Floyd’s of Leadville (Yep, that Floyd! Floyd Landis!) has several Cannabidiol (CBD) products and I got my hands on a bottle of their 25mg Soft Gels in the Isolate formulation. No THC, whereas the Full Spectrum version has trace amounts of THC. CBD is an active ingredient in cannabis derived from the hemp plant and the claim is that it helps many people treat conditions like pain, insomnia, and anxiety. I know I could use some pain relief so how’d it go?
Being a middle-plus age dude, I have my share of aches and pains. Some from abusing my body in my misspent youth through sports injuries, cycle crashes of both the motorized and non-motorized varieties, skateboard mishaps (oddly, I was the only one of my groups of skate friends who never broke a bone), jaroofing (this involves jumping off roofs, sort of a precursor to parkour) and plenty of other goofiness where I sustained injuries that didn’t simply heal and go away. I get why these hurt and, while I don’t dig hurting, I rarely take medication to relieve the symptoms because I can point to a specific cause.
20-plus years ago, probably more, the brain clouds with age, I began having more chronic, nondescript pain in my whole body. Not debilitating, but definitely irritating. I have seen several doctors over the years and none have been able o point to a specific cause or disease so I just soldier along and hope that I have a good day rather than a crappy one. I’ve used all available over the counter meds, and some that are not so readily available, to try to deal with the constant, low level pain. I’ve heard people with fibromyalgia describe similar symptoms to what I feel but, basically, none of the pain remedies I’ve tried help much if at all. Plus, I’m not a fan of a daily regimen of Ibuprofen or the like due to then potential long term affects. So, it is with some hope that I am giving CBD a try.
Add in to this mix that I recently had rotator cuff surgery and additional work to repair a torn bicep tendon that had been injured in a bicycle crash more than 20-years ago and I’m looking for some relief!
At this point I tend to use the Floyd’s SoftGels when I am really hurting and instead of reaching for the Ibuprofen, I’ll start with a single 25mg cap and then add a second 15 or so minutes later if I’m not feeling any relief yet. In fact, after I ran out of the sample bottle of 30 gel caps over about a 6-week period, I purchased my own bottle, with my own money, to continue to benefit from the effects of the CBD which, for me, seem to give more relief, at least for a time, than the more traditional over the counter meds can offer. The relief for me, seems to be especially noticeable for pain of the constant low-level variety an that is a good thing!
So for me, CBD does have some benefits in the pain relief realm but I wanted to confirm my results (and to prove to myself that it isn’t just a placebo affect) so I put out some feelers to other cyclists who have been riding for many years to learn of their experiences with CBD and got the following two stories back from John and Jon!
John Trusky
Why CBD? It works is the easiest answer. I have half an ulna replaced due to making the original a pack of saltine crackers over shooting a landing. I’ve broken the same collar bone twice, with the second time showing the first had never healed and the two ends of the bone have been rubbing on each other for over 10 years. I was diagnosed with degenerative wear in both my wrists, injuries mostly attributable to boxers and folks who work heavy construction, but in my case I have two decades of riding BMX and another two decade of riding MTB. So yeah, my body has taken a beating. For well over ten years, I had been on a near daily dose of ibuprofen. Sometimes 400mg, sometimes 1000. Weather is funny when you have Ti carbide joints connected with stainless screws and plates. The effects of consistent high doses of ibuprofen on the body are known, and it’s generally advised to avoid prolonged usage. When CBD became legal, I figured the increased cost of the medication may balance out the effects. I’ve been able to control my pain with a 50mg pill and occasionally using a balm applied directly to the areas on real bad days. While research is light on prolonged usage of CBD, initial reports are looking at a lack of negative effects, physiologically and psychologically. I trust the price will come down as more commercially available hemp is produced, as price is the only real negative I have yet found with use.
Jon Severson
In 2014 I broke my tibia in a pretty bad bike accident and was really jacked up. Then the following summer I was hit by a car coming back from lunch that just made things worse. I still had a 1/2 bottle of pain pills from the first accident, then got muscle relaxers and more pain pills for the second. Some may say that sounds dreamy, but all it did was mask the pain and drugged me up too much to work. It’s a terrible feeling!
Finding CBD a year and a half ago was a miracle to me and I was probably one of the few who was excited the moment I heard Floyd was going to be making it so picked it up right away as many CBD supplements are hit and miss. One thing I’ve learned is a common mistake is taking small doses and then thinking it doesn’t work. I’m 235 lbs and, for me, I’ve learned 50-100mg is about perfect when the chronic pain is at it’s worse. Yeah, that may sound like it costs a lot but do the math on what taking 6-8 200mg Advil, about the same for Naproxen, and 4-5 aspirin….all at once…would cost the taken 2-3x a day. Not cheap! It wrecks your body and even then it just took the edge off vs 50-100mg of high quality CBD like what CW (first big CBD brand), or Floyd’s, would take to make the pain go away. And I can still work. Still kinda boggles my mind it’s real. But 1.5 years later I feel great. I take it after hard work outs now or when weather changes and things flare up. CBD is legit, but ya gotta buy the legit stuff.
Thanks, Guys!
After reading John and Jon’s experiences, I am now interested in trying the Transdermal Cream that is rubbed in and used on specific locations for pain. I’ve ordered a bottle of the Floyd’s of Leadville Transdermal Sports Cream. I’m hoping that this will help with the pain associated with post-op issues from the rotator cuff situation. I’ll keep you all posted!
There you have it! I think it is important to point out that if you’d like to give CBD relief a try, go with trusted sources for your products. There isn’t really any oversight on the way packages are labeled and trust is more of an issue here to make sure you are getting what you think you are getting.
Greg Smith, AKA Sven Hammer, is the founder of fat-bike.com and has over 45-years of cycling experience. When not doing the occasional article for fat-bike.com, you can find Greg at his retail store, Everyday Cycles, in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood or somewhere out in the world on a bike!
FYI, This product was given to me at no charge for reviewing by Floyd’s of Leadville. I was not paid or bribed to give this review and it has my honest opinion or thoughts throughout. Contributing article voices were neither paid or given product for their opinions.
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