I’m easing back into biking regularly after taking most of July off to rest my hip. It’s still not 100%, but it’s manageable. I honestly don’t think the time off the bike made much of a difference. The soreness is in the front part of my left hip, and it happens on downward pedal strokes, as the hip is extending. Lowering my seat a bit made a huge difference with this. If the seat is too high, I get discomfort almost immediately. With the seat lower, it seems to put less stress on the hip joint. Occasionally it will bother me when I’m at rest, i.e. sitting at my desk or lying in bed; when this happens, a heating pad helps to relieve it. I’m pretty sure I caused the injury riding fixed gear with my saddle too high. It’s looking like my fixed gear riding days may be over. All you 20-something hipsters out there, enjoy it while it lasts. 🙂
On a positive note, the downtime from biking has allowed me to rediscover running. After about 6 weeks, I’m to the point where I can run around 2 miles, barefoot or with minimalist running shoes, 2 to 3 times a week. I’m hoping to be up to around a 5K distance by the end of the year. This time of year, I have to run in the morning, so on days I plan to run, I’ve cut back on my morning biking mileage so I can get to work earlier and run. This has worked out really well. The reduced biking has helped with my hip, and the running works different leg muscles (calves in particular) that don’t see much action on the bike. I’m hoping I can keep it up over the long term.