Long commute question

[georgehenry]

I had asthma as a child and never realised it! I was a keen sportsman, playing in most of the school teams and naturally a quick runner winning the School Town (Basingstoke) trails 100m race for a couple of years on the trot and then running in the Hampshire County Trails at Southampton in the years I won the Town trails.

Now that I know that I have asthma I can remember being short of breath when going for long training runs in the winter for football.

I now realise that it was the cold air setting off my asthma. I did not know at the time and just ran through it until I could breath more deeply!

Mine is well controlled, but if you have asthma I would not shy away from exercise.

Take advise from your GP, but planned exercise greatly improves your cardio vascular system and improves your lung capacity and is beneficial if you suffer from asthma by also decreasing airway inflammation and lung health.

 

[Nealh]

I was in a similar situation at school as you GH, I ran long distance cross country for the school in inter school competitions and really struggled with breath on the cold days but in those days diagnosis wasn't like it is today and I was in y later 20's before being diagnosed.

 

[Nealh]

BTW Isn't pollen bad for asthma? Or is that only if it lodges in the lungs, not ingested as honey? Some pollen is bound to make it into your lungs through the sinuses as you're eating or sniffing it. Wearing a KN95 mask while near your hives would help.

Some people don't arf spout utter rubbish.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

I can't remember much about having asthma, because it was kicked out of me by my Karate instructor - I was a fat wheezy kid... but after six months of being forced to do 100 pressups, 200 sit ups, star jumps, squat thrusts, running, kicking, jumping, being forced into sparring matches with much tougher and bigger opponents etc. twice a week and being kicked in the gut repeatedly by my Karate instructor until I did (he was very much of the old school), asthma and the fat disappeared. I wish I'd talked to my GP instead.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Some people don't arf spout utter rubbish.

That was a question. Isn't there a lot more pollen in and around your beehives? I really wasn't trying to be funny about it.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Some people don't arf spout utter rubbish.

Could something like this tell you if you're exposing yourself to something your lungs react to, like pollen? (If pollen sets your asthma off, it might not)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LifeBasis-Formaldehyde-Ultrafine-Recording-Pollution/dp/B078H6QXW2/

 

[vfr400]

Commuting is not the same riding just for fun. I did 28.8 miles a day for three years, which is the same distance that OP wants. My first bike was 36v with a 9Ah battery. On the first day, I just made it up the final climb to my house. After a month or so, my legs had become very strong, and I usually only used between 1Ah and 2Ah. My initial goal was to toughen myself up for cycling.

After I had achieved that, I got a more powerful and faster bike with a 20Ah battery. The summer had ended, so there was more emphasis on doing the journeys as qick as possible. Consumption varied between 4Ah and 16Ah depending on the weather and how I felt. The average journey times were about an hour there (net 300m downhill) and about 70 minutes coming home (net 300m uphill). My record time there was about 47 minutes.

What I'm saying is that you can use a lightweight bike and a tiny battery or an electric motorbike. It depends what you want and how important it is that you don't arrive at work tired or sweaty. Everybody is different and your needs and wishes change from day to day.

Twice, I was happy that I had a motor with enough power to get me up my hills without pedalling. One time my crank came loose and the other time, I fell off going up a low curb and I banged my knee, so was unable to pedal. In both cases, I was able to throttle my way home without pedalling.

For a commuter, you need a workhorse. The things that give you an advantage are good forks (air), a powerful motor, throttle, hydraulic brakes, puncture-proof tyres (Marathon Plus) and decent lights. Other components can be as cheap as you want to keep down running costs. A hub-motor system will always have lower running costs and be more dependable.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Some people don't arf spout utter rubbish.

Pollen is a trigger for some people's asthma:

Asthma - Causes

Find out about the causes of asthma and what can trigger the symptoms.

www.nhs.uk

If it isn't for your asthma, I withdraw the question. If it is, asthma triggered by pollen seems to me, a bit of a liability for a beekeeper, and well worth looking into IMH(pointless)O.

 

[georgehenry]

I agree vfr, commuting to work and back is different to leisure riding. I have days, a few more of those as I get nearer to 60, that I do not want to work as hard riding home as I once did, and have started turning the assist level up on The Haibike, something I have only done very recently, and this gets me home quicker and allows me to maintain a higher speed without the amount of effort I previously needed to give. Previously I would use generally between 35% and 40% of my 400Wh battery and using higher assist I now use up to 50% of my battery. But the beauty of an electric bike is that you have this choice.

I get the bulk of my exercise fix on my Haibike on the 14 mile cross country ride to work where I use as little as 25% of my battery, only using the lowest assist and actually quite a lot of no assist where I am pedaling it using just my own effort, though I can only do this on level or downhill gradients.

My Oxygen came with marathon plus road tyres fitted and I have found them really good, better than the mountain bike version.

The rudimentary led lights are great to have but I also have bright rechargeable additional led lights.

Hydraulic brakes are far better than mechanical and I have them on The Haibike, but the Oxygen came with mechanical disc brakes and for the journey I do which does not actually entail that much braking have been fine, easy to maintain and adjust, and also have the electrical cut of feature which is useful, however hydraulic brakes are much better.

 

[WheezyRider]

Another important factor is whether you can recharge at work or not.

