Back in the Saddle

I went back to the hospital on Thursday morning to have the bandaging removed which is something I have been looking forward to all week. It is the little things that I have been really missing like the ability to walk up steps without looking like C3PIO. The ability to shower is not to be under-rated either as I am sure Caron would agree and nor is the ability to easily get into and out of a car. The most painful part of this entire operation was the removal of the elastoplast along with a layer of skin and the removal of the residual sticky stuff with Acetone. Acetone on raw skin is rather sore but considering that this was the most pain that I have had to experience, I think I got off rather lightly. Best of all, the doctor said that I could basically carry on with all normal activity so i joined Jason for a ride on Saturday at Northern Farm. It was just an hour of exercise but I seem to have been able to keep up ok. They might have been going slow for me but I don't think so and I definitely struggled on the hills. Since it is approaching mid winter here, I thought that there wouldn't be any mud but it wasn't to be. We went through the agricultural sprinklers several times so there was loads of mud and muck around. I was a bit worried about the treated sewerage on my wounds but it all seems to have turned out ok. I had just packed up the bike and was about to head off home when Jason came back to borrow my rear wheel for someone else whose tire had burst - hopefully I will get my wheel back sometime next week. It was great to be back on the bike, especially after how I felt on thursday when I could barely trust my legs to support my weight when descending steps.