Well, this blog is called "The Universe, Life and Schrodinger's Cat" and (as anyone who's read any of my previous posts will know) a big part of life for me is bikes.
I worked in a bike shop before I started at university, and still do in the holidays and it was starting there that gave me the bug! On road and off, racing and just for fun. It's not just riding either - I'm far from being mechanically competent (although I am always learning things!) but I love looking at bikes too, I'm always looking at new frames, components and whole bikes - usually dreaming but occasionally buying!
Needless to say when, following my crash in a race, my couple of weeks off the bike turned into months I wasn't very happy (again, anyone who reads this blog will know that!). I made the decision that it wasn't worth turbo training for months on end, with no idea when I'd be on the bike (if I needed more surgery it'd be at least Easter before I could ride again), and I didn't want cycling to become a chore.
As it would now appear I've have thankfully dodged the 2nd surgery bullet (even if my consultant suggests it in the spring I think I'd say no now...) getting back on the bike is getting closer. I was advised a couple of weeks ago that 3-6months would be a realistic timescale so as to avoid doing any damage (nerves are fragile things apparently), and just due to the amount of strength that I lost in the 4 months my arm was useless. Obviously I don't want to rush things, and risk causing problems but I'm aiming to definitely be riding again on the shorter side of the estimate!
The last 4 and a half months has most definitely had its ups and downs but I think I'm past the worst of the downs now, although I've hit a bit of a plateau again my arm and hand is hugely better than when I came back to uni and hopefully things will keep getting better and the big decisions that had been looming over me are very close to resolution now!
Getting back on the bike is certainly a big "up" to look forward to and I want to be able to hit the ground running, hopefully my confidence and skills will still be in tact when I'm back on the trails (or on the road) and I don't want it to be my fitness or power to be holding me back, and with some exciting plans for next summer I can't wait to get back going so the training has now begun!
I expect I shall get my self a heart rate monitor or something so that I can make the most out of my training time. Might try out the sufferfest videos too. Today's session (and I expect any future sessions until I sort out something a bit more specific) consisted of 45 minutes alternating between spinning along to muist at a reasonable pace and going all out sprinting until I thought my legs were going to fall off. That's about all I do on the turbo because otherwise it's just a bit dull!
Managed a (very) little bit of the session with both arms on the bars - 1 arm feels really unbalanced and no hands is fine in the most part but because I'm then sitting upright I'm pretty sure power output is reduced - definitely still got some healing and strengthening to go. I'll keep working on it, don't worry - I'll make sure I don't overdo. It hurt enough from the small bit I did today (although not quite as much as my legs so I expect its a good thing!), will just have to play it by ear and see how it goes...
I think a poster of the outdoors needs to go up on the wall to I can pretend I'm flying through the trees, could do with a fan downstairs as well! At present my training plans consist of nothing more than ride when I feel like it and don't do too much too soon, I think this is fine for now - I expect there'll be real plans at some point so I can make an attempt to win some races next year!
Still buzzing from being back in the saddle and getting pedalling. Have to love exercise endorphins!
Bye for now folks!
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