5/22/15 10:07 AM

I had blood work done recently. And the only thing they pointed out was I was very low on Vitamin D. WTF, I live in southern Arizona!

I'm on 5000iu daily for 3 months, then 2000iu after that.

Sandiway

5/22/15 11:05 AM

Perhaps it is because you are too fit (lean).

5/22/15 12:00 PM

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Perhaps it is because you are too fit (lean).

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5/22/15 12:07 PM

"I'm so fat I sometimes despair of getting rid of this spare tire... "

But is it a 28C, 35C or..... ?


Two friends which I ride with often, whom do not ride at least 4 times a week as I manage to, have the 'spare' more than I. Simply cause and effect for me. I bet if I rode less I'd have a bigger one...

By the time July get around and the mile I manage, I start to actually not have one... [almost] If I could only stop eating...

It does not seem to effect my power much, low as it is anyway. ;)

5/22/15 1:57 PM

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But is it a 28C, 35C or..... ?

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5/22/15 2:19 PM

There is a guy our age on some of the club rides I would ride. He had quite the protuberance, he was always up front with the group of 3-5 that would splinter off from the 20-25 riders frankly.

I just stay pedaling and if and when it diminishes so be it. It takes about 1500 miles before I start having the winter shorts/pants falling off.... Yeah, a lot of shorts early on here cold or not. ;)

5/22/15 3:01 PM

The recommendation for V-D is all over the place. I've had doctor told me I'm ok, and doctor who prescribe high dose of it. Granted, there's little harm in taking V-D...

What beats me is, for all of us who are outside for many hours every week, how can we be low on V-D? Who would have "normal" V-D level except for farmers in Africa?

5/22/15 3:20 PM

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What beats me is, for all of us who are outside for many hours every week, how can we be low on V-D? Who would have "normal" V-D level except for farmers in Africa?

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5/22/15 3:22 PM

Especially when riding frequently and hard I take a D3, Calcium, Zinc, Magnesium Suppliment. And Gatorade with cane sugar and Morton Salt light added in and have left the Citomax for dead. Especially in hour 3-4 of hard rides the difference is notable.

And I have chewed on 1-2 CalMags on the bike to remedy cramps instead of the salt like Nate showed me to carry 100 years ago..

I still keep a little stash of the Sodium/potassium Salt Lite mix on my person too.

If not, Once all that water stored in my spare tire dilutes out the minerals I am toasted...

5/22/15 4:49 PM

For some of us it's not the spare tire, it's the spare keg. It really is strange to be 25% above racing weight.

Frankly I have faith in April that she will be the last of us to get even a spare innertube if she decides to cut back on the bike. But don't quit!

I'm sold on this "plant sourced" Calcium D3 suppliment

5/22/15 4:52 PM

I have that too. It can result from metabolic issues among other things. I take 4000 units to combat Hyperparathyroidism, which can be caused by low D and can cause osteoporosis. I specialize in weird disorders that start with H and have lot of syllables. But at least these are the only 2 weird disorders that I know I have, and neither are too bad as long as you know you have them.

5/22/15 9:43 PM

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Frankly I have faith in April that she will be the last of us to get even a spare innertube if she decides to cut back on the bike. But don't quit!

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5/23/15 5:30 AM

I have not been tested in years but was told that large amounts of non impact aerobic exercise like cycling and swimming can cause a calcium drop which could be related to the Vit D deficit. I include a bit of skim milk in my coffee and drink milk often.

My wife does not need supplemental Vit D.

5/23/15 7:23 AM

Speaking of hiking, I did a 6 hour hike with 3000 ft vertical gain three days ago, and I ran 10k yesterday on the treadmill. Maybe it's the spare tire but my speed on the 10k is too embarrassing to mention. Because it took so long to run 10k, I figured the calorie expenditure made it worth doing anyway.

I'm preparing for next weekend's big Grand Canyon hike.

5/24/15 7:51 AM

I was in a vegan diet / migraine study two years ago and one of the points the requisite classes hammered home is that meat, egg, dairy products cause an acidic change in the body's PH and one defense of the body is to use bone calcium because it's alkaline in solution. Tums antacid, for instance, can be used as a (blunt) calcium supplement.

I'm not talking morality with this next piece.

The vegan community is of course harshly critical of the milk and cheese industry; in particular the calcium claims are cited. The vegan stance is that digesting the milk proteins affect negatively the PH and therefore bone density more than the benefit of the calcium.

