Today was the day. I was determined. I retrieved my bicycle from the basement, got geared up and set out for my first five mile bike ride through our small town in rural Illinois of this year.
I wasn't sure if I had it in me. My dog was unhappy, because he knew what I was doing as soon as he saw the bike come up the stairs. He gets jealous, but at the same time he is 11 and he walks to and from school daily which all combined is two miles.
Once outside I zipped up my hooded sweatshirt, rolled up my jeans on my right side, not for style, but so they don't get caught in the chain. Jeans, you ask? Yeah, I don't gear up like most. My kid's softball coach would be disappointed if he saw me since he likes to remind the parents not to allow their children to wear jeans to practice.
Before I hit the road, I turned on my personal computer and opened an application to track my mileage and time as a baseline for the new year. It was now time to roll.
The ride began fine, but dang, I'm just not in shape. Three years after the accident and I still struggle. I started huffing and puffing and I could taste the bile in my mouth after a mile. I have a lot of nerve damage so my expectations should be tempered, but Steven Seagal in "Hard to Kill" was in a coma for like seven years and when he came to he was rolling around on a gurney with a mop to push him around like he was kayaking in a raging river. Eventually, Seagal's character regains his strength and fulfills his revenge against those that murdered his family. I still get winded looking for the tv remote.
My left eye collided with two insects and I had to take evasive action to avoid another collision when a motorist backed down their driveway and into the street without noticing me. That happens way too often to believe.
When I made it back home and stepped off the bike, the discomfort was still there as it has been for the past few years. My entire foot goes numb and I can't feel the ground. It's as if I had placed my foot in a bucket of ice water for an hour. Now, nearly two hours later the temperature is beginning to rise to a normal level. It seems as if the DRG stimulator hasn't helped with everything, but it still has definitely helped with the pain.
I was able to complete my 5+ mile route that runs through neighborhoods, a brief off-road stretch, and dodging motorists in 28 minutes, which I think is about as well as I was doing at my peak last year so there's that, but I could use a nap now, for sure.
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