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| The Capitol on a beautiful fall night for biking. Scroll down to see my pic from this spot taken last April. |
Well, it has been some time since I was out on my bike, but I don't feel too apologetic. I have been working hard in my garden, and I'm back working at my computer. Wednesday I spent about six hours cleaning my deck - taking everything off and scrubbing off all the mold and stuff (Thanks, Lee, for helping!). I don't feel bad that I didn't feel like biking at the end of the day! I have done a ton of heavy lifting in my garden this summer. I think gardening complements biking, - so I'm calling it cross training. :-)
Besides, the bike is responsible for all this, whether I'm riding every day or not. When I started this blog in March, it hurt to walk or sit, and I needed a cane to do stairs. I was so out of shape and every form of exercise was painful. I was seriously afraid I was locked indoors and doomed to chronic pain for the rest of my life; I felt beyond old at the age of 58.
Then I had the brilliant idea (if I say so myself) of getting a bike with electric power. For some reason riding a bike wasn't painful, but I couldn't ride a normal bike; I just had been inactive too long. The electric bike gave me a freedom that felt glorious, and started me on the road to recovery. I started physical therapy at the same time, and stuck with that for six months. By the time I could plant seeds in the garden, I was already in better shape than I had been in a long time.
I'm not pain-free. I may never be. I have a special cushion for my computer chair and I'm still uncomfortable sitting for very long - and I have to sit to work. I still can't walk very far - maybe a couple of blocks - without pain. But I'm learning how to heal, and I can do stairs without a cane. Best of all, I feel strong, and I feel able. I don't feel old and, well, like the enjoyable part of my life was over.
My friend Laura called late yesterday afternoon and said, "Feel like going on a bike ride?" I realized that was a great idea, so I said, "Sure!" We decided on a short ride, since we didn't have all that much daylight left (shorter days, noooo!!), and chose to bike around Monona Bay. She picked me up and off we went.
We started out on the west side of the Bay, and circling the Bay felt like coming full circle to me in more ways than one. I had biked here in April - that was one of my first rides, the one where my battery stopped working. It felt like that was so long ago! I biked less than six miles that day, and it felt like such a long ride! We biked about five miles last night, and it was just a jaunt.
We biked the Bay counter-clockwise, and near the Coliseum we headed south to explore where that path went. It turns east before the beltline and you're on neighborhood streets by Lake Monona. We went a half mile or so and turned back - but Laura said she had once biked around the lake on this route.
By the time we got back to the Bay, heading across John Nolan Drive, it was dark. I took the photo at the top of the page right there at the beginning of John Nolan - in the same spot I had stopped in April. Below is the photo I took in April. It was a long time ago! There was still ice on the lake, and I remember it was cold enough to wear a coat.
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| The same view on April 7, one of my earliest rides on my e-bike. There's still ice on the lake. |
We continued around, past all my old haunts. I grew up near Brittingham Beach, and it always feels odd to be around there after so many decades have gone by. It brings back so many memories, and I am still the same person and yet so different. I walked around the Bay often, and along the railroad tracks that would soon nestle John Nolan Drive along one side. It took them three years to build it, and for two years it was like one giant beach with no people. I loved it.
I certainly hope to get out on the bike more in this wonderful fall weather, but even if I don't, I'm happy. I've come so far this summer, from a low point in my life to new heights. There were several factors, but my e-bike has been a huge part of my rise to better health, my vehicle on the road to freedom.
