A Persistence of Memory

 Cycling is a game of steady, rhythmic motion. Leg muscles turn the cranks in a continuous unchanging pattern. The diameter of the pedaling circle does not vary from one rotation to the next, and over hundred and thousands of rotations on any given ride.

Sure a riders' cadence (usually measured in the number of revolutions of the cranks within a set period of time) will vary, increasing and decreasing depending on various factors, and sure there are accelerations, but even sudden ones are generally tempered by already high speeds, while the way power is transferred through the chain tends to make accelerating a more gradual process. Jump, or jumping away, are common terms used by cyclists to describe a sudden acceleration but, again, I tend to see the term as a relative one unique to the situation in which it is used. Suddenly jumping away from the bunch is nothing like the sudden jumps, pivots, and accelerations that athletes in other sports (tennis and basketball to name but two) experience. We can't always stand ourselves up as typical examples so, while I have never suffered a muscle injury (not counting muscle cramps), pulls and tears seem to be rather rare among the racing crowd, as well as among the wider cycling community. I can't recall anyone I have known over the years who injured a hamstring or other muscle in their calves or thighs from riding, or racing, a bike.

Lo and behold, when I decided to seriously get back into the tennis game after some thirty-five years, it did not take long for a muscle injury to set me on the sidelines. Strain number one hit on a Sunday afternoon, following a morning bicycle ride of some thirty miles, when I suddenly pivoted around to chase a lob over my head. While I limped painfully around for the rest of the day and all of the next, the third day showed marked improvement, while my gait on the fourth day was pretty normal, enough so that I got back to riding. 

Pull number two hit on the next Sunday afternoon, again after a thirty mile morning ride, and during the exact same scenario - turning to chase down a lob over my head. Let me tell you that pulling / tearing sensation (I swear I could even hear it) is unexpected, and I will no longer mock pro athletes, be they baseball or soccer players, who sit out lengthy periods of time nursing their muscle injuries. I have always been a pretty quick healer, but perhaps a week just wasn't enough this time (age, after all, does being to catch us all up eventually). 

Anyway,

 with some time on my hands and questions to ponder, I have wondered if the many years of steady, rhythmic muscle conditioning that we get from daily cycling, can play a role in injuries like this when our muscles are suddenly put to a very different task?

The good news is that the symptoms of a serious and complete muscle tear are absent, and though I continue to be hobbled, there has been small improvements over the past three plus days; not enough to get me on the court this next weekend, perhaps, but maybe the bike...

or, maybe it is couch potato time.