I passed another milestone today.
Last November, I got a new bicycle from a store in Berkeley to replace the one I’d lost in the fire. (This was courtesy of the remarkable generosity and kindness of my colleagues at Sonoma Clean Power, who collectively contributed to funding the replacement.) At the time I got the bike, my back and left leg were hurting from what I thought was a normal throw-out-my-back episode, but I went out on a ride anyway, down from Arlington Avenue to the trail along the Bay that runs from Golden Gate Fields, then out and around the Berkeley Marina and back. (Facebook confirms it!)
I didn’t know at the time that this first ride on the bike would be the last ride for a long, long, long time. As most of you know, the pain I thought was just from a thrown-out back turned out to be the result of a cancerous tumor, leading to a horrible 10 months of excruciating pain, chemotherapy, and a stem cell transplant from which I’m still recovering. There were plenty to times during those 10 months that I doubted I’d ever ride a bike again.
Today, though, I got back on that bike and went for a ride. Not a long ride (only about 10 miles), not a fast ride, not a hard ride, but a gratifying ride nevertheless, along the Bay Trail from Golden Gate Fields to the Richmond Marina and back. Me pedaling again on a beautiful day (if you don’t see a picture, click on the blank white space below and you will):
I’ve got a long way to go to get my old bike legs back (I didn’t even clip in today just in case I got wobbly), but it was so gratifying to be out again, even if I did get passed once by an old guy on a fat-tire steel-frame bike that looked like it was purchased last weekend at a garage sale.
Progress!
Categories: Blogging