The Next Step in The Next Chapter

My neurosurgeon gave me the green light today, I'm very happy with that news. And our conversation went something like this:

Get a lateral x-ray of how it looks today.
That's good, now lets look at the pin sites (the back ones are slowly coming around)
Take the neck brace off and show me how you can move (not much)
That's good, time to get the x-rays for flex and extension.
[pause while the system does its thing]
back in the office to look at the results
"so, it's been nice meeting you"... it all looks good, unless something changes I have no medical reason to go back.
Me: physio? treatment? prognosis?
Dr: they're too harsh, work your way back gently and don't rush it. 95% return of neck function is about right
And then we talked about bike races, Italy and life in general. I promised to give him a photo from the Giro d'Italia that he intends to use as the source for a painting (I will give him 2, haven't decided on which ones yet).

I call that a great day.

And here's my new look, the pin sites take a little getting used to.

A thinner neck, no supporting brace