Burning Matches - Cycling Back from the Bottom

Burning Matches Cycling Podcast Ep-21 Dr. Sandra Fleming Cycling Back from the Bottom You can be even stronger and faster than you were before. That’s what Dr. Sandra Fleming told me not long after I was wondering if I was ever going to ride at a competitive level again. And I will add that she has been the driver of making it happen. I was already working through the challenges of my divorce from mid 2024 when some extreme new stresses hit me all at once from late 2024 and culminating in the Spring of 2026. I thought I was finally through the biggest challenges of my life, but then my health crashed. Finally able to get out of survival mode, my body just shut down and I lost all energy. I could barely get out of bed, much less ride. In June 2026 I started on a program to protect my health, get the rest I needed, start restoring my system, and began new protocols that included monitoring my biofeedback and following a strict program of rest and recovery. After June, July and August in recovery mode, my body is finally starting to come back, especially the past couple weeks starting around mid-September. I’m finally feeling like I’m actually RIDING and it feels so great. Making it even better is to have hope for my cycling future thanks to Dr. Sandra. This episode continues telling that story, adding the perspective of Dr. Sandra. This is the second in that series and you can see the first episode here: Cycling Thru Ups & Downs https://youtu.be/gPAAaufsIAk?si=8VDjDf4TGzuD9wSU Dr. Sandra and I will now be meeting regularly to give updates on my progress, both from my perspective and hers as the doctor guiding my program. I hope this episode helps other cyclists navigate challenges and find hope when they are going through a rough patch either on or off the bike or both. Oh, special note: I’m not doing 200-mile races, but I appreciate Dr. Sandra’s impression of my capabilities : ) Title and end credit song: The North of California by The Guide to Fast Living https://open.spotify.com/track/7Ml8DDrduQFbQpeMyympyr 00:17 Improvements for All Ages 01:15 How a Life Challenge Can Improve Your Cycling 02:01 Meet Dr. Sandra Fleming 03:22 Kurt’s Health Challenges 04:21 Dr. Sandra’s Perspective 04:30 Point 1: HRV + VO2 Mismatch 06:11 Point 2: The Sum of All Stresses 08:22 Point 3: Underfueling + Energy Availability 09:29 Point 4: Inflammation/Chronic Stress 10:37 Homocysteine 11:16 Point 5: Nervous System Overload 12:40 Turning Down the Volume 13:04 Recover Capacity is Trainable 13:35 The Junior Bike Racer Mentality 15:12 We Have a Plan 16:01 What Happened to My Body? 17:30 The Hardest Part is to Slow Down 18:00 Kurt’s Therapeutic Riding Program 18:54 The Gray Zone 19:41 The Hierarchy of Leverages (5) 19:50 1. Training Load Reduction 20:24 2. Fueling 21:29 3. Sleep: The Highest Yield 21:56 4. Targeted Micronutrients 22:28 5. Nervous System Regulation 24:02 You Can Be Stronger & Faster 25:24 Pace by Data 27:30 Paying Attention to Your Body 28:00 Saying No is Hard but Doable 28:53 Discipline + Balance 30:16 The Right Data 31:34 Every Piece of the Puzzle Matters 32:20 A Better Approach **Links** Dr. Sandra Fleming http://drsandrafleming.com Primal Trust https://www.primaltrust.org/ Red Peloton Bike Racing Team in Northern California https://redpeloton.com Presented by Alien Feedings https://alienfeedings.com/ * * * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.