What keeps me off the bike?
>Rehab from spine surgery. Therapist told me today I am making good progress so that excuse should only last a few more weeks.
>ICE. Today backing out of my driveway enroute to PT I slid most of way across road. Did verify anti-skid brakes work though

Heat and humidity. I am not an early morning rider, body just doesn't like it. However the heat and humidity of this past summer in GA just about brought my riding to a standstill. It was waaay oppressive and I just couldn't do it. Pump up the tires and the sweat is pouring off me already.

Wife and I would love to move to someplace like CO but financially it just doesn't make sense for us now. However, the riding in N. GA presently is absolutely perfect.

Lack of daylight used to limit my bicycling. I got a MagicShine, and now I enjoy riding at night. There are better lights, but they are considerably more expensive. The MagicShine meets my needs quite well.

This is Mrs. (don't know my DH's user name) anyway, he has two herniated disks, one of which caused him to fall backwards down the entire stair case (this Oct. 15) luckily he had his bike helmet on! Still he fractured his shoulder and banged himself up in general. However the real problem was the excruciating leg pain from disk herniation. Finally taken to hospital by Medcu on Thursday. Hopefully he will be dismissed today.

WOW

Please give him our best and prayers for a speedy recovery.

This was my first summer riding and I put on about 1200 miles. The last two days have been absolutely gorgeous. Warm but not hot. Not windy. Perfect biking weather.

I didn't get on the bikes at all. I didn't even walk or do any other exercise. I just needed a break. Now I'l be ready to ride and it will be 30 degrees and windy.

Oh dear and how painful! Having the bike helmet on is a fortuitous piece of luck, eh?

I am so sorry to hear of your fall, Sculptor! Best wishes for a smooth, quick and painless recovery...and thank God for the helmet!

Sculptor7

Sorry to hear this -- hoping all will be repairable and get back to good working order

wpt

Sorry to read of his accident. As a person who is recovering from the consequences of a fall and surgery I can empathize. My prayers for an excellent surgeon, excellent therapy and, just as important, strength for you as you care for him in this very difficult time.

This is Sculptor7. Am back at home, having gone from approximately 30 people taking care of me at the hospital to essentially my one dear wife of 50 years. My daughter is coming up today to help from New York.

Thank you for your kind thoughts all. Hard to believe I went from thinking myself somewhat invincible to the recognition that I am not in one short day. Also promised myself that I would not relay a lengthy account of all my ills unless someone specifically wants to know.

As a general warning for 76 year olds I would not recommend: 81 and 70 mile riding days followed up by moving a cord of wood three days later. This has been a lesson that I have crossed the Rubicon and now know definitely that I am not invincible.

How humbling!

There are only two things that I would like to pass on and also ask: (1) Always wear your bike helmet at home (2) has anyone had a situation where a leg (knee joint) just collapsed with any weight beyond a certain point. (I can walk but have to be extremely careful about extra weight on my left leg or it just collapses.) Doctors are recommending medication and therapy at this time, diagnosing my injury (apart from the shoulder) as related to herniated disc. Have already had MRI, Xray and ultrasound. Blood flow good; bone density excellent apart from small crack in acronymn proscess on left scapula which is supposed to heal on its own in six weeks. Also numerous bruises which I will not post because they might be picked up in posts and just clog up thread space.. Thanks, again, all!

Glad you are on the mend Sculptor, me I was stopped in my wheels in June by an episode of cardiac arrest, (under anesthesia) during a hip bone spur removal.... Your heart stops while in the hospital, help arrives quick...Anyhow, I am 100% recovered with no damage, did get a stent to repair a blockage. Back on the bike since August 1st , I work early, get home at 3PM, ride 8 to 10 miles on my Hybrid,Longer rides on weekends lately the wind has been vicious, starting to wear my longer chamois , life is good, However Mid November will be the end of this Years run, looking for a new road bike for the spring!

