I previously mentioned that I have been having some knee troubles. After some careful consideration (and a couple rides that were probably too long for my knee condition) I have decided that I need to take 2 weeks off the bike, and let things heal up. My friend Charlie wrote to me the other day and shared some sage advice with me “It is better to be off the bike for a couple weeks to let the injury heal, rather than continue to ride and risk a bigger injury that could keep you off the bike for months”. Sometimes, you just need simple logical advice to snap your head into the right place.
The question then becomes, what do I do in the mean time? Do I just sit around getting fat? I think not. The plan is this…
I know I can’t do anything to stress my knee, or I might as well be riding my bike. The goal for the next two weeks is to do a lot of core work. Lots of core work. Working on my core strength is often the thing that falls by the wayside. I have a great core strength training video from Carmichael Training Systems. Best of all, it involves very little that will mess with my knee.
The other thing I am planning is a lot of flexibility work. Just by looking at me, you could probably tell that I am about as flexible as an iron bank safe. Probably part of my knee problem is the result of poor flexibility. This is something I need to get in a rhythm to change.
I plan on doing a lot of walking as well. It is always hard for my wife to run with me because I am way faster than her. Walking is something we can do together and guess what, it is good for the knee. Low intensity, low impact walking helps move the blood through the area without stressing it too much.
The last, most important thing I will be doing on my cycling hiatus is, I will be dreaming about cycling. I have found that when I am forced of the bike for a period of time, I use that time to rekindle the thirst for the open road and the burn of a good hill. Cycling is a mental sport, and I aim to strengthen those muscles as well.
Hey man, sorry to hear but good decision. Trader Joe’s has Aleo Vera juice in big jugs, its strong tasting but has great benefits for blood circulation and tissue repair. I think 4 oz. a day is all you need based off this article…
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/29154
cheers