Hey there fedi friends!
I have a buddy who is getting back into cycling (mostly to get around and for fun, just a bit for the fitness benefits).
They reached out to me as someone they know knows body stuff pretty well to check in about how out of breath they are finding themselves when they ride. Because they bind their chest and don't want to do themselves harm.
Now, I know that the CYA, doctor approved answer to fitness and binding is that the two should never mix and folks should 'just wear a sports bra', but that's not the everyday experience of many of the folks I know who bind for gender affirming reasons.
I personally have very little experience binding while doing significant cardio, as most of the time I spent binding and working out was doing partner acrobatics, which at least how we do it, is surprisingly anaerobic. More often than not I could use a sports bra reasonably comfortably, and when I wore a binder, it was for stretches of 2-3 hours, and I was in my home, where I could just go take it off if I felt dizzy or any way unwell.
So, the ask. With standard this is not "advice", this is personal experience, nobody sue anyone handwaving, for anyone who binds while doing cardio, especially cycling in particular, what do you do to mitigate risks? What body indicators do you look for to stop and take a break? Is just pulling over for a bit and breathing enough to sort yourself out? Do you use a different binder for working out than you would for otherwise day-to-day wear? Is there any form of preparation that you take, like bringing a sports bra to pop into a restroom and change into if you get dizzy or something?
All of binding is a dance of weighing potential risks vs rewards. I would like to help a friend weigh those risks, but I need more data to do so!
edit: Any perspectives from folks who do breast minimization while working out of any kind are welcome