stapfam

Couple of weeks ago I put my back out and I had not done a ride above 5 miles for a few weeks before that. But I did a short ride yesterday and the back did not get any worse so today was a ride to check it out. 9am and the others turned up and I told them to take a long route to the cafe and I would meet them there. Only a 10 mile trip and I was not going to push hard anywhere. Couple of miles in and the back felt OK except if I found a low cadence up slopes so it was up the cadence and work the lungs instead of the legs and back. Not my usual style of riding but it seems to have worked. Good time down to the cafe at an average of 15mph and no aches. Waited for the rest to arrive and might aswell have a coffee-and an Almond Pie while I am about it. They arrived after I had finished the coffee so toast followed on with the 2nd cup. They had done 19 miles at an average of 13.5 mph and over the same type of terrain which is lots of short sharp rises they had met traffic which I did not.

Just as we started back we got a slight drizzle that turned to light rain and that was not forecast. route back was up the local MUP and lots of cyclists out this morning. You can never get speed up on the MUP due to the number of people using it but averaged 16mph on the way back till 1 mile from home and the flat Fairy hit me. It was raining by now and a dull ache in the back so decided to walk the bike home. The speed that tyre went down it must have been a tube failure as I could not find anything in the tyre at all. Better to repair in the comfort of the shed so a walk to give a different exercise to the back.

The Bike used was the Pinnie and that bike surprises me every time I take it out. I know it is the cheapest bike they make and it only has Tiagra groupset but it rides superbly. On the way back the slight rises were treated as sprints and that bike accelerates well. I did the usual trick of holding the wheel of the front rider and pulling out just before the top. Didn't lose a single sprint but did have enough time to recover between sprints and none of them were that long in any case.

So Looks like I am back on the recovery route. Hope so as the other part of the cure is rest and La Vuelta and the Belgian Grand Prix are on TV this afternoon and I am hoping that this part of the recovery will go to plan aswell.

GeorgeBMac

Stapfam, I am sorry but I didn't realize that you were having back problems and were not riding... That had to be hard. I've had back problems and they are, well, a problem. But, not being able to ride makes it all the worser...

But welcome back to the saddle! My thoughts will be with you as you continue getting back up to speed.

It sounds like you are being cautious. But I will issue the issue warning anyway of "don't push it too hard!"

Mort Canard

Stap,
Good to hear that you are back in the saddle!

bruce19

Back problems suck. Glad you're improving. Years ago I had a horrific back problem. Couldn't roll from side to side in bed. Went to a chiropractor and within the month I was playing in a flag football league. Once you've had a back issue being "normal" is a treasure.

stapfam

Couple of hours of resting in front of the TV and Back feels fine. Didn't put much effort into the ride but I knew I had done one. So still gonna take care with no heavy lifting or stretching to paint the Windows but Signs are looking good.

Bikey Mikey

Glad you're back in the saddle, but don't overdo. When I was dealing with SI induced Sciatica in my left leg right before I was going to get the roadie, I was told while doing PT not to push it further and as long as it didn't seem to make things worse, or prevent improvement, cycling was fine. I was told specifically not to increase the mileage until I was better.

qcpmsame 

Stap,
Good to read that you rode and that things are recovering/healing well. Nice ride report too. Have a great week end and be ready for the 15th and the special day.

Bill