It has been six months since I started back riding after a serious accident. Things are going well. And as anyone who has come back after an accident or surgery knows, the mental things are more challenging than the physical ones.
In terms of cycling performance, I'm right on track. I was expecting my comeback to take a full year, and that estimate looks to be spot on.
Here's the deal. You ride a lot. You get better. You work at keeping those gains while you ride more and wait for some stubborn areas to catch up. Then one day you go out, one of the stubborn areas gets a tiny bit better, and wow! with seemingly no effort, you make a big jump forward in performance.
Then you ride more and wait for the next jump forward to happen.
I've talked to a bunch of people who have gone through this same thing. They all agree: the mental part is the hard part. You get impatient. You get stupid and think you'll never get any better. That's when you need to remember: You only lose if you quit.
Actually, it's hard to complain when I get to ride with Al and great friends, on a great bike, and get to ride pretty much anywhere and as much as I want. All I have to do is follow our house rules.
And our house rules are simple:
- No whining, no bitching, no belly-aching, no quitting.
- You ride; I ride.
- Do what you can; do your best.
- ENJOY THE RIDE.
