Tuesday, April 8, 2014

The Long Road Back

It seems so long since I've ridden my bike... it's going on 2 months. Today I start this post knowing that I've been limited on everything from work to driving through this whole two months. It's been hard to get any errands done and I've had to rely on friends to go places once in a blue moon. I finally got a new helmet, this time I upgraded.... hoping I'll never have to "test" it out.



So, with that out of the way I had to get up to the Oakley store to replace my lenses... $140 really? Shit...

During this time I've had a CT, Xrays, cast, eye appointments and drops, headaches, nausea, loss of balance and partial loss of vision. Each time it seemed like I was getting better something else got in the way. I stare at the bike and sighed... it sits and waits.

I've been working from home under a watchful eye on medical flex (I'm grateful for that option) and it's almost time to return to the office.



I still have issues with my eye, that may never change now, and I'm nervous to face those fluorescent lights. I can tell I still react poorly to fast moving images and lights. I have lost most of my near sight due to the accident. Before, I only needed the readers occasionally - After I can't do much without them up close.

So many people wonder why I've been down for so long, including me. But the truth is, I'm not a kid anymore and this wasn't my first concussion... I'm lucky, very very lucky. Each hour feels like a day, each day feels like a month.

I finally made it out... Here's the map my ride for a total of 6.23 miles.


Here I am 3 miles into a preselected place for breakfast tacos and coffee... I had intended to do the 16.5 miles around DFW airport... but when my friend canceled I decided to stay closer to home. I was shaking in the shower just thinking about dressing in my kit. During the ride, which was totally up and down, I was busy holding on for dear life. My left eye is not working properly at all and I'll be seeing a regular ophthalmologist soon to see if there is anything more I can do about it.

When it was over I got off the bike shaking but was glad I pushed myself into riding. I'll ride again soon, but the first ride is the hardest and it's over. To celebrate that I bought myself one (yes only one) glass of the bubbly...



The most surprising things to everyone was that a) I am still trying to heal completely and b) that I haven't been on the bike (which incidentally made them believe I must have been really hurt, not faking it).

I was reading a facebook post on a local cycling group page the other day. Just as I was about to click the like button I read all of these "anti-helmet" comments. I realized quickly that these were not like minded people and walked away from the page. I'm a big advocate of helmets... mostly because it kept my head from cracking open on the pavement. Do we need a law forcing us? I don't know... we seem to need laws for just about everything don't we? We seem to lack common sense all over the place.

But this post is about the long road back... A road I was able to travel BECAUSE I was wearing a helmet. I've taken the long road of healing back, but only been on a short ride so far... This year won't be about Hotter'n Hell, it's about surviving something and returning to the road. Getting back on the horse as they say.... it's the most important thing we ever do.

The cliche motivational statement here is -

"Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride" Eddy Merckx