RAISING THE SEAT

Who would have imagined that one additional inch could make such a difference? I surely didn’t!

And no, I’m not talking about the notorious “Does size matter?” debate. I’m referring to the height of my bike’s saddle relative to the pedals.

When I first purchased my Felt bike many months ago, I was measured every-which-a-way by the shop’s bike-fitter prior to the bicycle shop ordering the road bike. For you non-bikers, road bikes are made to order depending on the size of the prospective owner. The day the bike is delivered to the buyer, an assumed expert will make further adjustments to the bike with the bike’s owner sitting in the saddle leaning forward with hands on handle bar. My bike and I fit that description to the T.

Well, so much for assumed perfection when being measured and when final adjustments are made. Come to find out, strictly by experimentation, my bike’s saddle was nearly one inch too low, creating a situation whereas my knees were being overly stressed under normal biking conditions – much worse under extreme conditions. Extreme can be cycling too fast or often attacking inclines, which is exactly what I was guilty of doing.

Anyway, ever since I adjusted my bike seats on both road bikes, raising them at least one inch, the discomfort in both knees have vanished. I’m now power walking with ease and my biking has taken on another dimension.

No longer distressed over not being able to speed walk or casually walk at any speed and distance, I am again looking forward to the upcoming walk/run events.

I’m still not sure if size matters, but height makes a world of difference. 

END OF RECOVERY?

After walking moderately-fast yesterday for one mile with no soreness in the knee joints, and then biking today for 29 miles without a hint of discomfort in the knees, is it safe to say that recovery is over with? Can I put all of this reclamation of normality nonsense behind me and get on with life – at least my athletic life?

Even though yesterday’s power walk was split into two sessions, one half-mile each, with weight lifting taking its proper place in the middle, neither half mile revealed any issues with the knees. I haven’t a clue what will occur whenever I extend the distance to anything significant, but I do know that for the first time in weeks, walking did not feel agonizing. That’s the good news!

What’s the bad news? None! Nada! Nothing!

What I might want to consider is my future cycling distance and cycling intensity. It was long-distance biking that got me into this mess in the first place, along with high-intensity cycling. Let me not forget how intense some of my bike rides ended up being.

Today’s ride, a mere 29 miles at a snail’s pace, was just what the doctor ordered. We did not attack the bridges and we did not fight the strong wind (outer bands from Hurricane Irene) that was in our face much of the time when we were returning to the mall. We took our time, chatted while riding and more than likely burned more calories talking than we did pedaling.

That’s okay, isn’t it? Isn’t this biking thing supposed to be all about having fun in the great outdoors? Is it okay to slow down and smell the roses?

It is for me! And that, dear reader, is the honest truth!

RECOVERY DAY SEVEN

Day seven of recovery was measurably easier than the first six days, mainly because I sat in the main juror room of the Broward County Courthouse from 7:30 AM to nearly 4 PM. Just so you know, sitting for hours is not one of my favorite things to do, especially when you haven’t a clue when you’ll be released or if you’ll be selected for a multi-day trial. Even being selected for a one-day trial would have been distressing.

I wasn’t selected for a jury, but it was a close call when I and several others had to stand before a judge during his selection process, hoping all along that he didn’t find favor with us for his upcoming 7 to 10 day civil trial. The extra-long trial was at his admission. Can you imagine sitting in a jury box for up to ten days, possibly longer? On a trial that was to resolve a dispute over land development in the Bahamas?

Anyway, during much of my wait in the main juror room, I stood or walked around the vast room just to stretch out my legs and back.

Our one allotted break lasted one and a half hours, and that was for lunch. Instead of going off the courthouse grounds, I elected to walk across the hallway and then purchase a $9.65 cheese burger combo in the court house’s lunch room. Included in that price was a 20oz bottle of vitamin water and a very large Snicker’s bar. The candy bar ended up being the highpoint of my meal.

As the day lingered on, more and more people became restless and began circling the hundreds of seats like I had been doing. In a devious sort of way, it was comical watching the other potential jurors squirm in their cushioned seats, eventually getting up and walking around like restless rats in a large box. The masses were becoming restless and impatient.

Driving home during rush hour is another story all together. Imagine I-595 at peak rush hour exacerbated by the enormous construction project.

I was glad to get home! And I’m doubly glad that I no longer have to serve as a juror because of my age. And to think that I never realized that turning older had a bright side.

RECOVERY DAY SIX

This morning’s bike ride was good, all fourteen miles of it. It was good in that both knees held up well under the normal stress of pedaling a  road bike at a moderate pace.

The route’s one bridge and only elevation change posed no problem today probably because I refused to attack the incline. 

Bridges are usually handled in such a manner that nearly everyone sprints to the top, rapidly coasts down to the flat land, and then regroup once the bikes resume normal speed.

The ride was also good because I had the pleasure and privilege of riding with two of my magnificent friends, Patty and Lorrie. They are both outstanding cyclists and a pleasure to be around.

Along with biking at a reasonable pace of 15 mph, we practiced taking the lead for one mile and then falling back to the rear.  A light tap on the left buttocks cheek with left hand is the signal that the lead biker gives to the others in the peloton when he or she is ready to drop back.     

I have to say, we were a well synchronized trio of cyclists prior to spotting large dark clouds heading our way. Not wishing to cycle in the rain, we ducked into the parking area where we parked our trucks.  We then quickly dismounted, enjoyed some watermelon, chatted for a moment, and then left the state park.

