If you don’t follow me on facebook or twitter, you may not have heard I broke my wrist! I have had it in a cast for 1 week, and have 5 to go. I’m still training, and I’m still going to do Leadville. I broke it the last day of the BC Bike Race, and waited about a week before going to the doc.
I was happy to be home and get a BIG weekend!
It was time to get back on the horse. I did a ride to Gold Hill to test everything out, but I went via Switzerland Trail(4×4 road). I guess that’s one of my favorite pavement/dirt road rides at home. I ride there so much that the owner of the Gold Hill store recognizes me and says, “Wow, you exercise on your bike a lot!” :) I love bicycle exercise!!! That route was no problem.
I needed something bigger. I continue to crave being above treeline, and this ride made me have a very fervent need in my bones. There will be more like this, I just need to find the right roads. Suggestions? I rode solo from Boulder to Winter Park in a little under 6 hours this weekend. Here is a video I made with my Epic Cam :
Boulder to Winter Park from Sonya Looney on Vimeo.
The road was a lot more jarring and rockier than I expected. It made me a little nervous, but I had no pain. The good news is my fracture is small. The bad news is that the bone is pretty avascular and hard to heal. Normally, they put a pin in it. If it’s not healed in 6 weeks, I’ll have to get surgery and pin it. I’m hoping for healing. The doc feels pretty positive that it’ll heal on its own!
Sunday was a GREAT day! I wanted to do another big ride to see how my body was faring. I was delighted to see that I am finally coming back. I’ve felt fatigued for so long, and it felt good to feel fast and to actually go fast! I hit a bunch of PRs on climbs I frequently ride around Boulder, and after 6 hours, my legs weren’t even burning. I was really stoked with that. One bummer with the cast is that it’s hard to stand up and pedal because my range of motion is limited.
I saw the rain in the forecast, but hoped it’d stay away. This time, I lost. I did bring a Hefty freezer bag to wear over my cast in the event of rain. It not only rained, it hailed M&M sized chunks. It was funny, but it also hurt to be pelted like that!
Eventually I had to stop and take a break from the hail… and then I sped down the canyon to get away from it and rode in the sun the rest of the day. The highlight was getting a smoothie in my water bottle before heading up Sunshine Canyon to Gold Hill. Ironically, I got a smoothie called “Caught in the Rain.”
So now, my focus is on getting in a couple more big days, preferably in Leadville on the course, a little time at altitude, and taking care of myself the best I can.
You could do these rides too!
