Pamestique 

I lost weight the first 2 months because I could not get around; once I became more mobile I started eating... and I ate crap... so I know I messed up; that said:

I did a 10 mile ride on Saturday. The route was not particularly difficult but the first 5 miles was a climb (gradient 2 - 5%) and the last slightly downhill. I did...OK...I was tired and pushing a bit but became encouraged; if I work at it, I might get back to what I lost (although I predict will take 6 months). One big plus from riding Saturday; it caused the swelling in my right leg to subside. I planned to ice my ankle after the ride but all the swelling was gone and it has stayed off. I do PT today and then after, I will do another short ride just to keep the legs spinnin'. Unfortunately it's "Africa" hot here right now so riding is just nasty...

I used my mountain bike cause it felt more stable than the commuter or road bike and frankly, it has a more comfortable saddle(Terry Butterfly vs WTB Razor). It also has a platform pedal (Time ZControl) with a cleat. I removed the cleat from my right mountain bike shoe and was able to at least clip in on the left side. That gave me more power and more stablility. I need to work on being able to clip in the right side; right now, still hurts too much.

hobkirk

New knee in January. Recovery slowed by infection (in other leg - go figure!)

The net result was no riding for 4 1/2 months. So I started May 10, I was slow, had to take breaks every 10 miles, etc. After four months I am stronger than last year (recovery from new hip, broken while leading a ride), and almost as strong as before that.

So cheer up, ramp up sensibly for your body, and you should be back in a short time. And you will have missed the hottest two months in history.

My personal strategy: alternate ride days and rest days. Especially at the beginning, if your body is straining, pull over and park your butt (3 times I watched a couple innings of softball games at two fields, twice I sat on someone's lawn). 10-15 minutes makes a big difference. And it not, call for a ride.

Good luck with your recovery.

Turzy

I'm pretty much in the same situation. An injury at the end of last year, has kept me off the bike for a while, then the arrival of our newborn daughter... between work, parenting duties and errands, I barely have time for myself. At least, our 2.5 yo boy started school, so I'm confident I'll be able to get more "free" time to ride.
There is something positive though, even if I wasn't able to ride as much as I would have liked, I still have enough time to work out, at home. I started a body weight exercise program. I just need to take time for myself and go out and ride...before the winter arrives.

Pamestique 

So did about 20 miles today... it's hot here and that was the worse part of the ride... there were some short steep hills but surprisingly, I climbed them OK. Took the trail down to Newport Beach. We took the Ferry over to Balboa Peninsula and them rode out to The WEDGE to watch the body surfers... all the big waves are gone but it was still fun watching guys wipe out... back home; took a cold shower and have ice on my ankle... Life Is Good!

bassjones

Told you If you were truly starting from scratch, there's no way you'd be at 20 miles already.

Pamestique 

Yep... you are right... I am encouraged. The ride was actually OK... the heat bothered me more than anything else. I could have easily gone further. The difference I could tell, was speed. I am way slower than below but I know speed comes with fitness so I will keep working at it.

Null66

Pam,
Thanks for this thread. I have a bunch of little issues (relatively!). Seeing you overcome this kinda gives me a much needed kick me in the butt!

jimincalif

Congratulations on 20 miles. And doing that ride in the heat we've been having that's a great ride just a couple weeks back at it! Most importantly, you're enjoying it!

jsigone

Sorry you have to go through this. Really I am, it sucks and will suck...but if you want it, you HAVE to grit it out.

I had to go through that crap last summer after I was hit by a car (10bones + internal). I wasn't recovered yet but hopped on the bike anyways, I needed to get over the mental hurdle and rode for an hour and it hurt/sucked. Took another 2 weeks off to "heal" a bit more for trying again and ride for another hour. The following week I tried to dive back into a schedule.

Stick a schedule, ride, pop pain pills, eat/recover and repeat

April 10 got wreck training for BWR, was in really good shape at time, probably helped saved my life. All the docs and nurses said I was really lucky...
June 25, first day 56min, first mental hurdle, stayed on bike path
July 9, 54min
July 23, 56min---July 26 sya hi to the club before they dropped me 2h43min @45mile (tape measure to see how much I need to get back into shape)
July 28, 1h9min, --- July 29, 54min----July 30, 2h27min @ 41miles
Aug 5, 56min,----Aug 9, 4h43min @ 85mile (1st full club ride starting from home to San Onofre)
Did an easy week with couple lunch ride, no club ride that week as they do Hills, ever other week then they do the coast. Following week was San O again so another 85miles. I did this schedule for another 8 weeks, doing the club ever other week when it was along the coast.

