PT for US Paralympics Cycling

Time To Go Home

2008-09-15T07:08:00.001-07:00

I can’t believe it has been three weeks already. Leaving from this event is sort of like leaving summer camp. We were well cared for in this Paralympic event, borderline spoiled. It will be a mild challenge to get back in the groove of normal life. I have missed the beginning of school for my children. They have already established a routine that I will be attempting to plug back into. I will have to get back to cooking! No more prepared buffet lines for me. No more dodging wheelchairs. Back to the land of able bodied. Can you imagine a place where the “normal” bodied are the minority? That is the Paralympic experience!

Good news, bad news. Good news is that I got bumped up to business class for the long leg of the trip. Bad news is that we had a 2-hour rolling delay due to a mechanical problem on the 747. This meant that I missed my connection in San Francisco to Seattle, a mere formality at this point. My strategies of compression stockings, frequent stand/walk/stretch breaks, hydration and sleep moments in coordination with projected Pacific Standard Time will hopefully allow for a minimization of jet lag effects. I have a full schedule in the clinic tomorrow and a looming large pile to catch up with.

In reflection, the trip was awesome. The Paralympic Movement is alive and growing. The athletes are truly amazing! Plenty of drama and incredible stories! China is changing. You can see it in the youth we interacted with on a daily basis. China did an excellent job of hosting these games! We had some great weather days. These athletes serve as important role models and motivators for future generations of disabled people. These athletes help lead the way for making the world more accessible and accepting of people with disabilities.

I am fortunate to have had this experience! I would encourage you all to take the opportunity to either become involved in the promotion of Paralympic development, or just simply become a fan.

Thank you for your readership and sharing of this experience!

Some Pictures...

2008-09-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

The End is Near

2008-09-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of road racing. We have a few chances for medals today. Again, I will be working the feed zone and then assisting athletes at the finish line with drinks and navigating the media line on their way back to our assigned team tent. The morning session of racing is for our hand cyclists and the afternoon will be for the blind and vision impaired. This means a long day for staff under the hot and humid conditions. By the end of the day we were able to celebrate a few more medals. Check www.usparalympics.org for the details. The group put out great efforts today and made the US proud. The USA team had plenty to celebrate by the end. We had produced 14 medals and a world record. We were really proud of these accomplishments by our riders.

We were able to sneak out that evening to the Tianda Chinese Acrobat show. Talk about amazing feats of musculoskeletal moments! Our disabled athletes had been spoiled with accessibility during the games. The theater was not set up for disabled accessibility. We had one wheelchair athlete with us. We ended up lifting him in his chair up and down flights of stairs to get to our seats. We were lucky he was one of our smallest wheelchair athletes. It was quite a sight to have a guy with a prosthetic leg helping lift a guy in a wheelchair up and down stairs.

We then attempted to use the subway for a return to the Olympic Village. Again, we were faced with stairs. We did see a wheelchair lift, but were unable to access it for the first flight. We again lifted our wheelchair athlete down the stairs. Our efforts were discovered by Chinese transit authorities by the time we got down the first flight of stairs. They then proceeded to go above and beyond with helping us navigate. We were escorted through all the lifts and elevators the subway system had. We were able to get back to the Village with minimal barriers at that time.

Later that night our USA Cycling head coach had to make good on a bet he had made with the athletes. He got a USA cut into his hair as payment for the athletes winning at least 5 gold medals.

Classifications of Athletes

2008-09-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

Bicycling events have different classifications that allow athletes with similar disabilities compete with their like peers. There are men and women catagories. Athletes are initially classified into a category by a certifier. There is only one person in the USA who does certification for bicycling. This is a bit of a “barrier” for new athlete inclusion. The main classifications are LC, CP B&VI and HC. These rules are governed by the UCI, which is the international governing body for the sport of bicycle racing.

B&VI stands for Blind and Visually Impaired. These athletes (stoker) ride a tandem bicycle with a non-impaired athlete (captain). The non-impaired athlete cannot be a professional cyclist. It is to the B&VI athlete’s advantage to get a really fast amateur cyclist for their captain. There are mens and womens categories. These groups are generally really fast.

LC stands for locomotor impairments. There are four subclasses within the LC classification. LC 1 is minor limb locomotor issues. LC 2 is for athletes with disabilities in one leg, but who are able to pedal normally using 2 legs, with or without prostheses. LC 3 is for athletes with disabilities on one lower limb, with or without upper limb disability. Most athletes pedal with one leg. LC 4 is for athletes with more severe disabilities usually affecting both lower limbs, with or without upper limb disability.

CP stands for cerebral palsy. This group is also split into four different levels of classification. It’s numerical ranking is opposite of the LC group, meaning that CP 1 is most disabled group. CP 1 is for the most severely affected athlete. This athlete rides an adult tricycle. Not your average tricycle. These things are pretty fast. CP 2 and 3 allow for athletes a choice of racing on bicycles in division 3, or
tricycles in division 2. CP 4 is for athletes the least severely disabled. These athletes race on standard bicycles.

