First bike ride in 4.5 months, post-surgery!

[Brian Turner]

Just wanted to share some positive, personal news because that sort of thing has been lacking in my life for the past year or so. Back in February, I had arthroscopy and femoroplasty on my left hip (labrum tear and cam impingement). This is a long recovery process; typically taking 6 months to a full year to even start to feel normal again and resume normal activities. I'm nowhere near that yet, but this past weekend I couldn't wait any longer to hop back on my bike for some easy pedaling around my neighborhood (probably a 2 mile ride). I had initially told myself I would wait until 5 or 6 months to attempt it, but something told me to just do it. Naturally, I chose my Gus because of the low, sloping top tube for ease of throwing a leg over, and easy gearing.

I'm still far from hitting up the trails, but this feel like progress to me, and I'll take it! Has anyone else here gone through such a procedure, or similar that kept you off the bike for a long time? I'd love to have some camaraderie in this lonely boat!

Brian

Lexington, KY

[Bill Lindsay]

I feel this.  I cracked my left tibia, and I'm 3 weeks into a 6 week waiting period of zero load on my left leg.  It already looks like a skinny chicken leg relative to my right, and I find I'm literally dreaming about walking and cycling.  It will be a joyful moment to be able to get on a bike again.  Those that can enjoy a ride around the block, please do just ride once around the block for me and be grateful.  It's a lovely thing to be able to do, especially on a really nice bike.  

Good Healing!

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Tom Goodmann]

Swift healing to you both! Will keep you in mind as the wheels turn.

Tom

Atlanta

[Brian Turner]

Sorry to hear that, Bill, but glad to hear you're in the home stretch! Being on crutches blows. I was on mine for 6 weeks with this as well, but they let me gradually go from 25% to 50% to full weight bearing over that time. I forgot to mention, I also developed a blood clot + PE as a result of this surgery, and that set me back a bit in my recovery. Plus, it kinda jacked up my lung and took a while to not feel like there was a tight band around my chest when breathing deeply. So, once I can really start riding again, my cardiovascular fitness will take a while to get back to what it once was!

Brian

Lexington KY

[Bill Lindsay]

Thanks.  The blessing/curse situation is that I was pretty fit.  I had dropped 25 pounds, and was ramping up for a marathon.  I injured myself running a trail half-marathon.  The blessing was I was light and fit, and I expect that to be a big asset for healing and I think may accelerate my rehab.  The curse part is that I'm ticked off having to delay my marathon and duathlon goals for basically a year.  Short term, I'm determined to keep the 25 pounds off.  :)

BL In EC

[Toshi Takeuchi]

Brian, I'm so glad that you are starting to ride again! I'm wishing you a healthy recovery and enjoyment on your rides.

--Bill, I'm so sorry to hear about your injury, and wish you a speedy recovery.

Toshi

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[Nick Payne]

I just had my first ride in almost six weeks after recovering from three fractured ribs and a pneumothorax incurred when I crashed on a downhill bend in the rain. The ribs are still a bit sore, but riding moderate distances at a moderate pace doesn't increase the level of discomfort.

Nick Payne

[Steve]

Brian and Bill, wishing you both a full recovery!  Sounds like you're dealing with pronounced cycling withdrawal symptoms. 

Steve in AVL 

[Brian Turner]

Thank you for the well wishes and encouragement, everyone! 

I hope you continue to improve, Nick! That sounds like a gnarly crash!

-Brian

[Huston]

Brian,

Great to see this pic of you back on GBW!  You know that your Riv-certified when you evaluate your recovery from arthroscopy and femoroplasty on a progression of walking --> stepping thru Gus --> hiking your leg over an Atlantis top tube.

--Huston

Lexington, KY

[John Dewey]

Indeed, best wishes—y’all hop on the saddle again soon as you can. 

And as we get older and maybe, if lucky, a bit wiser we’ll rethink our habits and priorities. For example, I’ve recently come to realize that my fondness for riding in fast pacelines is probably not such a good idea anymore. 

The consequences are just too real and a spill can lead to months off the bike. Timelines are even more precious for us gray-haired folks and so I’ve decided to drop off the back, calm down, and embrace my true nature which has always been as a tourist, for want of a better word. 

One of the consequences is that I miss some of my pals…on the other hand I’ve always enjoyed my own company so riding solo is just fine. I’m fortunate in that I’ve always able to entertain myself, regardless of the plan…a ride through the neighborhood or fully loaded cross-country. I remain fit either way and that’s what matters most as the horizon shrinks. 

Jock

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[Steven Sweedler]

Good advice from Jock, I hope all injuries heal quickly and completely. Take it easy if you have the intense heat  we are  experiencing here in New Hampshire. 

