Cycling Update

Didn't realize it had been so long since I've written anything.  This is more of a cycling update so I'll keep it simple.

After being sick in December with a swollen neck, two weeks of antibiotics and visit to a neurologist, it turns out I have hypothyroidism.  What blows my mind is that it took a neurologist to figure it out, order blood tests and get me on meds.  I have talked to a regular doc for years about not having any energy, being exhausted, not able to ride/walk or run without feeling sick 10 minutes later.  I was always freezing.  I haven't progressed in mileage for 4 years and no one has taken it seriously.

I started meds about 3 weeks ago and am finally feeling a difference.  It's like a huge fog has lifted and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.  My energy is better.  I'm not sleeping for so long.  I feel "happy" if that makes sense.  I don't feel as sick and I've been able to get back on a bike.

I did twenty minutes on a bike today.  It doesn't seem like much of an achievement, but since December about 5 minutes was all I could do and have to get off.  In fact I've been feeling so good I decided to treat myself to new bar tape, an adjustable stem and super nice platform pedals last Saturday.

Now for the shocker.  After ripping off the bar tape and putting the stem on I realized how bad my handlebars and shifters where out of alignment.  My jaw dropped.  How could I not have noticed?  After thinking about it, I figured it had been set up at the shop correctly after I went down a ravine. One shifter was higher than the other.  The bar and shifters wasn't straight and centered and the left shifter had been twisted inward.  My left shifter was also an inch further out than the right.

After a YouTube search I have my handlebar and shifters aligned correctly, the same distance apart and set up to how I ride.  The twenty minute ride I did today was amazing without pain.  My left arm not hurting and my feet pedaling more efficiently.  Who knew an eighty dollar set of pedals would work wonders on my feet?

I can't wait to really start feeling better and get out and ride.