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Been riding the same rigid bike since 1994. I've long coveted a sleek, steel gravel bike, but could never really justify it. Then in April 2020 I caught COVID and it completely ****ed me. Haven't been able to ride since.
After 28 months I caved, accepted I wouldn't be getting back to normal any time soon, and ordered an e-bike on C2W so I could at least do slightly more than the daily trudge round the park. It's not sleek, or steel, or gravel. But still!
My first NBD since I was a teenager. It's a Cannondale Tesoro Neo with a 250w battery and a Mahle motor.
- it can get me around without me really putting in any effort at all - it's kind of like when you're turning the pedals downhill, but still basically freewheeling. (On steep hills you have to change down a few gears)
- the range, at that level, is probably 20ish miles. It'll take me a good while to test that though
- so, Long COVID wise, that kind of means that time in the saddle is more pertinent than speed or distance. Today I managed 25 minutes to a cafe, 45 minute rest, and 25 minutes home, mostly flat. (I stayed in bed til midday to save up the energy). I'm pretty tired now but not absolutely destroyed. Which is promising.
- this is the first bike I've had with discs, which are great, and 700c wheels, which are huge. But I like them. Comfy.
- kind of wish the cable routing was as neat as the Orbea Vibe that Alex posted here the other day
- even though it's reasonably light as ebikes go, it's still pretty heavy! (17.5kg). Might bin the kickstand. But it doesn't feel heavy in use.
- the Mahle app is, in theory, a nerd's paradise - shows you how many wh / mile you're using, what assistance level you used and for how long, and all that jazz. But unfortunately it's still pretty erratic and won't always connect to the bike.
- but mainly, it's just really really ****ing great to be back on a bike and have the freedom to do some basic stuff again. Even if it is just to drink a cup of tea 5 miles away!
(edit, sorry for essay)
Where's that like button?
Oh and when you've had a sleep, get the grass cut....
Welcome back to riding. While you're cutting the grass, weed around that tree too!
Then in April 2020 I caught COVID and it completely **** me. Haven’t been able to ride since.
I know how this feels. March 2022 for me. Still trying to get over it now. I don't feel ill anymore but I feel like my muscles have been replaced with cotton wool. Exercise wipes me out but I've managed a few fun rides in the last month or so.
Enjoy the bike. I might have my own NBD early next year.
Welcome back.
Keep on keeping on.
That's ace! I was wiped out with long covid for around 18 months from March 2020 onwards as in I could just about walk slowly around a football pitch. I was loaned a Specialized Turbo Levo by an incredibly kind mate and it was a brilliant way of transitioning from walking back to eventually riding a normal bike again and a huge morale boost in its own right.
What worked for me was gradually reducing the amount of assistance I was using and then mixing it up with being back on my cross bike then eventually mountain bikes, but honestly, initially it was just brilliant being able to get back to high places. It's been a slow and really frustrating process and everyone's different of course, but I genuinely think that exercising within the limitations long covid placed on me was crucial to recovery.
I also, fwiw, found that light resistance training - I started using a TRX trainer and bodyweight stuff - with careful monitoring of HR levels and with extended recovery between sets, really helped me and was better tolerated than aerobic stuff initially at least.
Have fun and good luck with your ongoing recovery.
As eBikes go, it is pretty sleek, you'd not know at a glance
That is absolutely brilliant. Bravo for getting back on a bike 🙂
Just this very morning, I have taken delivery of an E-Bike (Orbea Rise H30). I can't wait to get it set-up (when I feel up to it!), and start cruising the local bridleways in comfort again.
I'm going to fit mudguards and a rack to mine too... looking forward to using it for getting to remote picnic sites 🙂
I too have found BWD's recovery to be inspirational... mainly because he seemed to change his outlook and became so patient about it all!
All the best with your new bike and ongoing recovery
That's a 250 acre park and I don't own a lawnmower! I might have to leave it to the council to deal with...
@BadlyWiredDog could you explain a bit more about your 'light resistance training'? You may need to use words appropriate to someone that has never done any training in their life! I've got a couple of 5kg weights which I use for a bit of lower back / core strength stuff (also seem to have developed Ankylosing Spondylitis via my Long Covid) - is that the kind of thing you mean?
@BadlyWiredDog could you explain a bit more about your ‘light resistance training’? You may need to use words appropriate to someone that has never done any training in their life! I’ve got a couple of 5kg weights which I use for a bit of lower back / core strength stuff (also seem to have developed Ankylosing Spondylitis via my Long Covid) – is that the kind of thing you mean?
