first time out after surgery

I went today for a ride for the first time afte surgery. My friend who has done century rides for years has been a great source of strength and encouragement to me about my cycling. I am only 7 weeks post op and was able to do 12 miles today. I might have been able to do more but we didn't want to pu**** since it was my first time out. I am so proud of myself. I was able to ride all the inclines (I call them hills) even though I was in my granny gear to do it but that's ok. That was a first for me. I am having trouble with what to eat or drink while on the bike. My friend talks about carbing up before rides and she does gu packs but I dump real easy on sugar so I'm not sure what to try. I did take peanut butter crackers today and drank watered down gu2O and did ok but again it was only 12 miles. Just wanted to share my success. I can't wait until the distance starts creeping closer to my first century ride. Kim

Nice job! Have you been riding since? I generally eat a small bowl of oatmeal before a ride. I've never used gu or even the cliff-shots that I pack. Too scared. I have taken a protein bar, the Premier Nutrition 30g protein bar they sell at Costco. But I know that I don't dump on it. I use Cytomax at half strength instead of water. It gives me some carbs while riding. I too would like to do a century this year, but my mileage has been terrible in these first 2.5 months.

John, I am loving to get out and ride! And it's so much easier now that I'm a 100 pounds lighter than before surgery. Went out today on the riverwalk here and it was gorgeous. I am building my stamina but still have a long way to go. I am still working on getting up to 40 miles so that I can do my first organized ride for charity in April. I'll have to try the oatmeal. I have had fair success eating oatmeal so far so never know if it's going to go down. I took peanut butter protein balls that I made on the ride today and did ok with that. I'll definitely look into cytomax - never heard of it before. Where do you find it? I am so sad that the bicycling forum is not more active. Riding is such a wonderful thing for me and I just knew that there would be more people on here. Kim

I'm feeling guilty for not riding more than every other week or so, but I've been fighting a bum knee and doing swing dancing, which is slightly more social than cycling. But nowhere near the same amount of exercise. 40 miles is an awesome goal. Do you ride with a heart rate monitor and bike computer? I highly recommend it. Helps to really focus in on the type of riding that improves one's stamina. I don't have a problem with peanut butter, but it's always high in fat/oil, and if you use the commercial stuff, it has a lot of sugar too. Cytomax is a fluid replacement drink in powdered form. All the bike shops around here stock it (I don't recommend the cranberry grapefruit flavor!). I use about a scoop and a half of powder for 48 oz (two 24 oz bottles). Perhaps a bit more to taste. http://cytosport.com/products/cytomax.html I too am sad at the lack of activity in the bicycling forum. It's very odd, as it's not listed on the main forum list. One has to go through the exercise forum and know the link is there. 30 seconds of thought should reveal that fostering healthy activity groups is a good thing.

when I ride, I do not carb out. I protien out instead. I cook up and portion out pork chops or eggs or something and do really well. and water. for some reason the warmer the water, the easier it goes down, even now, 10 months out. 12 miles is outstanding. I was able to do 9.2 ten days post op, but that has been my max. Kat [275/146] 11 months @ goal Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a lovely and well-preserved body, but rather a skid to broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "WOW! What a ride!" http://www.wretchedheathen.com