Ride Report: Friday 17th August

I got out today for my first off road ride since I had my accident. Although I have been commuting the last 3 weeks or so I had resisted the very strong urge to get back off road again. The strains you put your upper body under when fighting through the mud are far greater than a half hour pootle to work twice a day and I didn’t want to over stretch myself and further damage my shoulder.

I felt my shoulder held up well. I only really felt any pain when I reached backwards in the wrong direction a couple of times to close gates behind me. It’s aching a little bit now but surprisingly the movement feels better than it did this morning. I’m fairly sure it’s the lack of strength causing me a bit of discomfort now but long term doing more things with it will only help build the strength back up.

I did the Alvechurch Loop but as it had been pretty muddy early on I missed out the Bell Green Lane section. Its crazy how unpredictable this route is in terms of the conditions. I was sun burnt at least twice if not 3 times this week yet it was riding like it was the depths of a wet winter. The trails have become a little over grown though and I had forgotten what its like to have your legs and arms shredded by the thorn bushes. My legs are still itching now from all the stinging nettles, and my quads are aching some. I have the post ride tiredness that I haven’t experienced for so long and the slight whiff of damp dog in the kitchen where my ride cloths are hanging to dry but does any of this matter? Not a jot. I splashed through the puddles ,got loose in mud and loved every second of it.

I really can’t wait to get my fitness back to what it was and start spending long days out on the bike again enjoying the world outside.