Almost like Back to
the Future, where Marty has to fight off Biff from pain and suffering, Sofia;
Cafe at Kirroughtree manager became a bike maniac trying to fight off her back
pain.
Sof was out riding
her Haibike hardtail at warp rocket speed (faster than warp), bombing down trails in the Lakes on
her Santa Cruz Bronson, or collecting all the local QOM's (fastest times on
Strava) on her road bike. Until the evil pain she experienced in 2011 when
chasing a baddie while working in the MET threatened a return.
In the middle of July 2015, the sciatica
became so painful she hung up her biking shoes. Sof tried acupuncture,
stretching and massage, but in October 2015 she had to stop working and booked
herself in for a MRI Scan.
The MRI was
conducted in Glasgow, and even sitting for an hour in a car was so painful. So
many people have experienced back pain, and I think it is the single most
debilitating thing to have to deal with for an active person. The scan revealed
that she had two prolapsed discs in her lower spine, one of which was trapping
the sciatic nerve and causing all the pain (sciatica).
Fast forward five
months, after surgery to shave the two prolapsed discs, immediate pain relief,
intensive core strength sessions three times a day, gentle dog walks, not
sitting or standing for too long, and gentle spinning on the turbo trainer ……Sof
is back.
Local Physiotherapist, Laura has been a great help to her recovery.
To celebrate her
return to biking, Sofia has treated herself to a road bike that will look after
her back, be comfortable to ride for long days in the saddle, and light enough
to fly. The Trek Domane is the weapon of choice.
With the built in isospeed damping, it takes out the vibration from the road and allows you to ride in comfort. We carefully selected a build kit for her that would be light but reliable, and Shimano Ultegra was the perfect choice. After using the saddle fitting system we have in the shop, we selected the Bontrager Anya Elite. The wheels were chosen because deep down, the quality build of HOPE is hard to beat, and we are all mountain bikers at heart. HOPE carbon clinchers were the natural choice.
Below is a picture diary of Sofia. Good luck, continue to recover, get
stronger and stay strong.
Team Breakpad at 10 Under the Ben 2015
Trek Domane 6 Series, with IsoSpeed decoupler adds comfort without compromising pedal efficiency.
Lightweight components were weighed gram by gram with our new shiny Park Tool scales.
Nearly finished, with Hope Carbon 45 Clincher Wheel set to add some stealth bling with 25c Continental GrandPrix tyres.
Out on the roads, on her bike, Sof is happy.
