Seeing Your Shadow — What Does it Mean?
“Are you claustrophobic?” The question hints at small spaces and darkness as I prepared for an MRI to determine why my Vespa riding has diminished over the past few months. I closed my eyes as I took my first journey into the small, closed, traditional 23 inch tunnel to examine the lower back and hips. After the movement ceased I opened my eyes to a pleasantly bright expanse of nothingness that was oddly reminiscent of waking in my little one-man backpacking tent. As the electronic buzzing and thumping began I felt relaxed and awash in solitude.
If I’ve learned anything over the past couple years it’s been that there are no guarantees for tomorrow. Best deal with today.
The past few months have unfurled a litany of physical complaints and medical pickles that have interfered with life in general and Vespa riding in particular. When you feel bad long enough the question of when should I stop riding emerges.
Circumstances That Limit Riding
A freshly painted Vespa sits in the garage sipping from a Battery Tender as it awaits a call to service — postponed by weather, but also persistent back pain that now has a label — severe degeneration of some “stuff” that took awhile to deconstruct and understand with the help of Google and the National Institutes of Health website. The bright side of the diagnosis is there’s no need for more dangerous medication to manage my auto-immune arthritis condition, and I stumbled up an accidental “cure” for what ails me. As my father often said, “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile.”
Unconventional Riding Boots
I bought new riding boots for winter — a pair of big, heavy, bulky Sorel Men’s Caribou Boots
I stumbled upon what I can only characterize as a miraculous cure for my aching, nagging, debilitating back injury — the reclining chair. Normally, I sleep on an embarrassingly overpriced Tempur-Pedic mattress. And each morning I can barely stand up and embark on a process of painful unbending that consumes 45 minutes before I can stand up straight. And the entire day is a series of tweaking reminders that something is badly broken.
Then one night I slept in the recliner — an experience not unlike sleeping in an airplane, perhaps first-class considering the size of the recliner. But in the morning I stood up without issue or fanfare. An experiment ensued and I’ve spent the past five nights in the recliner and I’m almost back to normal. To further test my theory I took a nap this evening on the Tempur-Pedic mattress — just two hours, and I could barely stand up and struggled to do much other than shuffle through the house. I used to love that mattress but I suppose everything changes eventually.
I’m not sure how I feel about spending the rest of my life sleeping in a recliner but until I experiment with a different mattress I’ll take the good back along with the restrictive sleep situation of a big stuffed chair.
The weather forecast calls for fog in the morning with temperatures rising slowly toward 50F. Perhaps it’s time to take the Vespa for a ride. I’m happy to say it’s not time to stop riding yet.
We have always had pretty firm mattresses. We now have a Stearns and Foster.
I would never want a Tempurepedic mattress. My concern is that by molding to your body they limit natural movement. Your experience is what worries me. That the pain goes away when you sleep in the recliner seems consistent with that concern.
If I were you I’d experiment with a firm mattress like a Beautyrest pocket coil which is what we had before the crazy expensive Stearns and Foster (a hand me down from our in laws).
Try one of the newer water mattresses. They’re, no longer, just a bag of sloshing water, they’re now firm without being hard, mold to your body without restricting movement, and can be warm to sooth aching muscles.
I’m planning to dispose of the King size TempurPedic mattress soon. It’s heavy and huge. Likely a giveaway on Craigslist. Some enterprising college student may want it to furnish their fornicarium…
Not looking forward to the mattress search but I know I’ll need to do something. Thanks for the suggestions.
Thank god! I was going through Scooter in the Sticks withdrawal! Love my recliner too!
Imagine how I felt! At least we had recliners…
Just be thankful you could fit in an MRI machine.
I can’t, my shoulders are well over 34 inches in width, goes with my massive physical size. So the one of very few open framem machines for me; there’s only one such machine in the Greater Toronto Area and there’s always a three to four months waiting list.
As for the lower back maladies, simple solutions are the best solutions.
And a recliner would be nice, all of them are way too small for me to sit or
be sleeping upon in comfort. Tried a large friend’s new largest available Laze-Boy recliner just before Christmas; in a semi-reclined position, my head was out the top, my feet dangled over the end and the butt space was tight. Not cpmfortable. He’ s 6 foot 4 inches tall and of very slim build. His 16 year old son lifts weights for a hobby, and is massive at six foot six inches tall; he too has problems in the recliner; standing beside me ,many years his senior he is dwarfed by my height and size.
