Well not yet.  But close. 

In the past few weeks since my encounter with the evil downed tree, a.k.a. snow snake, I’ve had an MRI and seen a couple of doctors about my knee.  The verdict:  Grade 3 MCL tear, tear of the medial meniscus, partial tear of the ACL.  I’m not prepared to offer a detailed explanation of what “grade 3” means but it’s clear that a tear of any kind isn’t something you want in a knee or any other part of the body for that matter. 

Injuries are never fun.  I’ve had my share of boo-boos over the years but all my previous down time occurred while I was employed.  With a desk job the daily routine keeps you occupied and makes the recuperation time seem to go faster.  And if you have to miss out on something well, it’s just work.  It’s still going to be there when you’re feeling better.  Yeah, I’ll get to that TPS report as soon as I can.

Being injured in Salida, where the entire outdoors is one huge playground and my job is essentially to go out and play, feels much worse.  Especially this time of year when there’s still good snow in the mountains but it’s 70 degrees in town, making it possible to go skiing in the morning, break for lunch, and then go mountain biking in the afternoon. 

Instead, I’ve been doing a lot of laying around the house watching TV, reading and playing video games.  And this…

To keep from totally turning into a slug I spend an hour or so a day spinning on my trainer bike.  Nothing strenuous, no intervals or anything like that.  The doc said straight up and down motion is ok, so this is the full extent of my physical activity these days.  I wouldn’t call it fun but it does keep the blood moving, which is good for my knee, and it burns a few calories in the process.  This is my life for the foreseeable future.

Stay tuned.