Miriam Brouwer

Canadian National Endurance Track Cycling Team

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Guess Who's Back

It's been a long hiatus for me, but I am happy to say that things are progressing in the right direction! 

For those who don't know, I was involved in a crash while racing at BC Superweek earlier this season. Although the crash was nothing spectacular, it left me with a concussion and neck injury. I spent the remainder of Superweek trying to relax and recover in time for Cascade Classic in Bend, Oregon the next week. Unfortunately, all the hope in the world can't bring about a timely recovery. 

I came home at the end of the week, determined not to let my cycling fitness slip away from me! A few trial rides in that first week back, which resulted in debilitating headaches, made me realize that recovery might take longer than I expected. Over the next few weeks and months, I slept more than I thought a person could sleep. I lived with a nearly constant headache stemming from injury to my upper cervical vertebrae. 

Injury is a funny thing in that it forces a lot of self reflection. I mean lets be honest, what else can you do with an extra 15-20 hours a week that would normally be spent training? Lots of self reflection, and knitting...way too much knitting. 

The conclusions of all of this? I am bad at sitting still, and I really really like riding bikes. It took a lot of convincing from Mark and others to force me to take it easy, not my strong suit. I am so thankful for the friends who checked in and kept me from trying to rush my recovery. With the help of my loving husband, family, friends and a cocktail of different rehabilitation professionals, I am excited to say that I'm back to training. It has been a slow progression, but I have been training consistently for 5 weeks. 

I want to thank everyone who supported me over the last few months. You know who you are, and it means the world to me. Although I was off the bike, that didn't interfere with plans for next season, and I'm getting really excited for some 2018 news. No spoilers yet, but stay tuned! 


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