Seeing the surgeon Dec 5 to get the surgery details. He assures me that I'll be able to ride but will need to be careful with the discs above & below the fusion because they will be prone to blowing out.

I did get a compliment from him. I pass it along to my sister-cyclists because it pertains to all of us:

"Usually, this operation is fine for a 50 year old. In your case, however, you have the activity level of a 30 year old. Therefore, you will need to be careful of the fused area..."(etc.)

There we are!

I'll be sucking tire on Denise as she rolls through the U.S. yet! Or maybe eating bon-bons with CosairMac? Fruit juice sweetened, of course!