But I have digressed from my point. The egocentric point is, I got sick. And before you ask, yes I also got the flu shot. After my bout with flu, I had about a three week reprieve before my son and I caught another bug. This one came after getting out on the first big ride of the year. I knew our team was going to have a group ride heading out from town along dirt roads to the next town, about 30 miles away. The total ride would be about 60 miles and based on my riding to this point, I knew I would need to get in some miles.
I got those miles, showed up for the ride, and just sat in for the ride. It ended up being a good ride, and I finished without trouble. Rolling up into my driveway, I was pleased with my effort, a little cold from the ride, but pleased. I came in the house and shed my layers, but soon found I was very cold. A hot shower should do the trick and warm me up. It did. But almost immediately after leaving the shower, I got the chills and shivers. I hunkered into bed and was soon running a 103.5 temperature. To make a long story a little less long, I got sick again. This time worse than the first. The coughing was horrible, and I believe it was at this time I struck the key blow to my persistently delicate back, which led to its eventual failure.
Fast forward two months. I had been having some pain in my left butt, but not enough to keep me from riding. My family and I headed south to California where we visited family, and I did some great riding; however, the riding, the car drive, the previous sickness, the phase of the moon, I don't know what. Some conglomeration of circumstances and fate led to my back giving out on me and the development of debilitating sciatic pain.
Four weeks after that, I have gone on my first ride. It was only 30 minutes, and it was still painful. I have been on a consistent regimen of PT, chiropractic care (believe me, this shows my desperation), massage, and stretching. My health insurance company is probably cringing right now as they receive claim after claim and are fearing the next claim from a back surgeon. I don't think it will get that far. It is slowly getting better, and by all medical recommendations, I am still 2 weeks out from really starting to look seriously at the next step, i.e., MRI's, CT's, injections, and whatever else they can throw at the mystery known as sciatic pain.
But I got out and I pedaled my bike today and that felt wonderful. I hope to soon be riding more. Road season is out the window, but there is still cross. And really, isn't that the most important season?
