After being a long time podcast listener I took the plunge & signed up to TR to help me train for Chase the Sun South - a ~200mile road event at the end of June. First month had been going well, but I broke a bone in my wrist last week which needs 6 weeks in a cast to heal up (end March).
Not being able to drive to the office means I “should” have more time for the turbo trainer, but know doing the high intensity sessions in my current plan will turn my cast into a stinky irritating biohazard
So, instead of the 3 mixed intensity rides the original plan had will a higher number of lower intensity Z2 rides be my best option for keeping things going until the cast is off?
Sorry to hear about the broken wrist. If you are worried about the cast smelling, lots of Z2 and good fans would be the best option. Or, you could look to get a washable cast put on instead of plaster, but I have not tried them.
For what it’s worth, I broke my radius bone snowboarding at the start of Jan (9th). Did a few more days of painful snowboarding unsupported, then got it X-rayed when I got home and had a cast put on the 16th. I did two weeks with the cast on still turbo training, then cut it off myself (1st of Feb) and used a brace for another two weeks. Mostly so I could wash better.
Seemed to work for me but each break and recovery time is different.
I’d second the washable cast or waterproof one. I thought they are the standard now for longer term casts. Both of my kids have gotten them and played soccer in them to no ill effects. My daughter had one that got pretty stinky, but that was due to the fact that she broke her hand at soccer practice the night before Junior Prom and had already had spray tan applied. Apparently spray tan starts to smell under the cast which was news to the orthopedic staff. They replaced the cast and no issues playing soccer 5 days a week with the cast.
I’ve not had one of those exo-skeleton looking washable casts, but that would’ve been life changing for me as a kid with the number of bones I broke. I’d definitely opt for that if possible.
For a conventional cast I’d recommend a shop vac during/after indoor rides….turn it on and run the hose all over the surface and around the openings. You can suck a lot of the sweat moisture out and/or use the blow function as well to run a lot of fresh air through it….and it feels really good to do. If you do that and don’t let a bunch of sweat/moisture stay in there, it’s not too bad.
I would keep training as normal and not just do z2.
The initial few weeks of being on a bike outside after being in a cast for 6 weeks are not comfortable, FYI. The vibration of pavement doesn’t agree with freshly healing bones. Big gravel tires and lower pressures help for this.
I broke a couple bones in my hand early in the 2024 season and some clip-on aero bars were the difference between quality workouts and unmanageable pain. Both for the trainer and eventually outside, able to take all weight off the hand/wrist and put it all on my elbow. I was in a soft removeable cast.
Thanks all for the advice. Aero bars are the only way I’m back on the bike already, interesting to hear it might be a good idea to keep them on - they’ll probably help my event time too!
I think I’ll do another week of Z2 to let my body focus on the wrist & then put my cooling fans to the test by adding intensity
