Bike Shopping- day 3- the freak out (long)

[Bad JuJu]

Don't just blame Ace

But...But...But...then I'd have to blame myself.....
You know we're all loving this whole vicarious bike-shopping trip, Ace!

[ace]

All- I am thrilled to have inspired an avalanche of decadence

A (male) friend said to me today, after I told him about the bike I'm buying (he's really into bikes), "you know, that's the difference between men and women; a man would just buy the bike, not care about the cost or if he's a novice rider, and just be thrilled to show it off."

Melissam- that might be great- maybe we can check in with each other on Satuday? I have a bad knee, and I'm supposed to do a very long, hard ride on Saturday, so if I go, there's no way I can ride on Sunday, too. I need a day to recover. However, it's quite possible that my knee will be too bad to ride on Saturday, but I can always manage the Bay Trail. Feel free to private message me or I'll pm you and we can exchange contact info.

Anyone else wanna come?

[melissam]

Melissam- that might be great- maybe we can check in with each other on Satuday? I have a bad knee, and I'm supposed to do a very long, hard ride on Saturday, so if I go, there's no way I can ride on Sunday, too. I need a day to recover. However, it's quite possible that my knee will be too bad to ride on Saturday, but I can always manage the Bay Trail. Feel free to private message me or I'll pm you and we can exchange contact info.

Anyone else wanna come?

Amy,

Crud. I just found out that I have a conflict on Sunday.

Let's shoot for another weekend, when the weather and your knee will be better.

Sorry 'bout that.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled avalanche of decadence.

-- Melissa

[pooks]

I have a bad knee, and I'm supposed to do a very long, hard ride on Saturday, so if I go, there's no way I can ride on Sunday, too.

Ahem.

"I have a bad knee" followed by "do a very long, hard ride on Saturday."

Let's think about this seriously.

Even with threat or existance of pain, you're planning a "long, hard ride" and you still need to wonder, "do I deserve this nice bicycle?"



Listen to the guy at work.

Oh, and practice saying, "Bite me."

[LadyinWhite]

All- I am thrilled to have inspired an avalanche of decadence

A (male) friend said to me today, after I told him about the bike I'm buying (he's really into bikes), "you know, that's the difference between men and women; a man would just buy the bike, not care about the cost or if he's a novice rider, and just be thrilled to show it off."

Unless that man happens to be a Scot like my DH who thinks that if the bike has 2 airtight wheels, working brakes and a seat set on the post, why on earth would you need a new one??

Trust me, while money may not be an issue, I'm still trying to get DH mentally past the cost of my entry level Trek 1000 I bought a year ago.

[ace]

hm. Very good point, pooks. I will have to contemplate that!

I'm sure a bunch of you engage in "pain calculations."

I generally spend all week obsessing about whether my knee's going to be painful enough to keep me from riding on the weekend (a certain amount of pain is acceptable, but if I can barely stand up w/o pain, it's not a great idea for me to be out on a bike). This past weekend, knee allowed me to ride Saturday, and I also rode Sunday and Monday (and Monday I was practicing hills for about a half hour and messed up my knee), so knee thinks it might need Saturday off. I am pissed. It is a Cindy training ride, and I need the practice, but I think it's too much climbing for my knee this weekend.

[Bad JuJu]

Ace, did you say what your knee problem consists of? Maybe I missed it. But here's what works for me regarding knee pain: I wear a Cho-Pat strap every time I go out for a ride of more than a few miles. I have arthritis in my left knee and both kneecaps are rotated outward a few degrees, though the only one that complains is the arthritic lefty. Apparently the Cho-Pat strap supports the kneecap just enough that those conditions are rendered insignificant as I pedal.

Or maybe it's just a placebo effect--who knows? Bottom line: I'm able to do rides of 40+ miles without significant knee pain, whereas I couldn't do that without the strap. Last spring I did a 4-day bike tour, with back-to-back 40+ mile days and came home still able to ride pretty comfortably.

Check out the strap at FootSmart.com.

[ace]

Hey BadJuju-

Glad you found something that works!

Won't work for me, though. I fell in November (slipped on water in a studio at the gym while doing lunges) and banged the hell out of my knee. It is still pretty inflamed (I know it sounds crazy, but apparently contusions can take months and months to heal), although much improved, so doing too many hills right now just makes it swell up and HURT.

The only thing that has accelerated the healing is these weird chinese medicine patches my acupuncturist gives me- I'm getting some more tomorrow, so hopefully I'll at least be able to ride a bit this weekend.

I think the 40 mile hilly thing is definitely out for this weekend, though.

[stacie]

My initial response was "that's crazy". I waited years before buying my first new bike. I had a couple of used ones first. I thought I had put in the time to deserve a new bike. I shopped for a while and ended up spending alot of money on a custom steel bike. Everyone told me I was crazy and that I would regret it. I did regret it almost immediatly. It was so much money and maybe I should just buy the carbon that everyone else said would be better. I had enough money to buy a really nice bike. When I got my new bike, I felt miserable. It took a couple of fittings to get it just right. Since then, I've never had a bad ride. I cannot begin to tell you the difference in this bike. My only regret is that I waited so long to buy it. So, go for it. But, make sure you really trust and know the person helping with the specs. My friends didn't show up for our ride this morning. I rode 50 with some pretty serious winds. At times I could forget I was even riding. I just feel so at home on my bike. I wish you the same. stacie

[Bad JuJu]

The only thing that has accelerated the healing is these weird chinese medicine patches my acupuncturist gives me.

So, what are these little miracles called, and where can I get some?

[LadyinWhite]

Hey BadJuju-

Glad you found something that works!

Won't work for me, though. I fell in November (slipped on water in a studio at the gym while doing lunges) and banged the hell out of my knee. It is still pretty inflamed (I know it sounds crazy, but apparently contusions can take months and months to heal), although much improved, so doing too many hills right now just makes it swell up and HURT.

The only thing that has accelerated the healing is these weird chinese medicine patches my acupuncturist gives me- I'm getting some more tomorrow, so hopefully I'll at least be able to ride a bit this weekend.

I think the 40 mile hilly thing is definitely out for this weekend, though.

I second this. I crashed on the bike last fall and am still in knee pain. PT helped a lot but several docs and orthopedists say the same thing. Inflammation. It takes a LONG time and the more you continue to use it (i.e. ride, play tennis), the longer it's going to take to heal. My tennis coach has layed off the lateral movements and the running which has helped and I've used the winter months to baby it (very little riding, 3 hours a week, and all on a trainer, very controlled), plus regular weight training, exercises and stretching. All to get to a point where the pain is no longer excruciating & utterly crippling, but merely annoying and tolerable. (at least I'm off the vicodans now, my kids were starting to call me House)

Good luck with it and really, if you can, try to give it time to heal. I feel for you.