Originally Posted by
trailangel
Hey.. that looks like a bad one! Take it easy... do not over-do it. And no more skiing!
Oh, trust me. No skiing for me for a while!
So last weekend was the Eastern Sierra Double. That is my favorite ride in the world, but even I wouldn't push things that far so soon. Instead, I decided to volunteer for the double and do some shorter rides with friends. It went really well!
Day 1: We did the June Lake Loop. 74 miles and about 4500 feet of climbing. No issues on the bike with the knee at all, but oy ... my arse is not used to being in a seat for hours at a time. By the end, I was more than ready to quit.
Day 2: Volunteered at the first rest stop in the morning, saw a lot of friends (yay!) then did about a 65 mile ride from our home to the top of the Rock Creek climb (someone said it was the highest paved road in California at 10.250 feet or so). The bottom 2 miles are also somewhat steep, so that involved a lot of spinning. I'm using an asymmetrical pedal stroke (harder pushing on good leg) to keep down the pressure on the injured knee. Again, I'm not as fast as I would be if I could stand and pedals, but there were no problems during or after the ride. Interestingly, the knee actually feels better after a ride than before (endorphins?), so I was able to go up and down stairs without the crutches. At this point, I am using them mostly when I need to go longer distances.
Day 3: Easy 15 mile spin with maybe 1000 feet of climbing.
Soooo ... so far, so good. I can ride good distances at good speeds, I can almost stand on the pedals, I'm able to walk up stairs and hobble short distances without the crutches. We'll see what the doc says on the 12th.
Here's a pix of us at the top of Oh! Ridge with a view of June Lake.
Enjoying the view of June Lake from Oh! Ridge