I am writing this post as a bit of a plea – I would love to have a go at trying a recumbent bike. If there is anyone who has one and would be willing to lend it to me, I would be extremely grateful. Having a go on one, even for just a few minutes would mean a lot as I’ll explain.
Why?
For the last five months I have had an indwelling catheter inside me and riding a bicycle with a normal saddle is agony, believe me, I have tried. Not just one saddle but a few and no matter which type I try, it is agony after just a few minutes.
So you know, a catheter is a tube, about 5mm in diameter, running from inside my bladder, through my urethra to outside of my body. It is held in place by a kind of balloon which is in my bladder and is inflated with water and this prevents it from accidentally falling out. It can be removed by a nurse. Although it is providing me with a solution to a medical problem, I absolutely hate it. I could go on about the reasons why I dislike it but this isn’t the place right now.
So this is the reason why I cannot cycle and, to be honest, I am really missing it especially as I now have plenty of spare time to enjoy a bike ride. During the last five months I have lost a lot of my fitness, even running is sometimes difficult and has its on set of problems. Against this backdrop I know that I’m still reasonably fit but not particularly strong.
What I’m hoping for
It seems with recumbents you are sitting in a different way, almost on a little chair and I think this could be a solution so I can cycle without any pain or discomfort. Just being able to try one would at least confirm if a recumbent is the solution, so I could then try and source one.
Ideally I would like to borrow for even hire one to see how I get on with it. While I am due for an operation soon, this will not entirely solve the problem in the short term.
Also I could do with a “project”
My good friend Paul (also on FIRE) needs a project to use his skills and apply his detailed, thoroughly technical mind to. So if a recumbent were to eventually come my way and it needed some adaptations or an overhaul, this wouldn’t be a barrier or a problem.
I have even been complementing whether it would be fun to make one, especially as Paul knows how to weld steel.
So if any of this makes sense and you live in striking distance of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, please get in touch. Many times before I have been struck by the number of people contacting me through this blog about all kinds of things, so yet again I’m being quite hopeful.
Getting in touch
Please use the contact screen and this will come straight through to my email inbox. If you could include your phone number, that would be even better.
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