These days I eat meat. It's very satisfying and convenient. However it is not at all unusual for me to go days on a vegan diet. My problem has been that the definition of a vegan diet can include french fries and coca-cola! But as the scale attests... lately I'm being proper and good.

5/24/15 9:50 AM

The harsh truth is, we're in unexplored territory! Our great grand-parents did not live to be 100, nor out skiing and riding (doing multiple centuries?) into their 90's. We're sitting hear debating what's the best way to ENSURE we'll be healthy and active into our late years. I don't think the data are there to support most of the claims out there. They're mostly theories, awaiting to be verified by...US, as we live to be that age!

So believe what you want. Just keep in mind we're the genuine pig.

(here I am, asking myself if the risk of cycling can still be justified by the benefit as I get older. And till how old the trade-off is still on the positive side... my thought is colored by a club mate in California who, in mid-60's, having ridden safely for years with the club, only to crash twice in short time frame and died from the second crash with no clear clue as to why. We were left wondering whether there's some underlying issue that caused the crashes in the first place)

While there're many older folks riding safely into their 70's and 80's, as a group they're still the rare minority. And no one is collecting accident rate by age either. So if there're indicator for deteriorating condition that makes older folks less safe, we wouldn't know until probably after our passing)

5/24/15 1:09 PM

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here I am, asking myself if the risk of cycling can still be justified by the benefit as I get older.

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5/24/15 2:47 PM

Sandiway, did I read you including late 60s in "geezers"? Ha ha, I'm not there yet, but not far away.

Anyway, everyone has to judge costs and benefits for themselves, but at nearly 65 I'm riding better than I have in a long while (no mystery, less weight and more training) and really enjoying it. Stopping doesn't enter my mind, though as I've posted I don't often ride in groups, and ride conservatively. I don't feel unsafe on the bike at all, though I'm pretty sure April's reactions are better than mine (the last time the doc tapped my knee, not much happened...)

As you age, I think the times you can enjoy doing things you love become more precious.

5/24/15 3:52 PM

Dan, if you are able to ride more, you probably are riding better, that's the way this sport goes. So I bet those older Saddlebrooke folk (choosing my words carefully just in case one decides to drop me again...) who have the time to ride daily could - relatively speaking - possibly be in the shape of their lives. More power to them...

For females, the picture might be a bit different. I don't know if April is approaching, ahem, a landmark point. But after that unmentioned point, bone density etc. is supposed to be a real issue. Crashes get more serious.

5/24/15 4:00 PM

Not really riding a lot more, just a bit harder, coupled with less weight (though I did ride more indoors over the winter, evenings and weekends). I'm still a working stiff, no plans to let up on that. But I agree, riding and weight I think are the big factors, @25 or 65.

And FWIW my bone density ain't great (witness post about Hyperparathyroidism) which increases my interest in not falling, but does not keep me off the bike. As I said, we all have to find our own balance.

5/24/15 7:38 PM

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I don't know if April is approaching, ahem, a landmark point. But after that unmentioned point, bone density etc. is supposed to be a real issue. Crashes get more serious.

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5/24/15 7:55 PM

"The fatality I witnessed, rider had head injury. BD wouldn't be relevant either. "

My sense is, and understandably so, that this experience is possibly a prevalent force in your cycling psyche as this point.

5/24/15 9:12 PM

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My sense is, and understandably so, that this experience is possibly a prevalent force in your cycling psyche as this point.

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5/24/15 11:53 PM

April, you still ski, don't you? Do you crash more often too?

5/25/15 8:28 AM

Skiing isn't a good comparison.

I took a week long clinic a few years back, with some of the best instructors (National Demo team member). That changed my skiing entirely. Since the clinic, I've crashed considerable less often. So, if there's issue with deteriorating reflex, it got masked by my improvement in technique.

That said, I have problem there too. Post clinic, I now ski much faster than before. So while I crash less often, each crash hurts more. I'm still nursing a sore thigh from a crash a couple months ago.

Skiing, I'm still improving, though I'm also reaching a point that I need to put down "boundary" pretty soon. Cycling, I'm no longer improving. I've retreated from quite some boundary already. More limits, it wouldn't be much fun any more.

Fundamentally, skiing is more like mountain biking than road biking. Crashes at skiing, as in mtn biking, are frequent but more forgiving. One due to lower speed, the other due to soft or slippery surface reducing the impact force and injury potential. Road biking involves high speed on hard unforgiving surface. So crashes, each and every one, are potentially lethal.