"Doin' A Hip Trip"

I’m headin’ up north to see my riding pal, Steve-O today. He’s recuperating from hip replacement surgery, which means that in a matter of two months he could be riding his bike again. This...is very, very good news.

In case you've not read previous posts about Steve-O, let's just say he's one of the good guys. He is not one to complain, so when this hip problem hit, you knew it was bad. I’m sure this experience tested his patience in ways he’d never admit to. He used to run marathons and has always made fitness a priority in his life. In recent years his passion has been riding. By riding the hills of Happy Valley just about every evening after work,, he quickly became a monster rider. All of this, with one hip already replaced. And the point of sharing this is that yes, folks who have this surgery can not only resume their active lifestyle, they can go big time like Steve-O.

The second half of 2010 he was forced off his bike, after a nasty interaction between a trolley track and his front wheel, which resulted in a separated shoulder, and an injury to his other hip (the one that had not yet been upgraded). He had been training to ride the Seattle-To-Portland, and I was preparing to join him. After the crash, we both were crossing our fingers that his injuries would mend soon enough to still ride.  We thought about riding segments of the STP, if he could manage it. He tried a little riding hoping that would help, but it didn't. Things got worse rather than better, and he has not been on his bike since.

So for months he’s waited, and winced, and lived with the hip pain. Finally he’s on the mend, a little more bionic than he was before. Right now it’s important to be up and moving, and I’d imagine that he’s doing a stellar job recovering quickly. In a few weeks, he’ll move around freely. A few weeks after that, we’ll take a ride together somewhere.  And a few months later, he’ll be kickin’ my fanny again.

But I’m going to make him earn it.