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First bike ride since August 20.


MoseySusan
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3 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I rode up Big Savage Mountain in the rain with an old guy that only had one arm. He said he rides up the mountain every day.

I’ve been thinking about the differences between me and the guys around here who have one arm, and one leg, and who ride all the local hills and routes. What keeps me from just getting on the bike without full use of my right hand? So far, it’s my fear of falling that’s been stopping me. I’m afraid I’ll seriously damage myself, and I don’t want to leave mr. to take care of me and #2 son. I don’t think you did much riding during the time you were taking care of someone. It would destroy me if I set off to ride with one hand, fell over, broke a bunch of stuff, and then mr. wouldn’t get to do his thing because I need daily care.  I’m also without a point to prove to myself or anyone else. I have other means of processing trauma or of validation, or whatever. 

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13 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I didn’t ride even once during the two years I was taking care of my wife.

{{{hugs}}} It hardly crossed my mind for 28 years that I could fall while riding or have an accident that would change his life, too. This broken finger thing has me feeling vulnerable.  He was in an accident on his motor scooter a few years back that he’s still feeling the effects of a broken foot. It’s changed the kind of hiking and riding he does. I guess it’s on my radar now that even a slight error in judgment can have long-term effects. 

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2 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I’m concerned that I probably won’t survive my next crash if I’m still on blood thinners. I’d like to get this house in order before I check out.

I can see that would be concerning. You seem to have the balance, though. Living a full life while mindful that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to anyone. 

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33 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

He was missing his left arm. The bike shop moved all his controls to the right side. Not sure what they did about the front brake? Maybe just eliminated it. 

One of my favorite bike mechanics was missing an arm up to his elbow plus he rode century rides. He somehow had both brakes working off of one lever and had no front derailleur. He had a modified aerobar setup for the longer rides.  He worked his way through college as a bike mechanic.

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9 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I’m concerned that I probably won’t survive my next crash if I’m still on blood thinners. I’d like to get this house in order before I check out.

WoJSTL is worried about that as she's on Brilinta after her heart attack. I've put a first aid kit on the tandem. Hopefully we will be able to ride together shortly.

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3 hours ago, MoseySusan said:

I rode my 3-speed for four miles. The neighborhood street was very bumpy, which jostled my hand too much, so I dropped into first gear and went uphill to the bike path along the foothills. It felt good to be on a bike again, so I rode for a few miles, then turned downhill home again while I was still feeling good.

Enjoy every ride, big or small. Trust in yourself as  you did before.

After my concussion, I couldn't ride for 5 months..but 4 months of that coincided with regular winter snow and ice. I truly was affected re my dizziness and slowly regaining balance.  The first time I mounted my bike post-accident, I made sure dearie was around and I was on a bike path section that was quiet at a certain time of day. Initially I started to overthink whenever I saw a bunch of people, cyclists coming towards or around me.

The miracle of  bike riding without assist, we must never forget. Some adults will  never learn to bike because they are afraid.

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2 hours ago, JerrySTL said:

WoJSTL is worried about that as she's on Brilinta after her heart attack. I've put a first aid kit on the tandem. Hopefully we will be able to ride together shortly.

Do you have good drug insurance? That Brilinta ran me right up to the Medicare donut hole this year. If I would have used any dermatology creams this year I would be paying out of pocket for my drugs. At least your wife will split the year of Brilinta up into two different years. I’ve been on it for 15 months because six months into it I had another heart attack and had to start the year over.

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34 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Do you have good drug insurance? That Brilinta ran me right up to the Medicare donut hole this year. If I would have used any dermatology creams this year I would be paying out of pocket for my drugs. At least your wife will split the year of Brilinta up into two different years. I’ve been on it for 15 months because six months into it I had another heart attack and had to start the year over.

Great drug insurance. If I get them on a US military base and they are on the base's formulary, they are free. Fortunately Brilinta is as are 6 other prescription drugs between WoJSTL and me.

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14 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

Great drug insurance. If I get them on a US military base and they are on the base's formulary, they are free. Fortunately Brilinta is as are 6 other prescription drugs between WoJSTL and me.

The total cost of my Brilinta this year was over $3,000. Has your wife got any scratches yet, like from a thorn bush? What would normally just make a red mark now drips blood for an hour.

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1 minute ago, Longjohn said:

The total cost of my Brilinta this year was over $3,000. Has your wife got any scratches yet, like from a thorn bush? What would normally just make a red mark now drips blood for an hour.

Not yet but bruising happens for no apparent reason. She always bruised easily but now it's much worse.

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11 hours ago, Longjohn said:

I was getting bunches of bruising on the inside of my knees. Figured it out riding on rough roads my knees were hitting the top tube. I didn’t even notice it until I saw the bruises.

It is sort of nuts how, until you have an issue - even the tiniest ones - you wouldn't think you were doing something wrong/weird/out-of-alignment.  A long ride often shows me that something like a certain pair of my gloves rub me in an odd way, or some other piece of my riding mix is causing a small - but cumulative - problem.  On a five mile ride? I'll only notice the big problems. On a 100 mile ride, even the small stuff starts to show up.  Knocking the top tube with your knees a couple times on a ride probably isn't going to show a bruise, but if that happens on every hill or every 10 minutes or the like, you'll see bruises after a longer ride.  I wonder, without the drugs, if you would ever bruise from it or even notice it on a long ride?

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One nice thing about blood thinner bruises they get absorbed really fast. In a day or two they are gone. The only exception to that was when I had the bleed from where they went in my groin to place a stent in my heart. Blood flowed down my upper thigh and you can still see the discoloring 15 months later. That wasn’t really a bruise though. That’s when my cute little redhead nurse put direct pressure on my groin for a half hour and saved my life. That was the strangest feeling, it hurt so good. She was putting her whole body weight on me.

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