Our mileage goal for the morning was 20, but because of the rain we settled for 14.

I’ll take it!

RECOVERY DAY FIVE

Even though I’m somewhat discouraged with my knee recovery, make that both knees, I’m not totally disheartened. It’ll come in time, I hope!

Walking to the gym this afternoon wasn’t too bad up until I began walking along the lake. I’m thinking it was the sloped land near the lake’s edge that made walking difficult, not to mention the tree roots that jut out of the ground by several inches. Stepping over those babies can put anyone’s knees to the test.

Once inside the gym, I mostly did weight machines. The stationary recumbent bike did host me for 2-miles/8 ½ minutes – and one of the treadmills for 3/10ths of a mile at 3.5 mph. Feeling a slight tug inside the left knee, at least it felt like a tug, I thought it best to leap off the slow moving treadmill (after first stopping the tread) and then do a slow walk home along the lake and road.

So I did just that, snapping a few pictures of the lake as I meandered along its picturesque bank. Every picture came out fuzzy and I can’t figure out why.

Now I have two issues, my knees and the cell phone’s camera. I want the knees fixed first!

RECOVERY DAY FOUR

Today is day four of my steroid injections recovery, and it’s not going as well as planned.

Afraid to test out the knee during a walk or run, I escorted my wife on my backup road bike while she ran/walked six miles in and around the mall’s asphalt parking lot. In the process, I’m pleased to report, I spotted and picked up two lonely pennies that had been discarded or accidentally dropped by the mall’s consumers. Their loss, my gain! Albeit a small gain!

Regarding the knees, I can report that there was a slight discomfort and clicking afterwards. Very slight clicking and almost unnoticeable discomfort.

Eight + miles on a bike, at an embarrassing pace, surely should not have damaged the knees any further. Maybe I’m being too impatient by not giving the injections time to properly heal.

On the up side, it was a miracle that no one threw bottles or cans at my 1985 Ross Road Bike with its new handle bar wrap. Maybe that’s why we chose the isolated parking area to run and bike and not public streets or sidewalks.

RECOVERY DAY THREE

This afternoon’s walk, if that’s what you call it, was horrible. I walked at a pace that would embarrass a slug, turtle or fast moving snail. To be more precise, I walked like a senior citizen, deliberate and measured. Now I know how seniors feel. Wait, I am a senior.

Hoping that the walk to and from the gym would be fluid and comfortable, I found myself measuring nearly every step after leaving the entrance/exit to our community. Thankfully, at the half way point was the gym and my weight machine routine.

The resistance machines went smooth only because I mostly did upper body exercises. Afraid to stress out the knees, I held off from doing any lower body machines – and I’m glad I did. I can’t imagine my knees buckling under the stress of additional weight.

Tomorrow will be another day (Brilliant statement), and I plan on riding my backup bike next to my wife while she runs and walks whatever distance she may have in mind. I’ve already adjusted the new clip-on pedals to enable easy clipping and effortless clip-offs.

One thing I don’t want to do is fall off of the bike because of the new pedals – which could result in damaging my already damaged knees. What’s that called, double jeopardy?

RECOVERY DAY TWO

I miss biking! I also miss power walking and running! Most of all, though, I miss biking. Even though most of our future events evolve around running and walking, biking has become my favorite of all disciplines.

This morning, right after dropping off my truck at the auto shop for maintenance, I casually walked one and a half miles back home, stopping midway to say hello to my biking friends who were milling around the mall’s east parking lot in prep for today’s coffee ride.

I have become somewhat attached to this fine group of bikers, but this morning I felt slightly fragmented due to my two ailing knees.

The slow walk home went okay, but I did feel some discomfort in my left knee near the end of the stroll. At least the right knee was better than the left, but it wasn’t perfect by all means.

Time has been declared as the great healer, and time I have plenty of. Patience, however, not so much!

I need to go for a swim!

OVERUSE INJURIES

Without a doubt, there are some ups and downs in this chosen lifestyle of biking, running, power walking, swimming and strength training. 

In all the years that I’ve subscribed to such a lifestyle, which are too many years to count, I’ve encountered many more ups than downs, though.

The only down side of passionate exercising, marathon running and ultra-distance cycling is overuse injuries. At any rate, that’s the way I see it!

One such case is what I’m currently experiencing, all due to overextending my mileage on the road bike. At least that’s my opinion and I believe the opinion of my orthopedic medical doctor.

Along with upping my road bike mileage, I’ve found myself riding much faster than when I began this two wheel challenge over one year ago. By much faster I’m talking 7 to 8 mph faster now than what I was accomplishing June of last year when I began seriously biking. If someone told me last year that I would be averaging over 17 mph while biking over twenty miles, I would have told them that they were nutty.

Anyway, there evidently is a price to pay for my sudden increase in intensity and distance. I’ve been averaging well over one hundred miles per week for the past few months.

The price is wickedly brutal and discouraging. After undergoing a steroid injection in both knees yesterday, I find myself again recovering from overuse injuries.

The injections, although not cruelly painful, are painful in the respect that I find myself sitting on the sidelines while my friends continue riding and running. That hurts!

But I’ll be back in short order with renewed passion.  I promise!  Determination along with patience will have me back in no time on that shiny road bike and back on the road with my lovely wife and remarkable friends.

Stay tuned…