Punching back at Sarcoidosis with two century rides

In May, I attempted to ride two 100 mile or century rides.

I’ve been blogging about riding with sarcoidosis, an auto-immune disease that lodged itself on my spinal cord a few years ago. But for the first time, I can say that I’ve really smashed back at the disease.

In May my wife and I and some friends rode not one, but two centuries.

If you’re reading this because you’re a cyclist, then you already know a century is a 100-mile bike ride. If you are here because of sarcoidosis — you should know that a century is to biking what a marathon, 26.2 miles, is to running.

It’s not easy.

At least not for me.

You may have heard me talking about training for these events on the Sarc Fighter podcast, which I host. I’ve been keeping listeners up to speed on this quest to ride 100 miles in a single day.

I had done this before sarcoidiosis struck, but not since.

I wasn’t sure my body was up to it.

A series of posts prior to this one chronicled my struggles with the illness and the side effects of the drugs used to treat it.

The upshot being that it’s been hard to stay healthy long enough to train as needed to keep a century in play.

Richmond, here we come.

But, I’ve been on a bit of a roll, so during the cold winter months, and as the end of restrictions from the pandemic appeared to be lifting, Mary and I quietly signed up for both the Cap2Cap and the Horsey Hundred century rides.

Completing just one would have been a huge check on my bucket list.

As winter unfolded into spring we transitioned into longer and longer rides on weekends, dodging scheduling difficulties with work and family commitments and of course the weather.

I trained on the Peloton when nothing else would suffice. In the evenings, I would occasionally push the boundaries of darkness by riding on the Roanoke River Greenway with a headlight on the handlebars.

Just like with marathon training, the idea is to do progressively longer rides every weekend until you reach a number near your goal distance. For instance, many marathoners will try to achieve a training run of no more than 20 miles, hoping that on race day it’s enough to finish the entire distance. For a century I had hoped to get up to 75 or 80 miles prior to the Cap2Cap, a mostly flat ride from Richmond, Va. to Jamestown, Va. and back.

A big training hiccup | Maybe not this Century!

Alas, as April came into view, so did a small polyp in my bladder, which the doctor said had to come out, “right away.”

Great. So much for my cycling plans.

The surgery was not invasive, but it involved places in my anatomy that were not conducive to sitting on a bicycle seat. At least until things calmed down. So my training amounted to walking the dog in the evenings.

About two weeks later I got back on the bike and completed a 50-mile ride. No pain and I felt great – but it was well short of my training goal, with the century coming up the next weekend.

(For the record, the polyp was not sarcoidosis related.)

Damn the torpedoes …

But, we were signed up. We had hotel reservations and decided to plunge ahead. Since the course was an out and back, we could always turn around whenever we wanted.

I’ll tell you more about the ride in a separate post. But let me just say that I felt strong all the way to Jamestown, where we turned back to complete the second 50 miles. But, I started feeling a bit weak at around 60 miles with cramps sneaking into my quads and hamstrings.

I wasn’t sure this would be my day to finish a century.

We sat down for a few minutes at a rest stop, fueled up on energy drinks and snacks, and rallied for the remaining 40ish miles.

Century one in the books!

Check out my ride on Strava. https://www.strava.com/activities/5270541321

On to Kentucky

An ensuing couple of weeks brought a training ride in the rain as friend Karen Deer practiced for the bike leg of the upcoming Carilion Clinic Half IRONMAN 70.3 Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Then we rode a very difficult organized ride called Storming Thunder Ridge.

Storming Thunder Ridge from my Garmin. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/6830551237

Both of them featured lots of climbing. I was toast after each.

Neither was even close to 100 miles.

I had to hope that the extra elevation on the two rides would make up for the lack of mileage in preparation for a difficult Horsey Hundred over Memorial Day weekend.

Can’t catch a break | Century 2 weather stunk

The morning of the Horsey Hundred it was 48 degrees, spitting rain, and the flag outside our hotel was starched from the wind.

I wanted to go back to bed.

Instead, Mary and I started layering up with all the cycling clothes we had packed, hoping it was enough.

In the lobby, where the hotel offered free breakfast, cyclists were shoulder to shoulder and laughing and joking. Maybe, I thought, I was overthinking the challenge from the weather.

We ate our hotel waffle and loaded up for the start/finish line, vowing that if we were miserable, we would turn off on a shorter route.

But, as the miles began to accumulate, the members of our group became more determined to keep pedaling until we reached 100 miles.

We rode over a covered bridge and past miles and miles of beautiful horse farms, with thoroughbreds grazing in their pastures.

It was overcast and grey, but still beautiful.

I expected the last 20 miles to suck, and they were difficult but not terrible. When we crossed the finish line, to my horror, my Garmin said I had only ridden 98 miles.

So I rode loops of the parking lot until it said 100.

After all a century is not a century, until it is.

Horsey Hundred on Strava https://www.strava.com/activities/5379627129

Sarcoidosis conquered, kinda

And there we were at the end of May 2021, with both century rides in the books. I had great times with friends and we logged some incredibly beautiful miles and saw some parts of the country I had never seen. It was even better to experience at scenery from the seat of a bicycle.

Equally important, I am feeling like I can do things again. Not just ride — but everyday stuff that I had told myself I could not do because of sarcoidosis.

It’s amazing what accomplishing goals can do to boost your confidence.

Note from John: It’s now been a few weeks since the ride and I’m none the worse for the wear. For many people struggling with sarcoidosis, an auto-immune disease, this type of endeavor would be impossible. In my new circle of friends and acquaintances in the sarc world, there are many who find themselves lucky to garden for 15 minutes in a day. Others have many days when they cannot get out of bed. Some wear oxygen tanks during their waking hours. Others are in so much pain that it’s hard even to sit on the couch.

I know I’m lucky. But, because of my podcast and volunteer work with the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, I’ve learned not to dawdle. I hope my body keeps sarcoidosis at bay forever, but I’m not taking my current state of being for granted.