Steven Sweedler
Plymouth, New Hampshire

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[Steven Ayers]

That is awesome dude, so happy for ya!

-Steve

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[Shannon Menkveld]

Dude!

I'm so right there with you. Last October, I ended up in the hospital with an almost-fatal GI bleed and a failing liver. (MELD score of 29.) After spending six weeks in two hospitals, I was discharged into a veterans' transitional housing program, where I've been living since Thanksgiving.

Between getting so sick, and then packing all my belongings into a storage unit and being effectively homeless, I hadn't been on a bike at all in over a year, and I hadn't been riding much at all for most of another.

At the beginning of this month, I bought a bike. (I'm pretty sure it's a 1981 Peugeot PKN-10, 531 DB mains and 103 stays & fork.) If you had told 31 year old me that 51 year old me would put a >10 mile ride along a suburban MUT on a kit-bashed old road bike that I paid less than $200 for as one of the best rides of my life, I'd had said you might want to consider asking your doctor if Thorazine is right for you.

Some things can only be learned after they're known.

Welcome "back on 2!"

--Shannon

[Joel S]

Great news, listen to your body, it will tell you if you are not ready. 2 weeks ago I took a fall and landed on my shoulder, I hit a curb with my side wall when coming to a stop to change water bottles. I was lucky it was on the property of an elementary school and it was all grass as I went down. My left leg got hit above the ankle by my platform pedal but I landed directly on my right shoulder and haver an AC sprain. I was told 4-6 weeks, and given exercises that seem to aggravate my shoulder so I am doing only some. I hope you can do more rides, slow and easy is just fine, that is how I ride now that I am getting older. At 73 I can still ride but I am not in a hurry and distance is unimportant as long as I feel ok.

[Patrick Moore]

Best wishes to all of you who have been off your bikes because of injuries or sickness for complete and rapid recoveries and near-term bike riding.

[Nathan Mattia]

Good to see you back on your bike, Brian!  

Getting back on my bike was a HUGE motivating factor in my recovery from a hospital stay a few years ago.  Something about being cooped up for long periods of time and feeling like the world was closing in made me want to GET OUT all the more.  My soul yearned for it.  Nothing else like it.

GODSPEED!!

[Patrick Moore]

Speaking of bike injuries, a friend from church — 66 and riding 3X as much as I, about 6K miles a year — had a freak solo bike accident while riding on the road: he got his front tire, a 38 or 42, IIRC,  into a pavement crack while riding slowly up a hill back in May, fell over* onto his right hip and broke his femur just below the hip socket, or perhaps it was the ball joint itself, I forget. The orthopaedic surgeon decided to replace the entire hip joint and he’s now well on the way to recovery, already riding a few times a week, and we’re scheduled to do a ride together God willing next Tuesday — his ability after a 2-month layoff will more or less match my everyday ability. Well, with riding to and back from the trailhead meeting point, I hope to do about 30 miles while our ride together will, we conjecture, be perhaps 20 miles. And perhaps on a fixed gear, with or without multiple gears.

*”… burned down, fell over, and sank into the swamp, but the fourth one stayed up. And that’s what you’re going to get, lad, the strongest castle in these islands."

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Mark R.]

Good onya, mate! I lurk here, mostly post down the hall in iBob and I see many of boblisters commenting here.

I can relate: in January, I got hit from behind while riding in the bike lane by a speeding truck. (Not a Riv

But my Rivish Davidson). Three broken ribs, collapsed lung with a hematoma in it. The next two months were hell,

but as I improved I started tootling around the neighborhood on my old mtb. 

I really started having trouble walking, I went to the orthopedic, and there was a broken osteophyte from

Impact in my hip. Impact exacerbated any previous injuries and the result was that I needed a complete

hip replacement.

I had that two weeks ago, and while the operation was easy, one and half hour and home the same day, recovery

has been tough. Reason? My quads are super developed from cycling a the doc said he really had to crank the muscles

apart to get to the hip bones.  He expects a great recovery, but not surprised at the pain. 

I see the doctor for the two week follow up tomorrow. His advice to me regarding cycling, he said you will know when

you are ready.

I’m using a walker about a mile a day. My prep work prior to surgery was 10 miles up and down the block over the course of four weeks. I look forward to it, but no rush.

And Jock, totally agree regarding riding in a pace line. I was doing the Tour De Tucson, best time ever with a

nice line going, and was behind a huge pile up. Broken bones/lots of rash. I finished the ride and that was the

End of doing huge organized rides as well as pace lines.

That was years ago. At 66, I just want it sweat and enjoy myself.

Mark R

SDCA

On Monday, June 23, 2025 at 6:32:15 AM UTC-7 brok...@gmail.com wrote: