Bike ride takes a back seat
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
By Barb Ickes | Saturday, June 07, 2008 |
In a way, I was saved by a spring storm. Monday’s first leg of a weeklong bike ride from Rock Island to Savanna, Ill., was a promising start. The first little 10-mile journey flew by, and I was eager Monday night to start again on Tuesday.
But the pouring rain was a relief Tuesday morning, I admit. I wasn’t feeling all that hot and figured I’d set out a little later in the day, after the storm had passed.
As the morning wore on, the cramping pain in my right side graduated to stabbing. It was time to go to the doctor. An ultrasound Tuesday revealed the culprit: An ovarian cyst had ruptured. There was fluid surrounding the ovary, and there had been some bleeding.
So, instead of pedaling along the Mississippi River, discovering the Great River Trail, I was doing … nothing. Loaded with pain medication, I was left to lie around and worry about whether I’d have to go into surgery to stop the bleeding.
It evidently stopped itself because, by Wednesday morning, I was no longer cussing.
I’m very disappointed about the ride, as you might imagine, even though the whole situation could have been much worse. If the pain had hit while I was pedaling on an isolated stretch of Illinois 84, things could have been truly
miserable.
And, on an even brighter note, I get to surprise some of the online commenters with the fact that I even have ovaries.
Plus, my scheduled riding companions have been
terrific.
Susan McPeters, of WQPT-TV, was supposed to ride with me on Tuesday and sent flowers to the office Wednesday, bless her heart. Poked into the lovely arrangement of yellow and white daisies was a bicycle horn. I blame hormones for the fact the bike horn made me cry.
Even if I felt like a million bucks (I feel more like $1.85), the bike ride would be in peril. Thunderstorms are kryptonite to bike riding, and the week’s forecast looks like one giant lightning bolt.
But I’m not giving up. I’ll simply reschedule the ride, which will give me something to look forward to later in the summer. I know me, though. I’ll schedule it for the hottest, most humid week of the summer.
And then sprain an ankle.
Barb Ickes can be contacted at
(563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com. Comment on this column at qctimes.com.
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
reddit» More Barb Ickes Stories
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- online health articles
- Visit Our Top Sites About online health articles Here.
- AllHealthCarePlace.com
- Cheap Airfare
- Compare multiple travel sites. Discount web fares made easy.
- www.LowFares.com
- Netmagazines Online
- Take 5 1year Subscriptions for $30 Use Promotional Code DC5REBATE.
- www.NetMagazines.com
- Ads by Yahoo!