The fruits of the labor was exciting, but it was still a long hard road to recovery or accepting the normal pains of this new body. I'm glad I had great support all around me. I hope you can push through it, the first month is bloody hell. I wanted to quit cycling and just sell my bike early Sept cuz it hurt so bad and not enjoying it. It hurt, was tired of getting dropped, was tired of being the slow guy everyone waits for, was tired of popping pain pills after my rides or even during the rides. But somehow I still managed to push my limits during the week on my lunch rides, my mind was much stronger than my body....a blessing or a curse... Few weeks later was a huge difference.

Towards the end of Sept, I can feel my CX bike with 25c slicks was holding me back speed wise with the club. I'm out there racing F1 cars with a rally cross hatchback. So I got a road frameset off ebay. I went from getting dropped a week ago to staying and competing in the sprint the following week (3rd) just by changing the frame out. That was Oct 11, I logged in 110 mile on the new bike for the first ride on it. Glad it fit OK

Only YOU can tell yourself how much want it. I hope my timeline can help encourage you or others a little bit

LGHT

Looks like your progressing pretty fast. I'm trying to get back in shape after almost 2 months off my self.

joeyduck

Pam great to hear you're getting back to it.

I have not given the physical side of my return much thought. I know it will be brutal. But as @Willbird said being a cyclist puts you a leg up. I managed a few swims before another infection set in and having a background of swimming made me the fastest despite no physical activity in about six months.

I do have the hurdle of convincing my wife it is safe for me ride. It's tough but I can't blame her since I almost died while she was five months pregnant with our second child.

Pamestique 

jsigone... I had no clue. So sorry for your injury. I was not as injured as you. It was only my ankle but unfortunately because of the soft tissue damage, I was not able to ride until just recently (alittle over 5 mos). I tried to keep in shape but couldn't walk; really could not exercise. Definately suffered alittle depression and let myself go... When I finally went out to the garage to look at the bikes, all had flats, were dusty and in need of maintenance.

The doctor told me 6 months; be patient. That is alittle optimistic I realize. While I might be able to ride a bike, I won't be at the level of fitness I was at when the accident occurred. Sad thing, I was working really hard; training for GMR (which never happened), the Tour de Big Bear and Cool Breeze Century... I was in good shape. Right now I am hoping to be able to use a cleat within another month or two. I hate riding without one; just can't get the power and stability.

Anyway, I am giving myself one year... by April next year, to be back as close as I am going to get. Thankfully, I have always had little pain. I can pedal with no pain but once I try to twist out of the cleat (did this once; the cleat was immedately taken off my shoe); the pain is strong so I will keep going to PT to build the strength back up (I faithfully do all my PT exercises).

The only thing holding me back now, beside lack of a cleat, is the hot weather... never liked it; never will. So I've started back in the gym, using the spin bike. Once the weather cool downs, then I will be riding... little by little it will come back. Now... big challenge is getting over the fear of falling and getting hurt again... might be awhile before I take any risk again...

To everyone who's hadto come back... hat's off to you... it's a struggle!

Pamestique 

Getting alittle off-topic... I actually got "flamed" off another website for cautioning family men about taking too many risks when there are love ones and children at home...

In the So Cal area, there have been a series of very tragic deaths... men who have 2, 3, 4 and one 5, kids at home and they decide to go do jumps at a bike park... one false landing, neck broken, game over. Two deaths involved men doing "epic" rides during bad weather (one freezing, one too hot).

I get your wife's concern... I get how she must have felt when you were injured and she thought "this is it! I'm alone with two kids to raise!"

So understand where your wife is coming from... but I also know how important it is to get out and ride... I have counted down minutes until I was able to get on the saddle again...

jsigone

One year is a solid goal. BWR was April event, so I had the same timeframe to do the BWR in 2015 since I couldn't ride it in 14' due to the accident. You can do it

Physical therapy....I had blocked that memory out....selective memory is what I'll call it haha. But they are also the ones who helped me able to stretch my arms out to cover the hoods/brakes of my bike even with 30mm shorter stems. I spent allot of time pain while PT from June to July just to extend my range of motion to reach the handlebars and hoods

Pamestique 

Last Friday at PT, I asked the Therapist "so...what kind of exercise can I do to strengthen the ligaments so I can clip in and out of a pedal? (I showed what I meant by twisting my foot back and forth)" She stared at me like "WTF???" She said "ah, you shouldn't be doing that anyway; just keep doing the exercises I give you. In time it will strenghten back up..." She doesn't get there is no time, I want to do it NOW!!!!

