HillRiderEast

oddly teary eyed...great Christmas story ending

americanrecluse

Hello friends! I thought I would post an update here in case anyone remembered/wondered about me.

I had knee replacement surgery in summer 2015. The recovery was hard but the whole thing is just amazing and wonderful. If someone offers you a new knee - take it!

But I found myself absolutely terrified of getting back on the bike. It was only in December that I dared to take it to the parking lot across the street just to see if my new knee could pedal the whole circle. It could. Then in January I found what looked online to be a good safe place for me to practice - there's a nice wide paved path around the Hollywood Reservoir. We tossed the bikes in the van and went early on a Saturday and it was wonderful. I did it! The whole circle around the reservoir is 3.3 miles and I was pretty pleased with myself. We did that about 4-5 Saturdays in a row and I started getting restless. So I got online this past week and rented a bike locker at my subway station. Starting Monday I'll be able to ride there and back every weekday, and leave the car parked.

Today we decided to do a different, harder ride, as my roommate was getting bored. He rides a 26" PK Ripper and is one of those dudes who pretty much always used a bike + public transportation as his primary mode of transportation, so the wide path and gentle sweeping curves of the reservoir weren't really doing it for him. The ride was too short and riding the circle twice seemed silly to him, like marching in place or something. He wants to GO. So I swallowed my fear and we rode straight from home, on city streets (with a good bike lane), through a giant scary intersection, and on up the road to one of those bike paths that had once been a railroad line. On the way up I kept thinking about when we should turn back, to ensure that I would be able to make it home, but I realized that with the new knee, I CAN make it home. I just can. So we rode to the end of the path then turned around and came home - 8.5 miles, my longest ride so far.

And I got these super cute tights/skirt combo.

Beachgrad05

Nice update!

bransom

+1

VCSL2015

Hi! Im a little older (cough) but the same weight. It takes time to build endurance. Any long term goals? Just jaunts around the park for starters, but do you see yourself riding longer distances? 1. Congratulations on taking the step forward in buying a bike. It can be very daunting. The second part, making those rides a routine. You can do it! Just take one day at a time. But its good to have goals =) Looking forward to reading about your progress- VCSL

Alrighty then. I can see this was an old thread. Was not prepared for that . I hope everything is going good for you!

americanrecluse

An old thread with a new update! I've actually only just started riding it. My goal for the year is to do a 20 mile ride. My shorter term goal is to be able to ride to the subway station and back without my terrible anxiety kicking in! There's no reason for it, but that's anxiety for ya.

I appreciate the good wishes, and thanks for all who've commented!

VCSL2015

How many miles is it to the subway station, and did you make it yet. If your on Strava we can encourage each other

americanrecluse

It's only a mile and a half each way! It's just a few minutes. There's no reasoning with anxiety. Last week was much better than the first week though.