First ride in over a year

[Ryan]

I parked my Stelvio last August 27th after running through about 300 miles of Central and Eastern Oregon byways near home. Then it was fill the tank, add some Sta-Bil, and put her up for a bit of a nap. I had foot surgery on the right foot the following week, on the left foot at the end of November, again on the left in January. Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water, I had open-heart surgery on June 21st. After over a year of being on one medical restriction or another, I was finally cleared to get back on the bike.

She has been sitting on her center stand, plugged into a battery tender and waiting patiently. I checked the oil, more out of habit than need, and added a few pounds of air to her tires. Turned the key, hit the switch, and after a couple of revolutions she sprang to life and settled into a nice idle with just enough rocking to say she missed me. 

Two things struck me right off the bat- one, I can barely fit into my riding pants. A year of sitting on my ass has made said ass bigger. Time for those salads I have been promising myself to eat. Two, it took several tries before I could hoist my leg over the bags and get on. Shit, my hips are stiff!  Time to commit to those exercises the PT has told me to do.

But she slipped into gear, and off we went for a short "shake the rust off, oh this is what this feels like" ride. Only about 60 miles, enough to drop a bar on the fuel gauge but not enough to make me feel any muscle pain. I will work up to longer rides until the snow flies, but man it felt great to be back in the saddle. Motorcycle rides are my therapy, a chance to let the struggles of work and life slip away for a while.  I didn't realize how much I needed it until I got home, put her away, and realized I was still grinning.

Guzzis are magic.

[Dave Swanson]

Great to hear you are back in the saddle, and have weathered the worst part of the storm.

Tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of my triple bypass.  My doctor said with my set of particulars I shouldn't have made it to the hospital. I watch what I put in my mouth, get lots of exercise and feel great.  Life is good.

  Let's keep riding as long as we can. 

[Stretch]

Let's keep riding as long as we can.

Glad you're back in the saddle!   

                            -Stretch

[John A]

Thanks for that report, 

[cliffrod]

Motorcycle rides are my therapy, a chance to let the struggles of work and life slip away for a while.  I didn't realize how much I needed it until I got home, put her away, and realized I was still grinning.

Guzzis are magic.

Guzzis are magic, whether you ride them or not. Glad to hear you’re back on your bike.  Very cool.

[inditx]

RideOn!
inditx

[chuck peterson]

Preach, Pastor! I know what you mean…

 

[vintagehoarder]

Good luck going through the same things two surgeries on my left ankle, been in a boot or cast since May!

[lucian]

  glad your back riding and the surgeries are in the rear view mirror. 

[Huzo]

Fantastic..
I love that stuff…

[Ryan]

Good luck going through the same things two surgeries on my left ankle, been in a boot or cast since May!

It sucks, but take the time and do what the PT tells you to.

[brother dave]

I parked my Stelvio last August 27th after running through about 300 miles of Central and Eastern Oregon byways near home. Then it was fill the tank, add some Sta-Bil, and put her up for a bit of a nap. I had foot surgery on the right foot the following week, on the left foot at the end of November, again on the left in January. Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water, I had open-heart surgery on June 21st. After over a year of being on one medical restriction or another, I was finally cleared to get back on the bike.

She has been sitting on her center stand, plugged into a battery tender and waiting patiently. I checked the oil, more out of habit than need, and added a few pounds of air to her tires. Turned the key, hit the switch, and after a couple of revolutions she sprang to life and settled into a nice idle with just enough rocking to say she missed me. 

Two things struck me right off the bat- one, I can barely fit into my riding pants. A year of sitting on my ass has made said ass bigger. Time for those salads I have been promising myself to eat. Two, it took several tries before I could hoist my leg over the bags and get on. Shit, my hips are stiff!  Time to commit to those exercises the PT has told me to do.

But she slipped into gear, and off we went for a short "shake the rust off, oh this is what this feels like" ride. Only about 60 miles, enough to drop a bar on the fuel gauge but not enough to make me feel any muscle pain. I will work up to longer rides until the snow flies, but man it felt great to be back in the saddle. Motorcycle rides are my therapy, a chance to let the struggles of work and life slip away for a while.  I didn't realize how much I needed it until I got home, put her away, and realized I was still grinning.

Guzzis are magic.

Salads, PT, and motorcycle rides.  Sounds like a recipe for health and happiness…

[MotoGuzzi750]

I parked my Stelvio last August 27th after running through about 300 miles of Central and Eastern Oregon byways near home. Then it was fill the tank, add some Sta-Bil, and put her up for a bit of a nap. I had foot surgery on the right foot the following week, on the left foot at the end of November, again on the left in January. Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water, I had open-heart surgery on June 21st. After over a year of being on one medical restriction or another, I was finally cleared to get back on the bike.

She has been sitting on her center stand, plugged into a battery tender and waiting patiently. I checked the oil, more out of habit than need, and added a few pounds of air to her tires. Turned the key, hit the switch, and after a couple of revolutions she sprang to life and settled into a nice idle with just enough rocking to say she missed me. 

Two things struck me right off the bat- one, I can barely fit into my riding pants. A year of sitting on my ass has made said ass bigger. Time for those salads I have been promising myself to eat. Two, it took several tries before I could hoist my leg over the bags and get on. Shit, my hips are stiff!  Time to commit to those exercises the PT has told me to do.

But she slipped into gear, and off we went for a short "shake the rust off, oh this is what this feels like" ride. Only about 60 miles, enough to drop a bar on the fuel gauge but not enough to make me feel any muscle pain. I will work up to longer rides until the snow flies, but man it felt great to be back in the saddle. Motorcycle rides are my therapy, a chance to let the struggles of work and life slip away for a while.  I didn't realize how much I needed it until I got home, put her away, and realized I was still grinning.

Guzzis are magic.

Very cool 
Very inspirational for me -- and in a way, relatable to me as well.
I was able to ride ( although I had doubts on how would it go ) after getting injection in my right heel for Planter Fasciitis ( which is of course minor compared to what your medical condition/procedures ).

 

[jumpmaster]

I was able to ride ( although I had doubts on how would it go ) after getting injection in my right heel for Planter Fasciitis ( which is of course minor compared to what your medical condition/procedures ).

From my personal experience, don't dismiss the potential problems with plantar fasciitis!  I was the archetypical "duffer" road runner & racer who generally just tried to ignore pains & "run thru it."  Plantar fasciitis, at least as I experienced it, was tricky because it would be extremely painful first thing in the morning or after I sat at a desk for an extended period, but the pain "disappeared" as I got more active.  So, like the dummy I was (& still am to some degree), I'd start my daily runs in agony but it would disappear as I warmed up, only to reappear a couple of hours later.  I tried running thru it for a couple of months before I decided to take a break from running to see if it would cure itself.  It did, but only to reappear soon after I started up running again.

Went through the alternate pain - rest cycle for a few months with no real relief.  To make a long story short, I had to knock off running for a full year before I could very slowly ease back into running again.  Even after that, I had to subject myself to the same cycle of pain (as I said above - being a hard-headed running duffer) a few months later & had to take off another full year.  Not a good career move since I was in an Army unit that stressed, among other things, above-normal physical demands, and looked down on "malingerers" who went on sick-call.

If I had addressed the pain early-on with a doctor or physical therapist I could probably have saved myself at least one, if not 2 years of pain.

[Vagrant]

Make a 30 degree ramp out of a 2 x 2' piece of plywood so your toes are up in the air above the heels and stand on it for 15 minutes twice a day. It stretches the tendon and stops the heel spurs in their tracks.