Crusty Old Excuse for Not Riding...
(Sorry for any grossness...)
Tuesday should be my second day bike commuting in 2-1/2 weeks.
First I felt like I was coming down with the flu, so skipped riding, and after a week I felt better, which led me to ride to work a week ago Thursday...and after riding home, I discovered I had a scab that had formed and torn IN MY NAVEL! It didn't hurt, but it was bleeding and oozing. Since I hadn't been on the bike in a week, and 26 years of near-daily bike commuting hadn't produced any similar sore, I don't think it was the biking.
Friday showed no improvement, plus another torn scab that had failed to stay on so last Saturday I saw the urgent care doctor who said it was slightly infected, but not an indicator of cancer, which is a very small possibility, but worth checking out. He thought it could have been caused by a scratch, a cyst, some trapped dirt or trapped, irritating lint. It's worth noting that in people with non-pierced navels (like me) hairy-bellied men suffer infected navels far more than women, with owners of "outtie" navels, far less.
After a week of thrice daily cleaning and antibiotic application, and two more failed scab-overs, I have finally healed to the point where I think I can resume commuting without re-aggravating my navel wound.
However, to play it safe, I will forgo any weekend ride and wait until Tuesday to resume. (Mondays I drive in order to make a meeting which occurs too far and too soon after work to make in time by bike.)
As many daily riders know, I have been cranky, irritable and depressed from not riding; although nowhere near as bad as my forced year off in 2010 due to a non-cycling injury.
But gazing at my navel, I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel.
P.S. Driving sucks!