offering a chiropractic lifestyle where your body's needs come first

As a semi-professional cyclist working full-time, I find it difficult to reach my full potential.  Cycling is a sport where strength, endurance, strategy, and teamwork all come into play, so I am constantly searching for different ways to better my performance and training just so I can keep up with the cyclists who train and race full-time.

Just this past winter I was named to a new cycling team based out of a bicycle shop in Toronto.  This was very exciting and new for me because I have always just raced on my own, and now I have a team that I can work with and that will support me in many ways.

This year leading up to the race season I logged a lot of important training miles.  I really wanted to make sure that I would be in top form come the height of the season.  There were a lot of little things that I changed in my daily routine to make sure of this.  A lot of it had to do with my diet.  I would always make sure that I was eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and plenty of whole grains.  Shortly after I made this conscious effort to eat healthier I definitely noticed some changes.  I started to feel a lot more energized and motivated to follow through with my training, and my body’s ability to rejuvenate itself and recover from long hard rides improved a great deal.  Even though this seemed like such a big step in my path to full potential, I knew that I was far from it.
It is known that cyclists normally do not reach peak performance until their late twenties, and in a lot of cases, early thirties.  I know this sounds strange but cycling is all about accumulated miles and race experience.  So according to this statistic, I still have close to ten years before I reach my peak.

I continued to train hard leading into the start of the race season, feeling fairly confident about my racing form, still knowing I had a long way to go.  Most races in Ontario vary in distance, anywhere from 80 km – 160 km.  So these distances are what I train for and what I am used to.

It was the day after a 100 km race in New York State that we made a special trip down to race because of the beautiful, undulating, hilly terrain, that I noticed a sharp pain in my knee when I rode my bike.  I had an excellent race the day before with a 3rd place finish which I worked very hard for.  I went to a physiotherapist shortly after to get a proper diagnosis.  Right away he told me it was a tightened IT Band in my right leg that was pulling my knee off track and creating this sharp pain sensation.  I went there twice for electro-shock and rigorous massage therapy.  I wanted to make sure that I would make full recovery, so I took two full weeks off of riding.  This was tough not only for me physically because I would fall behind in my training, but mentally as well because the Canadian National Championships which included a 180 km road race were only 6 weeks away and I knew I had to be in top form if I even wanted to finish the race.  The longest race I have ever competed in was Provincial Championships last year which was 160 km, and I was only just able to hold on for the finish.  I knew I had a lot of hard training ahead of me.  It wasn’t that I just needed to train hard but I also needed to be smart and efficient about it.

I always thought about going to the chiropractor to improve my overall wellness, but I knew that if I started to go, I would have to continue with it.  It would just be another expense that I didn’t want and I would have to find the time to go every week, and I just thought that it would add to the stresses in my life.  Now that I was in the position where I really had to put all else aside and focus on my cycling, I had to give the chiropractor a chance.  I didn’t want to have any regrets after I worked so hard to peak for this big race.  So, one day I picked up the phone and called Dr. Pike and told him about my situation.  I knew I could trust Bob because I received adjustments from him when I was much younger, for a spine related problem I had.  He was very excited and seemed enthusiastic about helping me out with my overall performance on the bike.  I started right away making visits with Dr. Pike twice a week.  Immediately, I noticed differences in the way I felt on and off the bike.  I noticed improvements in the way I felt during long rides.  Before, I would always develop muscle pain and stress in my back, but thought it was normal and that I just had to get used to it.  The next long training ride I went on after my first visit with Dr. Pike I didn’t notice the pain in my back.  I then realized that my visits to the chiropractor were going to play a huge role in my overall performance.  So I continued to train hard and kept up with my visits to the chiropractor for the 5 weeks leading up to the National Championships.

When the big day arrived I felt as ready as ever.  I felt that I had the fitness and confidence needed to finish the race.  190 riders were on the start line and I felt good about myself.  This was my day to cash in on all the hard work and dedication.

12 laps, 180 kms, and 10 crashes later only 51 riders crossed the finish line and I was one of them.  I felt like I won a gold medal.  Even though I finished 41st it was the greatest accomplishment of my cycling career so far.