Woohoo - Back on the Bike

Yesterday was my first day back on the bike for easily over a year.

Oh, I've been on the stationary bike. But I haven't been out there moving, wind whipping in the face, sunshine beating on my bike helmet, dodging cars and people walking their dogs.

We bought Trek bikes for both of us shortly after my initial cancer diagnosis. There's nothing like cancer to make you want to get in shape.

We rode constantly, all around Marietta, with all of its bumpy alleys, and crazy old streets. It's really how we got to know this town.

With winter coming we bought a "trainer" so we could continue to stay in shape through the cold months. I was quite dedicated to it. I pushed myself hard on that bike. I even tried to chase cars, and sometimes even kept up. Well I kept up until they saw me in their rear-view mirror and said "What does this weirdo want?" and then they stepped on it and lost me.

When the cancer moved to the brain the bike riding suddenly stopped. It had to be. I tried to convince Barb to keep riding but she said, "It just wasn't the same without me."

As I moved through many months of radiation and the beginning of chemo control I worked hard to feel stronger, and eventually got back on the trainer to at least ride inside. As my strength went up and down I would ride sporadically indoors, but not steady enough to make a long-term difference.

Now with my new found strength after six-weeks on the new chemo Torisel I'm not just back on the bike, but took it outdoors for a ride. Woohoo!

I was a little wobbly at first, over compensating to the left, then overcompensating to the right. I jokingly said to Barb, "I hope I don't hit any parked cars."

But things came back to me. We cruised down the alley behind our house down to the Railroad House, turned the corner and came up Front Street, the road next to the river and the railroad tracks. We breezed back towards our house and I told Barb, "Let's keep going." She said, "Really?" I said, "Sure, why don't you take the lead?"

When we rode regularly Barb used to be the perfect pace-setter. I had a tendency to push too hard and ride too fast. But now it was Barb that was taking off a little too fast for me. She noticed me falling behind and let me catch up.

I wanted to ride all the way to the other end of town, to the boat launch where we always used to take a little break and soak in the scenery of the river. But about halfway there I could feel myself getting a little winded and yelled to Barb, "Let's turn it around."

We turned it around back into the alley and cruised towards home.

We passed a very obese man, shirt off, smoking a cigarette, walking his bulldog. Our bikes are so quiet we're upon people before they even know it. We gave them plenty of room as we surprised both the man and the dog and buzzed by.

Every time I see someone who doesn't take care of themself I'm reminded that cancer really has no logic to it. It strikes anyone, anywhere, at any time. I thought this to myself again as we passed this man and his bulldog.

Before long we were back home. I was a little winded, but felt great overall from the ride. For me it was a real sense of accomplishment to get back out on the bikes again. We guessed that we rode a little over a mile.

I'm once again going to try to dedicate myself to building strength, switching off days between the bike and the Bowflex.

Even with my limited schedule it can be tough to keep up. Wake up at 6 a.m., rub the sleepy out of the eyes for an hour, check e-mail and blog for an hour more, get some breakfast in me, exercise, shower - before you know it it's 10 or 11 o'clock. When there's Albert Design work to do or a grocery trip to make, that's a difficult couple of hours to fit in.

But what's more important for me right now? Probably a good mix of things, work, exercise, and down time. But I promise you, I'm not going to be happy until I reach that boat launch again, just to soak in the Susquehanna River.