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Cycling and Colds

8 Comments Posted by dave42w on December 5, 2012

In the spirit of Cycling Magazines offering authoritative advice here is mine relating to cycling and colds.

1. If you have a cold allow a little more time for your journey as you will cycle slower than normal.

Actually that is all the advice I have to give. My own experience is that during the last 2 and a bit winters when I have ridden every single day I have suffered fewer colds and I have recovered more quickly. However, I have noticed that I cycle more slowly when I have a cold – hence the advice.

So stop making everything more complicated about what to wear, what to buy and how to best recover. Instead ride your bike and allow a little more time.

transport

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8 Responses to Cycling and Colds

Martin Bulmer December 5, 2012 at 8:44 am
I was told by my GP that cycling (well, exercise in general) could be dangerous with a cold, as the virus could stick to the heart valves causing damage. Sounds a bit alarmist to me, but I’ve tried to heed his advice, as I do have a minor heart condition.

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- julesprichards December 5, 2012 at 9:36 am
  ??? woooah – I have cold, I need to cycle to work daily? ooops!
  
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  - dave42w December 5, 2012 at 11:21 am
    Tough, just ride slower you speed freak
    
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- dave42w December 5, 2012 at 11:19 am
  Martin.
  
  Obviously I can’t give medical advice. It does seem rather alarmist though. Have you discussed with the Doctor what they understand by cycling? For example do they include riding a couple of miles in a suit at a gentle pace. Probably they are thinking of hard training or racing which is a million miles away from simply using a bike to get around.
  
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  - Martin Bulmer December 5, 2012 at 12:52 pm
    I wouldn’t regard a couple of miles to work at a gentle pace as exercise if you take it easy. It’s probably less strenuous than walking (unless you’re a chef in the cafe on Snowdon).
    
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    - dave42w December 11, 2012 at 9:23 pm
      Agreed, but Doctors sometimes have odd ideas about cycling
      
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urbancyclist999alec December 10, 2012 at 10:30 am
I agree with the “fewer colds” bit – in spite of cycling in traffic (and exhaust fumes) you actually stay healthier when cycling.

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- dave42w December 11, 2012 at 9:22 pm
  Fortunately the fumes are not such a big problem away from London
  
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