Back on the bike.

DavidTQ

Well its better late than never... I've been off the bike for commuting since last year, I had some illness problems that left me hardly able to climb up stairs let alone cycle, had a stay in hospital where I was fainting etc, but for a good few months now Ive been on a medication which makes me feel pretty much "normal", whilst I was off the bike I was getting a lift from a guy who took 5 of us in every morning, so that was "easy", then he moved and no longer did the run so I used my own car for a while . Now one of the other guys who used to get a lift has got himself a car and a provisional license. So Ive got a new commute route. I cycle to his house and then play driving instructor for the rest of the journey.

Its only 2 miles, but it means completely not using the car for work and back and not paying someone else for a lift, as Im doing the guy a favour helping him get driving experience.

My new route is blissfully cycle lane free, avoids the most hated sections of my old route, and has one nice hill which no longer comes at the end of the commute but about half way through a far shorter one

Done the run for the first time this morning, the routes so short I cant even be bothered with the helmet cam - the use of which was mainly inspired by one nasty section of road along the old commute that I now no longer have to brave.

I couldnt find my baggy shorts in time, so went full lycra for 2 miles will definetly be going baggies and padded boxers most of the time, full lycra is overkill for such a short commute. Still as short as it may be I approached it as a 2 mile sprint this morning, and was rewarded with the feeling of lungs full of blood :roll: . Ive barely been on the bike in a long time, and thought the journey was so short there was no point in pacing myself at all

Good to know that the car is going to be mostly unused again now, and even if its not much exercise its "something", enough to wake me up and energise me for the morning.

Really for such a short commute my road bike is complete overkill, unfortunately I only recently gave away my spare hybrid... now I get to worry all day about if my bike is safe being locked up in his back garden with about £10 worth of two locks, one a halfords cheapy and the other an even cheaper lidls special.

Chaz.Harding

DavidTQ wrote:

I approached it as a 2 mile sprint this morning, and was rewarded with the feeling of lungs full of blood

Holy crap..!!

What did you do in the first place to get injured?? You alrite? :shock:

And breaking your own speed records, NOTHING is overkill!

And, can you not put your bike in his house?? If it's your pride and joy, it's definitely worth asking!

cjcp

Good man. Welcome back to commuting!

Lycra isn't overkill for two miles at all. In fact, you should buy a pro team kit. Lampre?

lost_in_thought

Good to hear you're back, the illness sounds dreadful!

And no, lycra and a road bike definitely not overkill for 2 miles. TT bike? :P

DavidTQ

bigchazrocks wrote:

DavidTQ wrote:

I approached it as a 2 mile sprint this morning, and was rewarded with the feeling of lungs full of blood

Holy crap..!!

What did you do in the first place to get injured?? You alrite? :shock:

And breaking your own speed records, NOTHING is overkill!

And, can you not put your bike in his house?? If it's your pride and joy, it's definitely worth asking!

The lungs full of blood feeling is just one I get from extreme spot physical exertion, leaves me with a chesty cough and a taste of blood at the back of my throat for a good few hours, sometimes coughing up minor ammounts of blood, nothing major just the feeling that Ive over done it a bit. Its nothing to do with the longer term illness. Its just going too heavy, Im naturally better at long endurance than short sprints, I ran the london marathon without training once, just because I was running in a crowd and so could use other people to maintain a "sensible" pace...

Ive used a heart rate meter in the past and generally get the feeling when I spend more than minute or two at around 210. Simply going that little bit further and racking up to 215 and within a minute or so I will also come over very weak and ill as well. Again nothing to do with long term situation, just simple over exertion.

The long term illness, was an intestine thing, diorreah and massive bouts of nausea, and a whole slew of long term vitamin and mineral deficiency related issues leaving me with all manner of lovelly symptoms.

I have to say that fainting was a very very odd experience basically it was caused by my blood pressure going too low to sustain flow to the brain, I felt I needed to lie down so I stood up went to walk to the bed, and I just remember feeling ill and suddenly there were people all round me dragging me on to a trolley and I was feeling very very odd, paralysed, couldnt move at all, after a few minutes I was able to roughly move my hands and arms but they were all very stiff and at odd angles, and felt really strongly of pins and needles and I was still very very light headed. Apparantly someone caught me before I hit the floor, I dont know if I was walking slightly oddly or something , but a cleaner happened to be nearby and obviously saw me going and caught me in time... I was unaware of what had happened until I had been horizontal for long enough for my brain to switch on again

The doctors have over time thrown lots of different pills at it, taken ridiculous ammounts of blood tests, and all sorts of specimines, Ive seen far more of my internals than Id care to, and basically they are stumped... Theyve not established a cause or trigger. Theyve tried me on lots of odd diets and allsorts they cant find what causes it, but theyve found a tablet which knocks out 99% of the problem with minimal side effects and were going with it, it has to be said I feel a world of difference. I must have been on the tablets for 6 months now and its night and day, they might not know what it is but if they have it under control thats good enough for me.

I also learnt just how worthless that private health insurance is as well, they either have loop holes for everything or my circumstances were just coincidentally hop skip and jumping all over the rule book. Mind you its free with the job so I guess I get my moneys worth out of it. If there was a cash alternative Id take it

Basically the only thing the insurance could have covered was paying the consultant I was already working with to see me as a private client, however that wouldnt even in this situation have sped things up, the consultant wasnt slowing things down, I wasnt on 6 month waiting lists or anything, I think the longest I ever waited was 2 weeks...

The over exertion thing Ive always had its just my bodies way of saying "slow down a bit" Im terrible for pushing myself on a bike though. The only way I can keep at a calm pace is if I ride with someone and pace myself to them. Ive hit my physical limits plenty enough to be intimiately familiar with the various stages of having over done it .