Early yesterday morning RelentlesslyCheerfulPhysio poked and prodded and stretched and Ouch! Probably my most painful post-visit to date. Despite anti-inflammatories and some ibuprofen, I still was in quite a bit of pain for most of the afternoon and evening.

RCP is planning to do a bit of research, but initially he is of the view that all of my aches, pains and swelling on the right leg (ankle, knee) are from my extremely tight ITB and weak right glute – so there is a good deal of foam rolling and strength-building in my future. And yes, we’ve heard this mostly before, but it is the first time I’ve experienced both types of pain at roughly the same time. If they are related, it is really interesting how very different the two types of pain are – the ankle is a persistent dull ache and the knee an occasional incredibly sharp stabbing pain.

say hello to my new best friend

I read somewhere that it was wise to embrace rehab as if it was your daily exercise, rather than viewing it as a burden and something preventing exercise. I’m having surprisingly good results with my small morning routine, so I think I’m going approach the foam rolling and strengthening in a similar way. We’ll see how that pans out!

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After I arrived home from the hour of prodding, Don and I took 3 large bags of clothes and such from last week’s purge to the charity shop (yay! decluttering!) and then walked down to look at shiny bikes at one of the local bike shops.

Don is keen for something lighter and I’m leaning toward something that doesn’t actually appear to exist (3-speed on a mountain bike frame). I always saw myself riding one of those adorable retro, cruiser-style bikes with a wicker basket, popping down to the shops to grab a baguette and bunch of flowers. This is so twee and whimsical and so patently at odds with my reality that it is hilarious. Really, I just need to get over my fear of gears.

so very not me

Though if I could find my childhood bike in adult size, I would probably be all over it – ridiculous or not.

i had this in orange – no gears, back pedal brakes

After the first shop, we were planning to visit another, but it was dreadfully hot and sunny and I wasn’t wearing sunscreen, so we scuttled home and checked out bikes on the InformationSuperHighway with a view to sussing out more bike shops in the afternoon. This in the face of Frugal February (eeep!).

The thing about Don and I is that we’ll always talk the other into spending – on art, on clothes, on trinkets, on a new car – because we think the other deserves All The Nice Things.

Fortunately after a couple of hours researching, we had a bit of a “wait, what the heck are we doing?” moment and we managed to resist impulse buying. We’ve agreed to continue to use what we have for another couple of months to assess whether this riding enthusiasm persists. Past-us would have sparkling bikes in the garage Right Now and a hole in the savings account. It’s not like we can’t afford fabulous new bikes, but it is really at odds with ThePlan and it’s important for us to keep our eyes on long-term goal rather than short term gratification!