I don’t usually post twice a day to We Run and Ride because I don’t want to wear out any welcomes. But short bits of good news are always worth writing about, in case it inspires good thoughts in others.

My good news was riding my mountain bike for the first time after the accident down to Prairie Path Cycles in Batavia. Needed to get a shifting cable fixed. It felt so good to step on those pedals––no SPD shoes yet, I’m going cautious as yet––and just ride the bike.

It was 30 days to the hour almost, that I rode again after the accident.

Then today on my “walk” I tricked the universe and wore my good running shoes. 5 minutes into the 3 mile loop it felt like it was time to run. So there I went. One foot in front of the other. At least it was faster than walking.

A week ago when I tried to run the shoulder felt heavy and my hamstring, so brutally bruised from the crash, was not too cooperative. I am now realizing how forceful some of that impact really was. The hamstring really hurt the day of the crash, and it has taken weeks to lose that greenish purple color. Deep inside the muscle there is scar tissue still evident. Might need to have that worked out by a therapist.

This afternoon a friend is borrowing my road bike to measure a local running course. So I dug it out of the corner of the garage and stood it up. The chain was locked down deep next to the frame. The right hand grip was bent 30 degrees inward. And finally, the entire position of the handlebars is off about 10 degrees. But nothing’s truly broken, just bent. Like a cowboy.

But dang it feels good to get moving again. I threw my hands out like I was winning a race during part of the run. There were hundreds of yellow-rumped warblers flying ahead of me from the migration fallout the night before. The trail was wet and the red and yellow leaves were shiny. A great day to get back in action. Almost made me want to race.

Consider yourself lucky, and good luck if YOU are. Racing, that is.