Date: 2005-03-10
To: The Return! Glorius Day!
Miles today: 0.0

Well, Well, Well¢¦ Someone rode his bike today.That¢s right! I am back! Impaired and Injured, but I am Back!Only 34 days after a broken leg, (and broken knee I might add), I decided it was time, so I hopped on my bike and off I went! It felt excellent! (Well, It hurt like hell, my knee felt like it was totally full of unwanted fluids and other unmentionables, and I think I got frostbite on my thumb, but it felt good to be on a bike!) Tuesday I walked a few miles to start getting warmed up for my big ride today, and I did great, and so Wednesday, I bumped it up a little and I still felt good enough to ease any worries I had about riding today. The swelling after both activities on Tuesday and Wednesday were minimal so I knew it was time to return. Thank God that the Doctor said I could start riding again! I awoke this morning to the pleasant Whooo-Whooo-Whooo of an owl outside my window and I was off to the Athletic Club to do some weight lifting before the sun rose. I woke up without the need of caffeine because I think the adrenaline pumping through my system was heightened enough to cancel the need for any other stimulation. Every ounce of me knew that I was riding my bike today, I was really psyched, and full of energy. I got done lifting around 7:30AM and went home to scarf a little protein and some carbs for today¢s ride. The whole time I was in the kitchen, the sun continually crept into the room, alerting me to the fact that this day was perfect, yes, it was freezing outside, but today¢s going to be the warmest day for the next week, so I knew that today¢s the day for my, (weak and inhibited), comeback ride.I started off around 9:00, this morning, and immediately knew that I was going to be OK, on the ride when about five minutes into my warm up, I was already cruising close to 20MPH and my knee wasn¢t bothering me that bad. I did however; start to wonder about the increasing pain in my fingers as a result of the cold, but fortunately, after they went numb, I just peddled on! (I knew they would be fine, I had gloves on¢¦)My knee really started to hurt on a few serious climbs but it was nothing I couldn¢t handle. All in all, it was a great ride. I did about 30 miles, and a good majority of those miles were pretty decent climbs. My fastest speed was 43.2 MPH, (Yes, on a downhill..), and my overall trip time wasn¢t that far off of my normal time for this particular 30-mile stretch. The route I took is really cool. It is probably my favorite ride in the area. I leave my house and head down this wooded road that runs parallel to the river, and then I have a climb that is approximately a 12% grade, which lasts about two miles on a road that cuts up and away from the river. From there it is on to more woods, on a road that has various climbs that follows opposite a creek that is on its way to the river. The road goes by a lot of waterfalls and its awesome¢¦From there, I head out to horse country which is absolutely beautiful to ride¢¦ Usually the ride goes alongside some Kentucky Thoroughbreds, which occasionally, when I¢m lucky, run beside me¢¦It is a great ride¢¦   I am really glad that I did as well as I did on the bike today, and more importantly, I am glad I passed the real test as well¢¦ The real test was whether or not my knee would swell up like crazy after I got DONE riding¢¦It still hasn¢t swelled up, and I¢ve been of the bike for about four three hours now, so I guess I¢m good!I am back!I think I¢ll be able to train enough to get myself almost as prepped and well trained as I was before I broke my leg by the time I need to leave for the trail. I am cutting it insanely close, but I have no option, and know I can do it, it¢s just going to be a crazy ride getting ready!Also,Lance,(Armstong, of course), dropped out of the Paris-Nice race today. He was getting sick racing in the snow and crappy weather, so lets hope he gets well soon, so he can start prepping for the Tour, (Cyclists refer to the Tour De France, simply as 'The Tour'). This isn't a big blow to Lance, since this race was only a training race for him, but still, it isn't fun to drop out of a race.