It’s kind if the world we live in, I’m in a legal state and would love to see more research but I also understand that till it’s federally legal they have to tread lightly
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It was discussed a bit on a podcast but forget which episode. Maybe 73?
Edit: searched, it was episode 70, fast forward to 8:20 mark - https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/B4w2YZPtKwvUivqV9
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ha, that was my question! Thanks for finding it…i’m gonna ask them to follow up on this.
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I can understand why they only give known facts but not really opinion. Opinion can be mistaken for advice which can lead to liability, plus it’s still a polarizing topic that not everyone may agree with
With cannabis being a prohibited substance in competition according to Global DRO, it seems like it would be difficult to find someone that competes at any level and takes in THC for a discussion. Being legal to use according to local (state, federal, etc.) laws might be part of it but having it take away an athlete’s ability to compete could add to the complexity.
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Do you use any sleep monitoring devices? They may tell a different story. At the present time, the scientific literature is unclear on whether cannabis and cannabinoids are useful sleep aids. In some ways cannabis may have a beneficial impact on sleep and in other ways it may disturb sleep. For more details, see the following review article Article.
What I am getting at is: while cannabis may help you induce sleep, your sleep quality may suffer. The physiology of sleep is very complicated and there is good reason to believe that any exogenous substance can interfere with these delicate pathways. But, if your subjective experience is positive, there may be no reason to change your relationship with cannabis.
For reference, I occasionally use cannabis to induce sleep after high stress days. But I do not consider it ideal.
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Nothing outside from my garmin watch and apple phone and its tracking.
Unlike drinking, which absolutely has worse sleep patterns and is noticeable, there is no discernable difference in my “sleep quality” whether it be REM, deep or light sleep. The biggest difference is the overall amount of sleep I am able to get and when/if i wake up how long it takes to go back to sleep. Again all n=1
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I recommend not taking thc before a ride, especially an interval ride. Might be okay for a low intensity or recovery ride. The problem is dry mouth symptom is for real. You’ll feel dehydrated. And time would feel slower as well. Not good when you’re in the middle of a hard interval. Off the bike though, I find it as a great recovery tool.
I was a daily user for over 20 years. I’m a decently successful professional. Have a family. I loved to smoke it, vaporize it, and ingest it. I helped friends open businesses that sold it (I’m in a fully recreational legal state). Back in January of 2020 I was taking stock of things in my life while doing some journaling and asked myself if my THC usage was simply a daily ritual for the sake of being a ritual. I thought I was having a good time while on it, that things were still being “enhanced” by it, that it was my way of winding down from a tough day. That is when I decided to take an extended tolerance break as a small challenge to myself - six months clean. Seemed easy enough. I thought after the first two weeks that it would be super simple. Well, things spiraled fast after the third week. I was in the worst psychological state I had ever been in my life. It was literally hell with emotions that seemed to ping pong in every direction, but mostly trending down. I explained to my family and close friends what I was trying to accomplish and asked them to help monitor me for unusual behavior or actions. I was in a really dark place - like 1000x times worse than the worst bonk you can imagine on a tough climb in the middle of nowhere with empty bottles and no food. Everyday. I am usually of a very mellow temperament but spikes of anger like I’ve never experienced before became a daily outburst from me. But I knew it was related to the withdrawal and I told myself to just hold on and ride out the storm.
I should note that by the time March came around, my work (I’m in the entertainment business) came to a screeching halt and we were in lockdown mode. The stress of the business, the uncertainty of the pandemic, and fear of Trump’s incompetence were a firestorm of bad ingredients that really made the tolerance break unbearable. Thankfully I had a good savings and the money I saved from not buying anymore THC products for three months was like a bonus check. So I did what any cyclist does for a quick cheer up: I bought a new bike. With the lockdown in effect I was able to ride with freedom from cars, distractions of work, and limits on time. I really threw myself back into cycling after neglecting it the last few years. Well it’s been about a year and I have completely quit THC and personally feel better than at any point in the last 10 years. My fitness is totally improved, have done a few imperial centuries, and am on a regular TR training plan. I am still a staunch supporter of the legalization movement and am strong enough to not feel any temptation when hanging with friends who still use. After reading “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, I was able to really transition how I think about myself and my habits, even those that were built over 20+ years of my life. While my story may not apply to everyone, OP did have a question about what happened after we stopped using, so I thought it was a good opportunity to share.
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Thanks for sharing your experience! 
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Lifelong user and advocate here, but I have been partaking for rides less and less as I’ve gotten more intentional with my training. A couple of years ago I started to notice a significant decrease in my power/heart rate ratio when under the influence vs. not, so I mostly avoid it on training rides now. But soul rides? Absolutely. I’m I triathlete and I love it for swimming, especially open water, and running as well.
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Yes, same. I notice that for a given power my HR is higher, than when I’m not using it. And I’m almost 100% ingestion so I can take the smoke-in-the-lungs out of the picture. It definitely is not a performance enhancer, at least in my case. I don’t enjoy the combination of serious riding and cannabis, although I do use it for easy endurance rides, find that it helps me stay in the low zone. Hard training rides, group rides, mountain bike rides, nope.
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I actually find it helps me most here, because of my natural instinct to stiffen up in corners and slow down. When I indulge I seem to have an easier time really throwing the bike into corners and pumping using my weight, just having more fun.
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I dig it. There was one time in particular when I indulged on night group ride that it did that magic thing, got me in that flow state immediately. It must have been the right strain I guess because I’ve chased that sensation ever since, but it just doesn’t work for me. It makes me question every move, it’s anti-flow for me, usually. Funny thing is that I PR’d a section of trail that rare evening and never have I touched that time. The trail has gotten slower since then, but still, it was an interesting experiment that night! I’d say half the people I ride with are regular users and of them, most of them use it while riding. I’ve had to learn to pass until we’re back at our cars.
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I’m new to this, but I want to get rid of my anxiety by using marijuana, and I hope it works for me. To update my post, I want to say that I have studied a lot of information about marijuana and learned a lot of interesting things. For example, people note that after using marijuana, they have a lot of creative ideas. What do you think about it? In addition, I read some articles about its beneficial properties and decided to order some products containing marijuana from weedsmart.net to use as a medicine. Do you think I should consult a doctor first? Any of your thoughts and suggestions will be highly appreciated.
Try using a “indica”, remember as “in da couch” it’s usually a more relaxing type of strain. Other strains like “sativa” are used for people that like to be “high” at work. I have anxiety and indica seems to help me, anytime I use sativa it doesn’t help my anxiety at all and sometimes makes it worse.
Leafly.com. com is a great site for what strains are available and give you a breakdown of how they affect you.
Hope that helps in some way!
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+! on what footpedaling said. Try indica first and don’t expect a huge result the first time you smoke (i don’t suggest ingesting it for your first time, but that’s just me).
Also, weed effects everyone differently and may do the opposite to your anxiety so just be ready for that, especially if you have a strong sativa. Ultimately you are not going to have the luxury of getting a pure strain of either and just need to try a hybrid to see how it effects ya…good luck!
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“joined 49 minutes ago and posted 46 min ago” sounds legit.
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Yup, handled the flag and nuked the spammer.
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This!