Unless something dramatic happens, this is my last post here to close out the topic.
Today is 3 months to the day following my open-heart surgery as you've followed along with me in this thread. A heartfelt (no pun intended) thank you to all who have commented here or reached out personally; what a great community we have.
Friday was my last day of my formal cardiac rehab program. And as of today I'm cleared by my surgeon for any and all activities. While my surgeon didn't want me on the roads with any risk of falling on my sternum, I've been riding my bike on the trainer (in the driveway recently with our warm winter in WI) as a complement to my structured rehab. I jumped the gun by two days and have been out on the road for an hour both Sunday and yesterday; planning on another ride today.
While I have some work to do to rebuild my capacity I've had two amazing rides so far. Kept to z2 on the upper end, but was comfortable both with the bike and handling (after all, it's just like riding a bike, yes?
) and felt good from both cardiovascular and muscular perspectives.
Still have some learning to do about my HR and riding since I'm on a beta-blocker but that will come with a little more experience. Thinking about goals and we have a
beautiful century in Door County WI in 94 days, and the
Ride Across Wisconsin mid August. The latter would be a big stretch, but given everything I've experienced I'm up for big stretches.
I am constantly aware of how well things have gone for me (and seen others in rehab who haven't been as blessed) and am grateful for everything that came together for me.
Hope to see some of you out on the road (Saab2000 and Plum Hill, I'm talking to you
)
[/URL]