NHnative

Hey all, It's been since 2018 that I last posted here...it's been quite an interesting six+ years. After I bought my 2018 Trek FX2 I spent the next two and a half years riding as much as I could as there was a 70 mile rail trail right behind my house putting about 4500 miles on my bike in those years. I was coming up on retirement and my job was demanding more and more hours so I wasn't able to ride like I was able to previously. We ended up selling our house and after I retired a few months later, we moved to Missouri in the fall of 2021 where my wife's family moved to from California over 20 years ago. She's happy but I'm missing the rail trails.

After I moved here, I was diagnosed with scoliosis of the lower spine with bulging discs as well as osteoarthritis in the same area. I started PT last week to see if that would help with the chronic pain (I really don't want to go under the scalpel) and I asked my therapist if I could ride my bike..."As long as you are careful", she said so I dragged my FX2 out of storage and worked on cleaning it up and doing a basic tune up on it. Hopefully I'll get on it today or tomorrow and see how it goes. My core strength is no where what it used to be so it's going to be a struggle for a while.

We live in a very rural area in Missouri, some asphalt roads but many, many gravel roads as well which is where I will probably do most of my riding. I live on an asphalt road but the gravel roads are about 3/4's of a mile away. Almost no traffic here so riding on these roads around here is about as close as I will get to rail trails. There are some rail trails in MO but they are 3-4 hours away.

I need to get a helmet...I gave my old one to one of my grandsons. After I get that, I'm going for a ride....this should be interesting.

Have fun and ride safely,

NHN

10 Wheels

Welcome.
Have you tried Vit B 12 for your Back Pain?

NHnative

Thanks, Not sure B12 would correct slipped/bulged discs but at this point I'm about ready to try anything short of shots and/or surgery (which I won't do). Medical MJ helps reduce the pain (and helps me sleep at night through the pain) but I don't really like using it. That being said, it sure beats opioids hands down. I've been dealing with this for decades but only in the last two or three years has it gone from acute to chronic. Coincidentally, it started getting worse around the time I retired. I'm hoping with the riding and PT I can rebuild my core strength and it won't be so chronic.