I have ridden for 2 1/2 months due to heart valve problems. So after surgery and 6 weeks of recoverery I rode for the first time today. Just try to keep me off the bike in the future.

Trying to clip my ski boots into the pedals

Very well expressed.

The emotions of my wife having to cope with everything was nearly as painful as the injury. Then the rapid change from vitality in the blink of an eye was equally difficult. I'm a year or so younger than you but I share the emotions involved in the change.

But we will keep on keeping on.

Sorry to hear about your accident Sculptor7. Heal quickly so that you can give your wife a hug. :-)

What keeps me off the bike? I go along solo pretty well for several months, thinking I have built some fitness, then I go on a long ride with others and they leave me in the dust. It discourages me so. Mostly they are younger than I, and have probably been riding longer, but also, I think I am just slow.

I recently rode 2011 miles this year (the odd number reflects the calendar year) to raise money for our local food bank. That's a fair number of miles, and I was feeling proud of myself, so the week after I'd finished, I entered a local charity "race" of 25 miles. I wasn't actually planning to race, since I'd ridden 25 the day before, but the bunch set off at a goodly pace and I tried to keep up. I did so for about 10 miles, then I eased off...or got dropped, depending on how one might choose to look at it.

There was a big hill in the middle.

It was a really big hill.

Really big.

I got off and walked the last 100 feet or so to the top.

When I got near the end of the race I was by myself. There were two older gentlemen behind me, but I was riding alone. So, not seeing any riders ahead of me, I took a wrong turn at a poorly marked intersection and added a couple more miles to the race. By the time I figured it out and rolled into the parking lot at the race's end, everyone was packing up to leave. I was in last place, as the two older gentlemen, being more perspicacious than I, did not take a wrong turn at the poorly marked intersection.

As I said, it was pretty discouraging, and through no conscious decision, I seem to have taken a break from the bike over the past couple of weeks. To be fair, it has also been an extremely busy couple of weeks at work. Plus, I'm in the middle of building my first bike frame, so I'm spending my time doing something else right now. I hope this isn't a trend, but this sort of thing seems to be a pattern with me. Overreach a bit, get discouraged, fall away for a while. I'd like to break out of the pattern, though, which is why, I guess, I'm sharing it here when normally I wouldn't.

On the plus side, I raised over $5000 for the food bank. And really, that's an accomplishment that counts for something. Just wish I could have made it up that big hill.

Prairie, raising $5000 is a major accomplishment for a great cause. Congratulations.

(I can't ride with groups because I get dropped. It is discouraging because I would like to ride with others. I am really slow, as in averaging 12.5mph over 30 miles)

Put your own ride together. I try to get a group from my church out a couple of times a month. Typical ride is 20 miles at 10 MPH with a breakfast stop mid way. This is way slower than I'd normally ride but I enjoy it (my wife and I break out our vintage MTBs). We tend to have everthing from high school kids to us 50+ers attend.

Ah, Goldfinch, I can't help but notice that we have both picked iconic animals of our regions as our avatars. Whenever I see goldfinches (we get them in winter), I think of Mary Oliver's name for them: golden bells.

Anyway, thank you for your kind words. I would ride with you, but you might be too fast for me! :-D

And I like CAcycling's idea.

Ice or rutted snow is about the only thing that will keep me from commuting. Well, that an the occasional temporary laziness

Long brevets seem to depress my desire to ride for a while. Like right now - last weekend was beautiful so I went for a hike in the woods.

Things that keep me off the bike:

• Commitments to do other things with my free time.
• Work.
• Weather. For example, today it has been raining and sleeting all day. Soon it will snow.
• Darkness.
• A need to carry more than a bike can carry.
• A need to travel farther and/or faster than a bike can take me.

I pray that none of you are off the bike because of illness or injury. If so, may you recover quickly and enjoy riding again.

I had been off the bike for over a week with a business trip to Argentina. I had 2 really fast (for me) rides this weekend. Maybe the layoff was good.

also tweaked knee and i hate it