I'm no longer a cyclist

[Midnight]

Keep your mind active - how about a course with the Open University or nearby college? What interests you? Could you do with any certifications for work or a career change even?

That's what I was going to suggest, there's plenty of short courses you could complete in six months. If you're anything like me, and allegedly typical of all males, there's lots of things that I've said I'm going to do but never got round to it, so now might be a good time. How about making a list of unfinished/unstarted jobs and seeing how many you can get through?

 

[RedBike]

My sympathies Redbike. Could you go down to a local gym to see what activities would not aggravate your injury? I know nothing about it (possibly too much ankle movement) and it would drive me round the proverbial, what about rowing?

There's only way to find out and i'm so keen on that suggestion I will be trying it out tonight.
It never even occured to me to try the rowing machines. I've just been walking straight passed the room with the treadmills / step machines etc in it!

 

[hulver]

You need one of these

http://www.3trackers.org/hand_cycling.htm

 

[ColinJ]

Keep your mind active - how about a course with the Open University or nearby college? What interests you? Could you do with any certifications for work or a career change even?

That's what I was going to suggest, there's plenty of short courses you could complete in six months. 

I was thinking along those lines too. How about a residential Spanish language course in Spain or Latin America? Great possibilities for touring in the future once you speak Spanish! If you can't afford that, learn in the UK. Try Don Quijote.

 

[RedBike]

That's what I was going to suggest, there's plenty of short courses you could complete in six months. If you're anything like me, and allegedly typical of all males, there's lots of things that I've said I'm going to do but never got round to it, so now might be a good time. How about making a list of unfinished/unstarted jobs and seeing how many you can get through?

Lol, for the past month I've been painting the house!

 

[tmcd35]

Alas the injury means my first thought is no good - join a spinning class. Buy a rusty old bike from fleabay as a restoration project. Aim to have it road worth for 6 months time.

 

[montage]

Hit the gym hard - you can still work out cycling specific muscles like the thighs and core.
If money is no object get a handbike.
Swimming is boring I agree - but do you live near the sea? Open water swimming looks far more fun, and I was just going to get into this until I did my shoulder in (I've been useless with no knees and only 1 shoulder!).

Start some sort of stretching regime - an hour every 3 days or something. Flexibility is one of the key componants of fitness after all.


What about sailing? Now is the perfect time to start if you haven't sailed before - lodes of places will be offering courses

 

[jack the lad]

What about a hand-bike? Like these perhaps http://www.teamhybrid.co.uk/ - or there might be someone who could do a conversion/bodge on one of your current bikes, as you probably don't need a trike for balance. If you do your own bodging, this could also be a project to keep you going!

Or think about using a power assisted bike - one of those pedelec thingys? Put an spd on the good side and a flat pedal on the damaged side, so you can ride up hills on one leg with power assistance. If your bad ankle won't take any strain and you might be tempted to put power on with it if it has a pedal - bodge a fixed footrest on that side instead and do it all on one leg!

 

[ColinJ]

If money is no object get a handbike.

That's a brilliant suggestion!

I was at the top of Fleet Moss in the Yorkshire Dales in 2006 when a group of disabled cyclists winched their way to the top on hand-cranked recumbents - very impressive!

It would take a lot of upper body work to get fit enough to do that though.

 

[RedBike]

I was thinking along those lines too. How about a residential Spanish language course in Spain or Latin America? Great possibilities for touring in the future once you speak Spanish! If you can't afford that, learn in the UK. Try Don Quijote.

What??? Move to spain???

I was thinking more about something I could just do for an hour or two Sunday morning / in the evening.

 

[fossyant]

Any point in buying a cheap moped to get to work ? The saving in fuel should pay for itself quickly. Not sure I'd be selling the bikes unless absolutely necessary as you don't usually get much for a second hand bike, but could sell bikes, get moped....?

I assume the ankle injury was due to another 'incident' not the one with the van ? How are your injuries with the van incident ?

 

[rh100]

Great idea!

Good luck with it

I do IT related courses at home, because it helps my career, I just get the relevant book and when I'm ready I book myself in for the exam, depends on your preference in how you learn though, some prefer a classroom environment. Amazon is a great place to have a browse of subjects that interest you. I know in the computer training world there are plenty of sharks around who promise the earth, and charge the earth aswell, but deliver little. So just be wary of laying out any big money. You will probably find plenty of forums for whatever you might choose to do, and there are plenty on here who have been with the OU also.

 

[ColinJ]

What??? Move to spain???

I was thinking more about something I could just do for an hour or two Sunday morning / in the evening.

They do online courses too if you don't want that much of a change!

 

[RedBike]

Any point in buying a cheap moped to get to work ? The saving in fuel should pay for itself quickly. Not sure I'd be selling the bikes unless absolutely necessary as you don't usually get much for a second hand bike, but could sell bikes, get moped....?

I assume the ankle injury was due to another 'incident' not the one with the van ? How are your injuries with the van incident ?

Yes, another incident. That was why I was riding with a crutch strapped to the top tube of the bike. (And before you ask, no I shouldn't have been riding.)

I was very lucky with the van and I 'walked away' effectively injury free. I'm still not sure exactly what happened but I think the van hit my bike not myself. There was a lot of blood (from my nose) and my shirt was all ripped but apart from a tiny bit of road rash there wasn't a mark on me.

 

[beanzontoast]

The handbike sounds a great idea - unless part of you has had enough of cycling for a while? In which case, a complete change to something equally involving and with a physical element might be better. Have you thought about conservation volunteers?