Lemons Into Lemonade

I’m not sure who first said it, at my age it especially haunts me as I recall it (I am the oldest racer on Team Specialized Racing), but youth is truly wasted on the young. I’ve realized it for several years now too that life catches up with you. For musicians it’s the drugs and alcohol and the hard living that goes along with it, just look at Keith Richards. For lifelong athletes it’s the inevitable injuries we all sustain along the way that catches up with us.

I hobbled around for the last year and a half as my hip degenerated into unbearable arthritis finally putting me on crutches to move around the house. More than a couple of hours on the mountain bike only once a week and my bone-on-bone shoulder joint makes me pay for the pleasure of riding single track for the next two days. And any more than two hours on the dirt leaves me at risk for being unable to brake as the pain from the nerve impingement in my elbow causes a seemingly unconscious decision to not squeeze the brake lever because of the knifing agony in my fingers and elbow. But like Keith Richards who is still ripping it up on stage, that’s never stopped me from doing that which gives me great pleasure, riding my bike. Never, that is, until last October when I could no longer put pressure on my pedals because of the pain in my hip. Thank goodness for medical technology.

On November 16th I had a new hip joint installed and today, seven weeks later, I feel like a kid again. I found a really good surgeon who literally did a perfect job. His name is Peter Callander for those out there who might be having the same problem that started a few years ago in my left hip. I am completely pain free and walking like I did when I was a teenager.

Before the surgery I thought there was a real possibility that I had raced my last race. Now I’ve booked flights to South Africa and Italy in August and September to once again race in both the mountain bike world championships and road and time trial world championships. Life is really, really good again. It will take a few more months to reach the fitness levels I need to be competitive but the suffering needed to get there is something I relish.

So fear not fellow masters racers, the risks we accept and all seem to realize as we pursue our passion on the bike is fixable. I was encouraged to take the chance with my hip surgery because of advice I received from other athletes that had their hips overhauled. Their advice and stories helped me overcome my trepidation. If you’re having problems with your hip on the bike and want to talk about it, let me know. It’s the least I can do to pay it forward.

Rob Anderson