A Season of Recovery: Q&A with Wes Johnson

I had a sick feeling when I heard the ambulance heading toward us.

Capn Ende, Wes and I were halfway done with last October’s Bonifay 1000k in NW Florida. We’d finished the climb up Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in Alabama, around noon.

Now we were homeward bound, riding a tailwind, the overnight stop at Auburn in our sights. A beautiful day, a straight road, good company. And bicycles.

Sometime after the climb, Wes drifted off the back. Ende and I weren’t concerned. We had a planned stop about six miles up the road. We’d get a soda or a burger, wait for Wes to roll in.

Then came the ambulance, siren and lights on.

I pulled over and powered up my cell phone.

“Ende, I’ve got a bad feeling,” I said. We rang up Wes.

When Wes answered, the pain in his voice was unmistakable. He’d been hit from behind by a pick-up hauling a utility trailer.

The truck mirror clipped him in the back. The wheel well of the trailer apparently caught him behind the left knee.

We spoke with Wes for a minute more before the ambulance transported him to a nearby hospital.

We debated quitting, Ende and I, but with no easy way to do that, we rode on and eventually finished the ride. But it was not the sweet joy it should have been. There was supposed to be three of us.

Early reports about Wes’ condition were encouraging. There were no broken bones, no life-threatening injuries. But his cycling season was over.

Wes was off the bike for months, in and out of physical therapy, as he attempted to regain the full use of his left knee. He still complains about numbness there, and his doctors say that may be permanent.

Wes completed the brevet series, qualifying for Paris Brest Paris -- but it wasn’t always pretty. He showed up in racer form for the Morrisville 200K. Three weeks later and 35 miles from the finish, he dropped out of the 300K, chalking up the DNF to mental frustration and physical exhaustion.

And he nearly threw in the towel on the 600K, taking an eight-hour break at the turnaround, declaring he wanted to sag in, then climbing back on his bike and successfully completing the ride.

That took a lot of guts.

His whole season took a lot of guts.

I’m proud to count Wes among the Carolina crew heading to PBP. Because he’ll do us proud.

An aside: When Wes started randonneuring, he was only 25 -- about half the age of his riding buddies. He got painted with the obvious nickname, “The Kid.”

There’s now a new kid on the brevet block -- 18-year-old Justin -- so we’ve had to retire that moniker. We’re open to suggestions.

Following are Wes’ comments in the latest installment on Tar Heel riders heading to PBP.

First, how's the knee? Fully recovered? I was very apprehensive about the knee this spring. Normally I ride through the winter, but I went about 3 months without riding. Physical therapy and 30 minute easy trainer rides were not the best gauge. I still have numbness on the back of my knee.

The doc said if it is like that after a year it most likely will be permanent.

I guess if everything else is really hurting on a ride I don’t have to worry about 1 spot.

After the Bonifay accident, was it tough to get your head back in the brevets? Physically I seemed to be in good form but mentally I really had a tough series.

Yea, I really wanted to take the year off. Because it was a PBP year I felt really pressured to ride and I was worried about the knee.

It was up to the last minute trying to get in shape enough to ride a 200k. The 200k went pretty well and I kept waiting for the knee to hurt on longer rides.

You nearly dropped out on the 600K, but then got up and headed back up the route after an eight-hour break. What got you rolling again? Forgetfulness and sleep. All I needed was 8 hours off bike with a few hours of sleep. My brain forget the previous day of mental suffering.

In one word, what does PBP represent for you? Adventure. Never been to Europe, Never done a 1200k.

Your most memorable randonneuring moment? I think there are just too many to pick one. 1) Having to stop 5 miles from the end of the 2005 600k and rest, I was so overheated. I lost 7 pounds that ride, lesson learned. 2) Crashing hard during a county line sprint at last year's Spartanburg 300k. I have since "retired" from sprinting. I'm pretty sure most of my riding buddies also retired shortly after. 3) Finding this awesome restaurant on the first day of last year’s Bonifay-Cheaha Challenge 1000K. Mike Dayton, Cap'n John Ende and myself laid waste to the buffet.

What book are you taking to Paris? No idea, my wife has a list of books she wants me to read. She'll give me something to take.

You're only 27. Several of your riding buddies are in their 50s.What's it like riding with those old farts? I’m 28 so at least I’m slightly more then half their age now! If I could climb like JoeRay (2007 Town mountain hill climb masters champion), have a pain threshold like John Ende and ride forever like Mike Dayton, I just might be getting somewhere. It will take years though. JoeRay keeps telling me I’ll never catch up to them since they have been training for 20+ years. Maybe when I’m 40 and they are nearing 70 I can take them…..

One of your hobbies is salt water aquariums. How'd you get started? Abi and I had freshwater fish for a while and she thought we should get saltwater. I’d wanted to try a saltwater reef tank and once she said we should I jumped onto the net looking at websites on it. If anyone is interested I have some pictures.

Last three CDs you bought/downloaded? I don’t buy music that often, I mainly listen to streaming audio stations on Shoutcast. Mostly the punk/ska station on RantRadio. I did buy the new Anti-Flag CD recently before I saw them at Cat’s Cradle.

Describe a week of training. During the week I ride 2 or 3 days, most of time with JoeRay.

Wednesdays -- The non-racers have named our regular route “Tour de Chapel Hill." It is a fast, race-like ride around Orange County. Last week the leg crushing pace was 22.3.

Thursdays -- If I can still feel my legs there is a group who leaves just outside of Chapel Hill. It’s equally fast but a little steadier. If my legs are dead I’ll go do 30+ mile loop myself.

On the weekends I try to get in longer rides (150k+) with Dayton, JoeRay, Dan and others. If not there is a 100k group ride that leaves from Wilson Park in Chapel Hill.

This year to train for PBP I’m planning on riding from Chapel Hill to Lake Norman and back the next day. It’s a pretty hilly route about 220k each way. If anyone wants to do that ride for training let me know. I am thinking about riding it again the last week on July or the first weekend in August.

What question do you wish I'd asked? Two bikes leave different cities heading toward each other at different speeds. When and where do they meet? Answer – No Idea - I was only a math major in college, not a bike rider.