Rest Days

Sometimes you just need a rest day. This morning I went to the gym and did some upper body weights. Then I went for a long walk around the city. I figured I'd hop on Peter's bike afterwards and do 45 minutes of riding. But when I got out there, my legs just felt so tired. So I turned back after not too long and came home. I think the gym and walking is enough for today. 

I've learned more about taking time to rest as I've gotten older. Peter used to say that I was always either moving and sleeping. But now I have time where I just relax and watch YouTube videos or write in my diaries. I also take the time to meditate twice a day. In Belgium, I've taken up the hobby of watching road cycling. There is a lot of it on the TV during cycling season (spring, summer, fall) and I find it to be very relaxing. I'm even getting to know a few of the top athletes like Wout Van Aert.

Riding Makes You Hungry

Yesterday we both really felt the effect that riding can have on your appetite. I went to the store and picked up some chocolate milk - which is a great recovery drink - and we downed a little bottle of that. Peter also had some muesli right away when we got home from our ride. I ended up having some yogurt and granola at night. The thing is that you have to balance it just right - you don't want to be overly hungry but you also don't want to eat too much. 

Today we rode a smaller ride - just about 45 minutes - in the rain. By the time we got home my jeans were pretty wet and I had to re-dry my hair. It's Christmas so it's a good day to rest and recover. 

We saw a cormorant come in for a nice landing on the river. There were also many seagulls and doves. No hawks today.

Riding with Peter

Today I took Bruno out because Peter wanted to ride too. We went down the same bike path but went much further. I think it might have been an hour and fifteen total. 

Along the way we saw a hawk, lots of ducks and moorhens, two horses, some chickens and a rooster. The bike path wasn't too busy, though we did get passed several times. Cars mostly stopped to let us cross at the few crossings we had. 

Sunrise

 

This morning I got nice and bundled up for a ride along the river because it is below zero (Celsius) here today. The grasses were beautifully frosted as I glided along the trail and mist was hovering over the still waters. As I rode I could see airplanes coming in on their approach to Brussels airport and I thought about how much I love airplanes and air travel. The airplane segment of the journey always seems like part of the fun. 

On my way back I got to see the gorgeous sunrise above and I remembered to snap a picture of it. In my old riding days, taking my camera along always helped me see more beauty in my rides. 

This afternoon I went on a ride in the little bit warmer weather. I had to turn around because there was a logging truck on the trail. I think it was picking up the trees that I saw yesterday.

Moon

This morning I waited for the sun to almost rise - which wasn't until 8:38 because today is the winter solstice - and set out for a ride along the river again. It was cold and dry and there was frost on all the bridges. 

As I rode along, the moon was almost 3/4 full and I thought about the path the moon travels along in the sky. I lived in a small cabin for the first year my husband and I were in Wyoming and there was no artificial light. Some nights the moon would be so bright that you could almost read by it. I love to remember that the moon looks the same to my parents in North Carolina as it does to me here in Belgium. (I think it's upside down in the southern hemisphere.)

This afternoon I went to the rental place called Velo and picked out a bike for myself. It's a real beater: I think I'll call it Bruno. It's not as nice as Peter's bike because they save the really nice bikes for students. So I think I'll still ride Peter's bike when I'm alone. But if we want to ride together, I'll take out Bruno. 

Back in the Saddle

I've been reading through this bicycling blog lately and realizing how much I missed the thoughts-soothing nature of riding. So much has happened since I last blogged. My husband and I lost all of our possessions, including our five bicycles, to mold. We moved to Laramie, Wyoming where my husband went back to school for four years to get a Computer Science degree. And now we are living in Belgium where my husband is pursing a master's degree in Statistics. 

I actually don't own a bike right now because we sold or gave away almost everything we owned in order to move to Belgium. But my husband has a rental bike that I took out for a 45-minute ride along the river today. His bike is very comfortable and has fenders and a chain guard which I love. It's great to be able to cycle in jeans. 

Right away when I started riding today I noticed that my mind became so much calmer. This is why I loved this so much, I thought. I rode over to the marina area which is quite close to our apartment. Then I hopped on a great little bike path that runs along the river. It was pretty quiet traffic-wise as it is most of the time in our small town of Leuven, Belgium. 

