Guest Article: The Fine Art of Pedaling
Keeper Jim and I came across Meg Fisher during an icy-rain Rule #9 training ride on Mercer Island in March. The first thing that struck us was that there was a good rider up the road, one of the few braving those cold, wet, early morning hours. It wasn’t until we caught up to her that we realized she was riding with a prosthetic leg.
The three of us got to chatting the way cyclists do, and every time Meg went to the front to push the pace or got out of the saddle to grind over a roller, I was amazed to see how ‘normal’ her pedaling action was. Apparently, it didn’t come naturally or quickly, and after starting a conversation on prosthetic pedal stroke magnificence, Meg has graciously agreed to contribute a complete article to this geekery.
In the meantime, she’s joined our community (and reformed in her Rule #37 violating ways). Meg now actively blogs on her Tumblr and has also set up a donation fund to help her with upgrading her prosthetic (can you say ‘carbon’?) and getting her to the 2012 Paralympic Games. Please donate if you’re willing and able.
Yours in Cycling,
Frank
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Pedaling with one leg and one peg-leg (that vaguely resembles a pipe bomb) has presented some challenges.
In an attempt to make all of this as clear as possible, I am going to share some basic facts about prosthetics. A “socket” is the carbon piece that is shaped like a cup. This is the part of the prosthetic that encases what remains of someone’s limb; for me it covers my knee. The “pylon” is a vertical piece of pipe, usually made of aluminum, that connects the socket to the “prosthetic foot.” All prosthetic feet are made from carbon. The stiffness or rigidity of each foot is based on how many layers of carbon are used and how they are laminated. I assume that you all are experts on carbon!
Personally, I like super stiff feet. A stiff foot moves less and, in my opinion, is more predictable. To help you all get the idea of what it might be like to have a prosthetic leg, imagine walking with one foot in a ski boot. Soft feet feel like you are walking in soft sand. Medium feet feel like you are walking on a loose gravel trail. Stiff feet feel like you are walking on concrete. They do not give unexpectedly but are somewhat less forgiving.
Back in the day, before I received my specially adapted biking prosthetic (the pipebomb), I rode using my everyday prosthetic in a typical cycling shoe. I used this set up for several years when I primarily raced mtn bikes and off-road triathlons. I vaguely recall feeling some low back pain and right knee pain from back then. In an attempt to alleviate the pain from my prosthetists, John Angelico & David Rotter with Scheck & Siress Orthotics & Prothetics, designed my current cycling leg. I went into their office with my bike on a trainer and asked them how they could help me look more “normal” on a bike. The owner and master bike fitter of Missoula Bicycle Works, Alex Gallego, had given me some advice to pass on to my prosthetists. John and David basically mounted a heavy-duty aluminum pylon with a carbon prosthetic foot to my socket. After experimenting with pylon length and cleat placement, we discovered how best to compensate for my missing ankle.
Fundamentally, I rode like someone who had an exceptional leg length discrepancy. When I rode with my everyday prosthetic leg, it lacked the biomechanics inherent in intact ankles. During a pedal stroke with an intact ankle, there is plantar flexion & dorsiflexion. Since I could not accomplish these movements with my prosthetic, I had to compensate by shifting on my saddle and changing my biomechanics everywhere. Observers could clearly see my hips and lower back shifting dramatically during every pedal revolution. I had to set my seat post height high enough so that I would not pinch the back of my left knee during the top of the pedal stroke. If my seat height was too low, I developed blisters on the back of my knee that could be so bad that I literally could not walk the next day. I also wanted my seat height low enough so that I could reach the bottom of the pedal stroke. Usually, people with a leg length discrepancy would not develop blisters on the back of their knee. However, they may notice difficulty reaching the bottom of the pedal stroke and observers may see compensatory motions in the low back.
My prosthetists mounted the cleat under what would be my heel. They also made the pylon a bit longer than my shin on my other leg. These adjustments allowed me to reach the bottom of my pedal stroke and keep my seat height high enough to relieve pressure on the back of my knee. By using a specially designed cycling prosthetic, I became better able to keep my hips ‘quiet’ on my saddle.
Still, as I up’d my mileage and continued training with the National Paracycling Team, I continued having low back pain, right knee pain, and severe pain in the right hip. It was deep pain inside the front of my right hip. It felt like someone was driving an icepick into my joint capsule. The only time it felt better was when I was laying flat on my back. Sitting with my hips near 90 degrees caused intense pain. I managed to make it through the season and competed at the UCI Para World Championships in 2010. Somehow, I squeaked out a win in the time trail (even after starting ~40sec late) and the road race. I thought wining two world championship rainbow jerseys would be the end of my cycling career. In the off-season, I went to physical therapy and the prognosis looked bleak.
