a friend of mine had surgery to remove part of his bowel in Spring 2006. He was back riding in 4-6 weeks. He was STRONG again a few weeks later. By fall, he was rode 500+ miles in a week. He was MTB racing at 12 hours of Stank by Oct and kicking butt (I know..I was on his team). In the winter, he cut a 12 mile MTB trail by himself and then humilated us on it. This spring he was back racing MTB and taking us on grueling road rides. He doesn't say much and usually just laughs at me.

Don't get discouraged. I know I did but you WILL get it back. I was a bear when I was in a splint and on crutches. I was back at work 2 days post op but my girlfriend and some here will testify that I was a terror at times.

Stay positive. Read. Watch some movies and just try to keep a positive attitude. Don't know how to tell you to heal quicker. For me, I was taking a ton of calcium suppliments. Plus, I just apparently heal quickly. In the beginning, the target was 6 weeks before I could look at a bike. I was riding mine at 3 weeks and 6 days post op. Still considering doing a MTB race 5 weeks post op. Will find out Monday during a training ride if I can do it or not. Honestly, I'm now betting that I need to build strength and wait till Oct to race again.