Boldly going where no woman has gone before.

Lesley wrote: Wait til you get older, knees will betray you.

Agreed, says the 54 y/o on SL a week after knee surgery.

Still unknown if I'll hafta give up the third pedal... how's that for motivation to take care of yourself.

At 42, I've had two operations on my left knee and I've got arthritis in my right knee, but never really blew it out. I honestly think knees are like wheel bearings. They last a bit, but they eventually will fail. They fail faster if you pound on them.

As for the article, good on her. I enjoy seeing news like this. We all are equal, but in practice we're not quite there yet. Maybe some budding female gear head will read this and make that her career path now.

How is doing squats and deadlifts pounding these knees?

I always heard that running is the worst on knees.

I was speaking in general pounding, however you want to do it. My father ran through his knees.

If I may disagree re: running, I'd say that bending in a manner they are not meant to is the worst on knees.

It doesn't pound them, but squats and lunges really wear at your knees, especially if you don't make absolutely sure that your position is perfect. My one knee "clunks" during lunges, and both knees ache after doing a lot of squats. Helps if you stick your butt way out.

mtn wrote: Every driver in the field will require more stamina than the tire persons (see, I didn't say tire guy). None of them will be swimming 2 miles, running 26.2 and then biking 100.

I didn't mention a decathlon at all. But now that you did, I would bet that most tire persons could do one better than the average.

just for the heck of it ... that's not a decathlon .. it's a triathlon ... ( yeah I know ... picky picky picky )

Lesley wrote: It doesn't pound them, but squats and lunges really wear at your knees, especially if you don't make absolutely sure that your position is perfect. My one knee "clunks" during lunges, and both knees ache after doing a lot of squats. Helps if you stick your butt way out.

FWIW I've never experienced any knee trauma to my knees doing squats or lunges ... running now is a different story ...

both knees have been 'scoped, there's more torn cartilage in the left, arthritis in both and loads of inflammation in both ( pain in the back of the knees ... probably involving the meniscus and the ligaments ) yet stair climber, squats, and lunges don't seem to be a problem .... well stairs do occasionally

running on the other hand .... .. I was a 30 mi/wk runner off and on for more than than 35 yrs ... weight fluctuated between low 200's (when not running ) to 165 when in the best running shape ... I blame poor running technique ( heel strike runner as opposed to a fore foot runner) + the fluctuating weight for most of my problems ...

I've never been a dedicated runner, but I know riding took a toll on my knees, especially the 15-20 years I spent jumping. Again, learning proper position helped a lot, just like lunging your knee shouldn't be over your foot (90 degree shin) and your bum should be back.

For whatever reason it's always been my left knee, it got dislocated three times back in my motorcycle daze. Off road racing is already hard on knees because you have to crouch and basically use your legs as a secondary suspension. Plus, I broke the damn thing too. At 54 it's not as big a problem as I thought it would be but in another 10 years or so... but ya know smething? Had I known then what I know now, I still would not have changed a thing. Well, maybe the crash that broke my leg.

Exactly the same in riding, you're the shock absorber. Really helped when I bought stirrups that had springs within the shanks. All the crazy-ass things you do when young really come back to haunt you, but yeah, those scars all tell a story.

Amazing! She's in incredible shape!

Lesley wrote: . Really helped when I bought stirrups that had springs within the shanks.

Damn that's clever!

Yah, they're great, just like little shocks.

dampers even

She's pretty rad.

Yeah, she'd almost convince me to turn

Left and right? (Bad Danica joke. )

Funny thing about knees... I've torn both ACL's, had 4 knee surgeries, including an ACL reconstruction on the R one, have little to no cartilage left, and was told I'd be on painkillers until the R one was replaced. Six years ago I started racing motocross again, and haven't taken a painkiller since. It used to swell up after race day, but that stopped after season one along with the pain.

First pic is probably right after a workout, she still has a pump. Most likely would look "softer" about 30-60 minutes after, like how she looks in videos and walking around.