That’s when Brian Williams, my friend and talented Cat 1 rider, came up with the idea of shortening only my left crank arm. Brian explained that for most individuals with a leg length discrepancy, using two different length crank arms does not alleviate their symptoms. So I called SRAM and explained my situation and Brian’s idea. SRAM generously sent me a 165mm left crank arm at NO CHARGE! Brian installed my new crank arm and set me on a road to recovery.
I have been riding with my shortened left crank arm for a while now. The pain in my right hip is gone and my lower back pain is under control. Initially, the difference in crank arm lengths did feel funky. However, I quickly adapted and will never go back. I have not had anyone measure the strength or power generated by my left leg. If you ever saw me in spandex, you could quickly see that my right side much bigger than my left. I am continually refining my pedal stroke. It has come so far and there is still room for improvement. At times, I feel like my left leg is sabotaging the work of my right leg. Maybe I should just cut the rest of it off?!
At the end of the day, I am just like you. I get on my bike and try my best to ride fast and keep the rubber side down. With any luck and a whole lot of effort, I will earn a spot on this year’s US Paralympic Team going to London. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me. I could use all the luck in the world.
Wow. Talk about personifying The V. Respect.
Thank you for the unique perspective. Best of luck with the Paralympics.
Wow! New Rule: Apply the V, if that doesn’t work, chop off one of your legs and shorten your left crank arm. If you’re still complaining after that, stand with your legs slightly spread and let Meg kick you (with the carbon-footed pipe bomb) approximately where your balls would be if you had any… She IS Velominata-Duritam of the highest order.
Nice one, Meg! Puts all of our fit, pain, pedal stroke issues in a very new perspective.
Knee blisters? Those sound terrible!
Best of luck heading towards the Olympics.
Reading this me feel like a wimp for whining about my “tight hamstrings” the last few weeks.
Talk about dedication to the sport! You kick ass Meg. Best of luck in the 2012 games!
Chapeau Meg! Your perseverance and dedication are an inspiration. Best of luck with London!
Fascinating both from an inspirational and a mechanical perspective, Meg. Good luck this summer, and here’s hoping you bring home a little bit of hardware from London.
Oh, and by the way, “Pipe Bomb” is the frikkin’ coolest nickname for a sports prosthetic that I can imagine, and it would make a great handle, too. I think Meg’s Velominatus name badge must say “The Pipe Bomb.” Hell, I’d be willing to spring for the ten bucks to accomplish that.
@The Oracle
Might make getting through an airport a tad bit harder…
@mcsqueak
I suppose it would put her out of the running for motivational speaking engagements at local high schools as well…
Truly inspirational.
A thousand others would have never even got past the first hurdle, let alone endure so uh pain and suffering to make it this far.
It is people like Meg that make the rest us mere mortals realise just how away from the pros we really are.
Good luck with the road to London, I will certainly be cheering you on.
Yeah, badass doesn’t start to explain it.
@frank
Badass. I’d love to watch her drop able-bodied folks around Seattle. Maybe she’ll even bless us with her presence at the Seattle Summer Cogal, if she’s not too busy prepping for merry ‘ol England.
Ahhh, we’ve been waiting (not so) patiently for this article.
Excellent explanation of the details and challenges, Meg. Thank you! As the others have said above, you are truly inspirational. You certainly make my minor aches and pains today pale in comparison.
Fronk – thanks for chasing her and getting her to write an article.
@MegFisher, thanks for taking the time to write the article. I’ve certainly learnt something but, of course, there’s questions because I still don’t know a lot. Is the proposed carbon peg-leg actually more like the ones the runners use or is it a replacement for the aluminium pylon? Does the weight of it make any difference – in a feel right rather than weight weenie sense? Apologies if these are stupid questions.
@Mikel Pearce
A-Merckx.
It’s great to read your words and it’s really interesting to have an insight of the (not easy) process that brought you to the natural pedal stroke.
Good luck and fingers crossed for the Olympic spot, Peg Leg Meg!
I hope I’ll see you compete in London! (on tv, no chance of going on my budget)
Mad props, Meg. Your strength and perseverance are inspiring – I actually thought of Frank’s article about you from a couple months back when I was out in the wind today and figured if you could do it on one leg I might as well stop bitching and start pedaling harder. Best of luck in London!
Inspirational. All the best Meg. Go hard at the Paralympics. I look forward to following your progress.
