Yesterday was one of the few days that I said "I wish I'd driven".

A couple weeks ago I shoveled snow and although I tried to be careful not to lift much at one time, nevertheless the next few days I had some soreness. (Maybe also because my daughter has been teaching me butterfly and I was doing worm drills for 30 min right after that.) It wasn't too bad and it was getting better until last week I had a couple long days in the lab of standing for hours with no breaks. The lower back injury blossomed and it hurt to move. Stairs and standing in the pedals were challenging. So was getting my leg over the top tube of my bike. It was worse on the right so I switched legs.

Have you ever tried to mount your bike from the opposite side you are used to? Or to start and stop with the other foot than you usually do? It was awkward but I didn't wreck.

But.

The shifter on my bike had been acting up and it broke completely. My bike was effectively a single speed locked into a high gear. My mechanic who makes house calls tried to lock it into a lower gear but could only get it down a couple notches.

For a few days my back got worse every day instead of better. I used my daughter's bike (she sure isn't riding it in the winter) which has a slightly lower top tube and--more importantly--gears. Over the weekend it wasn't necessary to bike which was good because my back was still getting worse.

To make it all just a little worse, I bit my tongue badly. So hard that it bled. OW. That was the second time that day pain had brought tears to my eyes--the first time, I was walking downstairs (going DOWN was fine) and slipped. I didn't fall but I screamed because it hurt my back so much.

Yesterday's morning bike ride was excruciating and that was when I said "I wish I had driven". I was feeling better, but I still couldn't get my leg over the top tube without using my arms, and it was tricky to balance the bike. I didn't look at the temp before I left and realized halfway here that it was very cold. Turns out it was about 5F!

However yesterday was the first day it was better than the day before. By afternoon I was able to roll over. I could bend down and pick something up off the floor. (I never noticed how often I drop stuff until I couldn't pick it up. Especially while cooking!) My mechanic had gone to St. Louis this weekend and bought new brake pads and a new shifter. He picked up my bike last night, fixed it, and dropped it off this morning.

My bike is better. My back is better. Life is looking good! SO glad all these trials were only for a few days-- nothing like what people with chronic pain have to put up with. I told my dad "If this is what it feels like to be old, I feel so sorry for you." :P

Because it was the weekend I didn't try to get in to see anyone, but first thing Monday I got on the OMM (the osteopathic manipulation clinic) call list. To my surprise there was a cancellation and I can get in tomorrow. Since my back is so much better I have mixed feelings about going. But maybe it'll do some good, either for this or for unknown issues going on in my back, and it won't do any harm, I guess.