It’s official. The left knee of an aging Al is going to require all sorts of external help, with the worrying possibility of being holed below the water line by a man with a drill. Deploying a displacement approach of “not asking a question you don’t want the answer to”, I’ve been avoiding doing anything about the increasing soreness for a few months now.
It’s always been a bit wonky. Made more so by that high speed impact with Chiltern flint, and a somewhat slower speed impact with a surgeon’s knife and much stitching. From then on, there was a low level background twinge, occasionally upgraded to a sharp “arrrghhh“.
Ironically, as my fitness has gone one way, the knee’s gone the other. And after a gentle commute home last night, I was pretty sure that any sort of riding was at the mercy of someone else’s diagnosis. Right now, that’s just the Physio and a bikey curfew which I am going to break. Unless it doesn’t improve, in which case it’ll be balancing a need to ride with the increasing likelihood of the aforementioned scary drill.
I’m understandably pissed off about it. Missing HONC after working so damn hard over the winter is one thing, the prospect of not being able to ride for … well … let’s not go there eh, has subdued even my normally optimistic – if naive – view of the world.
The only good to come out of this, is it has allowed someone else to participate who was desperate for a HONC entry, and he was good enough to chuck some cash at the CLIC-24 fund. That event is six weeks away, which doesn’t feel long enough.No way I’m missing that though. Even if I have to hop round.
If you’ll excuse me I’m going to go and drown my sorrows 🙁
Ah, crap. Sorry to hear that Al.
Hope they sort it out for you.
As my Grandad told me when I was 7 and asked what it was like being old, “Son, getting old is horrible. But it’s a lot better than the alternative.” then he looked into the distance for a while, apparently remembering some of his army mates, and added: “Only the lucky ones get old.”
I plan to be very lucky.
Hey Al..
tough news that chap, best to rest now though mate before it gets to a stage that can’t be easily rectified by physio..
no riding for a month or no riding?
the trails will still be there mate 🙂
Thanks both. How did it go Graheme? I hear it was pretty dry and hard. I’ll be back next year. Cross bike I think.
Not sure about how long Ian. Need to be good for 15 May. Hope to get out before. Depends what advice I get from the Physio when I ask the direct question! So we still could be on for Friday, I’m ever hopeful 😉
The ground was hard, with maybe three short patches of mud before the final descent that had a stream running down it for about 300m. It was a great course, I rode it on my cross bike, and whilst there were a few technical challenges, only needed to dab twice and walk once (and that was on a climb that the numpties in front had stopped on and not cleared off the line).
I also learned that twentysomethings on full suss bikes don’t like being overtaken on downhills by old guys on cross bikes.
All in all a great ride, but I don’t suppose you want to hear that. Hope the knee gets mended by the physio.
Grahame, I’m not going to wish it was rubbish for the people riding it! Not even I’m that grumpy 😉
It’ll still be there next year, and if I can get this knee sorted, so will I.
Nice one for beating those full suss boys. More mature gentlemen like us remember when ‘suspension’ was a pair of flexible ankles!