Thanks for sharing your inspirational story with us Meg, and all the best for London.
I guess a carbon pylon would really put the ‘bone’ in ‘carbone’…
Super inspirational. OK guys (and gal), I’ve been doing a bit of leg work here in Portlandia getting my contacts in the racing community involved in getting Meg to London. I think we’ve nailed down a fantastic frame builder who is being most generous to help her out. I don’t normally ask this kind of thing, but skip a cappuccino or two and hit that “Donate” button up there. Let’s get this girl to London to lay down some V on the rest of the world!
Meg, I’m going to empty my luck drawer and send the entire contents your way! Huge respect!
@Jonny
Hey Jonny,
A running leg is a unique tool designed purely for running. It’s not very good at much else. When someone runs, they tend to strike the ground with their toes… maybe their midfoot and rarely their heel. So running legs do not have a heel.
Another unique feature of running legs is their spring-like action. When you put weight on the limb, the carbon deforms and “stores” energy. That “stored” energy in the carbon fiber is released as the person unweights the limb and propels them forward.
The action in a running leg would not be effective during pedaling. This is because you don’t want your leg to deform as you press down on the pedal. You want your leg to be stiff such that all of the force is directed through your leg, through your foot, past your cleat, and directly on to the pedal. You don’t want to lose or store any energy… you want to use it immediately. Does this make sense?
Weight in a biking leg does make a difference. Prosthetic legs tend to weigh less than a “real” leg. For instance, my real leg probably would have weighed ~15lbs with muscle and bone. My biking prosthetic weighs ~8lbs. I could probably shave another pound off of my set up, if it were all made of carbon. Also, my prosthetists could design a limb that is more aerodynamic. As you might know, as you get more competitive any advantage can make the difference between 1st place and 5th place. Who doesn’t like winning?
I hope this helps.
PS: This is picture of me racing on a track a couple years ago. I had just received the newest form of running prosthetic. That day I ran a mile in 6 min 30sec. The fastest I had ran since high school… when I had two legs.
@MegFisher
That’s very fast by any standard. Wow!
Out of curiosity, do the various legs mount via an interface to the same cup, or do you exchange the entire thing?
Two weeks ago, I got to watch the European Paratriathlon Championship, and I couldn’t believe the feats these guys were pulling off. I stood next to Transition in tears as they exited the water, put on their respective prosthetic, and Just Got On With It. The second-fastest swimmer was a man with no arm, and seeing the paraplegics in their recumbents, buzzing fearlessly between upright time-trial bikes… Unbelievable. The sheer willpower, the ingenious technological ideas to enable all that talent to be used, and the madness of steering a TT bike with a disc wheel, on a very windy day, on a twisty course – with just one arm.
@MegFisher
Thanks again. Your explanation about the running v cycling leg does make sense – it’s the same reasoning that sees bikes and cranksets etc designed for stiffness.
@MegFisher
Exactly. Rule #70 all the way.
Chapeau Meg.
I spent the weekend in Montreal with the Canadian Paracycling team. There was a qualifier running at the Circuit GV that I got to watch and I got to spend some time with the coaches and get some ramp testing done too. We were looking at getting some of my team mates exposure to the paracycling program. My one friend is just getting into paracycling and he still uses his walking leg…for now. I just hope he doesn’t get sucked into another sport.
Needless to say good luck! And I know the competition is tough, I saw the Canadian team standards – insane fast!
@Dan_R
I raced in Montreal a couple years ago on the Circuit GV. Had an awesome experience! I was born in Calgary and have a deep respect for the Canadian Paracyling Team.
Holy crap, Meg, you are The V personified! I will NOT complain about my legs hurting ever again. If I do you can smack me upside the head with the Pipe Bomb.
@scaler911
(Insert “Like” V image here) Cappuccino, pfffft. Donation made, I’m on long blacks for the rest of the week…
Amazing.
Nice story Meg. Continue the ass kicking. My brother is an amputee, below the knee too, and him and his prosthetist are tight. They do amazing things where human bodies and carbon fiber come together. And I know how expensive that is, so I hope the Velominati are able to help out with paypal. We get expensive carbon fiber and Ti.
Your story of bike biomechanics is great too, shorter crank, brilliant. Good luck this summer, we will be pulling for you.
I feel a bit of a wuss now for complaining about the pain in my arthritic knee. Never again. What your article has inspired me to do is play with my bike set up to see if I can try to alleviate the problems that come with having an imbalance on one side. Thanks for the inspiration!
amazing story Meg! and in the spirit of Rule #4, your bike is BADASS!
