To quote Shakespeare, “Beware the Ides of March.” And today is, indeed, the Ides of March.

But beware? I’m not so sure of that. Today the occupational therapist said she thought I was about ready to get back on the bike! What an excitement that was!

When I got home, I plugged my bicycle lights into the charger. After about two months of disuse, I figured they needed a charge-up. Then I tried a short ride with the hybrid. It was important for me to see how well my left hand could tolerate braking.

The hand did get rather tired; and about halfway through my ride it started to feel uncomfortable with squeezing that brake lever. Pulling the water bottle out of its cage is a little uncomfortable, too; but less of a problem than I thought it might be.

The biggest problem was one that I didn’t anticipate: it hurts to try to unfasten the buckle of my helmet’s chin strap! But using my right hand for that job is very awkward. 

The doctor had said, ten weeks before cycling again; and it’s not quite ten weeks yet. But my hand feels more and more like normal. This morning, I was able to use it to twist open the top of a soda bottle! That’s big progress. But the ride has left my hand feeling rather tired and a bit overworked, so no longer rides yet; and I’d better take it easy for the rest of the day.

Today’s jaunt was only 3.19 miles. It included a stop at the drug store to pick up a pint of my favorite ice cream. Goodness knows I didn’t need all that sugar; and in fact I’m trying to ease back into proper eating habits. But getting back in the saddle was such a thrill that I wanted to celebrate.

I’m not sure I’m ready to ride alongside traffic just yet; but I hope to be back at it soon.  I want to hit the stores: Winn Dixie; Whole Foods; and, naturally, the salvage store. At the moment, though, what I want most is bananas!

But first, a short ride on the road bike. I think I’ll try it tomorrow. Just beware hard braking!