As a teenager, I was physically fit and active in sports, particularly football. Sports were a large part of my life, and I believe that they were very influential in my development. After joining the Navy and entering the submarine force, I found my self focusing more on the job than on fitness, and as a result, in 1984 I weighed 275 pounds. I was overweight, unfit, and had difficulty passing the Navy’s simple fitness tests.

That year, after seeing Julie Moss' remarkable finish in the IRONMAN, I decided that I needed to make a lifestyle change. I set the goal of finishing the IRONMAN Triathlon, a grueling event that equires competitors to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run a 26.2 mile marathon.

As I trained for the IRONMAN (losing 55 pounds on the way), I found that my increased fitness paid dividends in other areas of my life. For example, I had more energy, I learned to break down seemingly insurmountable tasks into smaller, manageable objectives, and I found myself able to deal with stress better.

I successfully finished IRONMAN in 1986 and continued to compete in endurance sports, including the ULTRAMAN Triathlon (6 mile swim, 260 mile bike, 52.4 mile run), Furnace Creek 508 (508 mile bike race through Death Valley and the Mojave desert), and Race Across America (4 man relay team, completing nearly 3,000 miles in just over six days). Over the years I have learned a great deal about training, nutrition, and motivation, mostly through trial and error and making what seems to be countless mistakes.

While continuing to compete, I became more successful in the Navy because of the lessons I was learning in sport. I was commissioned as an Ensign in 1987 after ten years of enlisted service through a merit program, despite not having a college degree. I was given a substantial cash award for the development of a negotiating methodology for submarine repair contracts at Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton in 1991. The Naval Submarine League honored me with the Levering Smith Submarine Support Award in 1994, awarded to the one individual in the entire Navy who has contributed the most to submarine support. I was selected to be assigned as the Production Officer in La Maddalena, Italy, over officers many years senior to me because of my reputation for innovative thinking, team building, and the proven ability to get things done correctly.

Several years ago, after contemplating what I would do after retiring from the Navy, I decided to focus on sport rather than continuing in the much more lucrative civilian nuclear engineering field. I decided to focus on coaching, and to that end I entered a Master of Sport Science program at the United States Sports Academy (USSA) in 1996. My area of specialization was cycling.

I continued the masters program while stationed in Italy as the Production Officer on USS SIMON LAKE, a repair ship. I led 750 people in repairing the 12 surface ships and 4 submarines that were deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. I was spot promoted (an accelerated promotion) to Lieutenant Commander during this tour of duty, as well as being awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the President of the United States.

In 1996, still stationed in Italy, while browsing the internet, I saw that the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) was looking for a cycling coach. The thought of blind cyclists intrigued me, so I responded to the ad. I found that this sport paired a sighted rider at the front of a tandem, with a blind rider in the back. One thing led to another and USABA flew me from Italy to Houston, TX to coach the riders at the 1997 National Championships.

My family and I returned to Connecticut in 1997, and in 1998 I founded my coaching business; Fabish Sport. I completed my masters program in 1999, and the same summer worked with the entire U.S. Disabled Cycling Team at an international competition in Blois, France. I rang in the new century as a retired naval officer and full time PhD student at the University of Connecticut. It only took me one semester to decide that the hallowed halls of research were not for me, I was a "hands on" kinda guy. I'm proud of my 4.0 PhD GPA, but it just wasn't worth five years of poverty for a few more letters before or after my name.

Since then, I have focused on helping others succeed in their pursuit of athletic goals. To that end, I founded the Thread City Cyclers (TCC), a cycling club focused on the development of performance cyclists. In 2002 I opened the "Complete Cycle™ Training Center" to aid in coaching athletes and to provide them with the correct equipment and tools to make their dreams a reality. For 2004 I have partnered with Mystic Velo Club.

The dawning of 2005 finds us in the new, spacious Complete Cycle™ Training Center, complete with 8 station Computrainer Multirider setup, Infinite Pool, and more. I will be Directing the Cerebral Palsy Cycling World Championship Cycling Race in June. There is a long list of races that I will be competing at and supporting.

"What a long, strange trip it's been". I invite you to join me for the next ride.