hi guys, i've been reading this forum for very long but did not register and post anything till now. Anyways, i cycle alot and have been struggling with AS for very long now. Nothing seems to cure me and shifting gears on my bicycle itself can be tough at times. My pain is mostly on my middle back to my neck and inflammation hits my fingers and elbows as well...Doctors in Singapore where i stay say i am perfectly fine, but i know i'm not because my joints hurt so so so much particularly from my spine. I've been on enbrel and other nsaids for more than 2 years now.

Hope to find more cycling enthusiasts here as well sharing the same illness.

this is the support group here for cycling with AS cycling with arthritis in facebook.

I cycle a lot, but I could no longer use my road bike with the drop bars. Riding while bent over caused too much pain. So I switched to a commuter bike that kept me more upright, and I find it much more comfortable. I may not be as fast, but having less pain makes it worthwhile.

hehehe, i stopped biking after I wiped out @ a major intersection because someone honked and i looked backwards, tweeked the back and neck, then went down. ever since then I cant bring myself to get back on the bike, cycling involves a lot of looking over the shoulder

Yep, that turning the head to look back is a big problem. I got a "Take-a-Look" mirror that clips to my sunglasses, which works great for keeping an eye on all behind me.

when the weather is nice, i like to bike.

we live less than a mile down a quiet road from the erie canal. a perfect tow path exists for biking and walking without having to worry about traffic or looking over my shoulder.

when the weather is bad, i like to use a recumbent exercise bike. want to get one for home so i don't have to go to the gym (when the snow is bad as it often is in the winter here)...but most are so expensive and i like the ones with the seat lower than the legs, hard to find an affordable one.

even when my SI or feet are too bad to walk, i can still manage a recumbent stationary bike.

Hello there,

When I still lived in States cycled in city streets with my cross bike. Loved it.

Portugal Charlie who used to be here was avid cycler.

Tim

CWA, I love to bike and like Tim have found that getting a bike that keeps me more upright is better for me. Use a gel seat and padded shorts and a bicycle with shock absorbers. I used to struggle with the constant looking back for the next auto but have added the most wonderful convex mirror to my handle bar on the road side that make life much easier when not standing on the pedals. If I'm flaring, I swim and dream of riding. Riding makes a flare much worse so I don't ride when I hurt. This is incentive to follow my diet as if pain is not enough. I have recently found that Pilates helps me with neck and low back stiffness.
Good Riding,
Ike

ah yes, the gel seat. even with the best one i could find, the one thing that suffers on my regular bike is my sitz bones (or some part of the anatomy near there)! i get so so sore when i ride, so have to limit it to just a few days a week at most. one advantage of the recumbent bike seat over the traditional.

yeeah!

I was a bicycle freak when I was a teen, used to race the school bus everyday...and usually I'd win!

I was even up for the lead role in the TV version of the movie "Breaking Away" and I thought that would be perfect, because I could have done my own stunts!

(but no, I didn't get the part)

Now, these days, well..all my racing is done in my car trying to get to Starbucks before they close

Dow...

did you seriously try out for Breaking Away. I loved that movie if it is the one I am thinking of. Kid races against Italian team.

Tim