Been There, Done That. Again

The summer was officially over last week. But it still was 96F on Wednesday and it wasn't  going to be over till I squeezed in my last bike ride for the summer. It was a bridge to bridge ride starting from Guy West bridge to Harold Richey Memorial, for the total of 12 miles, round trip.

View From Harold Richey Memorial Bridge 

This was my 4th 10+ mile ride. Before, I'd stop for nooks and crannies and walk down to the river for  dipping. This time, I stopped only for the rest breaks. Which should've made the ride easier; it is the stop and go that takes a lot out of you, not the slow ride on flat terrain. But I was blacking out by the time I got to the destination bridge. That was only 5 miles. I was spent by then and I had to take breaks every 1.5 miles on the way back.

Before, I was blacking out after 10 miles. And that was after the ordeal of cutting through thicket on sand and taking a spill on gravel. The first 2 times I did not suffer post-exertional struggle either and I was sleeping 6 hours afterwards. The last 2 times I was sleeping 8 hours for 3 days in a row, as I usually do when I'm struggling.

The thrill of biking the river trail was obviously gone and my performance was halved. The novelty affect is alive and well.

Yosemite Aftermath

The day after we returned from the day trip to Yosemite was another day of vegetating. Then I was able to run some errands, probably powered Walfed, a generic version of Sudafed from Walgreen. After that, a funk set in: happy chemicals dissipated and all that was left was fatigue and weakness. I struggled to get the laundry done like I used to. I had to have my wife to carry it downstairs and load it up in the car, and then haul it back up when I was back from the laundromat.

Another penalty of 3 days, it was all so predictable. And to think I was going to bike 12 miles today. I'm just an incorrigible optimist.

I used to distinguish the post-extertional struggle and post-exertional sickness. Now I think they are the same thing that are only different in degrees. When I was constantly struggling with ADLs, the 3 day penalties after a minor exertion, like scrubbing bathtub, used to completely knock me out. Now that I function quasi-normal when I am rested, the 3 day penalty means I struggle with ADLs. In other words, it means CFS flare-up. Maybe the CFS flare-up will eventually go away too and be replaced with DOMS or plain post-exercise fatigue.

DOMS, too, could be the same kind. There was a paper that biopsied CFS patients in PEM and found that there was no micro-tear in their muscle fiber and therefore concluded that PEM is not same as DOMS. But micro-tear is only a hypothesis for the cause of DOMS and DOMS could be caused by inflammation with or without micro-tear. Even if the micro-tear is the cause, the tear for CFS patients could be so minute that biopsy may not be able to detect. And CFS patients, being hypersensitive to inflammation, get knocked out severely for 3 days after a minimal exertion while healthy people only get DOMS after a prolonged maximal exercise. CFS patients further face the peril that a severe case of PEM could chronically worsen the condition. I ought to know, I've done that a few times in my early years of CFS.

Mist Trail, Conquered

I'm not the one to let good money go to waste. I once again invested $80 on the national park pass when we were at Crater National Park and I had to make use of it to get my money's worth. So we decided to go back to Yosemite almost on a whim, before it gets too cold.

It was a day trip this time. I figure I would be completely spent after a day hike and pretty much useless the next day. It's better to come home and rest on my own bed anyway, instead of the dumpy Half Dome Village tent that cost $140, $160 if heated.

I aborted the hiking on Mist Trail the last time and that that's been on my mind. I know how dangerous it can be to be ambitious -- I got another sample of that 2 weeks ago after climbing Telegraph hill -- but we were tantalizingly close to Vernal Falls Bridge the last time and I wanted to come back and try again.

Turned out, we weren't that close the last time. It was quite a ways uphill from where we turned around to the bridge. Then it was another 0.7 miles from there to Vernal Fall, for the total of 1.5 miles.

We made it all the way to the fall. I walked very slowly -- probably less than 50 steps/min -- in zigzag going up. And I had to lean on my wife on the way down. But it was 3 miles with 700 feet elevation gain, so this one goes in the book as a bona fide hiking.

