In 1990, I thought I had a bad groin pull. Several months later with no relief, I consulted a doctor and learned that I no longer had any cartilage in my left hip. The doctor said I was too young at 41-years old to get a hip replacement. “You’ll get to the point,” he explained, “when you will know it is time.” For the next dozen years or so, I took glucosamine and chondroitin supplements, which I was told could rebuild the cartridge. I really don’t think that worked. I took Celebrex for several months, and that did ease the pain, but I didn’t want to mask the pain because then I would be unable to accurately know what the situation was.
For anyone who’s experienced a similar situation, the pain is pretty intense. I learned to live with it. Finally in 2003, I came home from the soccer fields one evening and barely made it into the house. It was time. I had the hip replacement in 2003. Again, for anyone who’s done it: instant pain relief. I know the procedure has progressed significantly in the last seven years.
While I was pleased with the pain relief, I was not satisfied with the result. Maybe I just didn’t understand it, but I thought I would be able to play soccer, tennis, basketball, etc like I used to. I was very disappointed when I couldn’t. I did all of the therapy, but I still walked with a limp. While I would get out on the tennis court and even the basketball court, I was as limping player who couldn’t cover the court or play defense. All I did was hobble. If the ball was hit to me, I could strike it, but I just couldn’t run it down.
The change occurred in 2009, and the change is the point of this story …
My son Brad and daughter-in-law Stephanie gave me an old bicycle that was gathering dust in their garage. I was still living in Missouri at the time. Once my butt got used to the seat, I started riding five miles about four days each week. I thought it was a big deal. Other than the fact that the old mountain bike wasn’t sized right, it worked fine. In October, Marie and I moved back to Arizona, and I started to get more serious about the bike riding. I received great inspiration from 1981 Academy grad John Mooney who finished 81st in the 105-mile Tour de Tucson in 2009.
In short order, I was riding 6 miles a day, five days a week. Then I started stretching out to 10 miles …. Today, I routinely ride 8 miles a day Monday through Friday and 25 miles each Saturday and Sunday. The result has been startling …
I’m playing tennis and covering the court without limping, without pain and without problems. Then I started going down to the basketball court. After a few weeks of half-court games, I got into some full-court games with players 30 and 40 years my junior. I could actually run the court and contribute to a 5v5 game on both sides of the ball. I’m told I don’t limp anymore. Maybe …
The final point is this: if someone asked me how to recuperate from a hip replacement, I would say there is no better alternative than bicycling. The results for me have been unbelievable. I only wish someone had told me five years earlier! The side benefits speak for themselves.
In 1925, Frank Heath, a cavalryman in the First World War traded his horse for a 10-year old mare named Gypsy Queen and then announced that he would ride through all 48 states. In 1927, more than 11,000 miles later, Frank and Gypsy Queen rode into Washington D.C. after touching all 48 states in the Union. Though certainly not as bold and prodigious as Frank, I set a goal for myself on January 1, 2010 that I would ride 2,600 miles on my bike this year, roughly the distance from New York to Los Angeles. As I finished my ride this morning, I turned 2,609.17 miles, which leads be to think I'll cap 2,700 on the year, maybe a bit more. I'm already thinking I can clear 3,000 in 2011.
