Cycling Away from Chronic Illness...

[Sheila]

It's a tough dilemma, and I totally support you in discerning for yourself what is best for you.

Another option that occurred to me is that bike tours always have a way of getting people a car or van if there is an accident or illness.

[Mike]

It's a tough dilemma, and I totally support you in discerning for yourself what is best for you.

Another option that occurred to me is that bike tours always have a way of getting people a car or van if there is an accident or illness.

It is a tough dilemma and thanks for your support.

As maddening and impossible as the situation is, I think the solution at this point is to stop worrying about it:) For my solo tours I actually have a lot of choices about how much I take on. For instance, I could put together a shorter trip that has almost no road riding. Also, we have a bike rack for the car now so I could put that on in advance in case I need to be picked up. The other thing that I think might be helpful is to just plan on it being an overnighter (one night). Less pressure this way... If I am lucky enough to feel good the next day I could always tack on another day. The camping areas for the first two nights are ideal. Free, scenic, waterfront, and on night two there's a police station, fire station, and ambulance company within 50 yards of my tent. So I am really pretty lucky as far as the opportunities close by here...

[Luc]

Mike, I meant to ask you; at some point, you mentioned that up to 15 mins of physical exertion is ok for you, but, if you exceed it, your body reacts pretty badly. Do you still experience this 15 minutes barrier? What about a very intense exercise, but not exceeding the 15 minutes' mark? How does your body react to such? Thanks!

[Mike]

Thanks for asking, Luc. Fifteen minutes has always been the threshold (for 14+ years). I haven't tested it recently but last summer it was triggered after mowing the lawn for 20 minutes. So I assume that nothing has changed.

As far as intense exercise for less than 15 minutes. 2.5 years ago I exercised intensely for about 8 minutes and did have a horrendous reaction--one of my worst. I generally tolerate very short periods of more intense exercise (e.g. climbing several flights of stairs for a couple of minutes).

It seems that whenever the "feel good" chemicals are released my body over compensates. So I may briefly experience, mental clarity, elevated mood, but it's almost invariably followed by some combination of depression, confusion, irritability and sometimes even rage.

There are a couple of other interesting elements:

1. The SS-like symptoms seem to be protective. If I am experiencing these symptoms I don't get the full blown reaction. This was why I was able to exercise intensely for more than a year. But lately even the presence of the SS-like Sx doesn't help.

2. Intense sleep deprivation (<3 hours) completely prevents the exercise reaction.

In both of the above situations my feeling is that those neurochemical states are so ingrained or dominant that my body is "stuck" in that mode and this prevents the wild physiological swings that normally occur in response to exercise.

[Luc]

If all these phenomena weren't connected with so much pain, I'd say it's nothing short of fascinating. How it all works... especially the sleep deprivation part. Incredible. Thanks for all the info, Mike.