We made stops at El Capitan picnic area, waded water for a while at the beach right after it, took pictures at Bridalveil Fall and Tunnel View before turning around and driving into the sun. It must be nearing the Autumn equinox -- the sun set at 7:05 PM on the Central Valley.

The day ended with 17,000 steps on my fitbit, the most ever since I got sick. That topped 16,000 steps I did in NYC last year.

Not Out of the Woods Yet, #3

After the ordeal was a day of vegetating.  The day after that, I fully recovered and my pace was up to 105 step/min. I did some house duties and then walked at 95 steps/min to Starbucks 2000 steps away.  Then I woke up with the familiar heaviness that goes with post-exertional sickness the next day.  It must've been the pace. Obviously I'm still not out of the woods yet and I'll have to continue to watch my walking speed.

When you are biking on a flat terrain, you are not exerting much. You only exert in spurt when crossing intersections. Walking, on the other hand, is a constant pace activity. Do that at a higher speed, I still suffer.

It would've been nice to rest, but we soldiered on to SF as planned. I needed to swap the stem on my bike -- I'm going with 80 mm for comfort and agility since I'm not planning on riding fast. By the time we were done charging in Fairfield, the fatigue partially dissipated. It was a deja vu of Witherville.

After dropping off wife at Westfield and the bike at the shop, and I went straight for Telegraph Hill. Something I meant to do the last time we were here, but ran out of time then. The steep incline above Broadway was still a challenge and I zig-zaged at 60 steps/min. 20 minute of rest at the top, and I came down Greenwich Steps. I descended like a normal person till Union Street. Then I became a polio victim with knees locked and  hands clutching the rail. I hardly could take another step by the time I got to the Levi Plaza. On F tram, I was looking for an empty seat like I used.

Still, it was a vast improvement. Before, I had to rest several times go up and coming down. This time, it was only one rest at the top. And the weakness dissipated by the time I got back to my car in Castro and I was walking fine again.

I spent the next 3 days in horizontal position, however. The sustained walk down Greenwich steps must've taken a toll and my calves were sore. (DOMS and PEM coincided, more on this later).  Another proof that I'm not out of the woods yet.

15 Mile Biking Along American River

I took my left hand off the handle bar for a moment to relieve the fatigue on my triceps. The next thing, I was on the ground. The 25c tires were no match for the gravel no matter how sticky they were, and the bike slipped down the side of the elevated trail. I might have saved myself if my feet were free. But they were bound to the pedal. I went down clean and a chunk of skin on my left elbow and arm were scraped off.

That was soon after I made out of the woods at Paradise beach. It was quite a walk on sand and through the woods to get to the river from the trail. On the way back, I ended up in dead-end trail several times. I braved through the thickets for a while before finally gave up, backtracked and found the way out.

The meandering through the woods and the subsequent fall took quite a bit out of me. By the time I got to the Skate Park on B Street, I was beaten. I had to sit on the side of the road for a while to gather wit. Then the trail was closed shortly after and I had to back-track again and detour via C Street to the Bikeway Bridge. I was getting dizzy and about to black out by then. I had to lie down by the trail. My heart rate was up to 130 and did not show any sign of coming down even after 20 minutes. I got up, picked up the pieces and cross the bridge to the split trail just before the turn toward REI. I lied on the picnic bench there for a while again. The ranger came by to check me out. He made sure that I had enough battery left on my phone, gave me a bottle of water and moved on. REI was right around the corner, so there wasn't much to be concerned.

This was way more than a CFS patient should be able to. If I don't get sick for the next 2 days, I'll declare that I recovered.

Did I say how much I like this bike, btw? It is not only responsive, it is also super comfortable. The D-Fuse carbon seatpost working with cromoly rail and the tubeless tires does wonders for your bottom. My butt was just about the only part intact by the time I was done. I highly recommend Giant Contend SL. SL 2 at $900 would be a steal of the century.