1 week later and WOW!

[Felix79]

Last Thursday, my 2012 Cannondale CAAD8 arrived in the post and for the first time since 2001 (when I was 21) I owned and rode a bike. For the last 9 years, I have been pretty much laid up due to a series of spinal injuries that caused me to live with nerve damage and constant pain in my lower back and left leg. Last August after 2 years of waiting, I was finally able to have a repeatable "op' that allowed the damaged section of my nerves to be burned away, thus making the pain SOOOOOO much better. Since then I have been slowly improving my health and getting more active. In early April I started to walk around 5 days a week, to help me deal with the fact the nerves had grown back to the point where I was in serious amounts of pain, but in my left leg. I was only able to walk about 60-100 meters before I was unable to carry on. Over the following weeks and months I was able to push that up to 1.6 miles on a good day.

So, with the walking side of things going well, I knew I needed to really do a cardio based activity and improve my fitness, but I needed to keep things low impact as I didn't want to flare up the mess of nerves in my lower back. After seeing the different doctors and physios who look after me and telling them I wanted to get into cycling again, they gave me the all clear.

I decided to get a road bike for a number of different reasons and I was honestly scared about pushing myself this hard, when on the 29th July I am having my back operated on again to help with the pain. I got on my bike last Thursday and I was barley able to ride for long than a minuet before I was sweating, out of breath and my thighs were screaming. I thought it was going to take me a long, long, long time before I would be able to get any distance and improvements to happen.

Today, a full week after I started doing 3 days on the bike, rest, 3 days on the bike, rest, I was able to cycle round my housing area for about 1 mile and I wasn't badly out of breath and my legs were not too bad. My lower back has not given me any trouble since I first got on my bike and my weak left leg has not hindered me while I am going at a very easy pace and cadence. I've been really shocked how rapidly I am getting improvements in my basic fitness and I didn't think I would be able to manage a mile in one sitting until the end of the summer!!

So this is my little story, after a full week of having a bike again. It was really awesome for me to finally be able to own a Cannondale since first wanting one as a 14 year old lad in 1994. It's been really awesome learning about modern cycling and I've been really enjoying getting bits of kit and actually finding my motivation going up more and more.

 

[Saluki]

That's great. 3 days on and a day off is something I used to do a lot of too. Glad to hear that you are getting back in the groove. I hope the improvement continutes.
Good luck for the end of July too.

 

[rugby bloke]

What a great story, I'm really pleased to hear what a positive impact this is having on your well being.

 

[I like Skol]

Great little feel-good story. Glad it is going so well. Don't push too hard and over-do it. Just enjoy yourself and the ride

 

[Smithbat]

Last Thursday, my 2012 Cannondale CAAD8 arrived in the post and for the first time since 2001 (when I was 21) I owned and rode a bike. For the last 9 years, I have been pretty much laid up due to a series of spinal injuries that caused me to live with nerve damage and constant pain in my lower back and left leg. Last August after 2 years of waiting, I was finally able to have a repeatable "op' that allowed the damaged section of my nerves to be burned away, thus making the pain SOOOOOO much better. Since then I have been slowly improving my health and getting more active. In early April I started to walk around 5 days a week, to help me deal with the fact the nerves had grown back to the point where I was in serious amounts of pain, but in my left leg. I was only able to walk about 60-100 meters before I was unable to carry on. Over the following weeks and months I was able to push that up to 1.6 miles on a good day.

So, with the walking side of things going well, I knew I needed to really do a cardio based activity and improve my fitness, but I needed to keep things low impact as I didn't want to flare up the mess of nerves in my lower back. After seeing the different doctors and physios who look after me and telling them I wanted to get into cycling again, they gave me the all clear.

I decided to get a road bike for a number of different reasons and I was honestly scared about pushing myself this hard, when on the 29th July I am having my back operated on again to help with the pain. I got on my bike last Thursday and I was barley able to ride for long than a minuet before I was sweating, out of breath and my thighs were screaming. I thought it was going to take me a long, long, long time before I would be able to get any distance and improvements to happen.

