An Adventure in Pain

After I finished rubbing Aspercream Max Roll-On Arthritis Strength on Jim’s back, I thought about several things such as, celebrating 23 years of being married to him, how much I love him & how much I enjoy our life together. Our anniversary was on September 10^th.  I also reflected back to our ride and on getting older. There are pleasures and pains associated with riding as you age.

“Getting old isn’t for sissies” ~ Bette Davis

Grow old with me! The Best is yet to be. ~ Robert Browning

Jim & I are not as young as we were 2 or 3 years ago. We are not as young as we were 2 or 3 days ago. This summer, we were on the road for 42 days. That was a true 6 weeks and a long time  in the saddle. We both have problems with our knees and with our backs. People always question whether my butt/behind hurt but it is never my butt. It is always the bottom of my feet on the rides. This trip, I experienced NEW pain. I had charlie horses(cramps) in my calves and also the front area of my ankle on the right foot. I also had pain in my right shoulder and in the back of my left thigh (Hamstring). There were also times when my old friend- hip pain would return. Jim’s NEW pain was the inter part of his right knee and also behind it.

Our routine was that most nights I would massage Jim’s back and knees with the Aspercream and I did the same for me. We also took aspirin before bed. In the mornings, every morning, Tiger balm was used for the massages.  Near the end of our trip, I put a tube of Aspercream or the small bottle of Aspercream with lidocaine in my fanny pack. This way, I was able to quickly massage my feet, knees, hips, hamstrings and my back in the ladies room. Rubbing my feet was the most difficult because I usually did it in the stall and I needed to remove my socks, one at a time while standing on the other foot. I was grateful if there was not a line for the ladies room because I did not want to keep other ladies waiting.

We made sure that we had our regular Bayer aspire and also the Bayer Back & Body in a container on the motorcycle and also in the pill box that I carried in my fanny bag. We took them about every 4 hours. After 1:00pm, I did not take the Bayer Back & Body because they contain caffeine.

Hot tubs and pools in hotels helped but this was not done often enough. One morning, while in Green bay, I sacrificed my sleep for the pool. It was a very nice indoor pool and hot tub that was almost directly outside of our room. Another time, after doing the laundry, which means it was late, both Jim and I got in an outside pool. That night, in Yuma, Arizona, it was 100 degrees at midnight. Jim felt that it helped and was glad he had his swimming trunks with him.

Something else that helped with the pain associated with riding a motorcycle for us was family breaks. Whenever we were able to stay with family for a few days, we rode in their cars. This gave our bodies’ time to rest. Out of the 42 days, we were thankful for the 11 family nights.