Monumental day

Today my friends, was a monumental day. It's only 12:41 p.m., but the day is over in India already, so we'll call it a day in Michigan.

Today I rode my mountain bike. Not only for the first time since my surgery, but for the first time since last June. I almost hesitated to write this entry, actually. I'm afraid that if I "feel this tomorrow," I'll be angry that I let myself be so happy. But there comes a point where I need to stop living in fear of this knee, and maybe that point is now.

After changing both tubes and tightening up the brakes (these things happen when you neglect your bike for a year), I hopped on and rode around the neighborhood for 15 minutes. My knee felt very tight and stiff during the first few pedal strokes, and my heart sank -- I figured my ride would end at the end of the block. But as I rode on, my knee loosened up. I could still feel it (it's hard to explain -- it wasn't painful, it was just...there), but my instinct said to keep going, so I did. Sometimes it's hard to trust my instinct when it comes to exercise, but I'm getting better at it. I avoided hills and inclines as much as I could, since my quads just aren't strong enough for climbing yet.

My knee only hurt once, when I unclipped my foot from the pedal. The twisting motion wasn't such a good feeling. But the riding part was fine. That familiar feeling of wind on my face actually brought tears to my eyes.

I'm sitting here now with a preventative bag of ice on my leg, and I'm going to the pool in a few hours for an easy swim and some upper-body weights. We'll see how things go tomorrow, but today, I feel pretty good.