Bilateral knee replacements and cycling

[IamGroot]

I’m back from a 3 1/2 year absence after needing and having 2 on the same day knee joint replacements and am 7 months post op and a month ago felt well and strong enough to start push bike riding again. Wondering has anyone else had both knee joints replaced and have taken up cycling again.
With advise from my surgeon and a physiotherapist I'm riding an hour a day and have replaced the pool physio with the cycling.

At 61 my mountain bike competing days are behind me but I would love to get my fitness level back to where I can do social cycling and tour some of the Australian dirt tracks.
Before starting to cycle again my knees weren't making the click clacking noise and now that I'm doing a gentle 2 x 5k’s a day I have some click clacking.
To anyone who's had one or two knee joints replaced is the click clacking normal for the knee caps and with time will the noise go away.
I don't have any pain maybe just a little discomfort for the first 100 meters with the knees feeling tight but that's nothing new just another day during the recovery.
To anyone who's had the joints replaced I hope your journey has also gone well and once again you can smile and laugh.

[foo on patrol]

Good on ya.

Foo

[RonK]

I had a bilateral TKR just over two years ago. At that time my knees had degenerated to the point where I was barely able to walk across the street to my coffee shop, even with the aid of a walking stick. I used an e-scooter to get from home to the office.
The surgery and initial recovery and rehabilitation was surprisingly rapid and with very little pain. Sadly, resuming cycling has been a long and difficult path.
I don’t remember exactly, but I got back on the bike after around six months or so, initially riding flat paths near home. On the flats I could get along quite well, I but was surprised how much muscle strength I had lost whenever the there was any rise in the grade. I found it uncomfortable to push the pedals over the top of the stroke, and any kind of hill or hump was very difficult.
Eventually I decided to stop cycling until I was better able to put power through my knees. I have focused on walking but I’ve found it quite difficult to resume a natural gait, and also my balance has been affected as my legs are much straighter than they ever were and this has changed my stance. I’m getting better but have not yet reached a point where I can walk without thinking about it.
I’m now at the point where it’s no longer uncomfortable to walk up stairs and steep slopes and am about to make another attempt at cycling - this time I’ll start on an e-bike. I think it will be a long road regaining the muscle strength I took for granted over many years of cycling.
My advice to anyone has developing osteoarthritis and is facing a TKR is - do not put it off. The sooner you get it done the easier and faster your recovery will be. Yes it’s a daunting prospect but the actual procedure was not nearly as traumatic as I had anticipated.

[warthog1]

The e-bike sounds like a great plan.
Good luck with the recovery Ron and I hope you are out getting some miles in sooner rather than later.

[IamGroot]

Update: the click, clacking has decreased and the physiotherapist said its normal for some and its just the knee caps and nothing to be concerned about. With the onset of the lovely 6 cooler months I'm looking forward to the 3 month stage where I'm allowed to get out and go further than an hour a day.

[Mububban]

Hopefully the new bike helps you and the dog get out there some more