As I rode I passed geese and ducks and got passed at least three times by bicyclists going much faster than me. I also passed a bunch of recently chopped-down trees which made me a little sad. But, boy did my mind feel good. Bicycling is really special in that way. You have to pay attention to what you are doing so it slows your mind down and focuses it. 

After 22 minutes I turned around right about at the time that I had reached the next town over: Remy. I cycled to a new town on my first bike ride in Belgium! How fun! I rode back feeling a little sluggish for a bit, but I got a second wind. All-in-all it was a great ride for my first time riding in over a year.

Freedom

I can't imagine there is anyone who still reads this blog although I do think people stumble across it from time to time. My last post was on June 11th and I am guessing that on that day, on that walk, was when I missed the step that severely flared up a major herniation I have in one of the discs in my back. For a few weeks I was just in minor pain, but then in early July, my back seized up in my sleep...big time. Even my abs seized. I've been in pain and in physical therapy ever since.

I've also hardly been on a bike since. I tried in November, but the combination of lifting my leg over the bar and the sheer amount of inflammation I had at the time got my back so close to seizing while I was riding that I've been afraid to even ride. When the MRI results came back, both my PT and my doctor agreed that I need to see a surgeon. The appointment to see him is next week, but apparently the herniation is such that it wouldn't be a simple laminectomy to fix. As if back surgery is ever simple. I also know from working with clients who've had herniated discs repaired surgically that the surgery itself can cause new pain and problems. And you'll always be more vulnerable in that area.

Anyway, about a month ago I really started having trouble with walking and since it hurt to drive I've just been feeling trapped in my house. Riding the stationary bike is so boring but my PT said my best bet for being able to walk more without pain was to cycle.

So, today, I went and bought a new bike. It's a Specialized comfort bike and I'm sitting so upright that I look like Mary Poppins when I ride. It's got shocks and a comfort seat and a step through frame so I don't have to lift my leg up. The sales guy joked, "It's like riding a couch." I took it for a spin and my back felt so great. I said, "This feels even better than a couch." So, we decked it out with fenders and a light and grocery baskets and a lock and I rode it home. The great thing about it is that my legs never even extend far enough back to be in line with my torso. This relieves all the strain on the central protrusion in that disc.

When I got home I added the water bottle holder, pump and seat pack from Reilly and said to Peter, "I'm riding to Tabor." I was thinking that I would just ride to Tabor and come home without actually riding to the top, but my back was feeling so good I decided to give it a try.

My new bike has some pretty good gearage (if that's a word) so it handled the hill pretty well. Plus, I'm not miserably out of shape. But it was slow going as it's not a light bike and I think the forward angle of my legs probably reduced my power. My heart was pumping and I was getting soaking wet. The whole thing was actually ridiculous because I was wearing jeans and my Clark's shoes and a sweater and sweating my butt off.

But then I got to the top. And I was overwhelmed with emotion. This was the first time I had been up here on a bike since I hurt my back. Riding on Mt. Tabor is one of my favorite things to do in this whole world and I had missed it so much. I stopped at the place where you can see the view of the city and called my dad. When he answered the phone I started to cry. I said, "You'll never guess where I am," and told him all about my new bike.

When I was riding home I started thinking about what I wanted to name my bike. Peter teases me for naming my bikes and says I'm just like the Norse. Apparently they named everything like houses and chairs. I like to do it though. The feelings I've had over these last nine months have been of a loss of freedom. I'll never be able to do cardio dance again. I have to be careful about every step I take when I walk. Since it hurt to drive and I hate to drive anyway and the nerve root pain I was feeling made getting on my bikes hard I just felt trapped. Stay at home. Rest. Or go out into the world and hurt.

Riding this new bike I felt something new though. I was out in the world and I wasn't hurting. I felt better than when I rest. I felt freedom. Freedom from pain. Freedom from being trapped in my house. Freedom from having to ride that stupid stationary bike everyday in order to be able to eat anything. Freedom to climb and sweat and be surrounded by beautiful things. So, it seemed to me that there couldn't be a more appropriate name for this new bike, my shock absorbing couch on wheels, my new Mt. Tabor climbing steed, than FREEDOM!