On Sunday I went for my first ride outside after surgery. I rode my rain bike on a solo modified 7 Hills of Kirkland loop and felt like a puppy off the leash, a wind-driven cloud, a butterfly freed from its cocoon, a plastic bag finally joined with its brethren in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Oh wait, sorry, not that last one.

My left leg felt both awesome and terrible. Awesome, because I didn’t have any of the excruciating pain I’ve come to expect on rides. That means that the surgery worked!

I’ll take another moment to savor the experience of my legs feeling the same throughout a ride.

My left leg — and right leg, for that matter — felt pretty terrible, too, but just because I haven’t ridden in eight weeks. My cycling fitness seems to have evaporated completely in that time. But that’s fine, because I have two working legs, and I can work as hard as I want to build back up.

After that first ride, I rode Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Before my surgery, I couldn’t have ridden four days in a row like that. By Wednesday, my legs felt fatigued and I rode slowly, but again, it was normal amount of tiredness. Both my legs rested and recovered overnight, and I was able to keep going the next day.

Today I took the day off of biking and walked to and from the bus, but I did floor exercises — sit-ups and push-ups and the like. It felt great.

I’m so thrilled to be getting active again. THRILLED.