Originally Posted by
woodenidol
Well, Im trying to stay pretty positive. I actually was a very good climber in my youth, and a decent climber now as well. Steady state riding I can see will come back, and should be fine with possibly a bit more attention to my exertion level. Climbing is just brutal now. I go from fine to unable to catch my breath in short order. Im actually having a bit more difficulty climbing now than after chemo.
However, your story is encouraging, and I plan to just keep working at it. The tour Im taking this year has 21k feet of climbing, so I ma a bit concerned.
Thanks for sharing your story Bud.
Yes, the shortness of breath before anything else on a climb is really bothersome. Even now, 18 months later, I can't get a decent lactic burn in my legs; shortness of breath shows up first. I think the big problem is that your body is trained to expect more from your lungs, and it tries to demand it, and your lungs come up short.
It does get better with time, though, with shortness of breath showing up more gradually instead of all at once, and bugging you less (probably because you've gotten used to it). I'm also seeing a little improvement from my hill training, too (it's still possible to better train whatever you have left, I guess). But you might still need more gears than before.
I try to keep it all in perspective. 18 months after a lung cancer diagnosis, I feel lucky to be riding at all. My goal this year is 7,000 miles, and I'm on a pace to make it. I hope you'll post reports here. I'd love to read about the tour, and reading about the accomplishments of 50+'ers (and almost 50+'ers) is one of the things that keeps me reading this forum. Good luck.