Cycling Interrupted

If you read my blog, you will remember that I began this year staying off of the bike because of my flap and subsequent complications. I went over one month without riding at all and almost 6 weeks without getting out on the road. Obviously I lost quite a bit of fitness.

All through the spring and early summer I kind of went through the motions of getting into some kind of shape, but I really didn’t train for my trip to Italy in early June. But I surprised myself in Europe: I made it through 8 rides in 9 days totaling 320 miles with 26,000 feet of climbing. Not the hardest week I’ve ever done, but I was still pretty happy about how I rode.

For most of this summer I’ve felt pretty good on the bike. I’m not doing as much climbing as I should, but chasing down Marlin on flat rides and trying to do my share of pulls with him is pretty good training. My power numbers have been acceptable. They aren’t as high as they were when I got my first power meter in 2005, but I was only 49 years old then and now I’m 67. One expects some kind of performance drop off in many areas (why do you thing there are so many ads for Viagra?). which is fine as long as you don’t drop off of a cliff.

In the two weeks from July 26 until August 8 I did 8 rides adding up to 340 miles. That was quite a bit of pedaling for me. Only one ride was in the hills, but I did do 3 rides over 50 miles. And two interval sessions: 4×5 minute efforts followed by some short all-out sprints. Intervals are no fun while you are doing them but afterwards Garmin gives you some pretty pictures to look at.

Unfortunately I am facing another period off of the bike. On August 9 I had a pterygium removed from my right eye. A pterygium is a kind of fleshy overgrowth on the surface of the eye. Mine has been there for at least 4 decades, but my optometrist noticed that it had grown toward the center of the eye over the last 2 years. He referred me to an ophthalmologist who recommended it be removed.

The surgery had me more than a little nervous, especially when I learned that I would be sedated but awake and aware during the procedure. The anesthesiologist said the injection (a needle in my eye?!) would feel like a bee sting for a second or two, but truly I didn’t feel any pain at all during the entire surgery…

Until I got home and the numbing medication wore off. I was told I might have “slight to moderate” pain, but this was far more than moderate. There was a bandage and shield over my eye, but underneath I alternated between shooting pain and feeling like someone was using sandpaper on my eyeball. I took six Tylenol over 4 hours, and it didn’t help much.

Today, four days after the procedure, the pain is pretty much gone but the eye feels scratchy and irritated. And irritated kind of describes my mood too. Cycling produces endorphins, keeps my blood pressure down, my weight under control and provides me with most of my social interactions with friends. I’m missing all that. And then there is the loss of fitness. It is incredible how much you can lose in a short time if you stop riding completely .

The doctor said I should refrain from all exercise for a week. He also said I should not ride on the road for another two weeks after that. He doesn’t want me to get sweat or sunscreen into the eye until it heals, which is reasonable. He said after a week I could ride a trainer as long as I don’t get sweat into my eyes. Obviously he doesn’t know how hard I ride on the trainer. I see him on Thursday and I hope to get this non-riding sentence reduced, but I think he will be unlikely to let me get back on my bike any sooner.

So I have another layoff, and walnut season starts soon afterwards. I’ll be busy counting nuts and won’t do much riding. In November I’m going to start getting ready, slowly, for another trip to France. Both Mont Ventoux and L’Alpe d’Huez are on the tour, though not on the same day. I’ve got plenty of time to get ready, unless I have another stint on the cycling disabled list.