 

[georgehenry]

I agree WheezyRider and am lucky enough to be able to charge at work.

The Haibike despite only having a 400Wh 6 year old battery can quite easily still complete the 24 mile round trip if required, but as I can charge my battery at work I do so and top it back to full before my ride home.

The silverfish battery on the Oxygen is less resilient. The battery can manage a return trip in an emergency as I have found out on one occasion but had to use lower assist levels and nurse it on the return 10 mile trip home.

But I can fully charge it back up at work, so I do so, and ride back on full assist.

That battery was a cheap battery bought of ebay complete with charger for under £200, and is now approaching its third birthday.

For me it does not matter that it does not have a huge range just that it has enough range for the task I need it to accomplish.

 

[WheezyRider]

Pollen is a trigger for some people's asthma:

Asthma - Causes

Find out about the causes of asthma and what can trigger the symptoms.

www.nhs.uk

If it isn't for your asthma, I withdraw the question. If it is, asthma triggered by pollen seems to me, a bit of a liability for a beekeeper, and well worth looking into IMH(pointless)O.

I think a bigger problem for asthmatics these days is pollution, rather than pollen. A lot of people who are not normally asthmatic and get symptoms when they go out in cold air are actually reacting to nitrous oxides, low level ozone and particulates.

Toxic air puts six million at risk of lung damage

Six million people aged over 65 in England are at high risk of lung damage, a new report says.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Deleted member 33385]

This chap says that breathing beehive air gives instant relief to asthmatics:

Beehive air helps asthma

A beekeeper says asthmatics can find almost instant relief in Lot-et-Garonne if they sniff the air of his beehives.

www.connexionfrance.com

The Healing Powers of Pollen: Amazon.co.uk: Percie du Sert, Patrice P., Nathan, Mark C.: 9782844456984: Books

Buy The Healing Powers of Pollen by Percie du Sert, Patrice P., Nathan, Mark C. (ISBN: 9782844456984) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Honey does seem to be full of surprises...

 

[WheezyRider]

This chap says that breathing beehive air gives instant relief to asthmatics:

Beehive air helps asthma

A beekeeper says asthmatics can find almost instant relief in Lot-et-Garonne if they sniff the air of his beehives.

www.connexionfrance.com

The Healing Powers of Pollen: Amazon.co.uk: Percie du Sert, Patrice P., Nathan, Mark C.: 9782844456984: Books

Buy The Healing Powers of Pollen by Percie du Sert, Patrice P., Nathan, Mark C. (ISBN: 9782844456984) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Honey does seem to be full of surprises...

Can you mount a small hive on a cycle helmet and have a tube coming out with "hive air" for breathing as you cycle? Obviously, you'd have to put a mesh in the tube to avoid undesirable surprises...you don't want to do something daft.

 

[richtea99]

I'd treat that hive advice the same as I'd treat the bullsh*t on the back of any beauty product from Boots/Superdrug. With care.
Underneath there may be some scientific basis, but 90% of it is fluff / guff.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Can you mount a small hive on a cycle helmet and have a tube coming out with "hive air" for breathing as you cycle? Obviously, you'd have to put a mesh in the tube to avoid undesirable surprises...you don't want to do something daft.

If there is some truth to it, compress beehive air into a handy inhaler? If it does work, the pharmaceutical industry will isolate the effective molecules after altering them slightly (so they still work), like they do with any natural substance which has any sort of marketable beneficial effect - like they did to get aspirin, which they based on salicylic acid from Willow bark. Big pharma routinely send out teams to hunt out new potentially useful substances in jungles and oceans, to test, patent and sell for profit. If enough people find that beehive air relieves asthma symptoms, they'll look into it.

I'd treat that hive advice the same as I'd treat the bullsh*t on the back of any beauty product from Boots/Superdrug. With care.
Underneath there may be some scientific basis, but 90% of it is fluff / guff.

As far as I know, if any off-the-shelf beauty product actually worked, superdrug wouldn't be allowed to sell it without a prescription.

 

[Gringo]

All sorts of things can set asthma off, not necessarily pollen. Usually it's things like house dust, smoke, exercise etc, but it could be just taking a breath of cold air, or even someone's perfume.

“PERFUME “ dont talk to me about perfume, its inappropriate use is one of my pet hates, well it was pre Covid when I swam 3 times a week.
On occasion one of the old gym tarts would get in the pool still wearing makeup and enough perfume to down passing birds, heavier than air this would collect just above the water so with each breath I took I got a lung full, triggering my asthma and putting an early end to my swimming session
PS : aerosol propellants is another trigger for me, I have to use stick type antiperspirants and if I ever use an air freshener, I hold my breath as I spray and then leave the room

 

[mike killay]

I do not have asthma, but I do sneeze repeatedly if any perfume is about.
They banned tobacco smoke, can we now please ban perfume?

 

[richtea99]

They banned tobacco smoke, can we now please ban perfume?

Perfume doesn't normally kill. That's the difference.
But it would make a fine scenario for a Bond villain.

 

[mike killay]

Perfume doesn't normally kill. That's the difference.
But it would make a fine scenario for a Bond villain.

How do you know? Anyway, the argument about second hand smoke was never clear.
So perfume could be bad.