Return to riding after injury

The main reason for avoiding clips is as CXR94Di2 states "found little pain until I had to unclip by twisting out". No point in unnecessary aggravation.

First gentle rides were just around the block staying close to home. The route is just over a mile and pretty flat, quite quickly I found myself doing 5x loops and starting venturing further afield. To begin with I didn't want to stray too far from home in case I wanted / needed to get back asap.

I was 2-3 weeks with a walking boot before the physio said go riding. I did mine all on a turbo trainer with clip ins. The first ride was about 10 mins very steady pace, I found very little pain until I had to unclip by twisting out.

In fact I like the turbo so much now I do 95℅ riding on my turbo.

At what stage of recovery are you now?

I've snapped metatarsals in both feet now at different times, the after care I was given in both instances had a huge effect on recovery times and future complications. 

After the first I was given none, when I felt up to it I just started going out for easy rides on flat pedals, the key thing is to avoid any impacts.

2nd time, after the cast was removed I was in an inflatable moon boot for a further 2 weeks and encouraged to walk still on crutches around as much as felt comfortable. Where the moon boot for longer than you think, the curved sole causes you walk heal to toe bringing more muscles into use.

I was also given the following exercises:

Stand on 1 foot on unstable ground. Start with a folded up towel then move onto cushions and pillows as balance improves.

Stand tiptoe on a low step and do 'push-ups'. Raise yourself slowly and back down slowly. Do in sets of 10 - 15.

In the evenings when relaxing, roll a tennis ball around on the floor under your bare foot.

The other thing I did same as before was to go for gentle rides, never straying too far from home and once again on flat pedals.

Another good and obvious one is swimming, good for fitness and won't put unnecessary stress on the bones or wasted muscle.

Best of luck.

Let pain be your guide. Personally I haven't had much luck with sports physios, as most of them don't have too much clue of what is a useful load for a well trained person. As an example as a Cat 2 racer I was told while recovering from a double hip operation that after a month I should try 20 - 30 minute rides by a sorts physio on a stationary trainer, after 3 months I should be looking at 40-50k rides. After consutling with my specialist I went my own way and was racing 200km after 4 months, the surgeon was very happy with the recovery. Physios are bound by an over exercised sense of caution lest they do some harm. However, most of them will say Let Pain Be Your Guide. If it hurts above 3/5 during the exercise stop the exercise, if it hurts more than 2/5 the following day, you went too hard.

Allow the bones to heal to the point where you can ride the bike (stationary trainer perferably) without them aching within the first 10 mins.

Losing some sprint fitness is inevitable, but you can maintain your aerobic fitness by doing as much zone 2 work as pain will allow. That way you will be able to regain maximum fitness within 6 weeks of full return of function.

I shattered theTalus bone in my right ankle, as well as having a number of smaller fractures around the ankle) at the start of September (hit by a van) and was only allowed to start any real weight bearing shortly before Christmas. My right leg is now half the size of my left.

I had my first go back on the bike on new years day - just 10 minutes spinning very gently on the turbo. My plan is to just take it very easy, slowly building up the time and the resistance but making sure that I don't push anything too much. It's not really worth thinking too much about structure for me at the moment - I'm still a couple of months away from being able to really do much with it. When my physios tell me to do more I will.

As everyone else has said, a good sports physio will be able to guide you through the recovery phase. It may even be a good chance to address any other physical issues, imbalances etc.

I shattered my calcaneus in a fall 2 years ago, wasn't allowed weight bearing for 16 weeks. Followed by 8 months of home physiotherapy with twice monthly visits to see sports physio. I started riding 5 months after accident. Just light easy rides for a couple of months. Eventually after a year I could stand up in the pedals and apply power. I'm. Walking normally now for up to 2 miles, can ride multi hours now without problems. My consultant is extremely pleased with my recovery and thinks I may never need surgery to fuse joint due to arthritis which is very common with my type of injury.

Steady riding with rest in between and regular physiotherapy will get you back in good form

As above really. Although when in Basic training in the Marines I had a pretty bad break at the base of the 3rd metatarsal after a couple of weeks rest I was in the gym doing whatever I was deemed fit to do by the remedial instructors. Which really backs up the above comment.

The best advice I can give you is to go and see a Sports Physiotherapist. They will be able to assess you and tailor an exercise regime around your injury. There are plenty of SP's out there - a 5min internet search should find you plenty in your area.