Cycling UK Forum

I'm asthmatic - but well under control - and I'm fit and well too.
70years old.

When I first did my peak flow in my late 30s, I could get to 650 or even 700.
These days when/if I'm ill with a cold, I'm more like 200 or even as low as 100.

Just done it now, and I managed 525 repeatedly .............. at my age too!
20mile bike ride tomorrow beckons!

Mick F wrote: ↑20 Feb 2023, 3:31pm I'm asthmatic - but well under control - and I'm fit and well too.
70years old.

When I first did my peak flow in my late 30s, I could get to 650 or even 700.
These days when/if I'm ill with a cold, I'm more like 200 or even as low as 100.

Just done it now, and I managed 525 repeatedly .............. at my age too!
20mile bike ride tomorrow beckons!

Why bovver with them peak meters when all you have to do is see if you can still get up Porlock Hill on 42 X 21 (or 24)?

Cugel, resigned to the gradual rot of ages but still "conquering" every hill for miles around albeit with the help Cherman e-tech.

I let Mrs Mick F have a go at the peak flow meter.
She repeatedly scored zero! No deflection at all.

It's technique that gives a good reading, and she had zero technique despite my trying to show her.

The problem will be when you go from a warm room 18-20 C to the cold outside 5 C. You might find it a good idea to wear a COVID mask.It does not attract any attention.However it will warm up the air going into your lungs POSSIBLY preventing a attack.Same goes for running rowing etc.Masks fit in as part of cycling kit.
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I ride Brompton and a 100% British Vintage

I've no idea what my peak flow rate is, nobody's ever measured it.

My GP records say it's 606L/min though.

axel_knutt wrote: ↑24 Feb 2023, 2:57pm I've no idea what my peak flow rate is, nobody's ever measured it.

My GP records say it's 606L/min though.
Flow.png

"Expected... "

That looks like an EMIS display:
https://patient.info/doctor/spirometry-calculator

Jonathan

My peak flow is rubbish well below normal levels. Doesn’t bother me when cycling but I notice it when running.

I'm asthmatic and have recently been diagnosed with emphysema (from a CT scan done for an early-detection lung cancer screening pilot programme) but have always had a good peak flow rate since being tested for it and getting a meter in the 1990s; before then, I don't recall ever having been tested.

I suspect it has something to do with technique too (possibly also to do with cycling - maybe even cycling leading to good "airflow technique"?). My meter only goes up to 700 and I usually hit the top of the scale but it can go down when I'm ill. Going by the reaction I get from asthma nurses when testing my peak flow, they expect a lot lower. I'm a mere 58 year old (not for long though).

I did drink and smoke heavily from the age of 17 through to about 45 (50 a day for several years) and didn't really try to "keep fit" during that time either. I still enjoy the odd drink but I don't smoke now. I certainly don't feel fit now and my speeds and distances on the bike are low (most rides are about 10mph average and distances of 25-30 miles - I sometimes go further but rarely go faster). I cycle mainly for leisure, partly for transport. I don't "train", I don't go for "PRs" and I pay only a fleeting interest in ride stats. If I did try to push my limits, I fear I might do some damage so I take it easy.

Peak flow varies quite a bit by height and age. I have asthma, I'm 5'11", now 68 and my PF is a whisker below 500. It was around 600 in my 30s. Leisure cycling -- or, more accurately, leisurely cycling, doesn't really stress your respiratory system that much, and one way to define your "endurance zone" for longer rides is an effort that leaves you enough breath to hold a full conversation while riding.

An excellent excuse for talking to yourself :lol:

The other thing that might help is drinking one cup of warm water in the morning.As we all get older especially in the cold weather we do not drink enough.This means the mucus in our lungs could be thicker and in asthmatics this is not good.

Also you might look at taking in very cold weather a puff on your blue inhaler before cycling out.This would of course need your GP'S clearance first.

Out of curiosity how often do you use your blue and brown inhaler ?
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I ride Brompton and a 100% British Vintage

briansnail wrote: ↑1 Mar 2023, 11:52am Out of curiosity how often do you use your blue and brown inhaler ?

I have a purple/white one, not a brown one - "AirFluSal" (salmeterol/flucticasone propionate) 25microgram/125 microgram per actuation. I'm supposed to take two twice a day but despite always remembering it in the morning, I frequently forget my second dose in the evening.

My blue one (Salbutamol 100 micrograms), it varies a lot. I can go weeks without taking it or I might take it once to several times in a week, especially when I've had an infection that has affected my breathing. Usually before bed if feeling wheezy, before/during a ride if breathing feels "shallow" or any other time I'm feeling a bit "tight" etc.. I will hazard a guess and say the norm would be one week in every two months or so. My blue inhalers often expire by date before they run out but I like to have a couple on the go concurrently - one in my bag (a little pouch of every-day stuff that gets transferred between man-bag and bike bag) and one next to the bed (otherwise I'm prone to forget it and either be without one when out or not have one to hand when in bed).

I knew a bloke (an asthmatic and landlord of a pub I used to frequent) who was noticed being wheezy by the barmaid before shutting up for the night - he died in his bed reportedly of an asthma attack - since then, if I'm feeling at all wheezy when going to bed or on waking up at night, even if I don't think it will come to anything, I take my blue inhaler as a precaution.

I have a blue inhaler .......... on the coffee table, the bedside table, and in my saddle pouch. All "just in case".
I use a pink Fostair one - two squirts - every morning after breakfast.

Great.I was going to say everyone should have 3 inhalers even if you have to pay.Keep one at work on the move and one at home.Your over 60 so you will get free prescriptions.In addition to wearing a mask ,and drinking warm water (you will gag on cold and not drink ) also keep treats like biscuits and cakes to a minimum.You will be slightly slower as your not burning super fuel in processed foods.
Some of my friends in the cycle club find avoiding a 10 min treat cuts down use for a blue inhaler.Also get rid of carpets and put down wood floors.Note Severe cold weather warning in a couple of days for a few days.
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I ride Brompton and a 100% British Vintage

pps Position might help. Asthma often comes in the night.I often wondered if seriously ill COVID patients a few years ago low on oxygen might have benefited from a angled as opposed to horizontal position. Also you could use an indoor cycle in very cold weather.Though the brain does benefit from on road riding.
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i ride Brompton and a 100% British vintage