Mobjack Bicycling

It may seem strange to be writing about heart attacks on a bicycling blog.  Most people think that the cycling lifestyle of plentiful exercise and not smoking (the usual case) is protective against heart attacks. It almost certainly is. On the other hand, I can attest to the fact that every now and then a cyclist will have a heart attack.  It doesn’t mean the end or riding or even the end of sprinting to the next mailbox or staying in a fast paceline.

I had a heart attack on Dec. 27th, 2007.  I have had two other “cardiac episodes” requiring agioplasty and stents.  It has been possible to get back to a level of fitness nearly as good as before the first heart attack each time, so far.  I do recommend some precautions when riding after a heart attack.  Never go without a cell phone.  Try to ride with a group or at least one other person when possible.  Tell someone when you expect to be home and where you’re going if you have a specific destination.

If you can’t resist catching that guy that looks back to see where you are or if you are going to go at every sprint point you might consider going even further in your precautionary measures.  I am participating in a clinical trial for an internal heart monitor  ( http://www.angel-med.com/) that I hope will give me a few minutes of extra time to get to the hospital before heart muscle damage occurs if I ever do have another heart attack.  I don’t think the developers of this monitor had athletes in mind when they conceived of it but it really may work out to be a good thing for folks who are out running trails or bicycling off the beaten path.

Don’t feel like you have to give up on cycling with your group after a heart attack.  If your friends are anything like mine, they’ll be there to help you out if a problem occurs and except for a few minutes of sprinting time, they’ll watch out for you, too!

The Mathews Freewheelers will have rides on Thursdays and Sundays throughout the fall and winter months.

Thursday rides will start at 2:30 PM in the old Mathews Courthouse area (meet at the fire station) with refreshments at Southwinds after the ride.

Sunday rides will continue to start at Liberty Square (new courthouse complex) at 2 PM.

In general, someone will be there to ride if it isn’t raining hard at the start time.  There is usually someone who will at least start out in light rain or when rain appears to be threatening.  Snow that isn’t covering the roads is no problem. Ice storms will probably be avoided in the future due to the experience of riding in one last year.   If the temperature is below 30 degrees Fahrenheit the odds of anyone showing up diminish greatly.

For information on rides check out the Mathews Freewheelers website:  http://www.mathewsfreewheelers.org