Back in the Saddle - Kind Of

I know. My blog has gotten really boring with all the recovery posts...or lack of posts at all, for that matter. So I thought I'd fix it and get back on my bike...you know, for your entertainment. It has been a week and a half since I crashed, so I guessed it was time.

I invited only a few select friends on this recovery ride...friends I knew would be patient with me in the event that I couldn't ride well or maybe even not at all. I even warned them that if the weather was questionable, I was sleeping in instead of riding.

Well, I didn't realize it was raining until after I had gotten dressed and walked out the door. By then I figured that I would just ride down to the meeting spot, wait a minute to make sure no one showed up, and go back home to bed. So I rode in the cold and the rain to the mouth of Provo Canyon and waited.

Surprise! Lifesgreat (aka Hilslug, but she doesn't live up to this self-proclaimed name) showed up for the ride! Here I was dressed in my tights, baselayer, armwarmers, jersey, two jackets, ear covers, and long-fingered gloves and still FREEZING, and Lifesgreat shows up wearing shorts and a light jacket.

I could not have asked for a better riding partner than Lifesgreat! She kept me riding at a reasonable recovery pace and was so patient with me. She quietly listened to me grumble about all my aches and pains. She didn't even complain when I decided to cut the ride short because my ribs were so sore in riding position that I couldn't breathe very easily. The good news is that my knee only fussed a little going up a small climb early in the ride, but once it was warmed up, it felt pretty good.

While I was thrilled with the company, I was disappointed with my performance. I was hoping that I could get out for a ride and feel great. I wanted to be ready to go on a longer, more challenging ride on Wednesday, but now I'm thinking I need to repeat today's ride and see if I can go a little further (and maybe just a little faster). As you can see, I'm freaking out a little bit that I'm rapidly losing fitness. Not a happy feeling since I had been feeling so great prior to my wreck.

And hopefully, soon, I'll have some more interesting stories to write about.