Meg what comes through for me from your great article is that you sound like your prosthetic is just like any other challenge – no biggie just get on with it and deal. I know there is much more to it than that but you are living what we talk about and value here whether or not we get there ourselves.
I love London and combine that with the Olympics, how cool – hope you make it and have a great time!
Thanks for the excellent article, Meg!
Thanks for sharing, great story and lots of things to think about.
My question is, did any one explore powercranks with you? It is a controversial topic to some, a total mechanical oddity to many, a training tool to a few. Some of the sets come with adjustable crank lengths to allow all sorts of adaptation to both different riders as well as leg length discrepancies. Hooked to a powertap wheel you could potentially look at using ( channeling one’s inner power data dork) single leg intervals and some patience to pore over data, what kind of power differences r vs l and with alternate crank lengths. Not that I think about these things …
Another BK rider here, since 2004. Hey, leg shaving in half the time ;) Normal’s just a setting on the washing machine. My current socket + renegade foot setup works pretty well, but this gives me a whole new set of ideas to discuss with my prosthetist. Girl, you send me. Thanks for the tech talk and inspiration.
@PegLeg
I also use the Renegade by Freedom Innovations as my everyday walking foot. It’s stiff and responsive. The foot is great for many activities. However, if you bike a lot, a specific prosthetic is the way to go. Good luck and keep the rubber side down!
@gaswepass
I have never tried PowerCranks. I am all for geeking out whenever possible. I have heard mixed reviews- however they might be the key to a few more watts for someone with a challenging leg length discrepancy.
Has anyone here tried them? Opinions?
New Lexicon entry: Pull a Fisher or Fishered. “I pulled a Fisher last weekend by showing up to the start line late and winning.” Take that Delgado.
Great article Meg. Thanks for the contribution.
@MegFisher
Cool. I am here in Calgary this weekend to buy a house in Cochrane! Once I am retired from the army, I will be doing some scouting for the CCA. Mostly focused on injured soldiers and veterans. Of course this is just a side project to my bike business, but after being around some much potential athletes and being a cyclist too TFTC, it is turning out to be an easy life transition.
On a side note, I am keenly interested it what leg you end up with including a bit of a performance review – such a bike nerd…
Keep riding hard and inspiring others!
@Marko
Yeah, a Fisher is the oposite of a Delgado. Love it.
@MegFisher
I think Scaler911 has a set. He is insane, the fuck. Might be cool to explore. I feel like I remember seeing a powertap on your bike, but I’m not sure. That would be half the question already.
@PegLeg, @MegFisher
Welcome @PegLeg!
What a quote. I’m remembering that one. That is solid gold right there.
Both of you are an inspiration to me to stop my bitching. We get into these cycles, and its always incredible when you see what a good attitude people facing real obstacles have.
Cheers, and thanks for the continued inspiration.
I have a few questions, though. How is the prosthetic attached to the knee? does it just sit in there or is it attached firmly somehow? Can you pull on the pedals with that leg, or is it mostly a pushing action?
@frank
I do have a set. I could pull them off and let you try them if you’re so inclined. Both crank arms have adjustable lengths from 140-190 (I think), in .5 increments.
I meant that for Meg. And they’ll make you feel like you’ve never ridden a bike before. You have my e-dress, I can bring them to the cogal.
Beauty Meg. You are an inspiration beyond mere words. Go kick some Olympic butt and take London by storm flying the V.
Hugely impressive, good luck in London. Just arrived in Paris with Chris Moon, who is a right leg and arm amputee – the V only begins to explain it. All the more so as he rides a hideous old KHS bike, with a bizarre arrangement to get both brakes working off one lever, and a back wheel wobblier than an Uzbeck sprinter. On the flat, amazing, but hills are tough without a calf, so I could keep my self respect by dropping him.
Before anything else, I would like to say THANK YOU to all who have read the article, commented, and/ or donated. I feel incredibly lucky to be alive and would not be here today without the help and support of so many; such as my doctors, my family & friends, my teammates, and those who inspire me to keep trying. Countless people go unnamed, but they remain close to my heart.
We all have trials in our lives that test the foundation of our being. Each time I get on the bike, I am reminded of how far I have come; from the hospital bed to the wheelchair, from the walker to crutches, and then finally to walking on my own two feet. When I stand at the line, ready to do battle with what lays ahead, I am determined to do my best as a tribute to my dearest friend who died in our accident and as a means to say thank you to everyone else. I am eternally grateful to cycling and to all of you.
Chapeau, Meg. This is what the V is all about. Thank you for the inspiration. A-Merckx!