Loving Fall Riding – BionicOldGuy

I’ve been enjoying multiple long easy rides. After some more research I realized that a long ride is good for my heart as long as the pace is not hard, because it lowers diastolic blood pressure a bit compared to resting. Diastolic, the lower number on a reading like 120/80, is the more important for leaky aortic valves because that is the number when the valve is closed. I was doing one long ride a week (my group ride) and short rides on other days, but last week I threw in some more longer rides. It felt great, I did not have any of the symptoms my heart would have if it were straining because of the valve leaking excessively.

A few days ago we had our “Taco Tuesday” ride, including an enjoyable stretch on the Coyote Creek Trail. On Sunday I had a brisk ride through the Coyote Valley on Santa Teresa Boulevard, including some short intervals and some on-bike strength work. I also did my upper body strength work before the ride. All of this is well-tolerated if short enough. I also have to do multiple reps of strength training instead for some exercises I’d been doing isometrically, because isometrics can spike blood pressure. Overall I am still keeping things within the amount my cardiologist approved. It’s a good feeling to be able to work around limitations and still get good workouts in.