I’m a 73-year-old lifelong cyclist: toured, commuted, raced. But for almost forty years, racing has been my passion. Now retired, I ride 150-200 miles per week with a bunch of friends, most of them 10 20 years younger than I, and there are hot spot sprints for every town limit sign, hilltop, whatever. In addition, I’ve done “real” racing: USAC road racing, and now Senior Games road racing. I’ve won several state championships and a few top-three Nationals placings. I’ve been a successful self-coached bike racer, and always done my own bike fits.
But over the years I’ve had pains that hampered my performance: knee pain, foot pain, etc. After failing to completely alleviate them with fit “tweaks”, I accepted them as a normal consequence of aging. Then a year ago, I had a minor spill. But my knee hit the ground while I was still trying to twist out of the pedal. It hurt A LOT. After a couple of weeks of pain, I saw a sports med guy who did an MRI and learned that I had a torn popliteus muscle, a sprained PCL, and a small meniscus tear. He recommended cycling as much as pain would permit, so I did that. Eventually, the torn muscle healed, PCL recovered, meniscus is pain-free. But a year later I found myself with kneecap pain, IT band pain on the other leg, and foot and toe pain after every long ride.
A friend sent me to your website, and I found Jerry Gerlich, here in Austin. Jerry is quite a bit more expensive than other fitters, but his half-hour assessment told me he was worth it. He did a complete workup on me and the bike, including followup exercises to correct muscle imbalances.
Now, nearly four weeks later, I am amazed: knee pain gone, IT band pain gone, foot pain gone. I feel much more connected to the bike, my spin is faster and smoother, and I am having to relearn my perceived exertion limiters: where my limiters used to be pain level, now I just push until I run out of breath or get tired. I can catch and hang with guys I haven’t caught in years.
So thanks, guys, both of you. And consider me a VERY satisfied customer.
G’day Stanton,
I’m happy for you that Jerry was able to sort you out. He’s a knowledgeable and smart guy and I’m not surprised you benefited from your visit to him.
Above all, thank you very much for taking the time to pass on your experience. Best wishes for your cycling future and I hope I’m as active as you are when I get to 73!
Regards,
Steve
Hi Stanton,
Thanks for your comments. The changes to your position and equipment were both small and large. G8 footbeds with the 34 mm inserts was a large change from the thin gel inserts you were using. Small adjustments to your SMP Dynamic, combined with wedging, shimming at your shoes were small, but effective changes. Your diligence in following easy-riding and exercise suggestions post fitting paid off in your overall function on and off the bike. Combine all of the marginal gains and you wind up with exponential improvements in your cycling experience.
Thanks for visiting us Stanton. Looking forward to your cycling stories for years to come.
Cheers,
Jerry