Egadzman

I'm 11 days post op. my 2wk follow up is in 2 days. I'm hoping I'm cleared!!! If not ill follow the rules but will be gritting my teeth till I am....

I'm a tourer and an evening ride is rarely less than 20mi, I commute 23 each way to work when I can, and we'll do 125-250mi rides every other weekend. This is just my opinion in order of importance..... Fit---the seat too low, or too high, or too far forward, or too far back is one of the biggest culprits. It's all about physics. You have three points of contact....hands, feet, and butt. You need to find balance. Putting a little more weight on the hands can take major pressure off the butt. A pro bike fit might be overboard for most. Google "bike fit". There are plenty of great references out there. Saddles---Padding can be a problem. It compresses and bunches as you pedal and ends up in places you don't want it. The plain leather saddle or lightly padded gel saddle is a good choice. Bike shops will usually let you try a saddle for 30 days. Shorts/bibs--- you get what you pay for. Buy a national brand (like pearl Izumi) at a bike shop and get fitted. Spend $100. You'll be a lot happier and they should last for 5+ years. Oh...and don't wear anything under them!! Lube---an often overlooked gem. I slather either "Butt Butt'r" or Bag Balm on my parts. Call it a couple tablespoons. It kinda helps all the pieces down there slide into a comfortable spot. :-/ I hope this helps. Biking is such a great low impact activity because you can see a lot more of your neighborhood, it's practical (get a backpack and get a few groceries or run an errand) and almost everyone can do it. Have fun and be safe out there.

You wouldn't know it from looking at me but I really enjoy long bicycle tours. I'm talking rides that last over 2 days and run up to 250+ miles or more. Caloric intake and hydrating is sooooo crucial to completing these rides. On an average summer day i might need up to a quart of water and 600-800 calories to Keep me going. Have any post surgery folks had any experience with events that run 6 hours and more? Thanks in advance for weighing in!!

I was going to suggest bike bibs. The shoulder straps help with the moobs, the bib controls belly flopping, and the butt pad helps with chaffing in the nether region. The tri singlet idea seems like a great suggestion.

I'm bringing this old thread back as an update. I did a 200k+ (130mi) bicycle ride Saturday. Weather was a little warm for WI at 80+F and I finished sub 9hrs. I am pleased to say I did this mock post surgery. My goal was to do liquids only and small sips. My meals included Ensure at 350cal every other hour and Hammer Perpeteum at 250cal in between. I needed a gel at the end as i finished the last 30mi into a 20mph headwind and needed an energy boost. I used a camelback too thanks to the previous poster and it really helped ease the hydration struggle. The biggest trick was Endomundo. It's an exercise iPhone app with GPS. Every mile (every 2.5-6 minutes) the phone wakes up and tells me how long it took to finish my last mile. That was my cue to take a sip or two. I never had to gulp. I had no problem getting up to a quart of fluids down per hour. Btw, surgery date is in 1 week. liquid diet starts this morning .... I'm going to put a tick mark on my calendar in 1 year to bring this thread back again and report how my time differed after some significant weight loss. Ok.....back to lurk mode.....

Interesting. You had me at "shot"

You could try weight lifting wrist straps to augment your grip.

It looks like you make it in bulk?

No, not running. Biking. It takes me 3-5 min to climb the hill and about 30 seconds to get down hitting about 40mph. 90% agony, 10% terror. And that's on the road. Can't imagine what mountain biking single track would be like.....

Hmmmm...workout or event? My toughest event is the National 24hr bike challenge in Grand Rapids, MI every Fathers Day weekend. Whoever goes farthest in 24 hrs wins. My goal has been 300 miles. The best I've done is 220mi. The winner typically hits high 500's..... Hardest workout, like I might do on a weekly basis? I do HIIT hill climbs at 15% grade where my vision narrows and gets a red tinge. One of these days I'm going to puke or pass out. What a rush!!

Not in Wisconsin is don't...I woke up to snow. Ugh! Wondering if I'll ever be able to get my bike out!

Here's what a dork I am. Using iTunes I tracked the beats per minute of the music I like. I bike mostly and I like an RPM in the 85-95 range. So I have a playlist called biking with all the music sorted by bpm. AC/DC might be followed by Lester and Earl by Molly Hatchet. It helps me keep a solid consistent cadence which help me pace myself on long rides.

Just had my first NUT consult. They told me to look for 1g protein per 1g carb. They said you need some carbs during the healing stage and specifically said don't do zero carb the first 6 wks.

Don't trust those dopey HR monitors built into machines. Stop exercising, find ur pulse, starting at zero count the beats for 6 sec and stick a zero on the end. Salt in your diet, hydration, how you hold the sensors.....all this and more plays into thier accuracy.

Don't want to go shirtless? No prob. Rent a wetsuit. You'll fit right in AND knock a few seconds off your swim time. www.wetsuitrental.com

Food is such a huge part of it. I ride 3000-4000 miles per year and I'm getting sleeved this summer (hopefully!)..proving that you can eat your way through any exercise program. Everyone is different. If I'm working out(riding) 2 hrs or less I really don't need to eat more beyond my normal diet. You need to journal and track exercise and food and watch how it affects your weight over a long period. For me I hope the sleeve gives me another tool to slow down my eating and to trigger that full feeling.

Salmon gets dry when it's overcooked. Ever had salmon sushi? It's like butter.... The trick is to pull the meat from the pan when it's still slightly rare and let it rest for a minute on the plate. As Alton Brown says " if its done in the pan its overdone on the plate". This is true for most meats. I usually stick a finger in the thickest part of the meat to test the firmness. The softer the rarer. Do this every time you cook meat and you'll get really good at it. I suppose if you have a decent instant read thermometer you could look for a temp of 125 in the thickest part....