DFL > DNF

the good: i rode my bike. i rode my mountain bike on mountain bike trails. i rode my mountain bike on mountain bike trails for 18 miles. i "raced" my bike for 18 miles. i finished the race. i can still walk. the knee doesn't seem to be swelling up in a debilitating manner.

the bad: i finished d.f.l. the ego is slightly bruised. my fitness is nowhere close to what it was 3 months ago. i have a long, long way to go. my body hurts like it hasn't for a while, back and shoulders especially.

the conclusion: trying to stay positive that i was finally able to ride again. i was able to push my knee through the climbing at 7 oaks without reaggravating it. pretty disappointed with how out of shape i felt and trying to accept how long its going to take me just to get back to where i was. gravel worlds is now unfortunately a pretty big uncertainty. 150 miles of gravels just seems a bit much with how i feel but i'll wait a little longer to make that decision. going to focus training on being in good enough shape to ride dakota 5-0 somewhat comfortably understanding i still won't be as competitive as i would like. then see how i feel by the time adam's party goes down. the day definitely went better than it could have gone...just wasn't quite ready to accept how much i've lost.

or not

nothing's torn. nasty bone bruise in the knee that pretty much means anything more aggressive than walking or riding a geared bike on a paved bike trail will aggravate the knee and make it impossible to do anything. no time frame on when i'll be back on the bike but eventually and no surgery.

that didn't last long

tried to ride back-to-back days. 90 minutes gravel then two hours gravel, the second with gears. knee blew up again. called doctor. xrays were friday and mri was this morning. ugghhh.

riding

got in a gravel ride and a trail ride already. both short/low intensity in relative terms. both rides left me trying to balance my intense desire to ride myself back into race shape, the necessity of taking it easy and not risking reaggravating the knee, and ultimately realizing that i should just be happy that i'm riding again. sucks being able to feel how much i've lost already but riding slow is infinitely better than not riding at all.