“Take what gives you protection”

This is a saying about working within your means. For example, in an American football player, the quarterback wants to pass long, but the receiver is covered by the defender, so he makes a short pass to the open man. I’ve been doing this for years, but in my case the “prevention” is aging blemishes. My favorite activity was running, but I had to stop when I got arthritis, and now I’m not allowed to because of my artificial hip. So I started hiking and biking. Lately, due to various lower back and hip problems, walking has not been good. But what I really like about cycling is getting out into nature and away from the city, and I can do that on a mountain bike (as long as it’s not on easy trails because I’m not that good of a mountain biker).

Even though I’ve been sticking to cycling lately, I still seem to hit a snag when I push it too hard. Last Sunday was the last time I did my group trip again. I felt fine at the time, but during the day it was very painful to walk, because I felt like something was broken in my lower back. I think I irritated the SI joint on that side. This one was especially frustrating because I don’t really know what I did, I didn’t think I went that far during the trip. So for a few days I went easy, short rides at a slower pace. And yesterday I was well again. I guess I’ll have to get used to this. I have some orthopedic problems that can come up occasionally and I have to back off when they do. But I reminded myself that what I enjoy most about exercise is getting out in the fresh air and the fun that leads to it. And, thankfully, I can do that even when I think about it easily when I get angry.