Do you guys still ride when sick?

[Fujichants]

I've been kept off my bike for a week now (and i'm getting antsy) because i'm trying to get over a bad cold (now, some of you might think that this does not qualify as being sick - I asked a similar question on a horseback riding forum and got some really snarky comments). I want to go for a ride, but i'm worried that i'll end up feeling worse. It doesn't help that I have a job to think about and that I can't look like crap (i.e. red nose) in front of my clients.

So who here still goes out riding when sick? I'd hate to think i'm a total wuss.

[jobob]

I have a head cold and I went out for a really short ride yesterday (about 10 miles and dead flat). I kept the intensity very low, I didn't push myself at all and I never got winded.

I felt great during and after the ride.

Today I'll go out (err ... might go out) for a bit longer ride, probably my usual ride to the coffee shop & back which is about 25 miles and a gentle climb. If I'm feeling good when I reach the coffee shop I might try a nearby climb but I'm going to see how I feel.

I think the trick is to just get out and not push yourself. And make sure you're dressed warmly enough that you're not chilled.

hth

[maillotpois]

+1 on what Jobob said.

Head cold I will ride - just lower intensity. Fever or chest congestion it is probably better not to ride. (Note that I say "it is probably better", instead of "I won't". )

[Tri Girl]

No snarky comments here. Colds are terrible. Like the others have said, I'll ride when I have a head cold, but I sure do take it sloooowwww and easy. No speed records are set on days like that. In fact, when I feel sick, I'll just usually ride the trainer so I can stay warm and have kleenex handy.
I hope you get to feeling better soon!

[lph]

I never ride when I'm sick. I am a pathetic wuss and the world comes to a standstill whenever I start to feel poorly. I drag myself home and go to bed, and start demanding cups of tea. Luckily for my dh I'm rarely sick for long

Honestly, if I'm sick I always get worse if I try to exert myself.

[Thorn]

I wish I could remember where I read the article, but recently there was a great article that quoted a 10 year old medical study on exercising when ill. The gist of the study was that people who exercised during a cold didn't get sicker than those who took off. The colds for both the exercise group and the non-exercise group lasted the same amount of time, but the exercises were more likely to report feeling less lousy.

That justifies my exercising with a cold. However, like others have said, I do tend to take it easier and prefer indoor vs. outdoor riding for the control over the workout.

ETA: Found it http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/he...best.html?_r=1

[Fujichants]

I wish I could remember where I read the article, but recently there was a great article that quoted a 10 year old medical study on exercising when ill. The gist of the study was that people who exercised during a cold didn't get sicker than those who took off. The colds for both the exercise group and the non-exercise group lasted the same amount of time, but the exercises were more likely to report feeling less lousy.

That justifies my exercising with a cold. However, like others have said, I do tend to take it easier and prefer indoor vs. outdoor riding for the control over the workout.

ETA: Found it http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/he...best.html?_r=1

Hmm...maybe it's time to get a trainer then!

I was feeling better by Friday, so I went to the stables to ride horse...spent a good 3 hours there, felt great afterwards...and lo and behold, Saturday morning when I was putting on my cycling clothes, I felt worse and had to let BF go on his own. He enjoyed a glorious 4 hour ride, and I went through a box of kleenex and about 5 cups of tea.

[RoadRaven]

Hello, my name is Raven... and I'm an addict...

Yes, I still ride when sick - but as the others say, if it is chesty/below the neck, I don't. Like others have said here already - this is dangerous and potentially it is life-threatening.

I have known two people now who, desparate to do events they had entered in, took pills to disguise their symptoms and ended up very sick after the intense riding of the event because they had placed such demands on their (but because of the cold/flu tablets, they hadn't realised how unwell their body was feeling). One ended up in hospital - these are both healthy, reasonably fit 30-something-year olds.

[OakLeaf]

I saw that NYT story that Thorn posted, and I'll try to be less of a wuss in the future. BUT, I think the key is keeping it very low intensity, because any time I do a normal intensity workout, it definitely suppresses my immune system. Normally that's good news because it means my allergies go away for the duration of the workout - but when I'm sick, not so much.