It was a tight fit even for me. I could feel my shoulders touching as I slid inside. They do have a big open one that you could put three people in but the resolution isn’t as good I’m told. I had options but chose the best picture…
I can imagine the troubles you face being big and tall. The world is made for a different size…
Something in the way the recliner positions your spine perhaps? Glad you found the alternative to waking up all crooked!
I think it is in part the position, but also it keeps me from sleeping on my side which I suspect is the bigger problem. In bed, I can start on my back but end up on my side. It’s nice to wake and be able to just stand up.
Well, this certainly falls into the “who knew?” category. Excellent news!
And don’t get me started about mattresses…I positively hate anything to do with “memory foam” and most of its offshoots. Didn’t work for me 25 years ago, and let’s just say things haven’t improved with time. Even though they’re not any cheaper than the mattress you’ve been using up till now, you might want to look at one of the power-adjustable versions that allow a quasi-reclining position. (And not being banished to the living room.)
Here’s to simple “miracle” cures (and more enjoyable riding)!
It certainly wasn’t the first thing anyone was looking at, including me. Woke up this morning again without the incredible pain and stiffness that has haunted for months. Certainly not perfect but feel pretty good. No qualms about going for a ride.
Perhaps mattress discussions are like politics — something best left unsaid in common company….
I to go in the Hospital next week for a MRI as well as Upper and Lower GI probes due to finding blood in places it should not be !!.Not looking forward to the Procedure ;but,, I am told one is in a state of semi-conscience and feels no pain (I am a gagger when any thing foreign is in my mouth and I have never had a device put up any where else for that matter). I go out to the garage every couple of days and start my scoot and dream about a little warmer weather as Canada is a little cooler during the winter. That said ; I believe there is a saying “they can have my scoot when they pry my cold dead hand from the throttle and lift my body off the seat. Keep your head up as well as your spirit !
Great comment there mate!
I’ve learned to be pretty relaxed about non-invasive procedures like MRIs but it took some work to get my mind away from anxious places. I’ve never had an endoscopy and wouldn’t relish the idea, but I can speak to the anesthesia used for them, at least here, as I had a recent inspection at the other end. They were using Propofol to put me out and when I asked how quickly it would work they said I wouldn’t be able to count down to zero from ten. I was counting and got to zero and then negative one, negative two, and I remember them laughing and that’s all. Next thing I’m somewhere else waking up. So I suspect the same with the other procedure.
We’ve had some moderating weather lately — not so cold but wet and foggy. Heavy fog outside right now but plan to ride after I take care of the dogs and get a few things done.
Best of luck with your procedures and for a few warm days to ride!
Living with a woman who has had 7 vertebra fused, we have tried all sorts of things. A zero gravity chair really helps and is quite good to sleep in https://www.relaxtsertaheback.com/recliners/zero-gravity/novus-zero-gravity-recliner.html She also has a recliner to sit in. If you are having problems finding a recliner for fit you look at Stressless chairs. My wife sleeps in a Serta memory foam bed that is adjustable. I have not been happy with the components of the adjustable frame they are less than stellar. For her she has not found the adjustable bed to be all that helpful, she prefers the adjusting of 10 versus pillows more.
All these things are out of our price range but the relief it gets her makes all the budgeting worth it.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about the zero gravity chairs. We have a Relax the Back store about three hours from here. I plan to visit at some point in the future despite the withering price tags on those things….
In the meantime, some mattress investigations are in order.
Steve I have also found the now very common and not very expensive Zero gravity deck chair did the trick. The cottage I rent in the summer has poor beds and furniture but the Zero gravity chair fixed my back when I need relief or want to recline inside or out. Same principal as the recliner. That’s where I also slept last night as my pillows and bed have been a problem lately.
Deck chair? I’ll put that on my list of things to check out.
Recliners are pretty amazing.
We have also had many misfortunes regarding bed mattresses. The “warranty” is usually not honored if the complaint is “comfort issues”. Even after being evaluated by a 3rd party contractor, it still took an inordinate amount of time to get a replacement for our conventional (good brand) coil mattress – which only lasted about 5 years (the norm for any kind of mattress from what I’ve seen), the same as previous. We now have a memory foam mattress on top of the old box springs and it is still comfortable for us. Reason – we got it at Costco (direct shipment) and thought that if it failed after 5 years, we could replace it and still not have spent as much as the conventional brand name coil units. If a supportive recliner worked for you and you do not mind confinement, maybe a hammock-style bed would work. Or a new conventional orthopedic mattress with the knowledge that you will probably need to replace it in 5 years. Try spending a night or 2 in an upscale resort and see what their beds do for you. If that is fine, then maybe your current mattress is shot.