HC stands for hand cycle. These athletes use their hands/arms/shoulder for the locomotion of their bicycle. These bicycles have three wheels and allow a cyclist to pedal from a kneeling or recumbent position depending on the disability. There are three different classifications within HC. HC A is for the more severely disabled athletes with complete loss of trunk and lower limb function, together with other severe and complex disabilities. HC B is for athletes with complete loss of lower limb function and limited trunk stability. HC C is for athletes with complete lower limb function loss, but minimal other functional disabilities, or partial lower limb function loss combined with other disabilities to make conventional cycling not viable.

These are the very basics of ranking. There is obvious discrepancy within each group. You will sometimes hear non-winners within a group talk about the winners of that group question as to why that person was able to be classified within a certain category. In that regard, these athletes are no different than any other athlete (ha-ha).

Today was a good day for USA Cycling. We competed in the road time trial and won seven medals. The time trial is where a cyclist rides a set course individually as fast as possible. The fastest time within a category wins. The course was a 12.4km loop. HC and some of the CP athletes did one loop, the rest of the athletes did two loops. It was very hot and sunny today. That made for obvious challenges for competition. Check www.usparalympics.org for results. The next two days will be for the road race. This event is a mass start event for categories. The first one to complete the given distance wins. After that, I am back to Seattle. I cannot believe this trip has gone so fast!

Follow Team USA

2008-09-11T10:12:00.001-07:00

Here's a link to news about Team USA:

http://paralympics.teamusa.org/news

Enjoy!

Rest Day

2008-09-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today is a rest day of sorts. Velodrome racing ended yesterday and we came out with many personal bests, a world record and a few medals. We were very pleased with everyone’s efforts.

For staff, it was a day of cleaning out our velodrome storage area. The velodrome is about a 30-40 minute bus ride away from the athlete village. We had to transfer many sets of wheels, bikes, tools, massage table, helmets, coolers, etc, back to the athlete village. We have a few utility bikes available to use in the village. We used these to transfer our material from the bus stop back to our dorms. It was a bit of a scene and a good excuse for me to ride a bike.

Tomorrow we head into the road events. The road events consist of a time trial and a road race. The time trial is one person racing against the clock and the road race is a mass start event. These two events were also in the Olympics. There are seven staff members supporting cycling athletes for USA Paralympic Cycling. They include two coaches, two mechanics, an administrative director and the Soignuers (me, being a physical therapist and Michelle who is a RN/LMP).

We all stay plenty busy with our tasks. The mechanics will be busy changing out bicycles to aero equipment for the time trials tomorrow. US Olympic Committee has set up a medical clinic here in the athlete village. It is comprised of MDs, PT/ATCs, a DC (from my home state of Washington), and ATCs. They are a great group of professionals who work very well together. They are definitely supportive of our efforts out at the venues.

Rain, rain, go away

2008-09-10T09:14:00.001-07:00

Today it rained a lot!

Our team didn’t make the venture out to the course due to health and safety preservation. The team stayed local to do a short recovery workout between rain showers.

This gave me a chance to walk around the Olympic green. I was able to check out the venues for swimming (Water Cube) and track and field (Birds Nest). Truly incredible venues. I also had the chance to experience Beijing rush hour traffic via taxi.

I made a tourist pilgrimage to Silk Street to barter for the customary silk and pearls. My family won’t let me come back from China without them (ha-ha).

Check out www.usparalympic.org to look at our results. The momentum in bicycling is starting swing well for us. We hear that tomorrow will be a better weather day.

We will see.

Ming Tomb Road Course

2008-09-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

We had our first day of practice on the full road course for the hand-cyclists. The course incorporates elements from the Olympic triathlon course. It is located at the Ming Tomb Reservoir.

I have been meeting physical therapists from around the world. Most of the world calls physical therapists, physiotherapists.

Today was hot and somewhat humid. Hydration strategies for all athletes are a must. First day on this course helps establish familiarity with corner, climbs and descents. There are hardly any straight sections on the course, so it may help a possible breakaway stay away.

This was also our first day to try out the Paralympic mass transit system to the venue. We previously had been renting a bus for private shuttle. Now it is a little more challenging trying to get the team all placed on a bus to ensure they get the venue. All in all, the transportation has been great. It is challenging to move all types of disabled athletes, wheelchairs and racing chairs. The Chinese have been very helpful.

All the participating teams are assigned tents/shelters at the Reservoir. The USA team gets a “double wide” due to the number of entrants we have. We have three more days of practice before the competition will begin.

The President of South Korea was here today. I almost got run down by his motorcade while heading over to lunch.

Some Photos

2008-09-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a hand cycle.

