Sunday, June 26, 2011

Rehab ride #1

I spent the last week doing a huge amount of not much at all. Oh wait. Strike that. I spent it stretching, icing my knee, hobbling about, and doing physical therapy exercises to strengthen surrounding muscles and address some imbalances... and yoga... and hanging out at the house with children who only wanted to be outside DOING something.

Yesterday I finally felt able to walk without a limp, and this morning no pain at all. So it was time for some non-impact rehabilitation in the guise of recreational activity. Oh, who am I kidding? I needed to get out and this was the first time my knee was going to let me do it. We took it pretty easy, but still cranked out a respectable distance, a fun ride, and everything feels good if a little strained after almost two weeks off of cycling.

I didn't take ANY photos (a first for me, I think) because I was having too much fun riding. Also, because a thing put in motion tends to stay in motion, and I wanted to keep moving before I wound up semi-permanently stopped somewhere inconvenient.

Still not running. I'll wait another week or two before starting to explore that further... but I am officially no longer a prisoner of pain in my own house. Screw that noise.

Oh, and the bike is back to being a singlespeed. Not three, not two, not 18... one. I geared it stupidly low, and it seems to be working well. Always did prefer the simplicity and quiet of spinning one gear through the mountains. A month or so ago I put a 9 speed cassette and derailleur on with the hope of making some of the steep climbs a bit easier on my body and be able to reduce recovery time. I don't know what I was thinking... temporary insanity, self-doubt... listening to people on the interwebz... focusing on a problem that had more to do with physiology than equipment. Whatever.

Its been a rough start to the real riding season. A few real fights to keep it all moving. Worth it? Hell yes. Lessons learned. Time for doing.

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