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**Turbofurball** · #16 24 Apr 2024

Quote:

Originally Posted by markharf

FWIW, I had a knee replacement 5 or 6 years ago—was driving 4 days later(very cautiously), riding mountain bike in two months (ditto), skiing the next fall. Second knee replacement scheduled in 3 weeks, so I’m currently wandering around skiing and biking for all I’m worth (which isn’t as much as it once was, but still….).

A year sounds unduly pessimistic from where I sit.

To counter that, when I had my leg put back together the surgeon said I'd be able to go running in about 4 months ... it took me about 2 years to be able to walk without a limp, I still limp when I'm tired, and I can't jog more than maybe 20 meters without being in pain. The surgery was coming up on 8 years ago.

**markharf** · #17 24 Apr 2024

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbofurball

To counter that, when I had my leg put back together the surgeon said I'd be able to go running in about 4 months ... it took me about 2 years to be able to walk without a limp, I still limp when I'm tired, and I can't jog more than maybe 20 meters without being in pain. The surgery was coming up on 8 years ago.

I’m sorry to hear of your ongoing experience. It sounds horrendous.

I don’t know what sort of surgery you had, but I was addressing only the previous post, which was about an upcoming knee replacement—an operation which has become very common and fairly standardized. In most cases—note the qualifier—recovery is rapid.

It is not, however, complete in the sense of returning us to full, pain-free function. My titanium and chrome steel knee still hurts sometimes, has a restricted range, and doesn’t like being kneeled on. Jogging, even for 20 meters, is entirely out of the question. But I’m headed in for the same procedure on my other knee because it’s so much better than the alternative.

I don’t expect that any selection of gear (tents, hammocks, sleeping pads, cots) OR surgeries will allow me to return to camping comfortably in the manner I used to. I’ll just keep trying to adapt as best I can to new realities and continue to pursue what’s fulfilling in life….while complaining a lot about how everything hurts and nothing works the way it’s supposed to.

**Turbofurball** · #18 25 Apr 2024

It was insertion of a metal rod to sort out a messily broken tibia, for which they had to move stuff in my (still biological) knee and then put it back again, and the knee is where the discomfort and instability is ... anyway, the point I was trying to make is that different people heal at different rates and sometimes get different surgery outcomes, your reply came off as a bit flippant

**Homers GSA** · #19 3 May 2024

Hey Eric

Be aware that there is reduced flex of the knee after surgery which normally maxes out at 125deg.

A normal knee is 140 to 145 deg.

In my case I was around 120 deg. This puts my knee at around the max flex when on many if not most adventure bikes, even the big ones.

I am 174cm tall so I think average ish for a male. I couldn’t ride my GSA anymore, even after adding wunderlich lowered foot pegs. Of course we are all different leg lengths etc so it’s not across the board for everyone.

I now hire scooters (ADV150 etc) when I travel, and a Speedmaster 1200 at home. I am hoping I can pull off buying a Honda X-Adv750 in Japan, getting it registered there, touring for five months, then shipping it home.

I’d rather have another GSA, but if Ted Simon rides a scooter, it’s good enough for me!