Training in Colorado.

For pictures from the opening ceremony in Beijing, go to this story from the Seattle Times and click the photo gallery link.

Let the Games Begin: Opening Ceremony

2008-09-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the opening ceremony of the Paralympic games. Game on!

It is midnight here in Beijing. Well past my bedtime. The opening ceremony was great! The stadium is huge! There are many, many countries represented. We have one of the largest delegations, just over 200 members strong.

The stadium was packed! Australia and the home team (China) got the biggest cheers. The program was outstanding. It included many performance elements surrounding disabilities. Very well thought out. I hear from home that some of the opening ceremony was covered on television by the Canadian Broadcast Company (CBC). Seattle gets this station being so close to Canada.

The lighting of the Olympic/Paralympic flame this evening means ... Game on! .

Competitions start tomorrow. Our velodrome bike racing starts tomorrow. We have track people doing pursuits and a kilo. I am going to the velodrome with the tandem riders (sight impaired) for the kilometer race.

We were also at the road course today. I began talking with a local Chinese gentleman who knew English. Many Chinese youth are taking English language in school and take on Western names. Turns out his name was Leo! Leo is my son’s name. Weird! Out of all the Chinese population, I find a Leo. I told him how big my Leo was and he thought that was pretty big for an 11-year-old.

Just a reminder, take a look at the links I provided on my first post. These links will get you towards live event coverage via internet.

The Routine

2008-09-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have settled in quickly to the routine of pre-competition life:

1. Load up the cooler with ice, drinks and food.

2. Get the athletes loaded onto bus.

3. Drive to the venue.

4. Assist riders preparing for the workout.

5. Hand out water/nutrients after workouts.

6. Perform recovery tissue work for athletes.

7. Meetings.

8. Eat, ...

The day goes by pretty quickly! It is amazing to see how many variations of hand bicycles, tricycles and bicycles that will be used in the road race. These guys and gals are all fit and fast. Not your average wheelchair ride in the park!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Our Travels to China

2008-09-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

All said, it took us about 25 hours to get to Beijing from Colorado Springs. The process started September 2 in the evening. Our first step was to get our bags packed into trucks by 7pm. This included all the racing hand cycles and bicycles. We took a quick nap before awaking for a 1 pm bus departure from Colorado Springs.

Our goal was to get to Denver for a 6 am flight to San Francisco. Our travelling group included 14 people; seven from cycling and seven from fencing. You might imagine the logistics of moving such a group and their equipment. We arrived in San Francisco just in time for breakfast. We had a 3-hour layover prior to our departure for Beijing. The flight to Beijing lasted about 12 hours.

This was my first flight of this length. Quite a challenge in many ways. We finally arrived in Beijing at 2:25 pm the next day. I followed the suggestions made by US Olympic Committee sports scientists regarding travel and jetlag, which included hydration, compression stocking, getting up to move and minimizing your attempts to sleep on the plane. All said and done, I was able to fall asleep quickly at 9:30 pm and sleep soundly until 6:30 am the next day. Giddyup!

The Games

2008-09-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today we will be traveling from CS to Beijing. More details as soon as I can find some connectivity in Beijing. Until then, please check out the link to the Beijing games. Great information and history!

http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/index.shtml

Shock and Awe

2008-09-02T04:30:00.000-07:00

I have made several observations after having followed our amazing crew of cyclists through the streets of Colorado Springs for the last four days. First of all, our cyclists rip! They are amazing athletes. People stop and stare. They do so for various reasons I can imagine. First is that these athletes don’t have typical bicycle equipment (more on that later). Second, these athletes are pretty fit looking. Third, they are not used to seeing people in hand/leg adaptive propelled cycles go so fast!

We have had great support from the Colorado Springs community. They have been friendly, cheered us on, engaged us in friendly conversations, and kindly shared the roads.

I help people with “disabilities” overcome their barriers on a daily basis, so I am not quite shocked to see such an accomplishments, however, these Paralympic cyclists really are very inspiring!

Waiting ...

2008-09-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine waiting on the countdown to going to an Olympic/Paralympic games? The training/hard work is essentially over. Athletes are just trying to not get sick or injured prior to the Olympics. That is where routine comes in to play. The typical day includes:

Breakfast at 7 am at the OTC Athlete Center.

Training rides head out between 8 am to 9 am and last 2-3 hrs. Some endurance and some intervals. I have the job of following the cyclists in a USOC van. My job is to be available in case of mechanical breakdown, body breakdown, or nutrition/hydration needs and to provide a “buffer” for the cyclists on the road. The hand cyclists have bicycles that are low to the ground and are not very visible to oncoming traffic.

Lunch around 11:30 am at the OTC Athlete Center.

Body Mechanic: Recovery massage and tissue anti-inflammatory work for athletes in need.

