Hi gang,

I started that thread awhile ago. My back is feeling significantly better. Six weeks ago, I could barely stand up. Yesterday I rode my bike fairly hard for half an hour with no pain at all. I'm not ready for a centruy or even a half century, but things are going in the right direction.

I attribute it to following the advice of a chiropractor. I never put much stock in them before, and I'm not sure the "adjustments" did all that much. But he gave me a set of very specific (but easy-to-do) stretching exercises to do several times a day. Quite simply, the ALL involved bending backward--not forward. If you don't like the idea of a chiropractor, a physical therapist would probably prescribe something very similar. He also gave me advice on improving my sitting posture, which was terrible.

Additional thoughts:

A good book is The Back Pain Book by Mike Hage (MS PT) from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Well illustrated. Lots of good tips.

Strengthening your core is important--but if crunches hurt your back, try leg lifts. I position an exercise ball between my ankles. Lying on my back and lifting the ball a bunch of times times definitely gives the abs a workout.

In addition, raising your handlebars can make a big difference. The following is from an article from Bob Gordon, an orthopedic physical therapist and exercise physiologiest, called "Raise Dat Stem" http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/rr_raisestem.html

"There is a position that allows good performance while minimizing risk of lower back injury. I like a stem height and length that puts your back about 50 degrees from horizontal, while your arms and legs bend slightly at the elbows. To achieve this, you'll probably have to raise your bars, and assuming you want to keep the same bar style (as opposed to riding with stingray bars or something), that usually means getting another stem, one with a taller quill or a steep rise to it. If you hit the sweet spot, a photo of you from the side will reveal a nice pyramid composed of top tube, torso and arms."