I'm Sorry, Knees!

Sad but true: I'm almost 30. I think my body has decided to make that clear to me.

I didn't get on my bike this year until May 12. And, for some reason, I decided that it would be fun and wise to go along with Kevin and Stu on a 50 kilometre ride that day.

At some point around the 35 kilometre mark, my left knee started feeling kind of funny. But, we were out in the middle of nowhere, so there was nothing much I could do but keep pedaling. I ended up favouring that leg until my right knee started feeling funny, too. By the time we finished the ride, it hurt just to walk.

A few hours later, I couldn't even flex my left knee. I was walking with a locked knee for the next couple of days.

It's now two weeks later and my knees were feeling fine again. With the Ride for Heart fast approaching, I was eager to get back on the bike. This evening, we went out for what was to be a short ride, and after just 8 kilometres, my left knee was feeling a little funny again. So, we turned around and headed back. Shortly before getting home, I was feeling slight, but unmistakable, pain in both knees with each stroke. I got off the bike and walked the last bit.

So, I guess I did some damage two weeks ago, and it'll take some more time to recover. The Ride for Heart is out the window. Now I'm just hoping my knees are in good enough shape to dance tomorrow and back to normal in time for our trip to PEI, as we've been planning to do some cycling there.

All I can say to my knees is, "I'm sorry! Get well soon!"

Ride for Heart

I just got back from the Ride for Heart. It was a really good ride. It's incredibly fun to ride on the highways and to watch the way the crowds of riders move around and past each other. Best of all was going past the financial district at around 8:30, before the city had really woken up.

We finished in just over 2 hours. The first half of the ride was a bit of a slog: it's more uphill, and the wind was against us. The second half was just wonderful. I feel good, but my legs are pretty tired.

Thanks very much to my sponsors. Together, we raised $400 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Cycling

I first mentioned a couple of months ago that I had bought a bike. Turns out that I've actually been using it!

Since Kevin is going to be cycling to Montreal in July, he's been doing a lot of training, and I couldn't help but get caught up in it. I've been doing a couple of rides per week for the last few weeks, and I even signed up for the Becel Ride for Heart. So, I'll be riding 50 km along the Gardiner and DVP (they'll be closed for the event) on June 4. If you're so inclined, you can sponsor me online. It's for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, a very worthy cause, and of course it's tax deductible.

I just did 50 km for the first time today, and it was pretty hard. I think it would have been much more manageable if weren't for the strong headwind for the last 15 km or so, which pretty much finished me off. I expect I'll be pretty sore tomorrow. But still, I think I'm in pretty good shape for the ride, with another three weeks to go.

We rode along the lakeshore to the Humber river, and then took the Humber trail up almost to Lawrence Avenue. It's a really beautiful trail; it's almost hard to believe such a thing exists in Toronto.

New Toy!

After having talked about it for several months, I bought a bike today! Kevin did much research for me, and answered many of my dumb questions, and I think we got a pretty fantastic deal on a pretty fantastic bike.

For now, it's sitting in my den, but taking it up in the elevator was a violation of my condo's rules. I need to get a clamp in my parking spot to hang it from. And I still need a lock, locking skewers, and gloves, at a minimum. But, I'm very excited. I can't wait to take it out for a ride!

In not so happy news, I was just about to take some pictures of it, and I dropped my camera. The lens won't retract, and it won't turn on.

So, to recap Dave's toy situation: +1 bike, -1 camera. Net score: a wash, I suppose.