I miss cycling

Today I'm five weeks past ankle surgery; I go to see the orthopedist in a couple days so that he can evaluate my recovery so far and direct my continued recovery over the next weeks. What I'm really hoping for is that I can stop wearing the (hot, cumbersome, smelly) boot that I've been wearing which has stabilized my ankle through the initial weeks of recovery.

I'm looking forward to getting the boot off, even though the thought causes some anxiety about how secure I'll really feel. I'm looking forward to the rehabilitation work I'll be doing to strengthen the inner workings of that ankle, so that hopefully it'll be stable in the end.

But more than anything, I'm looking forward to being able to exercise again. I haven't been able to do any cardio workouts for the past month, and I've been too lazy (or maybe discouraged) to do much strength training. And of the possible cardio workouts, I've missed cycling the most. I miss morning training rides; I miss riding my fixie through downtown; I miss commuting to work; I miss riding to the grocery store, and riding home with a backpack full of healthful food that will fuel more riding; I miss riding around the neighborhood with my kids; I miss riding with my kids to where they need to go; I miss the little bit of singletrack riding I take time to do.

Hopefully the doctor will tell me on Wednesday that I can start getting back into shape, and that my ankle is strong enough to handle some time clipped in and spinning down the road.