Back in the Saddle
14.5 mi, 949 ft Today is special. An entire year after the left hip started hurting , finally back in the saddle for a hill ride. Rewind. 2018, a summer of pain and limping, of physiotherapy and rehabilitation . And the pain goes on, and on. January 2019, switch to the zero-deductible mega super platinum health insurance plan with both fewer tax benefits and many fewer disincentives to stay away from medical treatment. X-rays, MRI scans, and a terrifying visit the the "musculo-skeletal oncologist" later, led finally to a (mercifully benign) diagnosis. The pain transpired to have been in no respect psychosomatic, and probably not aided by the months of vigorous hip flexor massage. Myositis ossificans: the rectus femoris hip muscle sort of got mangled and damaged, presumably from all the biking, then instead of healing back into muscle... turned into bone. An odd decision on the part of the rectus femoris, but would explain quite neat...