jppe

After 2 months........hospitalization + walking aides etc, I was able to do a short ride today. I had joked with my friends that my first ride was going to be a ride to my mailbox and back. My mailbox is only about 150' from my house and it's all downhill back to the house!!

I got to the mailbox and just kept going to the end of the street----then to end of my subdivision...and then out to a short route I use for recovery rides.

I can't believe how much I've regressed. I kept telling myself to use easy gears, spin 80+ and just smile. It was really ugly from a riding perspective--my pedaling stroke was terribly choppy but then again not too bad for bad knees, ankles and feet.

I rode a whopping 20.55 miles and averaged 13.7 mph. Plus I was totally whipped at the end.

But it's progress........While the steroids eliminated most of the swelling this week, Friday I still needed crutches to get around due to the inflammation still in the knees, feet and ankles. But after restarting the NSAIDs Saturday I was doing well enough to toss the crutches. The weather today was really nice so I had to give it a try. 5-10 miles would have been plenty but I set a goal to do 20 miles and did it.

It feels more challenging than when I started riding 10 years ago. I don't see how in the heck I have ridden hilly centuries or even Ride the Rockies last year.

I just hope I didn't recreate some swelling in the joints. Tomorrow will tell!