2000 miles with more added

In July 2015, I first used an FES bike at Younkers Rehabilitation in Des Moines. It was a great experience that I was thankful I could enjoy. Now, eight years later, it's still an activity that keeps on giving.

I have written frequently about the benefits of biking. Late in 2022, two of my skin sores were officially declared healed. When I'm able to bike, my skin tends to do well. A month ago, I wasn't able to get on it for a couple weeks and my remaining sore became much worse.

Every Monday, I receive a summary of my previous week's bike sessions as well as a total of all sessions. The latest report showed I have officially pedaled more than 2000 miles in 609 sessions. According to Google maps, I could get from my home in Iowa and go to either Seattle or Los Angeles and still have miles left to go around the city. Alternatively, I could nearly make a trip to New York City, or Houston, TX and back. Averaging more than three miles per session, these would be very slow trips, but they at least happened.

When many people look at my legs, they may think they never move or do much of anything useful. However, they have done a fair amount of pedaling under their own power. In a 30-minute session, I've

seen them do anything from 0 seconds to more than 11 minutes without the bike's motor assisting. Looking at the graphs, it's a very bumpy roller coaster for how much they do (red line). It isn't at all close as to how other cyclists perform (blue line), but my legs have been lazy for several decades. Getting them to do anything productive is a reason to rejoice.

However much time they give, I'm thankful God has allowed me to use this technology. As I said initially, this is something that wasn't even dreamed about when I was injured. God has used this to increase my muscle tone, decrease muscle spasms, increase circulation, and help improve skin problems.

With my parents gone this week and having extra caregivers, I was able to bike three more times since the latest report. Adding more than nine miles to my total is fun, and I look forward to seeing how long God allows me to use this device and everything done through it.