Training & Nutrition - Riding after healing

Wondering if anyone has any ideas for safe ways of getting one's strength back after a broken leg... I assume I shouldn't just hop right back on and start peddling when one leg is strong and the other is horribly atrophied. Any advice?

Ask your doctor what's the best way to get back into it. Also I would have your fit on the bike checked. Is there any possibility one leg is shorter since it was broken?

Another option is to set an appointment up with a physical therapist for some recommendations on how to regain the strength in your leg. I have no experience with recovery from a broken leg, but I did recover from a pretty serious serious bike accident (http://denise2004crash.crazyguyonabike.com) last spring. The broken bones that got in my way were a pelvic bone and skull fracture (in spite of wearing a helmet). It took 6 weeks before I could get on my bike again. I started by walking - and walking short distances only - and then I graduated back to my bicycle. I'm still working back to touring shape; my workouts right now consist of biking on the weekends when the weather cooperates, (fast) walking most days, and exercise at a gym several days a week. It will take some work, but I'm sure that you'll recover!

My own experience was with a car. Was descending a local climb then got hit head-on by a car. Didn't break my leg but had a huge bruise, from the middle of my thigh down to my calf.
Spent 5 weeks, just learning how to walk since my knee would flex fully. Then, bought another bike and had to learn how to pedal again since one leg was definitely weaker. Did a lot of one leg spinning with my weaker leg to balance it out with the stronger one.
The tough part was dealing not being able to ride or race. I'm back to racing now but losing a full cross season was not fun! Another problem was trying to race without thinking about crashing...
Take your recovery one step at a time.

thanks for the tips. i'll be certain to take it easy. i just got back from the doctor's yesterday and it looks like it won't be at least another 6 weeks until i can even start walking on it again.. it's been six weeks already. it was a bummer, because all of the pain was gone i foolishly assumed that everything was healed. i was expecting them to be astonished with the super human manner in which my body remedies itself, far superior to all others. "Have you ever seen anyone heal so fast?" one would ask. there would be confetti, and champagne, and balloons.. all would celebrate my unfathomable ability to put my calcium to work and get the job done. yet, upon x-ray review, to my uneducated eye the bones still look as splintered as the day i broke them. healing idly upon the couch seemingly takes more emotional endurance than the hardest of rides!

Denise, the pictures on your site make me miss riding the east coast roads.. congrats on your successful recovery!

I have to say that how you recover from an injury is personal. I did not ask my doctor permission to start working out. I just did it, carefully, letting pain be my guide.

I had broken my hip into 4 pieces after a fall on a wet corner. The bits got screwed back together, and the doctor said it would take 12 weeks to mend. Four weeks after the surgery, I convinced my wife to help me get onto the trainer. My leg muscles had shriveled to almost nothing, and pedaling was painful. I did that for 3 weeks, as well as walking 3-5 miles daily on crutches.

I started doing my first road rides in week 7. Since I couldn't walk unaided, I purchased a folding cane to carry in my jersey pocket. In week 12, my doctor said I could start riding my bike again.