Use it or lose it.

[Globalti]

64. To be honest I don't expect ever to resume cycling in the same way I used to in Lancashire because we simply don't have the fantastic variety of riding available from the door. My days as a committed cyclist are over, in fact my strength and fitness have dwindled so far that I'm very pessimistic about my future.

 

[ColinJ]

64. To be honest I don't expect ever to resume cycling in the same way I used to in Lancashire because we simply don't have the fantastic variety of riding available from the door.

How far would you have to drive your bike to get to somewhere more to your liking? (I assume that there isn't a railway station for miles?)

 

[Globalti]

About 12 miles.

You're up late Colin.

 

[Eric Olthwaite]

I have had recurring knee problems in the past which have occasionally required layoffs of up to 3 months with not even much walking. My leg muscles basically disappeared.

It was very frustrating but upon getting on a bike again I found there was quite a sense of positivity and satisfaction to be had from focusing on my improvement as I regained strength and fitness, relative to the previous week or month. That felt like the only thing within my control, so the only thing worth thinking about.

 

[davidphilips]

There have been 2 guys in our cycle club injured quite badly one tbh i thought would never cycle again came off bike no car involved bone sticking out of his forearm and broken hip told he may need a new hip (he is early 60s) back cycling (used swift) on the road in less than 6 months and hard to keep up with in about 8 months.

Other cyclist bit younger (mid 50s) hit with car broken ribs punctured lung and head injury back cycling in again about 6 months not as quick as he was but cycling 60 mile club runs(before lockdown).

Only my view but if you start back slowly and dont push to hard just remember consistency is more important than quantity and main thing is enjoy it you will get back to whatever level you train to. Delighted you are going to start cycling again and cycling should help with more that your physical fitness.

 

[matticus]

I had a leg in plaster cast - zero weight bearing - for about 3 months. When it was removed the calf muscle looked pathetic - but of course there was still something there, and when I was allowed to weight bear I did have some residual strength.
(Got back to walking normally, and riding all day in a few months - i was only 23 at the time!)

Someone who is moving about - no matter how lazy - will have a stronger leg than my leg when it came out of that cast.

 

[ColinJ]

About 12 miles.

Not TOO bad then... It would be irritating having to drive do a ride, but it isn't like you are 90 minutes away from somewhere suitable. I sometimes catch the train from Todmorden to Rose Grove for my Ribble Valley rides to cut out some of the tedious riding up and down the A646. I add the saved distance on to what I do out there.

You're up late Colin.

Same every night... It was gone 05:00 when I finally got to sleep.

Once I no longer had to get up to go to work bedtimes started slipping round the clock. I typically get to sleep at 03:45 - 05:15 now and wake up at 10:00 - 10:45. I am often then tired during the day and doze off from time to time. It isn't even 15:00 and I feel more tired now than I did at 05:00!

 

[Globalti]

Crikey Colin, I thought I was bad going to bed at 11.00 and waking at 1.00 but you're the king of insomniacs!

In better times I used to love an after lunch siesta but with my present state of mind I doze off then wake suddenly with a really nasty realisation of where I am and a terrible sensation of doom.

 

[ColinJ]

Crikey Colin, I thought I was bad going to bed at 11.00 and waking at 1.00 but you're the king of insomniacs!

Well, I do tend to average 4-6 hours a 'night', not 2!

In better times I used to love an after lunch siesta but with my present state of mind I doze off then wake suddenly with a really nasty realisation of where I am and a terrible sensation of doom.

I know exactly what that feels like, but for a different reason...

On my very first appointment, he [sadistic dentist] decided to do a lot of drilling without anaesthetic. It hurt and I told him so but he just told me not to be 'a big baby' (I was only 7 years old, for heaven's sake!) and just carried on drilling. I ended up fainting, so of course - he carried on... (obviously a believer in swooning as a form of pain relief).

I had some freaky nightmares about a lunatic with power tools performing surgery inside my head and then came round to discover that there was a lunatic with power tools performing surgery inside my head and promptly fainted again! When I came round the second time, he was finished and my mother was standing over me asking what had happened. He told her some crap about me misbehaving...

I have fainted several times since then so I am evidently prone to it. A hospital nurse noticed that I hold my breath when I am nervous and eventually I can just black out. I was completely unaware that I was doing it but once she pointed it out I make an effort to control my breathing at times of stress.