For the past few weeks I’ve been having some trouble riding. Aside from frequent harsh cold snaps, I’ve been having some pretty bad swelling in my right knee — the one that has been rebuilt.
I prefer to use natural remedies, but sometimes that’s not the whole answer. So along with the Glucosamine and Chondroitin cream, and the Peaceful Mountain ointment, a little Ibuprofen helped take down the swelling. So today’s 10-miler into town was pretty nice in terms of my legs, and I had no trouble getting back the same way.
It didn’t hurt my friend didn’t want me to show up until after the thermometer rose above freezing outside. I suppose I could handle riding down as low as 20°F (-7C), and have done it, I’ve had aluminum bike parts break at that temperature in the past. Perhaps they were already near the breaking point in terms of wear, or maybe they were just cheap junk. Maybe the fact I’m 230 pounds (104kg) doesn’t help those parts much. Still, it’s risky business riding out that cold, and we’ve been that cold or colder too many hours the past few weeks.
It means being particularly careful with the feet, hands and face. I generally avoid closed surface clothing like nylon because I would sweat even as I’m freezing. I just layer on the cloth and wear heavier jeans. On the feet are genuine leather boots with wool socks. They’ll get cold, but even wet from perspiration, wool keeps warm for a long time. Gloves are easy in my case, since I have good stuff from my days in the military. For my ears, I wear a stocking cap under a knit head band. Below 30°F I wear a polypropylene mask over my face, up to my eyes. It means I can’t wear any glasses because it redirects breath moisture upward to fog them, but it’s a worthy compromise. I also slow down a good bit when it’s that cold.
The one good part is no more flats. After adding thicker puncture resistance tubes and protective strips between the tire and tube, I’ve not had to worry about anything but air pressure. So with the pain under control and weather more reasonable, it’s been rather pleasant.
Not to sound like a know it all but have you ever had your position on the bike checked? Knee problems “tend” to brought on my an incorrect seat height, seat to forward/backward, etc etc. Alot of people with serious knee issues get into cycling due to it’s very low impact on the knees. That’s why I am saying what I just did.
The people who know best how to check those things won’t do it for free. So I use the information I can glean from the Net. I’m pretty sure it’s about as good as I’m going to get it, and it does feel quite comfortable. The knee usually flares up from other kinds of activity. I still try to run from time to time, for example.