Back in my racing days I had a sinus infection that lasted 11 weeks (despite I think four rounds of antibiotics), all because I didn't have the sense to take some rest. I wound up having to take a week not only off the bike, but off work, before I could get better. And when I have a sinus infection, I am sick. Ever since then I've been a total wuss about working out when I'm sick.

[Aquila]

I'd ride if it were warm enough, but if it's cold enough outside that it hurts to breath, then I wouldn't. And I'd try to take it easy, but I have a tendency to want to play when I ride, and sometimes don't have good sense.

Good luck getting over your cold; they're nasty!

[five one]

I agree with those who say lay low if the cold is in your chest.

I came down with my first cold in years the week before Christmas. It started as a head cold, but traveled south, and turned into bronchitis. I finally went to the doctor who put me on a round of antibiotics. That helped, but the bronchitis seems to have triggered my semi-dormant asthma. I've been using an old inhaler with albuterol so old it's probably not helping much, if at all. I'm hoping to get an appointment tomorrow to get this development checked out and get a new inhaler prescription.

I had been hoping to at least try a short easy ride today, but the temp is low enough outside for me to hesitate filling my lungs with cold air. It's been about a month since I've ridden outdoors and it's making me crazy. I feel like I've lost my endurance base completely. I'm hoping it's just the asthma related chest tightness that's making me feel this way. I haven't even felt like trying the trainer, but may give it a try this afternoon if I feel up to it.

Hope you feel better soon.

[NbyNW]

I agree with those who say lay low if the cold is in your chest.

+1.

I had the flu over Thanksgiving which involved a terrible sinus infection which then turned into a chest cold. After three weeks I thought I was well enough to start riding to work again, but I ended up setting myself back.

This season's cold seems to be especially tenacious.

Like five one, I have a history of asthma and my doctor gave me a fresh inhaler prescription to help keep the lung congestion in check. She also suggested that I should dial back on the physical activity until the cold clears up, particularly outside.

I've told myself that I'll stay off my bike while the weather is cold. Something about the cold and staying warm and being able to regulate my body temperature. I'm still doing some light indoor exercise. Pilates, some of my old PT routine to keep up my muscle tone around the parts of my body that have a history of trouble, and if I want to get my heart rate up I'll play a little Wii Tennis or Boxing. It's not where I'd like to be physically, but at least it keeps the muscles from stiffening up.

This is probably not for everyone, especially if your symptoms are severe, but I've done a couple of sauna sessions this past week and that also seems to have helped. I don't think the virus likes those higher temperatures.

[SheFly]

At the risk of having things thrown at me, I will confess to riding through too many types of illness.

I started getting a cold on NYD, but had plans for a ride - it was 15 degrees with wind chill temps in the -20 range, and I went anyway for 1.5 hours. Saturday the cold had progressed, but didn't stop me from 1.5 hours of skate skiing at Mt Washington (can you say cold and windy???), and then an hour on the trainer in the basement. Today might have been the nail in the coffin though - felt like cr*p when I got up, but need to do at least a 2 hour ride. Went out and rode MTB in the snow (it was pure torture) for 2.5 hours. Now I can't breathe - all stuffy .

I have, in the past, also ridden a VERY hard ride while I had walking pneumonia (in my defense, I wasn't diagnosed until AFTER the ride ).

Ducking for cover (and hoping not to end up with bronchitis)...

SheFly

[shootingstar]

I had deep phlegm in my lungs which took several days to clear this week.

In other years if it weren't for our snow, I would taken a slow bike ride just to stay limber.

Weather hasn't been great and at this time, I have to become healthier faster in a way that will stay with me since it's not returning to some cycling but a busy work week ahead....and Maui thereafter!! That's where restarting cycling again.

[Crankin]

I have learned the hard way about riding when sick. I get to a certain point and I know that a cold will go into my chest. Sometimes riding outside will make me feel better, but then hours later I get worse. It's just hard for me to go slower than usual when I'm outside.
What I do is go for a brisk walk or go to yoga if I'm sick, but not too bad. That way, I feel like I've done something. Of course, I'm not training for anything. But, I've given myself pneumonia and bronchitis in the past, because I wasn't willing to rest when I should have.