Back on the Bike!

I just thought I'd let everyone know that I'm no longer crippled for life, as Tim (Dad to me) mentioned in his last column. My knee is almost finished healing, and I don't have a brace or a cane or crutches anymore.

Today I rode the fixie for the first time in 9 weeks, I did a slow (17 mph) 30 mile ride. Luckily, no aches or pains, although one leg is visibly larger than the other. Stupid atrophy.

For those of you who don't know, I ate it a while ago while crossing a rock the size of a Suburban on my mountain bike. I kinda fell off the side (about a 8 ft. drop) and all of my weight landed on my knee, bent at a ninety degree angle. Oh, and I landed on a rock, too. I got back up and rode the rest of the trail, but then it hurt when I got home. It turned out I had a plateau fracture on my Tibia, and a partially torn PCL, and a partially torn meniscus. Apparently my PCL didn't completely tear because of all the fixie riding. So I spent 7 weeks on crutches, and two with a bendable brace and a cane. Amazingly, no surgery, and it all healed.

fixie??

Andrew

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/sprockets/my-new-bike/13279/page1/

glad to hear youre doin better. fixies are sick, i was thinking about converting my 10 speed so i can do keo spins and such, but i think id miss multiple gears for the sake of going up hills. i would build a seperate bike but... i dont feel like it

If you have that much trouble on a bike, please stay off a motorcycle.

Andrew

Seriously?

Dirtbikes since I was 11 with no injuries. Just a stupid mistake on a mountain bike.

Just got into street riding, too.

30 miles at 17 mph on fixie. Impressive.

No stopping at all?

Two quick stops to fill the water bottle.

how tall is your gearing? riding oriented or trick oriented?

Riding oriented. 48/16 and 700c wheels. I was doing the same loop at 22 before the accident.

sweet

Sorry you got injured, Glad you are better. When I messed up a knee the Doc told me that riding was the best thing I could do as it would strengthen the ligaments. He also said that as long as you don't fall down it is 0 impact aerobics.

glad to hear things are better

vazbmw wrote: 30 miles at 17 mph on fixie. Impressive. No stopping at all?

I know--I have trouble doing that on a 24-speed road bike on flat ground. I'm lucky to average 15mph.

Anyway, congrats on the recovery.

Tommy Suddard wrote: I just thought I'd let everyone know that I'm no longer crippled for life, as Tim (Dad to me) mentioned in his last column. My knee is almost finished healing, and I don't have a brace or a cane or crutches anymore. Today I rode the fixie for the first time in 9 weeks, I did a slow (17 mph) 30 mile ride. Luckily, no aches or pains, although one leg is visibly larger than the other. Stupid atrophy. For those of you who don't know, I ate it a while ago while crossing a rock the size of a Suburban on my mountain bike. I kinda fell off the side (about a 8 ft. drop) and all of my weight landed on my knee, bent at a ninety degree angle. Oh, and I landed on a rock, too. I got back up and rode the rest of the trail, but then it hurt when I got home. It turned out I had a plateau fracture on my Tibia, and a partially torn PCL, and a partially torn meniscus. Apparently my PCL didn't completely tear because of all the fixie riding. So I spent 7 weeks on crutches, and two with a bendable brace and a cane. Amazingly, no surgery, and it all healed.

ROFL! Didn't know if your dad was worried because he's a dad (like I do when my daughter hurts herself), or if he was just using a lil' "poetic licence" (like I do when I try to write). Thanks for the the update, Tom. And the link to your "fixie" was great. I'm not a bike rider, but I thought it was seriously cool that you went the "Grassroots Way" and built your own.

My only experience with atrophy was when I was about your age. I was a tennis player, and my racquet arm was bigger than the other one..

Glad everything healed ok. Don't worry too much about the shrunken leg, they come back quick

In reply to grimmelshanks:

A single speed might be a more viable option for you..

Wally wrote: Glad everything healed ok. Don't worry too much about the shrunken leg, they come back quick

Thread hijack/ that avatar is awesome Wally

I was single for 7 years. My, um, "racket" arm got way bigger, too.

Knee injuries can be life altering. I had surgery back in '87 on my left knee, Dr. Andrews had pioneered(back then) the patellar tendon graft. At that point, I had no ligaments, tendons or muscles attached due to being run over by a truck while riding my Puch racing bike. He reattached everything using grafts and 4 giant screws(they currently only use 3 small ones), 1 year of pt, and the knee was stronger than when new. Though, I have never been able to fully bend it like I can my other leg. It pretty much curtailed what was left of my tennis career.

I currently ride a Trek Path... 7 speeds of light weight high handle barred goodness. It's much faster than it looks and has the nice forward pedal design a la a recumbent bike. Easy to go fast... just ask my oldest son and all his teenaged buddies in the neighborhood.

Glad you healed up, Tom.

Mark

92dxman, why do you say that? my 10 speed rocks

That's good to hear. When will you be back on the mountain bike? I still wanna come down and ride with you some time.

I've had trouble on and off with my knee since running high school track back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I've recently got back into riding my road bike, and the knee is much better since I've gained a good measure of strength, logging 12 miles in just under an hour.

You are young. Any atrophy will disappear as you get back up to speed. Just be careful not to push too hard too soon. And stop riding your bike over Suburbans.

You rode home? Have you considered a career in the Marines?

Like, 22 MPH average for 30 miles? Solo? That's moving. Our group rides usually average ~20-21mph and we are generally clipping along with a moving speed of 25-26mph. The best I can do is a solo average of 19. Big props to you for >20mph average.

I just got back on my bike after a cold winter layoff.. (I hate cold weather) so I understand how you feel. Amazing how much endurance and muscle you can loose in a short amount of time.. but do not worry, it will be back soon if you are careful. Just do not overdue it too soon.

I can average 20mph over 15 miles on a suspeneded mountain bike with knobbies... on pavement. On the dirt I am MUCH slower