Bike Mechanic: Minor mechanic work; cleaning, tuning, re-taping

Final shopping trips prior to departure.

Packing for trip (we leave in 30 hrs).

Dinner around 6 pm at the OTC Athlete Center.

Bedtime at your discretion. :)

Do it again.

Legacy

2008-08-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we attended a program called the Ambassador program. This program’s agenda is geared towards helping US athletes create a positive image at an Olympic/Paralympic event. An important component of the Ambassador program is the concept of “Legacy.”

Legacy is huge for the Paralympics. The Paralympics have become part of the IOC charter, making it more of a funded/inclusive portion of the Olympic movement. Athletes in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics will have much greater world exposure than previous Paralympics. Paralympics are being involved in more advertisement efforts. Our Paralympian will have a greater chance to inspire athletes of all abilities to overcome their barriers (real and perceived).

Physical therapists can and should be on the front line of support. We are often times one of the first healthcare providers to come into contact with future Paralympians. I would encourage all physical therapists to check out the Beijing Paralympics. Learn their 20 games, learn how a person can become involved. Discover how they train and where they train.

The Paralympic legacy and movement is growing. It is a huge source of awe and inspiration.

The Kits!

2008-08-29T05:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s highlight was picking up the kit. “The kit” is a term frequently used by bicycle racers referring to their uniform or racing outfit. This being my first event of this magnitude, I didn’t know what to expect. I was greeted with a shopping cart and list on a clipboard. My job was to complete this scavenger hunt by gathering all the clothing items on the list.

As a staff member, I was to collect clothing for open and closing ceremonies, casual wear, and sport wear. Part of the process also included a trip past alterations, primarily for opening ceremony clothing. The clothing we collected was just like what you saw for the Olympics, however, they are monogrammed with Paralympics instead of Olympics.

By the time your scavenger hunt was all completed, your team clothes were packed neatly in a USA monogrammed suitcase for your use on the trip. The process was very well organized and everyone on staff at United States Olympic Committee (USOC) was incredible!

While leaving processing, I ran into a professional peer of mine, none other than George Davies, PT, from Wisconsin. He is also serving as medical support. George will be leaving for Beijing this coming Saturday with his sport group. Our track/velodrome cyclists will be leaving on Saturday as well. I will be staying in CS until September 3 with the road/hand cyclists. Their events aren’t until later in the games. We will all be over to Beijing for the opening ceremony September 6th.

Beijing, Here I Come

2008-08-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

I received a phone call last Spring from a coaching who asked, “Do you want to go to Beijing for the Paralympics to support USA Cycling?” Trying to play cool, I gave the obligatory, “That sounds really great, but let me first check the family schedule.” While inner self only need about half a second to accept. After presenting the idea to my wife, she concluded, “I don’t see how you can’t go.” Great, Beijing, here I come!

The trip plan is basic. Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs for one week to process and complete an athlete training camp and then the Beijing Paralympic games for two weeks. The Beijing Paralympic games run from September 6-15. You would think that leaving for the Paralympics would be super exciting and “can’t wait to be there,” but saying goodbye to my children and wife for three weeks was pretty tough. Going means I miss the beginning of school for my children, miss my daughter’s 9th birthday, the beginning of soccer season (I coach), and shutting the office down for three weeks. I have a new, small PT practice in Washington state (www.BikePT.com). I worked hard over the summer so as to allow the time away from the clinic.

Participation in such an event comes at a cost. A physician peer reminded me that “no great opportunity goes unpunished.” The honor and opportunity to attend a Paralympic event has been well worth the hard work to get here.

I left SeaTac airport in the late afternoon yesterday for Denver and then have a late connecting flight scheduled for Colorado Springs (CS). Athletes/coaches/staff arriving in CS are shuttled to the OTC. Guest athletes and staff stay in dorm-style living at the OTC. I hope to be settled by midnight as the team will be gathering for an early morning ride just south of CS. The OTC is located near the center of CS. The city streets are not easily negotiable for the hand cyclists. After lunch we will be assembling/collecting Team USA clothing.

My job at the Paralympics will be that of Soigneir for USA Cycling. The cycling athlete is supported by the following staff: coaches, bicycle mechanics and body mechanics or Soigneirs. The job of Soigneir was described in my contract as essentially helping the athlete to remember to eat/drink prior to, during, and after their event/training, perform performance body work, and assist in the administration as directed by coaching staff. This is loosely translated into a “do-everything-person.” The job of Soigneir is very demanding.

There will be several important links you might find of interest in support of the Beijing Paralympic games:

YouTube will be covering some of the events at www.YouTube.com/ParalympicSportTV.

The US Paralympic webpage, www.usparalympics.org contains links to participating US athletes and then the Beijing games themselves.

I look forward to sharing with you some glimpses into the great accomplishments of the Paralympians and their games…..Amazing Awaits!