Story Part 2

Training rides started at 30-45 minutes and at an easy pace. He had to struggle to hold himself back and stay true to the doctor’s orders. Success in business over the years had allowed him to be his own sponsor and his bicycle was a work of art. A steed fit for any ProTour rider, It was equipped with the finest of everything. In the 4^th week back on the bike he rode his favorite climb and found the pace incredibly easy to maintain. In the 6^th week he was given the go ahead to go full gas. As he hit the base of the winding canyon road, he felt different than he had ever felt in his 20 plus years on a bike. He elevated his heart rate to his threshold and found that his lactic tolerance had risen a number of beats, and what was more, he was going faster than he had anticipated and there was room to open up further still. Half way up the climb he felt the way that you do on a long ride with a tail wind. The days when you feel phenomenal, like the form is really coming on, only to turn into the wind and realize it was mostly the tailwind pushing you all along. He kept waiting for the turn back into the headwind, but it never came. He upped the pace another notch and felt a surge of strength. He was holding an amazingly high pace and upon reaching the top, found he had obliterated his previous best by several minutes. His head began to swim with the possibilities……

New Story I am working on.......

The Heart of a Champion

A chain story By Tyler Servoss

Part 1

Prologue

Like a long alpine climb, life takes many twists and turns. At age 35 he never thought he would find himself in this position. Cycling had been a passion for him for as many years as he could remember. In his teen years he would cut class in high school to put in more miles or road trip to a weekend stage race. His bedroom had been a shrine to the great riders of the past and the emerging riders of the present. Magazine pictures of a young and determined Lance Armstrong soloing to a World Championship victory in the rain in Oslo. The head lights on in the team car following behind. That was one tough rider. This was one intense sport. He had checked out Greg Lemond’s book from the school library and read all about how Greg had mapped out his racing career goals on a yellow pad when he was 17 and had achieved nearly all of them.

That’s what he wanted. Before the advent of the internet he would eagerly await the next issue of Velonews, pouring over its contents to learn of the latest exploits of his favorite riders in Europe. Doors opened. Friends were made, opportunity came and soon he was racing at a very high level. Training became an obsession, racing was like food. He had to have more. He had to push himself beyond what he had previously thought possible. He had a thirst for victory. Moving through the junior ranks the world seemed to be at his feet. There was talk of the next Lance Armstrong, the next Greg Lemond. He was dizzy, nearly drunk on the expectations for the future.

This unbridled passion spilled over into his personal life. As he was preparing to make his first trip to Europe, the Cycling Center in Belgium, life threw him a wild card. Dreams of Europe and superstardom had to be pushed aside. Family responsibilities came to the fore front. He struggled on for several more years. Stateside. Working full time, sometimes 2 or 3 jobs, training in the other small spaces and racing on a shoestring budget. Anniversaries where spent on the floor of a hotel room shared with 2 or 3 team mates. The bread money went to entry fees. Crashes, Injuries, illness, and financial struggles finally took their toll. The young dreamer’s vision of cycling greatness nearly burned out.

The bike was sold. Kit and gear given away. On with life. But the dream remained.

Fast forward 9 years. While the brash youth had given way to the more tempered and physically mature man, the fire was still present, deep within. After several years break, he had returned to riding and the occasional race. But not like before. More often than not, he had his back side handed to him by faster, more talented and committed racers. But he remained undaunted, knowing that he had once been very good.

Then a day came that changed his life forever. After a routine physical, preparing to attend a Scout camp with his son, the doctor phoned and asked him to come in for a follow up visit. Just as a precaution blood and EKG testing had been performed. The results were in and the findings had prompted the doctor’s call. Could he come in right away? Could he bring his wife? Bracing themselves for the anticipated bad news they made the short drive to the doctor’s office.

The receptionist brought the couple into a luxuriously furnished office, with mahogany and leather and a large set of book shelves containing numerous medical tomes. The gripped each other’s hands tightly as the doctor entered and began to speak. He asked if blood work had been done in the last several years. He asked about the man’s condition and fitness. It seems that one of the ventricles of the hear had an impairment and appeared to be a genetic condition from birth. Further scans where ordered, tests were run and a procedure was scheduled. The out-patient surgery was brief. Entering in through the femoral artery in the leg, and following on to the heart. The flaw was corrected and the recovery process begun. 6 weeks rest. No cardio, no elevated heart rates. Just rest. For a man who had been an endurance athlete for the better part of twenty years this was torture. Lying on the coach, watching DVD’s of the Tour De France.

After his convalescence he returned to his financial planning practice. Things had gone well in his absence and the business was flourishing. Systems he had created and training he had provided his staff with were paying off. The goal was to have the business eventually run without him. That had been the goal from the onset and it was drawing nearer day by day.

Malad

malad

We spent Saturday in Malad, Idaho, looking at land and the whole area. I have posted some pictures of a lot that we really like and the views that surround it. We are looking into it very seriously and may make an offer on a lot right away!

