Before heading to the office a few Thursday's ago, I lashed Desert Rose (my bike) to the back of Squishy (my VW beetle) so as to be ready for an evening cruise. With daylight lingering until 10 pm, evening rides are fun and cool.
At the end of my work day I pedalled away from LifeMatters Counselling's Port Elgin office (That was a product placement attempt, btw :-) at 7:00 pm heading north on the very nice Southampton Parkway Bike Trail; a very wide and spacious designated bike lane on the side of a beautiful road lined with charming cottages on one side and lush woodland forest on the other. Most of the time I can catch a glimpse of Lake Huron glimmering just beyond the cottages in the slowly setting sun.
Before the ride I made a slight adjustment in my seat post height. (I will pay for that for the next few weeks.)
My destination of motivation was the Dairy Queen in the popular tourist lakeside town know as Sauble Beach (A Lake Huron waterfront community famous for a beach you can drive your car on, and waves you can actually surf. A major summer vacation destination in these parts.).
But life has its share of disappointments, and alas, after about an hour and a half of intense pedal spinning, Dairy Queen was closed. Disappointment defined. Only open weekends until June. Bummer. The Peanut Buster Parfait would have been enjoyed.
Instead, I eat a banana and an apple and a handful of almonds before turning my ship homeward.
I must have also been Cheerios charged as I managed a 23.3 kph (14.3 mph) average for the 2 hours and 20 minutes of seat time over the whole 54.5 km (38.2 mi). A totally delightful ride.
Felt great when I got back to my car and drove home. I did my post ride stretches, showered, and fell asleep contented.
But when I woke up Friday morning, a very sore muscle or ligament or something behind my left knee made it almost impossible to bend.
I sought wisdom from God Google.
I was enlightened that my 2 cm (.5 in) seat height adjustment, while seemingly small, was actually enough to strain that muscle not accustomed to the new extension length I was asking of it.
My Treatment (Self diagnosed): One week of muscle recuperating; meaning, no bike riding during that time.
But as I write this blog entry over two weeks later, I have only pedalled my bike for 15 minutes one day just to discover what it would feel like. My leg did not hurt a bit while pedalling, but the sore bending off the bike persisted.
So I'm exercising great restraint and not riding anymore until I see my sport physiotherapist in two days. Just want his coaching as to how best to start my training and conditioning again without foolishly causing more damage or a set back.
In my next blog I'll share my plans for an epic Trans-Provincial two week ride in August which is my motivation to get back into training!
Enjoy the photo journalism that follows.
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