Snap, Crackle, Pop

Great ride last night – I went about 8 blocks to the masseur. Damn, that hooked me up.

First thing we talked about was my stance. I lean forward, like many people do. I shouldn’t lean forward. Have you got a tight neck and shoulders? Chances are, you lean forward too. Then we talked about my feet, ankles, knees and hips. My legs are completely hosed. I have knock knees (medically known as valgus) but I pronate. This combination is medically known as “janked up.” The wedges that I put on my cleats, although they helped me, are probably at best a prop. My big need is arch support. My feet are all collapsed. Think of a crappy ice skater trying to skate on his ankles: that’s pretty much the cartoon version of my lower legs.

Next, my leg length was addressed. On the surface, my left leg is shorter. On further investigation, my pelvis and hips are cocked. My legs are exactly the same length, but it took some work to make them think they are. Basically, he worked my hips and pelvic joints like, in his words, a rusty hinge to open them up. This felt – unusual. Slight discomfort.

On to my leg muscles. My right quads are wound up way too tight. This is related to my hips issue. Other than that, having your legs really worked on feels rather good, although I felt like a bucket of goo a few hours later.

We rolled through my back, neck and shoulders fairly directly, with the big thing being that my shoulders are tight. See item one – stance.

Finally, I learned how to stretch. Do yourself a favor and learn a bit about “active isolation stretching.” It’s way different than the technique I’ve used forever, but I’ll give it a try since stretching was pretty much something I always just did because you’re supposed to but I never got much out of it.

It's outstanding to have a guy who is a life long cyclist give an educated physiological perspective to the whole thing. Plus, it feels freaking great.

Today, I put Superfeet insoles in my boots and I feel more comfortable. On the way home, I will get the cycling ones and give them a go.

Oh yeah, the economy is in tatters. Also, boycott McDonalds. Even though a nice shamrock shake is something I look forward to, oh, about 11 months of the year, the mother f-ers cost me a car last week. The missus was pulling into McD’s to get some food as she approached her parents house while I was off gallivanting about West Virginia last weekend. Parking lot? Much water. Mini? Well, mini. Main bearing rod? Cracked. Engine? Fooked. Car? Totaled. So instead of racing tomorrow I am going car shopping. I freaking loved my Mini, dammit.