Something’s gotta give
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What with this whole “working full-time” thing, a mess of traveling thrown in with that, an increasingly busy end-of-year schedule for the girls at school, and all the usual things that need to get done to keep a family going, it was bound to happen. Something had to give. That something, apparently, is my knee. Specifically (probably), my meniscus. As Zevon said, “My shit’s fucked up . . . the shit that used to work, won’t work no more.” That and rain have been keeping me off the bike, which is the one thing I really didn’t want to give, but of course having to show up to an office every day is bound to put a crimp in the cycling lifestyle. Once I know what I’m doing, I can probably work some rides in, but right now there’s just too much to learn and too many hours to put in.
The knee was actually something I broke back in the big snowfall. Too much shoveling, which always has some twisting involved, and then a couple of days later I went down on my knee and screamed like a girl. I’ve been babying it ever since, and it’s mostly been better, but never all the way. And then it started to get worse. While we wait for the greatest medical system in the world (and to question that is communist) to decide if I can have pictures taken of my knee, the doc told me I could ride, but not hills. Living in Rensselaer county, that’s a challenging prescription. I was going to stick to it tonight, but the rain came down again as soon as I got home and I just wasn’t into it. So, another day of rest. Let’s hope it makes a difference. But something tells me my streak of being surgery free is about to end.
Hang in there, dude . . . . my own Warren Zevon “it’s the kingdom of the spiders / It’s the empire of the ants” moments hinge not on my knees, but on my bum feet (“Shine on, mighty Jesus / Plantar Fasciitis got me down”), but the results are the same: inability to dedicate the time to doing what I want (and should) be doing, as the spirit is willing, but the body is lame.
I’ve been using the rainy season this spring to walk my way through “Hidden in Academia” (the tunnels at UAlbany) in lieu of riding my way through “Hidden in Suburbia,” hoping that the low-impact workout will increase the likelihood of me being able to do the high octane one. We’ll see how that goes.
For what it’s worth, though, I’ve had shoulders and hands rebuilt under the knife, and in both cases, it was life-altering, in the positive sense of that phrase, so if you have to go that route, here’s wishing you a “Better Living Through Surgery” merit badge when all is said and done.
Thanks for the support. Things were going just fine, and then I think my meniscus realized I was seeing a doctor and decided to really give me grief this week. I’ve got the PF blues too, on the other side, so for now my discomfort is at least laterally balanced.