So, I've always used weights and also bodyweight stuff like press-ups, pull-ups, dorsal and abdominal work, so I guess I do have a background there. When I was starting again after basically not being capable of doing anything at all, I started using a TRX suspension trainer as a more versatile addition to bodyweight exercises - there's loads of stuff on Youtube - plus some basic bodyweight exercises like squats - no weights - dorsal raises, abdominal curls. I kept reps low, a maximum of eight and monitored my HR trying to keep it below 100bpm and allowing at least 60 seconds recovery between each of three sets. Stretching / mobility work is good too. Ditto activation exercises and maybe some planking if your body will tolerate it. If you have light weights, that's also good, but start easy and build up gently.
I worked with a CAWS rehab coach for a month before my first vaccination knocked me back for six weeks or so, but arguably the most useful thing I got from that was keeping a spreadsheet where I recorded specific activity plus RHR first thing and HRV plus a subjective measure of how I felt - red, amber or green. That gave me a really clear idea of patterns, so I found that I could manage three days in a row of moderate activity for a while, but if I got cocky and tried four days, I had a really bad reaction to it.
I don't know how much you know about Post Exertional Malaise (PEM) but I found I reacted to overdoing things around 24 hours after the activity, but over time things gradually improved and I've now lost most of my symptoms bar some mild tinnitus and a bit of brain haze, I think fog overstates it. I honestly don't know how much is down to time, but I do genuinely think that activity within a careful envelope is positive - good brain chemicals, good physiological effects - and doing something positive is a big mental boost, similar to e-bike use.
Sorry, I don't know how much help that is. I think we're all different and while you can learn from others' experiences, it's very much a 'try it and see' sort of experience. One of my mates works for an outfit in London who specialise in working with CFS and long covid sufferers and he talks about 'bouncing the boundaries', so pushing things a little, but not so much you crash really hard and I found that quite useful.
The other thing that's worth looking at is dysfunctional breathing. A lot of long covid people aren't breathing correctly using their diaphragm, which causes all sorts of issues and follow-on symptoms. There was a free online breathworks therapy programme based on daily exercises from a consultancy in New York, I don't think it's still available, but I still have the details if you're interested, just drop me a PM and I'll forward the PDFs.
I too have found BWD’s recovery to be inspirational… mainly because he seemed to change his outlook and became so patient about it all!
That's really kind of you, I guess I worked out that being furious and frustrated was actually counter productive, so embracing some sort of acceptance - and I don't mean 'giving up' by that - really helped me cope with where I was hence meditation and just trying to appreciate being in the now. Great to hear you've bought a Rise, I suspect it'll make you smile.
Happy new bike day op . I find myself in a similar situation but not long Covid,I’ve rode mtbs for the best part of 20 years until March of this year when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which has affected my hands wrist’s and shoulders it’s been utterly life changing.Now the positive bit luckily I’ve got an early diagnosis and the meds seem to working and I’m contemplating trying to ride again albeit getting an E bike.I’ve never ridden an Ebike of any kind and I’m hoping when I can get my hands on one I’ll be able to enjoy a pedal in the woods again as it’s not just the peddling but the mental well being of being out in nature that I really miss.
Happy NBD. As a fellow long COVID-er (albeit slightly different flavour) I can confirm that getting out on a bike has done more for my wellbeing than anyting else. Hope it continues to bring you joy and expand your world.
Nice one! I’ve had LC since March 2020. After talking to BWD i bought an ebike about 3 months ago. It has really changed things for me. I definitely feel like I’m on the mend. Out of the boom and bust cycle and gradually increasing the exercise without a relapse.
Best of luck fella.
Love this! Thanks for posting 👊
Looks great that @doris5000. I'm getting pannier envy 🙂
Hopefully, if you can shake at least some of long Covid, you can use a bit less assistance. It's helpful that those motors just dish out the power regardless of what you're putting in (as long as freewheel is engaged). I've ridden mine around 100km in two weeks and it's still a good workout on the lower settings. 40km/650m of climbing was 50% of the battery. It does drain it pretty quick in turbo tho as you have found, but you're still getting out and about and have a decent range.
I've had no issue with the MAHLE app, it even talks to my Fenix if I set it to broadcast heart rate. On that not the Garmin integration is fantastic if you have one of those.