My experience with mattresses follow your 5-year theory. At least for the kind of regular stuff sold at the furniture stores. When I was younger I could sleep on a bunch of rocks without problems. Now if the sheets bunch I am in misery…
A thought on riding the scooter, Steve. As you know, for most people, their back (vertebral column) is usually directly above the rear wheel on a scooter (depending on your size, of course). At least it was that way for me when I rode my Vespa. This means impacts delivered to the rear wheel travel straight up into your spine. And on a scooter, (and “cruiser-style” motorcycles), it is virtually impossible to stand up while riding and shift all your weight to your legs and the footpegs when traversing rough terrain..
Maybe now it would be worthwhile to try (borrow, test ride, etc) a dual-sport or a smaller ADV type motorcycle and see how they feel. It might make a big difference in riding comfort. Ya never know…
Thanks for the suggestions Steel. I rode yesterday and experimented a bit with position and posture, not to eliminate discomfort, but to try and affect some pain. I was good in pretty much everything. That was different. A month ago I had to ride in one specific position to avoid discomfort and I could sustain that for a long period of time.
As opportunities arise to experiment with motorcycles I may take advantage…
Even though – knock on wood – I’ve been quite lucky in regard to back issues, I’ve never taken my condition for granted. To that end, I’ve always kept aware of comfort/positioning issues with every two-wheeler I’ve owned and ridden, with or without an engine. My GTS is likely the most comfy ride I’ve ever had, with what I regard as “just-right” positioning, leaning slightly forward as opposed to bolt-upright, just a bit more relaxed than my bicycles are (all three of which have drop handlebars).
Also, don’t forget the rear shocks: I think we discussed that in a thread over at MV.
Things have improved enough physically that I can go for a long ride. At least whenever my work schedule or chore schedule allows the time.
The scooter remains a comfortable ride. Worse stuff is in hot weather when my backside starts to sweat…
My shocks are still in good shape despite the MV input. No bouncing or bottoming out. Yet…
Hi Steve,
It may not be a matter of stopping riding but rather slowing down and picking your days. Stopping is too permanent especially after you have just painted the beast.
Hope you find a solution and keep on writing as well as riding.
Best wishes
Yeah, I think you’re right. One more thing to manage.
I’m very happy you’re still riding Steve. As Mike commented, stopping might be permanent. Instead of riding in rain/snow/sleet/hail/cold etc…, perhaps pick and choose your days. You’ll still be a full fledged rider and the new methodology might be a bit easier on your back. Keep writing. Keep riding.
My best
Thanks Mike. Picking days to ride will be the future, at least for the short term. Perhaps I’ll get back to reckless abandon in regard to riding but I’m not betting on it…
Do not go gently into that good night ….
Not yet!
I’m glad you are still riding, because I know you love it. Yet even if you aren’t riding, your words and images are a bright light in this dreary winter. I hope you enjoyed your day, riding or not.
I do love to ride but realize it’s not enough to overcome the physical limitations. I’m hoping my body recovers to a point that I can do some sort of riding. Thanks for the kind words about the things I write and post. By the way — are you having another February blogging challenge? That really helped pass the frigid, non-riding days last year!
Hi Steve,
When to stop riding is something I increasingly think about. I hit 70 this year and whilst in generally good health, old sports injuries to my knees give me grief from time to time. Riding a bicycle helps with that. Riding motorcycles has been a passion since I was 16 so giving it up won’t be easy. However, I think in our heart of hearts we know when it’s time. The real trick is to have a fall-back interest that we can channel our passion into. I’ve got a couple of things up my sleeve so think it’s going to be ok when the time comes.
Best wishes!
Spending a few months with the bad back had me sort out my fall-back interests. They may even be my first interests. But I’ would rather still be able to ride. All evidence points to more riding.
I certainly understand the stop riding thoughts. We each have to listen to our own heart and mind for that decision.
Be safe and best wishes for many more miles on two wheels.
As stated previously my 90 year old Father is still riding a 750 Kawasaki a few times a week. When to stop is so varied with people, physically and neurologically, that it is really personal. I’ve been blessed at 64 with no physical ailments so I can’t foresee an age. I’m still wrestling with what kind of ride to settle on with seven bikes in the garage to experiment with. I thought scooters might be the answer but after a two year sabbatical away from motorcycles a one day ride on a smallish bike put that thought to rest. Right now a 250 Nighthawk is heavily on mt mind but a ride on my 750 Spectre always confuses even that issue. Hopefully I’ll have plenty of years to find the answer.