What a wonderful day it was. It started with fog in the valley but by lunchtime the sun had come out. We decided to spend the afternoon on the Baldegg, a hill 200 meters above Baden with a witch-themed wooden playground, a restaurant with a big terrace, and stunning views in all directions. From town, a city bus runs all the way to the top, but I was contemplating the bike.
When I had checked out of the hospital after surgery, biking was explicitly forbidden. On the way out of the hospital after the first chemotherapy session four weeks later, I ran into the surgeon by accident. “You didn’t ride your bicycle here?” she asked with some concern. I hadn’t, but I’ve done so since. I rode my bike to and from work a couple of times. Friday afternoon, I went home through the forest.
It’s not just that riding a bicycle is important to me. Of course it makes me happy and deludes me into thinking that things are all right. But it’s also of immense therapeutic value. Fitness during chemo reduces treatment-related side effects and improves overall well-being. The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia goes so far as to say that “withholding exercise from patients is probably harmful”. The details are for another post, but let’s just say that I’ve purchased a smart turbo, installed my road bike on it, and done the first training sessions in front of my big screen showing rides I’d never seen. How would a real climb feel?
From our house to the Baldegg it’s only 4.5 km. The central 3 km clock in at slightly below 6%. This is not a lungbuster, but it’s not exactly flat either. I hopped on my new Cube with slight apprehension, riding the tunnel into town and then turning right into the hill. The Baldegg is not the Alpe d’Huez. It starts steep but not brutal. I had to shift down, breathe hard and break a sweat, but I arrived at the top without any difficulties. The bus with the family arrived a few minutes after me.
We spend a few hours up on the Baldegg. It was almost warm enough for t-shirts. The children endangered themselves on the playground – installed, like many in the region, by the company No risk, no fun – we romped through the forest whose main color was orange, and we tried to identify the major peaks of the Alps just barely visible through the haze of fall. At the end, we had coffee and cake on the terrace.
I draw two immediate conclusions from the ride. The first is that I’m in much better shape than when I lived with an undiagnosed cancer. This is really stunning. In spring and summer, I couldn’t have done this climb so easily. I might have turned around. The second is that I have truly recovered from surgery. I can exercise on my bike without any problems. The third conclusion hit me on the ride down. A weekend ride won’t do it. I’ll have to kick it up quite a bit to reap health benefits from what I like doing.
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