{"id":1916,"date":"2023-09-02T08:54:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T07:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/?p=1916"},"modified":"2023-09-02T08:54:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T07:54:09","slug":"from-cardiac-critical-care-to-cycling-success-thanks-to-my-e-bike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/from-cardiac-critical-care-to-cycling-success-thanks-to-my-e-bike\/","title":{"rendered":"FROM CARDIAC CRITICAL CARE to CYCLING SUCCESS &#8211; thanks to my e-bike!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">A Customer Story<\/span><\/strong> &#8211; Fran Gardner &#8211; 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2023\/09\/Broughton-Castle-50-mile-cycle-challenge-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2023\/09\/Broughton-Castle-50-mile-cycle-challenge-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2023\/09\/Broughton-Castle-50-mile-cycle-challenge-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2023\/09\/Broughton-Castle-50-mile-cycle-challenge-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2023\/09\/Broughton-Castle-50-mile-cycle-challenge-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Fran &#8211; at the finish with her Raleigh Motus eBike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I fell in love with e-biking from my first ride five years ago &#8211; so much so it has changed my whole attitude to my fitness &amp; physical\/mental well being &#8211; very important for a 71 year old!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gradually as my cycling confidence increased so did the range &amp; distance of my rides &#8211; 50 mile rides over the Cotswold Hills became the norm. Hence my fitness, muscle strength, flexibility, energy levels, weight management all improved dramatically.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June 2022 I became unwell due to work related stress &amp; after tests &amp; discussions with doctors, I was diagnosed with a severe heart valve problem which required major surgery.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was completely stunned by this diagnosis &#8211; I had a perception of myself as a fit, healthy woman in her 70\u2019s, getting plenty of exercise &amp; eating a healthy diet. The thought of open heart surgery with all the associated risks &amp; lengthy recovery period was immensely daunting for me &#8211; I was in slight shock &amp; finding it difficult to process what was happening to me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having met the cardiac surgeon to discuss details of the surgery, I researched pre-operation fitness and nutrition. It was obvious that e-biking would be enormously beneficial, helping my body to cope with the shock of the operation &amp; speeding up my body\u2019s ability to recover. I also increased my intake of fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts &amp; seeds to improve my gut biome, which I hoped would reduce inflammation post-operation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two days before the operation the surgeon told me he was confident that the operation could be performed by \u201ckeyhole\u201d or minimally invasive techniques. I was delighted with this news but completely underestimated the seriousness of heart surgery. I thought I would be home after 3-4 days!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The operation took 9 hours &amp; I was in the Cardiac Critical Care Unit for 4 days before being well enough to be moved to the Cardiac ward. I was discharged home after a week in the Heart Centre &amp; then started the slow, sometimes painful, climb back to normality &amp; fitness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However within 5 weeks of surgery I was walking up to 4 miles a day &#8211; but getting very restless, particularly as the spring weather improved! I asked my surgeon if he would allow me to resume some gentle cycling &#8211; making full use of the PowerAssist on my e-bike. He agreed &amp; so it was with some nervousness off I went, pedaling gently up the hill &amp; out of the village\u2026.freedom!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On my rides I monitored distance, my heart rate &amp; was very mindful of any signs of fatigue, pain, or discomfort. It was essential to strike a balance between pushing myself &amp; avoiding overexertion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My goal was to be fit enough to compete in the Broughton Castle Sportive Cycling event on 9th July &#8211; 14 weeks after surgery. By mid-June I felt fit &amp; well so registered for the 50 mile ride at the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>event. I gradually increased the intensity &amp; duration of my rides &amp; incorporated tougher hill climbs to prepare for the event.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I completed the 50 mile event ride in 4 hours 29 minutes (a respectable time for me), on my Raleigh Grand Motus &#8211; supplied by the incredibly supportive Electric Bike Sales Oxford team .&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are preparing for surgery or are post-surgery &amp; think e-biking would help you, it&#8217;s essential to discuss your plans with your doctor to ensure you get advice based on your individual circumstances.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no doubt the health benefits of e-bike cycling are huge, particularly as you get older, offering low-impact aerobic exercise &amp; mental well-being. And e-bike cycling can be a fun, sustainable alternative to traditional workouts, making it easier to maintain an active lifestyle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a question? Contact me via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electricbikesales.co.uk\/pages\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ElectricBikeSales.co.uk<\/a> &#8211; https:\/\/www.electricbikesales.co.uk\/pages\/contact\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your health or recovery could benefit from exercise where you&#8217;re in control of your exertion and you get to enjoy all the feel good factors of life outdoors an electric bike could be the best thing ever. If you&#8217;d like some advice we are here to help &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electricbikesales.co.uk\/pages\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">just ask<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fran completed her cycle on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electricbikesales.co.uk\/facetresultsalt.aspx?Term=motus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Raleigh Motus electric bike<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How electric bikes help you recover from heart surgery &#8211; a customer story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":1918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[185,22,184,183],"class_list":{"0":"post-1916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-customer-review","8":"tag-ebike-customer-review","9":"tag-electric-bike","10":"tag-post-operation-electric-bike","11":"tag-recovery-cycling"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2023\/09\/Fran-pic-haibike.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"electricbikesales","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/author\/electricbikesales\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1916"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1921,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916\/revisions\/1921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}