Hey guys its Michael again. I have fallen behind just a little bit on my
blogs but I’m going to try and get caught up in these next couple days. In my last blog I mentioned a group of people
I ran across on the Chief Ladiga trail called the Etowah Roadies. One of them, Steve Garrison, had set me up
with a place to stay while I rode up Cheaha Mountain. He also invited me to come stay with him and
his wife as I continued my journey. So
the day after riding up Cheaha I said goodbye to Ed and his wife as I made my
way to Glencoe Alabama to see Steve and Cindy.
The ride itself was not too bad
that day. I few small hills to climb but
otherwise it was mostly flat. The thing
that got me was the slight headwind I felt all day. It was nothing more than 10 – 15 MPH but
since I had never really dealt with a headwind on this trip. It was just enough to kill my momentum and
take some of that extra energy I had away.
Upon reaching the Garrisons house I
was greeted by 3 very friendly dogs. It
was great hanging with the dogs because they reminded me of both dogs I left
behind in Virginia. From the young hyper
and energetic dog to the older lazy but loving dogs. It was just that little remembrance of home
that was very refreshing.
At dinner that night Steve told me
that the Etowah Roadies had two events coming up in the next two days. There was a guy named Joe Trotter who was a
member of Team Type 2. This is a team of
people who all have type 2 diabetes and have still managed to learn how to control
it and still have a great life. I was
invited to stay at the Garrison’s house for a couple days and attend these
events, which I just could not turn down.
The house was a great place to relax because it was right on the river
and very peaceful. Not to mention I
would get a chance to meet a guy with a great story to tell.
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| Joe and I with the Etowah Roadies |
The first event was Monday night
and it was a group ride with Joe and some of the Etowah Roadies. I was able to drop all the extra weight off
my bike as I joined in this ride, which was just awesome. I felt like I could just fly with the bike
being so much lighter. We did almost 30
miles and it was very nice to ride with a group for a change. Just the chance to ride with different people
and talk to them while drafting behind them.
I was also able to talk to Joe
about his story, which was very inspirational.
He was diagnosed with diabetes in February of 2008. He went to the doctor after having some
pretty severe medical issues such as his eyesight starting to fail. All his medical indicators of diabetes were
off the charts. Some of them the doctors
said were even to high for them to actually measure. This is when he decided to get his life
turned around.
His first step was to just ride a
stationary bike for 5 minutes a day. He
also decided to change his diet pretty drastically by mostly eating just raw
veggies. As he progressed he started to
bike for a longer time until he decided he was ready to actually buy a bike and
ride outside. His first ride did not go
to well. There was a hill right by his
house that he tried to get up. At the
top he said he felt like he was going to have a heart attack because he was so
tired. Joe would not let that hill beat
him though. Everyday he would go out and
ride a little bit more until he could get up that hill and was able to keep on
going.
It was only a year and a half since
his diagnoses that Joe rode in his first century race. Now it may not have been on purpose but he
finished it nonetheless. He actually
meant to go on the shorter course for the race but missed the turn and did not
recognize it till the point of no return.
This turned out to be a huge milestone in his life. After completing the century he knew he just
had to keep cycling because the bug had bitten him. This is also when he decided on a goal. To finish 100 centuries. As of today I believe he has done 61 and from
cycling he has lost around 130 pounds.
Joe’s view on losing weight is incredibly simple. You have to burn more calories than you take
in. That means you don’t have to follow
any fancy diets or miracle tricks to lose weight. Just stop eating junk food and start to work
out more.
The next day we had a potluck at
the Garrisons house so that more the Etowah Roadies could meet Mr. Trotter and
I. Everyone brought good food and it was
a lot of fun getting to hear everyone’s different stories about cycling and how
it has impacted their lives.
- Michael
Thanks for the kind words. The Roadies thoroughly enjoyed your company and support your "quest". We continue to talk about you and will be following your endeavour. Steve Garrison
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