dragon ride

[feath machine 39]

Hello everybody i am new to the forum.Been cycling about 2 years and done handful of 100 mile sportives Iam registered for this years dragon ride 200 k event .I have just had knee athroscopy am wondering if i can get the training in and will knee be up for it .How tough is this ride folks? Looking for some good advice from you lovely people
Thanks FEATH

 

[Banjo]

I havent ridden the 200k dragon route but I have ridden all the roads that make the route at one time or another.

None of it is savagely steep but there is a lot of climbing to do . The Bwlch from Port Talbot is 14 miles but most of it is easy riding, only the last few miles require bottom gear.(and I am not a strong climber)

Impossible to say about your knee but you can change to the 120km ride just by informing them on the day.The 120 medio only has one big climb up the Bwlch as well as several smaller climbs so would be more achievable .

I have entered the 200 but will quite happily switch to the 120 if i dont feel ready for it.

Good Luck

 

[Fiona N]

I assume you'll have been given advice about not riding for a day or two then starting back gently. I'd stick to that - the consultants tend to err slightly on the conservative side but that's better than the opposite. Once the post-op swelling goes down, keep an eye on the knee - if it starts to get puffy or swollen, you're definitely doing too much.

I'd aim to get back to training for the hills over a couple of weeks otherwise you might find that you're stressing the joint too quickly. It does depend on what you've had done, though. I've had both ligament repairs (on both knees) and meniscus surgery and the latter took longer for the swelling to go down post-op but, after the former, it was quite a lot longer before the knee felt 'back to normal' in terms of being able to put some power into pedalling. But with care a lot is possible: three weeks after the meniscus surgery I climbed Mt Kenya as acclimatisation for Kilimanjaro.

 

[mitch]

i rode the dragon last year and it was a great route ,longish not too steep climbs suits me well .im entered this year in the 200km but theyve changed the route so im not sure about the new route ,as for your knee well you wont know till on the day but my advice is drink plenty ,if i dont i end up with knee trouble

 

[PaulB]

The great Ron Hill ran the morning of and the day after his arthroscopy. He didn't want to break a streak going back something like 28 years without missing a day. As running is less forgiving on the knees than cycling (weight bearing V rotation, it's obvious which is less troublesome) this shows what can be done if you are smart enough to avoid the doom and gloom from the orthopod wanting to be over-cautious.

 

[feath machine 39]

I tell you what Paul Ron is more a man than me but I will keep trying sure it werent Jesus

 

[mattsccm]

I had quite a hefty version of the op and it caused no issues. I found and still do that position can be an issue. My slack angled full suss bike puts me further behind the BB which hurts the knee abit. No more now though than 2 days after the op 30 months ago. Twiddling also makes it worse while pushing high gears is no problems. What I do notice is the knee seems less stong. Dunno why, no muscles were really touched. Give it a day or two then go out gently.