Biking with a head cold - good/bad?

"Badger South" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I caught a three-day flu bug last Friday and continued to bike thinking that it wouldn't hurt me,
and might even help.

My thought was, 'hey some ppl advocate that raising the temp (at least in the nasal passages)
can help to make the body inhospitable to the bug'. So I wore a sweatsuit top over my regular
riding togs and sweated off about three lbs of water, replacing with diet gingerale and chicken
boullion PRN.

It did seem to help.

I had one day where I had that 'dopey, glassey-eyed' period in the evening, dosed up with some
robo w/codeine to keep from coughing myself raw and allow sleep.

The next day I was back out riding a little more casually than normal, and by Monday still stuffy
but feeling better.

Tuesday I rode my regular ride at regular speed and felt great.

Today I felt a -little- weak, still an occasional cough, but fine, and kinda pleased w/my refusal
to wussy out. <g>

My feeling is that as long as you're not having a fever or obvious bacterial infection, go sweat.

YMMV. Thoughts?

Works for me, but I wouldn't ride in traffic while under any cold or allergy medication.

Matthew

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I caught a three-day flu bug last Friday and continued to bike thinking that it wouldn't hurt me,
and might even help.

My thought was, 'hey some ppl advocate that raising the temp (at least in the nasal passages)
can help to make the body inhospitable to the bug'. So I wore a sweatsuit top over my regular
riding togs and sweated off about three lbs of water, replacing with diet gingerale and chicken
boullion PRN.

It did seem to help.

I had one day where I had that 'dopey, glassey-eyed' period in the evening, dosed up with some
robo w/codeine to keep from coughing myself raw and allow sleep.

The next day I was back out riding a little more casually than normal, and by Monday still stuffy
but feeling better.

Tuesday I rode my regular ride at regular speed and felt great.

Today I felt a -little- weak, still an occasional cough, but fine, and kinda pleased w/my refusal
to wussy out. <g>

My feeling is that as long as you're not having a fever or obvious bacterial infection, go sweat.

YMMV. Thoughts?

Looks like my mileage is about the same as yours <GGG>. I found long ago that if I can make myself
do a good workout and work up a sweat for an hour or so, then as long as I don't work myself to
complete exhaustion it seems to help get over the cold a little quicker. Getting the will power to
get the workout started can be very difficult, though.

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Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

Ray Heindl said:

I find that hard physical activity (e.g. cycling) is great for clearing the nose and sinuses -- I
don't know if it's the adrenaline that does it, or that the blood is being diverted from the head
to the muscles that are doing the work. Just don't let any of your coworkers or bosses see you
cycling on a day you called in sick at work.

Heh... ain't it the truth?

I have fairly frequent sinus problems, and have noticed that on the mornings I ride I almost always
get better - on those days I blow it off, I almost always get worse.

It stands to reason though - if I spew a pound or two (seems like it anyway) of road lubricant
during a ride, it's gotta help.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Badger South said:

I caught a three-day flu bug last Friday and continued to bike thinking that it wouldn't hurt me,
and might even help.

My thought was, 'hey some ppl advocate that raising the temp (at least in the nasal passages)
can help to make the body inhospitable to the bug'. So I wore a sweatsuit top over my regular
riding togs and sweated off about three lbs of water, replacing with diet gingerale and chicken
boullion PRN.

It did seem to help.

I had one day where I had that 'dopey, glassey-eyed' period in the evening, dosed up with some robo
w/codeine to keep from coughing myself raw and allow sleep.

The next day I was back out riding a little more casually than normal, and by Monday still stuffy
but feeling better.

Tuesday I rode my regular ride at regular speed and felt great.

Today I felt a -little- weak, still an occasional cough, but fine, and kinda pleased w/my refusal
to wussy out. <g>

My feeling is that as long as you're not having a fever or obvious bacterial infection, go sweat.

YMMV. Thoughts?

-B

Thoughts? Well, if it is influenza, then you need to rest and let it run it's course. "Real" flu can
be dangerous to fatal. If it is just the sniffles, then I would ride. Beyond that, if you ride year
round, eg: commute on a bike, you probably don't get the flu or colds any more. At least not every
year. So that's MY question back to you: if you ride daily, do you get colds and the flu every
fall/winter like my co-workers do? Best regards, Bernie

In article said:

Badger South said:

I caught a three-day flu bug last Friday and continued to bike thinking that it wouldn't hurt me,
and might even help.

My thought was, 'hey some ppl advocate that raising the temp (at least in the nasal passages)
can help to make the body inhospitable to the bug'. So I wore a sweatsuit top over my regular
riding togs and sweated off about three lbs of water, replacing with diet gingerale and chicken
boullion PRN.

It did seem to help.

<snippage>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

YMMV. Thoughts?

-B

Thoughts? Well, if it is influenza, then you need to rest and let it run it's course. "Real" flu
can be dangerous to fatal. If it is just the sniffles, then I would ride. Beyond that, if you ride
year round, eg: commute on a bike, you probably don't get the flu or colds any more. At least not
every year. So that's MY question back to you: if you ride daily, do you get colds and the flu
every fall/winter like my co-workers do? Best regards, Bernie

Haven't had a bad cold since before '98, and this only lasted three days. I don't bike to work, but
I work out frequently. I've only started back biking in August.

-B

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"Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ray Heindl said:

I find that hard physical activity (e.g. cycling) is great for clearing the nose and sinuses -- I
don't know if it's the adrenaline that does it, or that the blood is being diverted from the head
to the muscles that are doing the work. Just don't let any of your coworkers or bosses see you
cycling on a day you called in sick at work.

Heh... ain't it the truth?

I have fairly frequent sinus problems, and have noticed that on the mornings I ride I almost
always get better - on those days I blow it off, I almost always get worse.

Quoted message said:

It stands to reason though - if I spew a pound or two (seems like it anyway) of road lubricant
during a ride, it's gotta help.

I've found this too -- sitting around just makes it worse. Fresh air and hot showers are natural
antihistimines.

Matt O.

Ray Heindl said:

I find that hard physical activity (e.g. cycling) is great for clearing the nose and sinuses -- I
don't know if it's the adrenaline that does it, or that the blood is being diverted from the head
to the muscles that are doing the work. Just don't let any of your coworkers or bosses see you
cycling on a day you called in sick at work.

Heh. Not that I've ever left work early because I felt poorly and decided to take the long way
around the lake home (something like 35 miles instead of 12). No, no, not me.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g "Even nowadays a man can't step up and
kill a woman without feeling just a bit unchivalrous ..." -- Robert Benchley

"Dane Jackson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ray Heindl said:

I find that hard physical activity (e.g. cycling) is great for clearing the nose and sinuses --
I don't know if it's the adrenaline that does it, or that the blood is being diverted from the
head to the muscles that are doing the work. Just don't let any of your coworkers or bosses see
you cycling on a day you called in sick at work.

Heh. Not that I've ever left work early because I felt poorly and decided to take the long way
around the lake home (something like 35 miles instead of 12). No, no, not me.

Sometimes a bad case of office fever can be cured by another 20 miles or so tacked on to
your commute -- better for you to take off early and ride than to take a mental health day
off the next day.

Remember this post about going around the bottom of the lake?
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Claire Petersky <[email hidden]> wrote:

: Sometimes a bad case of office fever can be cured by another 20 miles or so tacked on to your
: commute -- better for you to take off early and ride than to take a mental health day off the
: next day.

Sure. Bending the rules can be a slippery slope, though. Conscientous employees would plan so that
they can do the refreshing riding on their free time, I guess :-)

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