With bright skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, seven and a half months after my accident, I returned today to the open road. What a relief to simply roll out the door and head up into the hills behind my house. At my current level of fitness, though, climbing these familiar hills felt more like I was ending a double century than going for an easy 18-mile spin.
I was surprised by what did and did not hurt during this little experiment. I would have expected that my legs, hips and left shoulder would have held me back a bit, but it was my right shoulder that actually gave me a little trouble. I think the discomfort is traceable to my utter lack of upper body strength at this point in the year rather than anything more serious. I simply need to add this to the rehab list along with all the other strengthening exercises.
While I wasn't really freaked out as cars passed, I did place an order for a Take-a-Look mirror as soon as I got home. It might just give me a few seconds, but I'll feel a lot more comfortable when I can see 'em coming and no longer have to rely on my fading hearing to know who's behind me. The forecast for Monday has temps in the 80s. I'll take tomorrow off (to assess any discomfort) and plan to get out for another ride on Monday after work.
No comments:
Post a Comment