Having asthma is kind of like winning the lottery, except it happens to more people and instead of money you win a chronic difficulty in breathing. I wouldn’t say I’m proud to be an asthmatic, but it’s not information I’m ashamed to share. In doing so, I often discover others who are similarly afflicted, and upon doing so we instantly go from being perfect strangers to perfect strangers who know something insignificant about each other.
My asthma attacks are experienced in a variety of forms, ranging in severity from a shortness of breath to “holy shit, I’m dying”. You can liken an attack to breathing through a straw with your nose plugged; depending on how bad the attack is, the straw keeps getting smaller, going from the wide one you get with a Big Gulp all the way down to those little ones you get with a coffee at a crappy diner. Cycling with asthma is like breathing through those straws while doing wind-sprints up a flight of stairs.
This straw-breathing effect is caused by the contraction of the airways leading to the lungs. The traditional treatment is to use an inhaler to suck in medication which dilates the passages and restores them to a size that allows for comfortable – if still sub-normal – breathing. There are newer, more effective treatments but many of them scare me because they cite side-effects like spontaneous death.
After 38 years, I’ve come to understand a bit about what causes my attacks. There is the cold-induced sort – which can be quite severe – but in my case will usually resolve itself throughout the first hour of riding to where it becomes a nuisance rather than an impediment. I also have acute attacks, which for about 32 years I believed were caused by an allergy to sawdust. These don’t resolve themselves and the condition gets worse until I intervene with an inhaler or a visit to the Emergency Room.
It wasn’t until I moved to Seattle and started having more frequent severe attacks that my doctor here pointed out that it was “crazy” to suggest I’m allergic to sawdust and inquired as to what kind of quack I had been visiting in Minneapolis who would tell me such a thing. He pointed out, quite logically, that I was simply allergic to something that was aerosolized in sawdust. As it turns out, this same element is present in whatever pine trees give off from October to May. Thanks to the Pacific-Northwest’s monopoly on pine trees, I now carry a rescue inhaler with me whenever I go training during these months.
The thing about being a Cyclist with asthma is that Cycling, as an endurance sport, is quite dependent on the rider’s ability to breathe well. In fact, I’ve found that the single most important factor to how well I’m riding on any particular day, regardless of how fat or out of shape I am, is how well I’m able to manage my breathing. The exciting bit is that training with asthma is a lot like resistance training; you get used to a reduced ability to draw oxygen into your lungs, thereby restricting the supply that gets to your muscles. Its like reverse blood-doping. You get used to it and your body adjusts to the reduced supply of gun fuel. Then, on days when the air is clear and warm, you ride like you’re on EPO. I call this the “EPO-Effect”.
I read some time ago that 80% of Pro Cyclists are diagnosed asthmatics who hold a prescription for an inhaler. This makes for a remarkable attraction of gifted endurance athletes to the most breathing-dependent sport on the planet. Surely this is because the EPO-Effect makes asthmatics strong like bull, not for the dilating effect the medication has on the air passageways.
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@frank
I hope you and she were on the very best of terms.
Twelve weeks? Jesus H. Merckx. I never suffered like that for my hallucinations.
I don't have asthma, thank Merckx, but I do have allergies. After many years of brute, pig-headed stupidity and chronic sinus infections I finally sought the advice of a doctor specializing in diseases of the holes and passages of the head. One of the things he told me to do was to visit an allergist. The allergist, a wise man, pointed out that although I was too stupid to realize it, it was clear that I had allergies that were making me more prone to sinus infections. After going through some tests to determine what allergens were most problematic, I started getting shots to de-sensitize my body to them. Now I just get a maintenance shot every 2-3 weeks and they have made a huge difference. I almost never take decongestants or antihistamines now and I no longer have chronic sinus infections.
If you know or suspect that certain allergens lead to asthma attacks, or if you just have allergies, it might be really helpful to consult an allergist.
@Optimiste
Hm. This analysis requires a re-posting.
Red-shorts Guy is possibly more awesome than Jan. Just on a Passion-to-Visual model, he's ahead. Although it goes without saying Jan is in the pain cave more than Red Shorts, Red Shorts is obviously feeling it more. Thats worth some points. I declare a draw.
I am certain I photographed Mick Rogers racing the same day, but I'm surprised to see him spectating just to RS's right.
And I had no idea Tiger Woods was a fan of cycling back in 2003.
@DCR
I had surmised they were ballet slippers. I was wrong. They are glorious. Strong work on the SunTour cap; I love them more than Campa, mostly because I can't prove how rad they were.
Strong work, all. Nice to be breaking some new ground.
I had "walking" pneumonia about three years ago. Despite the name I could barely get out of bed. A least I did not have to be hospitalized. And, I got an awesome inhaler out of it. This led to fantasies about the performance-enhancing effects said inhaler might have on my cycling. I promptly forgot about it. I wonder if it's still tucked away in the medicine cabinet somewhere.
For all the Jan love going on here it's clear that he hasn't read the rules.
@frank
My only asthma reactions have been the feeling of a very fat man sitting on my chest, and would show itself at night, during my most unfit out of shape state, and during the peak of fall allergies. Once while mowing the lawn as a kid.
My starvation of oxygen in the saddle has never encountered that same sensation. Although I'd have to point out my attempt to reach the tops of climbs prior to everyone else have certainly induced some near hyperventilating, as well as a few club training ride sprints. My lungs might disagree, and argue I'm trying to ruin them.
@scaler911
I take a small list of vaccines on account of being spleenless, and pneumonia is one of those. I had it once as a kid, and not having the infection fighting organ any more, just the word pneumonia makes me tremble.
@Beers
I wish it were that easy. Believe it or not, swallowing induces the change in pressure that creates the "bubble" that is in my ears. Yawning and tugging on my ear lobe like some padded room resident tends to jostle the fluid around and provide some relief, but the sniffing (not to be confuse with snorting a runny nose) has the best effect while hand are on the hoods. (provided its not a bad day, and the soreness builds and builds and culminates with an ear infection) This year I had to back off the intensity in October, and went through two rounds of antibiotics trying to rid my skull of one of my worst ear infections I can remember.
I'm going to start allergy shots ASAP. I live in the number 3 city in the US for allergies, and refuse to suffer this same set back next October!
Wow, Frank, I didn't realize. My best pal on my collegiate sports team had asthma. He'd have to sit out windsprints most days and you could just tell how much he hated not suffering through it like the rest of us. Made them a bit easier to know that at least I didn't have that hurdle to deal with as well.
Damn, black & celeste. Great color combination, nearly as slick as pink & black. Ah, Italian style!
Jan in Rapha? That's a disappointment. Fuck those guys. You mean, he hasn't read the Rules and realized it's all about true passion and where a simple machine can take your mind & spirit, not some duplicitous marketing aimed at stirring a false sense of spirit and love for riding bicycles?