I don't want to jinx myself by trumpeting the fact that I've kicked off my bike commuting season without a hitch, but I seem to have kicked off my bike commuting season without a hitch! This is a big deal because last summer my bike commuting season was cut short by a real hitch - a pain in the ass. Literally.
I had been so excited about my discovery that I too could commute to work on a bike (because I finally bought a decent bike) getting exercise and decreasing my carbon footprint in one fell swoop. So excited that I biked to work 3 days in a row at the beginning of August and promptly noticed shooting pain in my lower back and upper right glute (sp.?) The pain lasted for over two weeks so I went to the doctor who said it was my sciatic nerve and that I should cool it with the biking for a while. Bummer. Literally. She also said that swimming and yoga were very good antidotes to lower back pain, so I started up a regular swimming routine post-haste. I also took some Pilates and yoga classes, and started doing some lower back stretches my friend taught me, but I stopped biking to work.
I think what caused the great back pain of 2009 was a combination of overdoing it without giving my body a rest, and wearing a backpack while biking. Biking was entirely new to me, as were all the accessories. When I bought the bike I left the store with a water bottle, holder, and rear light in hand, but I had neglected to buy a carrying system. So I just used my backpack - simple solution right? Not for my back. The pressure of the pack caused my back to curve inward, causing some bad bike posture. Realizing that, I bought a bike rack and attachable "panier" at the end of September in preparation for the next year's commuting season. I didn't plan on staying off the saddle permanently.
This spring when the weather showed signs of getting warmer, I got on the ball. Or the stationary bike in the gym here at work. I had been swimming and stretching all winter, and my back was feeling good. I wanted to ease back into commuter biking with a warm-up period of simulated machine biking. Then at the end of March I began taking short jaunts on my actual bike. All of this was the lead up to an eventual attempt to bike-commute once more.
April 19 was thusly my inaugural ride to work - it was great! I stretched before I got on the bike, and a little bit right when I got to work. The weather was beautiful. I remembered my route from last year; I navigated traffic with confidence; and there was a space at the bike racks waiting for me when I pulled up. I took the next day off in order to not over-do it, biked again that Wednesday and then not again until the following Tuesday (yesterday). Not the most impressive record perhaps, but so far so good.
I'm not a natural-born exerciser, so I had to learn the hard way what my physical limits are and how to nudge rather than push them. I may not be a hard-core bike commuter, but at least my body is cooperating with me now. I'm back on my bike saddle, people, and that's what counts!
