong’s name. So, disappointed, we rode back to the B&B, dropped off our bikes, and headed over on foot (by ferry). We decided that it may have been best that we couldn’t do the TT anyway since I had been feeling some pain below my knee – something that had started occurring just the week that we had left. Hopefully the next day we could make minor adjustments to my bike set up to see if that would help.
Today was day two, Stage 2 – Jesolo to Trieste. Because they only drink bottled water here, I was drinking less than usual and had a headache from being dehydrated, so before we set out I took a few Advil. I didn’t know it, but the Advil took care of any knee pain I may have been experiencing and I rode through the first 100 kilometers, unknowing. All of the sudden, it started; chronic pain right below the knee. I thought it may go away at first but it persisted and it grew stronger. I wanted to ignore it; I told myself it wasn’t bad and I should just keep riding and it will go away. I started over compensating with my left leg and was basically pedaling with one leg. I tried to press on but I couldn’t keep up. My Dad had adjusted my cleat but the damage had already been done.
Jennifer and Gino rode on ahead of me, while I suffered from behind and tried to maintain a reasonable pace. I thought that maybe if I changed positions and stood up for awhile that may help the condition, but when I came out of the saddle, the pain was so intense that my leg buckled from under me and forced me back into the saddle. Any type of pressure proved to be too much and even bumps in the road were starting to aggravate it.
As we came into Trieste, I tried to enjoy the beauty of it all but all I could think of was how it wasn’t fair. I trained so hard for so long and now, of all times, I have to get an injury! Now, when it really matters and I should be at the top of my game, hammering the hills and screaming down the descents, now, I get an injury??? It’s just not fair. I took a few more Advil as we reached the bottom of the mountain in Trieste which allowed me to finish the ride. I wish I had been living in the moment, appreciating the winding descents, the sidewalks filled with spectators on both sides, and the streets completely empty of any traffic but the three of us on our bikes; the LAST people on the road just minutes before the pro’s came through. But all I could think of, was, what if I’m hurting myself more? What if I can’t ride all the way tomorrow? What if I can’t climb the Dolomites? It took everything I had to hold back the tears and suppress the emotions I was feeling.
There were high points today, and there were low points. But that’s life. It deals you highs and it deals you lows, and what makes and builds your character is how you deal with the highs and lows. I don’t think that I should have to settle for less. I don’t think I should change my expectations just because things go awry sometimes. But what I do need to change is the mentality that things will always go my way. There are some things that are just out of my control and I need to be prepared for when things go wrong, and learn how to turn it around and make a better situation out of it.
I hope that I can learn from this experience and make tomorrow a better one; stay tuned…
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