To The Coast
As we rolled out on the St. Marks Trail on my first ride back since the crash, I noticed the road bike had a bad wobble. "Crap" I thought "I must have messed something up using it on the trainer". Then I realized it just me; shaking. I was so nervous. It took all I had just to clip in and roll out. After a few miles I finally settled down and was able to enjoy the ride. 32 miles isn't far and my legs held up fine but I found out my seat wasn't as well conditioned.
The only scare was the pack of kids riding toward us about 5 miles in. I just stopped because I didn't want to risk having to unclip quickly. As I sat there on the edge of the bike path one of them just rolled over and ran into my front wheel. I resisted the urge to teach him and his "ride leader" a new vocabulary and only said "really?"
I was so happy to get that first ride out of the way. Life was starting to seem too normal after 9 weeks of being off the bike.
The next day we went to Gainesville to watch The Kid race CX State Champs. I thought I would get a big urge to race but that wasn't the case. This time I was content to just be a spectator. For a state champs race attendance seemed low to me, I'm afraid CX isn't drawing the riders it needs to maintain a viable race series. That's sad because it really is a fun form of racing.
MTB?
The next weekend I convinced Big Jim to accompany me to Munson so I could ride off road for the first time since the crash. The MTB felt more comfortable than the road bike had the weekend before and I wasn't quite as skittish. I've never been very good at turning and today was even worse. All the trees looked close to the trail and I was a little paranoid at first. That soon melted away and I started to get the feel for the bike again. It felt like I was riding Munson for the first time. So smooth and flowing.
We had both had enough after about an hour. I couldn't believe I was tired so soon! Unlike the road bike my whole body was feeling it. Mass quantities of Dos Equis and fajitas post ride proved to be the perfect recovery meal.
Now What?
So it looks like I'm back. No fitness, but a strong desire to ride. Walking is still a mess, both painful,and with a limp. Doc says this will go away as the bone heals so we'll see. The Lovely Wife will not allow me to ride alone so finding riding partners who are willing to go as slow as I am currently going can be a challenge.
I still have memories of hitting the ground and the aftermath of that September 29th crash. I never knew what it was like to be helpless and in pain before that. But I can't go forward if I keep replaying that day. Life's too short to be afraid. A little fear is healthy but too much can cripple you. I've talked to others who have had much worse trauma that I and have fought back.
I guess the scariest thing I take with me from this is........ I'm normal. In the back of my mind I knew something like this could happen but I had been so careful and so prepared. It had me thinking I was just a little bit better than all those people who go to hospitals on a regular basis. But nope, no matter how prepared or just plain lucky you've been, you can still get bit. After all, I was just riding my bike.