This whole ordeal has taught me some patience... begrudingly!

jimincalif

Maybe you could try a pedal and toe clip combination on that side? Since you're riding without your cleat anyway. Would give you some foot retention to keep the shoe from sliding off, but you don't have to twist to clip out.

jsigone

Few years ago when @TrojanHorse was using a knee scooter and high tech space boots, joined his club and did a class 2 sprain on my ankle trail running. Doc gave me this and crutches. About a month later when I can pressure on my ankle, I used the air brace w/ my cycling shoes. Loosen the pedals contact as much as I could and was "doable" with some help from my hands. First few times hurt like hell. I figured if I forgot to unclip, I'd sacrifice my elbow in the fall rather than try to clip out. So i just un clipped early at all lights with my good foot which was opposite than my normal un-clip foot so that took a while to get used to.

Air-Stirrup Ankle Brace | DJO Global

Side effect, it hinders how much you can side to side pivot on the ankle so leaning you bike will be limited without allot of other body english.

DMC707

Not every story LAnce Armstrong gave us is bad ---- one of my favorites is how , on the first day or 2 trying to ride again after cancer treatments , -- he was passed up a hill by someone old enough to be his grandmother and it was a very humbling experience but he was just glad to have his life and to be back on the bike - (then 2 years later he won the TdF, -- by hook or by crook, but he was the first to the finish line )

Given Lance's propensity for deceit, i sure hope there was some truth to that story as it is one of the few things he has written that actually is inspiring

vtdougie

I hear you all. I trained all spring and summer for a 350 mile 7 day tour of Maine with Bike Maine. I was in excellent biking condition, had been riding back to back to back rides in prep for the ride. I went down the Sunday before the ride and broke my ribs, bruised my lung, had a concussion and tweaked my leg. Obviously bummed to miss the tour. I will travel up tomorrow from Vermont to join in some of the social fun, but I am also a bit freaked about all the work I have to do to get back in shape. On the other hand, to get back in the same shape means I have to ride my bike a whole bunch, which is not such a bad thing. Not much you can do. Just be glad it wasn't worse and keep on riding.

TrojanHorse

I've got a sizable collection of this style boot at home, and one of the shorter ones:


I self diagnosed myself into one of those air stirrup things for this week just to get through my business trip. The boots are significantly better for recovery but I didn't want to deal with it.

Pamestique 

I have 2 of those boots as well (made by Bledsoe - one full leg and one mid calf) plus a knee walker/scooter. If anyone needs either, let me know - free to good homes!!! The knee walker I have is like the Colnago of knee walkers... very expensive.

and jsigone.. geez man... you are a much more dedicated rider than me. No way I could ride with a boot on; I know I would fall. I had a little mishap in the house using crutches (I was still in a cast at the time); further fracturing the bone around the screws... caused me to be in a cast for an additional 2 weeks. Didn't want to prolong my agony any longer than possible so for once... I actually listened to my doctor and stayed off a bike.

bassjones

that and the story of when he finally climbed that mountain in North Carolina that set his mind that he was ready to come back. That was inspiring!

Null66

Completely understand the sentiment. I gave my motorcycle away a couple months after Ex had her second stroke (first undetected) and it was clear her lifestyle would not improve. (Her risk stroke was both genetic and lifestyle oriented, with lifestyle supercharging the genetic risks). There were other factors but why I haven't bought a new one is strictly risk reduction and in deference to my SO's concerns.

Please note that bicycle accidents are published and dare I say promoted... So their visibility is outsized.

Imagine if they published nearly every fatal heart attack or stroke.
Headlines like:

"50 died today from cardiac issues..."
Or
"Hamburger eating TV watcher leaves 2 orphans."

The paper would be REALLY thick!

As a population cyclists have significantly longer healthy lives and much lower death rates especially during the time of life most have their kids.

See, biggest killer is Heart attacks and other cardio vascular. Cycling (even a little) radically reduces risk. Its quite clear riding reduces risk of dying before your kids are grown.

bassjones

I sold my motorcycle after my wife was diagnosed with POTS. She'll probably never work again and for two years she was fighting to get disability, so if I'd have gone down and had any serious long-term injury, our only income would have been my disability from work, which is only 60% of my 40 hr check - and I work a TON of OT on top of that. Just couldn't risk it anymore. I'm going to get another one once our daughter is on her own, but for now I'm okay with not riding, even though I miss it a lot.

Stopalot

Pam, I agree with all the post about getting it back quickly. July 2012 was my crash. Shattered my humerus. 24 screws 3 plates kind of shattered. Doc said no riding for at least a year. I said no way. exactly 9 months I went for my first ride. A very painful 6 miles. Before the crash I was riding at least 50 miles twice a week. Two days later I was able to make it 8 miles and so forth. I did not set a distance goal each time out. I let my body tell me. My one year antiversary i went for a 75 mile ride. I still have all the plates and screws and still have to take a pain med when I ride more then 20 miles but my injury does not limit my distance. I know an ankle is used much more than an upper arm in biking but you will progress quickly. Don't force it but don't quit. All the best.