Garmin’s Will Frischkorn finds that sometimes time off the bike can be more tiring than riding …

By Will Frischkorn

Editor’s Note: Will Frischkorn is a professional rider on the Garmin-Chipotle team who occasionally shares his journals with VeloNews.com readers.

Few things are harder for a cyclist than not being able to race their bike. For many who work their passion so much of their life, their values, their time, their focus, even their momentary inner self-worth is tied to what they are doing at “work.” When it isn’t possible to ply their chosen trade a foggy unhappiness settles in. Sometimes that person even can’t even bang out a half-way respectable journal entry for VeloNews.com — that’s the real sign that things are bad. …

Before this complete non-attempt at asking for pity from anybody, I should say that life is pretty darn good. It’s been a long time since I’ve written a journal … After a fantastic post-Tour vacation I had a couple of days to catch up with friends, get back on the bike a little bit, and then quickly pack back up and head out to the Tour of Utah. The guys were killing it, starting with a win for Jason out of a long break the first day to Blake’s breakaway win on day 2.

I had the opportunity to ride the front for much of the rest of the race, something that’s actually a lot of fun and truly embodies teamwork in cycling. The Utah crit was some of the most fun I’ve had on a bike in ages. I snuck the hole-shot through the first corner and then Garmin was on the front with an open road ahead of us until the last half-lap. The feeling that develops within the team in an event like that pretty much defines “flow.”

A couple of days later I noticed that the outside of my knee was a bit tight. I figured that it was just getting back going again, stretched a bit more than normal, and kept on plugging away. I didn’t connect the few millimeter saddle position change we’d made before Utah until too late. Mid-way through a killer ride on a little training-vacation in the hills outside of Aspen I felt the spot go from tight to distinctly “not-good.” The next morning I headed home early, saw our team chiro and we came to the conclusion that it was, as it felt the day prior, tendinitis. A few days of rest, ice/heat, cold laser treatment, and being careful with it and I’d be good to go for the national championships, just a few days ahead — no stress.

Unfortunately it took longer, and longer, and longer, and I ended up staying at home, changing ticket after ticket and missing race after race. Considering the lack of time I’d had at home all year it should have been, and was, fantastic to be home. I got to settle, attack some of the stacked up projects, and be together with my girlfriend for more than a few days at a pop between races. I should have been stoked to have all this time at home, but I’d find myself mid-lunch, mid-movie, mid-conversation jumping on my Blackberry to see what was happening at the races.

I was barely exercising, but was always tired. I didn’t feel like myself. While I should have been jumping up and down every morning I rolled out of my own bed, I was actually feeling a bit of the “end of the season depression” that we sometimes talk about as the body adjusts to the change of routine.

This past Sunday, just before a few days out at Interbike and what should normally have been the end of my season, I finally got back to racing in Washington, DC. The energy of rolling to the start with the guys, of standing on that line and listening to the national anthem, of actually racing a bike, was exhilarating. I couldn’t have been happier. Even when I stopped — the knee just starting to feel irritated and not wanting to push things — I was still smiling.

It’s funny how even after all the miles over the course of a season, all of the suffering, all the travel, all I really needed was to get back out there on the bike and throw a bit of energy into the pedals. The year has now come to a close and I’m off for a few weeks of adventure, but just getting back out there for one last day sends me off in the right mind-set; one that couldn’t be more excited about the off season, and more importantly, the season ahead.

Thanks for reading,
-Will

FILED UNDER: Rider Diaries