Post Thanksgiving

Had a nice thanksgiving weekend. We did dinner at Steph's Dad's and dessert at Steph's Mom's. It was nice and relaxing.
We have been talking alot lately about where we are going to live in the future. We have a lease on our home thru March and though we love Farmington, we don't know if we will renew it or relocate. My employment/income situation has a lot to do with that. I am working towards a home office arrangement. That would really open up the options as to where we could live. I'll keep you posted. The leading candidates at the moment are Hatch, Utah; Cedar City, Utah; and Morgan/Porterville, Utah.
Another motivation is to be near George Wythe College and further educational opportunities. I feel compelled to continue my education and become involved in statesmanship and mentoring projects.
We got a great new toy the other day. Over the holiday I took Kessie part way up Farmington canyon and on a big ride around town. It has been really fun. I can see doing some longer rides this next summer with a kid in tow.
I have been riding the trainer a bit, playing Ultimate Frisbee and joined an indoor soccer team. I got out for a group ride on Thanksgiving morning with the Route Veloce boys and it was nice. I am not at the top of my game, but I am fitter than I thought. We have hockey practice tomorrow night, followed by a indoor game. It should be a lot of fun!

Update

Fall is in full swing. We celebrated the big pagan festival the other night and gorged on candy. Good times. I am rethinking my view of Halloween. I think the family is going to dinner and a movie next year.
I just got a sweet minoura mag trainer off of craigslist, so I guess I won't have any excuse on staying fit.
We checked out the cross race at the Fairgrounds last night and it looks really cool. I'm gonna try and race out their in the next 2 weeks.
November gets me thinking about recommitting to my fitness improvement. I am so not at a a place right now to follow a really structured training plan. I wanna have fun, not freeze to death doing 5 hours on the road.
I am thinking about creating and office work out video, featuring cubicle friendly exercises and stealth training techniques.
Who wouldn't want to pay $50 for a DVD about how to work out in your cubicle with out breaking a sweat?

In other news, Kade started his hockey lesson's last week. He also bought himself some skates. This is the real deal! It will be fun to watch his skills progress. Now if they could just hurry up and finish the S. D. Rec Center!! The Ice Sheet is cool, but it's a long way away.

Kannon has taken the Alien thing to a whole new level lately. He bought an alien costume for Halloween and has now watched, listened too and read 3 different versions of The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells and the Mercury Theater.

Kessie and I went milking together this morning. She is such a peach. I'm waking her at 6:00 a.m. to go out into the cold and dark and milk a stinky cow and she is as chipper as can be. Her reading is coming along really well.

Kolby is thawing out from the trick-or-treating. In my rush to get out the door, he went out into the 30 degree weather wearing nothing but a very thin batman costume. He was chilly! One quick trip around the block and back home!

Klara was excited about all the candy. She is still eating it. She is a total daddies girl. It is awesome! She will hardly let me set her down when I get home in the evening.

Steph has been having more digestive woes as of late. She is going to see an iridologist next week to see what they he can tell her. The poor girl! It has been so frustrating for her to be sick so often in the past few months. It is killing me to see her so ill. Please join me in praying for her.

Essay:Do you know me?

Do you know me?
You have seen me at the races. I ride that couple year old bike, and have that somewhat obscure jersey. I race with you. Sometimes I mess-up, pick the wrong line, pick the wrong tactic etc. But do you really know me. When you look at me do you see me as I really am? Am I a great father, a loving husband, stellar employee, or struggling business owner?
Or have you turned me into an object? Are you going to yell at me in the race, or stare me down before? Are you going to turn your back on me as you sit with your team mates?

Do you know the price that I have paid to be here? Have I overcome physical or emotional challenges? Have I been up at 5 in the morning so that I can ride before I go to work to provide for my family? Do I ride to work when I am hungry because I can’t afford the gas in the car or the fancy energy food in my pocket? Am I struggling to come back to form after serving others in a distant place for 2 years? Am I a student working my way through college?

We would all do well to look within ourselves and think about the way we look at others.
We are all comrades. We have a passion for the same thing. The bike, the effort, the rush. Do I deserve respect for just showing up?

Viva Las Vegas

Going away for the weekend to a bike race, vacation, or business trip used to be so simple.
Add 5 kids into the mix, going to 4 different homes and things get a lot more complicated. As ever, Steph has done a tremendous job of making the necessary arrangements. We leave Sunday morning and will be staying at a really nice hotel and helping with a convention being put on by my company. We will have some down time in the evenings to relax as well, and then fly home on Tuesday. This marks the second plane flight for Steph. Bosie was the first, 3 yrs. ago.
The boys and I went out for 45 minutes between conference sessions and it was a blast. Nobody got upset and we even did a little how to fix a flat clinic on the road.