Anyway good luck and great news you're back riding 🙂
That's excellent OP 🙂 Not had covid,but currently in a CFS relapse,so similar to what I imagine long covid to be like, and have been looking at getting an e-bike front wheel kit to add to one of mine as we can't stretch to a new e bike.
Lots of what BWD said rings true to advice I got from a CFS clinic years ago. I got out of my initial bad spell when I was able to do more by doing the 'Body by science' weights approach. One set of dead lift, bench, shoulder press and row with super slow reps once a week. Any aerobic fitness I had was totally and utterly tanked, was hardly off the sofa and exhausted walking at all, but I could manage the weights if I paced it right , chose the best day and had enough recovery. More importantly I think the resistance training got me some strength back to start to gently work in some more aerobic fitness,and by that I mean walking to shop, around the block, or something fairly minor. It certainly marked the start of me improving.
Aerobic fitness for walking and cycling was a long time coming, but it did improve massively over time, though I had to make sure I didn't 'burn matches' or I'd really suffer. After a while (few years) long steady road rides were fine and steady gravel, but on/off hard MTB type efforts were no use to me at all. And back to back days of any riding saw me knocked back badly. With my current relapse I'm back to the level you are with your e-bike cafe ride, once or twice a week at best and suffering for it after, so I shouldn't do it, or I should order that front wheel kit I've been looking at so that I can do it and stay in the green, or atleast amber.
Glad you're enjoying the e-bike and glad you've posted as it's prompted me to re-assess my own situation and hopefully move on. Ta.
Now I’m far from an E Bike hater so I wouldn’t be knocking you anyway, but how anybody can be anti them when they enable long term cyclists like yourself get back in the saddle is beyond me.
Good job with the purchase, and good luck with a long and happy continued hobby.
Thanks all! I'll post some updates now and again as I (hopefully) improve. Interesting to hear other people's tales too - I've also picked up AS since getting COVID so there's a lot to unpick. But I've got appointments with the Long COVID clinic and a rheumatologist next month so maybe I'll get some more ideas.
Annoyingly, the day after this I felt terrible! The cafe jaunt was one day after cycling to work, so I did a total of about 90 minutes on the bike (on top power) plus 5 hours in the office, (a post-COVID record) in 2 days. Seems like that was over my limit. Sounds like you Longdog...!
Anyway, good luck to everyone else getting over Long COVID, CFS and everything else! It's miserable but there is light at the end of the tunnel. In 10 years time let's all cycle to a cafe in the middle for a celebratory brew!
BWD - I'll DM you 🙂
Glad the bike is enabling you to get out. Sounds horrendous. I know of two people still very ill, one from October 20 (two years) and another more recently - 3-4 months off work.
Here's a thing that has been keeping me sane/motivated too:
I've mentioned it before, but it's really good. I've saved about 40 rides to cafes/pubs, from a 9 mile round trip to 36. So far I have managed... 2 of them. It might take another year to get up to a 36 mile round trip, even on an ebike (at least I hope it's not much longer than that!). But it gives me something to aim at. Every time I have a really crap day I go on here and plan out another route I'll do when I'm able. It's all a bit fantastical but it helps me stay optimistic... Recommended for fellow sufferers 🙂
Been doing a bit more on the bike. It's great. Haven't driven the car since I got it, and I'm really enjoying exploring some nearby towpaths and cafes. Managed 14 miles today in turbo mode (with a cafe stop halfway) - though with temperatures at 3C it took nearly 90% of the battery! And only about 180m climbing.
I recently started on fairly hefty anti-inflammatories for a different, new and exciting health condition, and I think they're helping the fatigue too, so that's encouraging - hoping I can manage some slightly longer rides soon.
Mahle have updated the app - it's slightly clearer to use in some respects but I still don't rate it! It disconnects at every cafe stop, and then refuses to reconnect. So it's not much cop for recording rides. Fortunately the Cannondale app is fairly good for that. I've now done 136 miles in the two months that I've had it. Which is about 134 miles more than I did in 2021!
Can definately sympathise. I've had cfs for nearly 6 years now Used to be pretty fit, race in local western league cross league, crit racing, tt's etc. Properly floored me. I didn't ride with mates for many years. . About 2 years ago i bought an ebike through the cycle to work scheme and it opened up so much. My cfs has very slowly got easier throughout the years to the point where i can hop on an ebike (althohg many ppl think its 100% no effort it still requires effort to mtb)