Easy Rider

Bikes are great. I've known that for a long time, and have known that the gentle turning of my legs on pedals can help them feel better. Whenever anyone is amazed that I rode my bike to run, I let them know that if I didn't have the gentle pedal of my ride home, my legs would be a mess after running. Dare I say, bikes make everything better?

Yesterday evening, after two days without checking, I headed outside with the goal of crutching down my 700 foot driveway (and it is driven lately, with wonderful people helping transport my body to medical appointments) to the mailbox. Out the door, I caught sight of my still-quite-nice-but-expendable-bike where it shelters the under the three foot deep overhangs of a passive solar design house.

Hmm, I've been using crutches to keep weight off my hurting leg, but often even the muscle load of raising my lower leg to clear the ground aggravates my nerve. I've even considered using elastic resistance bands connecting my ankle to my belt as a means of support, but bikes, those let me sit and move my legs with little load on them, especially in a low gear. Yeah, go for it! I grabbed my helmet from just inside the door and easing my leg over the saddle that is just a wee bit lower than I usually ride, it felt okay.

I rode a bike! In addition to the basic victory in that statement, the gentle turning of my legs seemed to make them feel just a little bit better, which makes sense to me. Tight muscles are another thing that can put unhappy pressure on the sciatic nerve. I made it to the mailbox and found another joy in taking the bike. I'd recently added a rear rack to that bike, so the twelve pound box UPS had delivered was a much more benign carry there than it would've (or maybe couldn't've?) been in an arm trying to operate a crutch!

Baby box onboard

Yes, yes, and yes again, bikes are amazing tools not just for transportation, but the simple goodness of putting a body in motion. Today I'm going to the mount that banger bike in a resistance trainer I was given when recovering from the car smack in 2022. I may not engage magnet roller, just using it as a physical therapy to turn my legs in place. Resistance is useless!