Blood Donation

[jrmerson]

A week ago, last Friday, I donated some blood platelets and our local blood bank. I went riding the following Sunday with my usual group, but since it was cold and windy and I was dropped early and didn't seem to have my "juice", I went back and waited on the group to return. Rode last Friday on a flat course and felt great. Today, Sunday, I rode with the group and completed a hilly 40 mile route but feel as if I have lost about two years of conditioning.

I am 68 and have been riding seriously for three years. I am in good health and shape for an old man. When will I get my "juice" back?

just askin

[CNY rider]

First off, congrats (and thank you)on being a donor.
You're directly helping to make a difference in somebody's life.

I'm not clear, reading your post, on whether you donated blood or just platelets?

Either way, while it may have caused some decreased performance on the ride 2 days later, it is very unlikely to have anything to do with how you felt today. There's lots of reasons for off days, and yours probably just happened to come up today. Would doubt it has anything to do with donating a week ago.

Focus on the good you've done and enjoy your next ride. :beer:

[Skrawny]

First off, congrats (and thank you)on being a donor.
You're directly helping to make a difference in somebody's life.

I'm not clear, reading your post, on whether you donated blood or just platelets?

Either way, while it may have caused some decreased performance on the ride 2 days later, it is very unlikely to have anything to do with how you felt today. There's lots of reasons for off days, and yours probably just happened to come up today. Would doubt it has anything to do with donating a week ago.

Focus on the good you've done and enjoy your next ride. :beer:

+1
Especially if it was only platelets and not RBCs
-s

[Peter P.]

I second CNY rider's question; are you talking white blood cells or whole blood?

I've donated whole blood for years, and in the past few years kept track of how it's affected my cycling through recording weekly time trial times. Expect a reduction in performance of 3 to 4% if we're talking whole blood, and expect it to take the full 8 weeks for total performance recovery.