Howdy folks! I just turned 50 last week and since this seems to be one of the friendliest forums on the board,I thought I'd introduce myself here as I'll probably post here more often than not. I had'nt biked at all since my teen yrs,up until this spring,when I quit smoking.I'd quit before but always backslid within a yr and 1/2 or so. I thought that if I had a pursuit that the habit directly impacts,maybe I'd have a little more luck this time. I quit in March and bought a Tassajara Mtn bike and so far its been a great incentive(along with all the other obvious ones). I put some semi-slicks on the bike and worked up to 15-30 miles on the road,at least every other day if not every day. And 10-12 miles on the graveled roads and dirt trails in the coast range foothills on the weekend. I was finally getting to the point where I was pedaling even more than I was pushing on the steep hills up there.
Then the first week of this month I discovered I had an inguinal hernia. "Welcome to age 50,BTW heres your hernia!"
I had an incisional type(not laprascopic,about a 3 1/2 inch incision) surgery the 10th. The doctor hasn't been any help re how long I should wait to resume bicycling again. When I asked,all he would or could say was,"I don't know,it might not hurt'. Which is pretty much his stock answer for everything! Has anybody been here,done this? I'm not having much pain now,I wonder if I should just play it by ear and try it & see how it feels? I don't want to re-damage anything and have to start all over with this,but I don't want to sit around and get completely out of shape again either.