Oregon...east

[pdedse]

Lucky guy, pdedse. Nothing like a good long-distance ride.

 

How's the back?

Welp, the back is…. not back.?

The last hour of Lolo Pass it started bothering me noticeably more.  Took an hour break for lunch and the next hour it got worse as I left Missoula heading for Butte.

Well shoot.  MC riding for 1-2 hours hasn’t bothered me even when other activities like hiking, walking up stairs, holding weed-eater, heck even getting out of bed all have been a pain. Steroid injection helped a lot… for the first month.  It’s been 2 months and now I feel like I did prior.

I turned back to Missoula and opted for a hotel for the night.  I lay down and I’m good, but I get up, move around and it’s stiff and sore.  Meds help to a point, but they wear off…and the underlying question I haven’t wanted to face is: does mc riding make my back worse, and is it one of the causes of stenosis—will it make the narrowing iof the spinal column more narrow…and worse?  Doc said “maybe” but age and hereditary bone structure are the main reasons.

So sadly, I’m turning back home.  I needed to have 3 good days to Billings to convince me it was going to be ok to do this trip.  I got 1.5.  

I feel like riding tail between my legs fashion all the way home today, but that’s nearly 540 miles on the big hiways and my wife encouraged me to take my time and find some interesting routes home.

Anyway, thanks for the well wishes for a great trip. I love mc trips, so it’s deflating to make this decision. The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak, as it is said.