Hi slocoach! You have ankylosing spondylitis too? That's rotten luck.

Yes, no cure but exercise plus occasional short courses of anti-inflammatories have been a reasonable treatment.

Unfortunately, my first cardiologist put me on warfarin instead of aspirin and I couldn't take any anti-inflammatories for nearly three years. By the time my current cardiologist changed me to aspirin a lot of damage had been done, particularly in my hips and hands. My rheumatologist says that I will always be in pain from the damgaged joints even though the inflammation is now under control again.

I have just found that I can get diclofenac gel from my pharmacist. It is the most effective painkiller I have taken in a long while. One application per day is all it takes to bring the pain right down so I can ride as much as I want to!

I've even been able to continue riding after I injured my foot in a fall last week.

It certainly is helping my heart, too. I have AF and unstable angina. The fitter I am, the less work it has to do. I've had two heart events in the last seven days. The first, I had to lie down on cool concrete for a while until the arrhythmia fixed itself after about 15 minutes.

The second, yesterday, fixed itself before I could even stop the bike!