How cycling has helped my chronic pain

Today we would like to share an especially heart-warming Bike Story from our community. Jarkko Repo reached out to us in response to our call for submissions and told us all about his relationship with cycling. His fighting spirit and sense of humor has made not just his life, but all our lives, a little better.

I read the epic stories from others – how they have been to the top of the world with their bikes. I enjoy watching videos from active bikers who journey across the globe.

But I’m not one of those cyclists. I’m a little over 40 years old, have had two back surgeries and have lived with neuropathic pain for over 20 years.

But I do bike. Well, I e-bike – to some there is a difference. I’m not able to ride for long; when I first started cycling again a few years ago, I could only manage short trips lasting less than 15 minutes. But it was enough to get me hooked on cycling. And if the pain hit while I’m en route, I could get back home with the help of the motor.

I moved to Spain from Finland for the warmer climate and have been biking more here. Within two years, I’ve been able to go from short 15 minute sessions to almost 2 hours. That is amazing progress to me! These days I’m able to cycle for almost 20 kilometers (12 miles). I have even started dreaming about an epic long-distance tour to the coast (that would be 40 kilometers / 25 miles each way).

One day I will do that.

We were intrigued and wanted to know more. Surely, many cyclists in our community live with invisible challenges such as chronic pain, asthma, coming back from an injury or surgery – and might relate to Jarkko’s story.

So we asked him to tell us more about himself…

Would you be comfortable sharing the details about the challenges you have faced living with chronic pain?

My first back surgery was in 2001 to remove two herniated discs (between L3-L4 and L4-L5), which left my leg almost totally paralyzed (I had to relearn to walk, but that was actually kind of fun to do).

The surgery was successful, but I still dealt with neuropathic pain which, in my case, presents as a stabbing pain in the left leg. Just before the vertebrae would have fused together after 15 years, the remaining small bits of the discs started to put pressure on the nerve again. So I had modern back surgery in 2016 to remove these parts, followed by a more than 1 year long rehabilitation period with lots of physical therapy. But the neuropathic pain has been constant for over 20 years now.

The pain is there because the nerve has had a lot of damage, and for some reason nerves sometimes keep sending distress signals even after the pressure/issue has been removed. I’ve managed the pain with all kinds of painkillers over the years, but these days I’m happy to report I don’t need to take anything on a daily (even weekly!) basis.

Do I always wear jeans, shirt and tie with a jacket? Yes. People usually don’t expect someone who is dressed like that to be cycling full force, but taking it easy. And I like this clothing, as wearing a shirt and tie forces my back into a better position.

What does cycling mean to you?

I’m from the Finnish countryside so I biked everywhere as a child – it was common in the 80s for kids to bike somewhat long distances by themselves. Once I got my driver’s license and moved into the city, I didn’t bike again for years.

To me, cycling is freedom! I’ve driven way too much in my lifetime and it always felt like pseudo-freedom, needing to find suitable parking, being aware of the danger cars pose for pedestrians and cyclists, etc. Cycling provides me with much more of an experience, even on short routes.

My husband and I used to travel a lot before moving to Spain. We tend to offset the CO2 emissions from our travels, but it’s still too much for the Earth if everyone traveled and consumed its resources like we used to. We decided to focus on traveling by bike and public transport from now on, we stick to a plant-based diet and don’t own a car. Of course this means we now don’t get very far in terms of distance.

Here’s a picture of one of our last trips before we left Finland for good: me and my husband in the United Arab Emirates, where we got to stay in the desert near Ras al-Khaimah. We went there because my doctor told me that warm weather might make a real impact on my pain levels. So we escaped there from the cold Finnish winter to test if moving to a warmer climate might help.

And it did. During our time there I was even able to ride a camel – not a bike – but still! At this point back home in Finland I had only ridden a few hundred meters on my bike while enduring lots of pain. Shortly after that, we moved to Beniajan, Murcia city, Spain.

We checked routes on Google Maps. But we could glimpse people cycling through the trees, on what we found out to be Via Verde, from our balcony. So I searched for a better app to plan bike trips. Luckily I found Bikemap, where I was able to see how to best get to Via Verde, and what we could find along the way.

How do you plan your routes?

Bikemap makes it easy, and I was pushed into the mindset of “I need to get to the top of the mountains” due to your excellent mobile app. The sense of achievement from reviewing our rides and the suggestions of the loop planner have inspired me to keep going.

I might have traveled a lot in my time, seen way too much, but when I’m cycling I actually achieve something more than just pictures of me standing around in different locations.

Seeing my own house from the nearby hill felt like I was one of those bike adventurers cycling in the Andes! To me, it was truly an epic journey.

My favorite routes are extremely boring – mostly just biking the nearby Via Verde (green road: no cars, just people walking and cycling among the citrus trees).

Where do you want to go next?

This is my dream route! I’m not even close to being able to take that short trip “into the mountains”, but getting closer every week. I crashed my bike rather badly at the beginning of the summer, but that only got me more into planning my way into the nearby hills.

I have no pics, as I haven’t been to the “mountains” yet. But one day, thanks to Bikemap, I will.

Thank you, Jarkko, for sharing your Bike Story with us. We have no doubt you will reach the mountains, and also the sea, and can’t wait to hear from you when you do!

Did you know?

The Via Verdes in Spain are spectacular car-free bike paths which run along former train tracks.

You can find more user-generated routes in Murcia, or any region, by searching for its region page on Bikemap.

Last two photos ©FFE-Vías Verdes
All other images provided by Jarkko Repo 🚲