Cycling: Veteran Miller prepares to quit

Cycling's hard man, Graeme Miller, is days away from ending an illustrious career.

The omens have not been promising for Miller, who turns 42 today, since he underwent an operation to repair a damaged disc in his lower spine three months ago.

He has not raced competitively since July, and fears the time may have arrived to end a career that took him around the globe for more than 20 years.

The veteran of numerous Olympics, Commonwealth Games and world championships has been preparing for life off his bike.

A builder by trade before cycling offered him an alternative via the professional circuit in the United States, Miller has been attending polytechnic courses in Auckland as he contemplates making a living by selling real estate. He is preparing for the worst possible news when he consults his surgeon next week about the prospects of riding competitively.

"The question I will be asking of the specialists is there a guarantee my back will hold out if I do get back into training? I'm not prepared to be a cripple," said Miller.

"How I was before the operation is not a way of life for me.

"It's not like I'm 19 and have everything ahead of me. I've really got to face the truth in coming weeks."

A fierce competitor who always warranted the utmost respect from his peers because of his hard-nosed approach, Miller will err on the side of caution.

"I have been swimming, walking and biking, a bit of everything.

"I have my movement back but I wouldn't go as far as to say full movement.

"I've had some rides of a maximum of 1 1/2 hours. I haven't been in that much discomfort ... but I was only riding at granny's pace.

"My movement is pretty free but my back still aches if I push it too hard. That's really frustrating because I'm the sort of person who can't do anything by half measures."

Miller said he decided to learn the real estate trade rather than stay home and dwell on his misfortune.

"I've got so much time on my hands that I can either sit around and mope about it or I can get on with things.

"With the problem that I've had I can't go back to building. If I can't ride my bike I've got to do something that will take up a lot of my time."

- NZPA