BIKE DIZZY PAST SIXTY

It all started with a torn meniscus of the left knee. Overusage of the left leg to act  like some sort of  prop for hitting golf shots coupled with years of abuse had finally taken its toll. Well, I suppose, there would come a time when the knee just could not take the strain anymore and one more swing at the golf ball on that unfortunate day turned out to be the final straw that broke the camel's back:  a sudden splitting sensation of pain around the knee caused by the effect of a torn meniscus.

 Following an arthroscopic surgery to trim off the damaged meniscus, the left leg became smaller and weaker over time, compared to the right. This resulted from my tendency for using the left leg less than the right. To bring it back to size and strength, I was advised to cycle by the doctor. That was how it all began.

Of course I initially took the doctor's advice as a joke. What? Cycling after part of my meniscus gone and doing it at this age? He could not be more serious! But I then realized that the good doctor was in no mood for jokes and meant what he said. Under the circumstance, I had to take it that the good doctor would know best.


It took a few months before the advice finally sank into my hard head though. Cycling at an age when I am already pushing sixty? That was hard to imagine and what more to accept. The last time I was on a bicycle was maybe forty or forty-five years ago. I couldn't even remember. Then again, I could fall off my bike and break my bones and that is going to be more difficult to handle than a torn meniscus!

Anyway, to cut the story short, so I started cycling;first, just around the neighbourhood and on tarmac,of course. Well, that wasn't difficult to do and it didn't feel wrong nor feel out of sync with my age. Moreover, nobody seemed to care about what I was doing. People were more worried about themselves than about me. It suddenly dawned upon me that cycling was actually quite an attractive and an engrossing activity and I was beginning to like it and to feel good about it. I thought there was always that strain I felt in my knees everytime I tried to stand up from a sitting or a kneeling position but now that strain seemed to be gone and  I was barely two weeks into my cycling. Hey! the doctor was right. Cycling did help to strengthen my leg muscles so I could do what I needed to do with my leg better.

So, here I am, quite thick into cycling I would say, of the mountain biking type and I love it. I would even venture to say that I have gotten quite dizzy about it enjoying every moment each time I am up in my saddle. I love the benefits and the many opportunities it brings. I have never felt fitter and healthier in my life than the way I now feel. It allows me the opportunity to get back close to nature, just like the way it used to be. And, there were times, whenever I went out cycling, that I felt as though I was going full circle starting things all over again although this time, with a choice and that made me feel good.

And one more thing, it also reminds me not to forget to count my blessings, always... AlhamdulIllah; all praise be to Allah.