Today, a full week after I started doing 3 days on the bike, rest, 3 days on the bike, rest, I was able to cycle round my housing area for about 1 mile and I wasn't badly out of breath and my legs were not too bad. My lower back has not given me any trouble since I first got on my bike and my weak left leg has not hindered me while I am going at a very easy pace and cadence. I've been really shocked how rapidly I am getting improvements in my basic fitness and I didn't think I would be able to manage a mile in one sitting until the end of the summer!!

So this is my little story, after a full week of having a bike again. It was really awesome for me to finally be able to own a Cannondale since first wanting one as a 14 year old lad in 1994. It's been really awesome learning about modern cycling and I've been really enjoying getting bits of kit and actually finding my motivation going up more and more.

That is brilliant news, well done

 

[Brandane]

Great stuff! Keep it up but listen to your body and don't push too hard. Let nature do its thing, and before you know it you'll be doing those 3 days on, followed by ..... another 3 days on! It does get quite addictive once you get over the initial pain.

 

[Felix79]

Thank you all for the messages of support.

I use to do a lot of cycling out of need as a kid growing up in Oxford, but I did enjoy taking my bike out on long rides. When I owned my first car in my early 20's, I would blast down the same country lanes and I would know the roads so well from the many hours spent pedalling on them. Now I've gone full circle and will eventually be cycling down them again, as I decided to put my beloved modified Impreza P1 away and focus on using my own power to zoom around with.

I know you can get a 2012 Cannondale CAAD8 "cheapy" and maybe Cannondale is not the uber brand is was when I was a kid, but my god I feel so smug finally having one at long last.

 

[Widge]

Respect!

Cycling can be heap good medicine?

All Best

Widge

 

[Lilliburlero]

@Felix79

Enjoy

 

[Mrs M]

Great going, well done
Keep it up and best wishes for 29th.

 

[Felix79]

Respect!

Cycling can be heap good medicine?

All Best

Widge

I take roughly 40+ tablets a day for my pain management. Since I've started to use the bike and stretch my back out from resting on the hoods, it has allowed me to make my medication go a bit longer before I have to take some more.

I take morphine, oxycodone , buprenorphine, tramadol, morphine sulphate solution as my main painkillers. So it's real heavyweight stuff and feeling the breeze on my face as I pedal is a really great feeling. The mental zen I get on the bike, even though it's only for a short time, is already helping me manage better than before I got my bike last week.

The community on these forums seems to be really nice and friendly, which is just making me look forward to getting involved with a club and making friends who also share a passion for this sport. It's very different to the car culture that I have been a part off for so many years and being in Oxford means it's very cycling friendly too.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Well done @Felix79, take it easy now, you'll be doing 50 milers by the end of summer

 

[Felix79]

How a load of parcels arrive earlier.

I Now have a pair of gel padded cycling gloves, waterproof/windproof lightweight cycling jacket, black Cannondale cycling jersey (it's an XXXL but it's so tight and I think it little short. Luckily I have bibshorts. I have been able to stretch the jacket permanently, so when I put it one it fits better each time) and finally a Fizik Arione, Wing Flex, Manganese Rails saddle (Put it one and it's so much better than the Cannondale. saddle with my boney backside), also got another jersey inbound and hopefully the size will be a little bit bigger (it's a 4*XL this time).

I've got a pair of VGC Shimano Tiagra Double 9 Speed shifter/brake coming next week. I really don't like the really old Sora shifters I have on the bike and I really enjoy tinkering about on my bike.

I still have to get in a few more things, mainly a saddle bag with the right tools and spare inner tubes etc.

Really been enjoying discovering what bits of kit I need or want to get. Also think I am pretty close to getting all the kit I need right up to the point I am riding for longer duration and distance.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Felix79 Wonderful story, thing about cycling is its a non impact sport. When I started in 2012 I had been suffering an old compression injury to my right leg which always troubled me most days, cycling was difficult with it at the start as I would get sharp pains just above my knee, but over time as the muscle improved the pain i had seemed to move up my thigh till one day it went, I still get the odd twinge going up stairs for instance or twisting it a little awkward, but on the whole it is much improved, so hopefully you will find the same.

 

[goody]

maybe Cannondale is not the uber brand is was when I was a kid,

It's the uberest of the uber brands!