Tag Archives: Health

More reasons why everyone should cycle more…

Dear Rouleurs,

MMT has been a busy, busy boy since his last blog in late last month.  A brief cold, trip to Perth, progressively increasing work and his daughter’s second birthday have all been massive distractions to the serious work of blogging.  Those factors have also meant quite a bit less cycling than he would of liked.

Nevertheless, this is a lame attempt at doing a quick blog on the subject of infographics.  This one is sourced from the US via the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition.

Its an effective sales pitch. MMT is feeling a little jipped, He hasn’t lost the 13lbs these guys claim that a commuter would lose.  Mind you that probably has a lot to do with MMT’s love of milk based coffee and the chocolates his wife keeps in the fridge 😉

Until next time, ride safe

Marv

 

Another cycling infographic, Thanks Chain Reaction

Dear Rouleurs,

Work has been ridiculousily busy with a never ending stream of meetings.  TUnfortunately this doesn’t leave alot of time for blogging and skiving off.  Alas, the joys of having a new role in new org structure that is finding its way.  Nevertheless, MMT saw this wonderful, if somewhat self serving infographic on FLAB Facebook the other day, and thought that it was worth sharing.  The original can be found here, please don’t sue me Chain Reaction 😉

The obvious message is that cycling is good for you, go ride.

Until next time, ride safe

Marv

PS Go Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Go you good thing…3 wins in the Giro sensational!!!

What the heck does Isotonic mean anyway??

 

Dear Roulers,

On my recent Easter holiday I was laid low by a very nasty stomach bug. I’ll spare you the details, but it pretty much ruined my first trip to Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t eat any of the very nice chocolate my wife had bought until I came to Australia. I digress, back to the point of this blog, in the middle of a very average night I’m really dehydrated, I reach into the hotel minibar and find this weird drink called 100Plus.

I’m desperate, so I sip the drink slowly over the course of a few hours. It tastes bland and most importantly stays in my stomach. I look at the can and there’s some blurb about the drink being Isotonic. At the time I wondered what that meant and thought nothing of it.

About month later I’ve run out of Staminade. I’ve been buying the stuff for years as a means of having non-vile tasting liquid to drink whilst cycling.

20150518-Staminade

At this point I’m putting in a shameless plug for Staminade being made here in Australia…how rare these days…and raise a 2 finger salute to another couple of US drinks ending ‘ade’.  I buy another container at local supermarket and I notice that word again ‘isotonic’….hmmm some little gears whirl around in my head….ah ha I’ve made a connection back to that awful night in KL. So what the heck is isotonic? And why is it important.

Enter the science of the sports drink as provided by Google….
The basic theory goes like this. Being hot and dehydrated is bad. I’ll dispense with the explanation. It should be self-explanatory.  Plain water will keep you hydrated not fuel your muscles. Research has shown that body will perform better if your drink contains some carbohydrate. But it mustn’t be too much, fruit juices and sugary fizzy drinks can dehydrate as the body uses available water to dilute them and enable the carbs to be absorbed.

So much to my surprise sports drink can belong to one of three categories: Isotonic, Hypotonic and Hypertonic. Essentially these words describe how rapidly the fluid and carbs are absorbed through the stomach.

Type of Drink Description
Isotonic Drink These drinks are said to be in balance with the body’s fluid levels and empty easily from the stomach into the bloodstream. They contain somewhere in between 5 to 8 grams of carbs per 100ml. Some have sodium to assist absorption. They can be consumed at anytime while cycling.
Hypotonic Drink These drinks are absorbed by the stomach faster than Isotonic ones, but this is achieved by having low levels of carbs. They are very useful for hot conditions, where you are working up a sweat. However as a long distance cyclist you must eat something as well to keep your energy levels up.
Hypertonic Drink These drinks are the slowest to be absorbed by the stomach. They have upwards of 10 grams of carbs per 100ml. They provide plenty of energy, but can hinder hydration, as discussed earlier. They are best consumed after cycling, possibly when you are too tied to eat food.

A word of caution…drinking strong hypertonic fluids can reverse the normal process of osmosis and cause diarrhoea. Think Greg LeMond, Tour de France circa 1986. Which brings me full circle to KL and the 100plus drink in the minibar. Ta da 🙂

Until next time

Marv

Cycling in the Melbourne heat

Be alert to the symptoms of heat exhaustion

The Breakaway

Being in the hot Melbournian summer means that cyclists need to be wary of heat exhaustion and stroke.

The Leadout

Eighteen months ago I had a reminder of just how easily this can happen, on the ride home from the MS Melbourne Cycle. Despite taking precautions, I was ‘cooked’ about 20 minutes from home on the return leg. It happened very quickly and ruined an otherwise very enjoyable event.

Shameless plug: you can find the MS Melbourne Cycle at: http://www.msmelbournecycle.org.au/default.asp

The Peloton

So lets start with the basics c/o St John’s First Aid -> http://www.stjohnnsw.com.au/heat-induced-conditions/w1/i1035112/

What is it?
Heat exhaustion results from a decrease in blood pressure and blood volume. This is due to the loss of fluids and electrolytes when exposed to the heat for a prolonged period of time.

How to do know you’ve got it?
As well as general fatigue, symptoms include, feeling sick, faint and heavy sweating. The skin will be flushed and hot to the touch, heart rate elevated and the rider may also complain of feeling dizzy and appear confused. I can vouch for this and general feeling of being really unwell.

What do you do about it?
Any rider displaying these symptoms should stop cycling immediately and find somewhere cool and in the shade. They should be given fluids to sip, ideally water or a sports drink, and may be cooled with a wet flannel or light spraying with cool but not cold water. They should recover within 30 minutes but, if they are still displaying symptoms after this time, contact the emergency services.

What happens if you ignore the symptoms and press on?
If the symptoms of heat exhaustion are ignored and the rider continues to push themselves, exertional heat stroke, where the body temperature rises to dangerous levels, can occur. Then some serious adverse effects may kick-in:

  • Heavy sweating will suddenly stop, the riders skin will feel cold and clammy and they may complain of feeling cold despite the heat.
  • Heart rate and breathing will be significantly increased and they may also be suffering from muscle cramps.
  • They may vomit, complain of having a headache and be confused and disorientated.
  • In severe cases, fitting and a loss of consciousness may occur.

What’s the treatment for severe heat stroke?
The priorities are to get the rider out of the sun and to contact the emergency services. While waiting for them to arrive, if conscious, the rider should be given fluids to sip and can also be cooled with a damp flannel or spraying. Avoid complete immersion in cool water and do not give any form of medication. If unconscious, place them into the recovery position.