Resuming Cycling After Covid

 I recently found out that I had Covid, and am now on the road to getting back up to speed.

One of the interesting things about this round, is that the first indication that something was amiss came from my Apple Watch's VO2 Max reading dropping suddenly, which happened on July 1.  It decreased from 38.5 on June 10 to 36.3, and it usually will increase or decrease in increments of 0.1-0.2, so this was a sudden and large drop.

I didn't really think any more of this drop, and continued to ride, both to work and recreationally, for the next several days.  I was a little tired and had sinus issues during this time, but this was my rest week following three weeks of going harder, so the symptoms were not unexpected.  On July 6, I took a Covid test, basically just to rule it out, and was surprised to find that the second line turned dark very quickly - yup, it was Covid.  The symptoms were not nearly as bad as the first time I hac the virus, but I did feel fatigued and spacy.

During my break, I found this article and infographic that was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that outlined specific steps in recovery that I thought would be useful.  I'm now a couple of days into the protocol, and feeling pretty good, so I wanted to document this information for my own future reference, as well as possibly helping others.

Since I've now resumed activities, I've also returned to walking and was happy to see that on July 16, my iPhone VO2 Max had returned up 38.1.

Mt. Baker Highway 2024

 I rode up the Mt. Baker highway again this year, after a couple of years off.  It was a gorgeous day, somewhat on the cool side weather wise, which I really appreciated on the way up.

The lower parts of the climb were quite cloudy, and it was not a certainty that the clouds would clear and render the peaks visible.

The pavement was mercifully dry; however, and I set about climbing while trying to limit myself from going too hard too early.  As I made my way up, some blue patches began appearing in the sky.

The road flattens somewhat at the ski area, and even though it's still around a 3% grade, it almost feels like pedaling downhill given the gradients preceding it.

Once past the ski area, the road switchbacks up through and into the snow.

Which gets thicker to the point that the upper reaches of the climb were cleared by snow plow just a couple of weeks prior to my ascent.