So I turned 50 this year, and things have been falling apart for the last couple of years, they just don't work like they used to. I had knee surgery three years ago, December 2010, and my knee has really never gotten back to where it once was. I have tried many different things, physical therapy, exercise of all sorts, including the doctor recommended swimming. Unfortunately swimming just doesn't get it done for me. I am a good swimmer and once swam across Tampa Bay, yes the actual bay, in a 5K race and did it in an hour 12. I swam competitively as a kid as well, but it just wasn't working for me, too boring, brought back too many boring memories, I don't know. So I decided to try some other land type exercises.
So I had been going to the Y, and doing some weights, and some walking on the tread mill, but the tread mill wasn't working either for me. My knee was actually still swelling form using the tread mill, and it was not comfortable for me on a daily basis being swollen. The swelling was causing many issues for me during the day as I walk a lot for my job. So on to the next machine.
I tried several different cross trainers and elliptical, and basically over the past three years, I finally found an elliptical that put less pressure on my knee, and have used it pretty religiously since then. But the real problem was still there, and that is I hate being indoors, especially exercising indoors. I really missed biking.
I have been riding a road bike since the mid- 90's, and have owned 5 different nice road bikes over the years. But since my knee surgery, and it being "suggested" that I sell my rode bike, I didn't own one anymore. But really wanted to get back out there, so I decided I would start to ride my hybrid, which is 14 years old. Much to my surprise, my knee felt good, not great, but about the same as if I had used the elliptical. So I decided to keep riding my hybrid and seeing how it would go with more riding and going farther. Again, it was feeling good.
In late October 2013, I decided to buy the nice bike pictured above. It's not the "best" bike I have owned, if you are going by pedigree alone, but it sure feels good to me. It is a TREK Domane, with a little creature comforts for the less serious bike riders, let's face it, I am not going to be riding in the Tour de France. It is a great bike for me, and that's what counts.
I rode a total of 370 miles in 2013 from the time I bought the bike, to 12/31. I have a Garmin Edge 500 that tracks my time, distance, and many other stats that you probably don't care to know about. Not a bad start to riding since I hadn't been on a bike in 3 years.
It's been a very cold winter this year, and it has kept me inside and off of my bike more than I would like, but I still have ridden 210 miles so far this year. My knee is still feeling good, and the swelling has been minimal with the biking, again not 100%, but according to several doctors that I have had look at the surgical notes and MRI's since the operation, my knee is not going to be 100%. So if that's the case, on to the bucket list.....
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