paperbackbiker

Rats. I just know this is a dang sinus infection in the making. Got my flu shot, so probably not that. Slight fever, stuffy head and sinus, pissed off attitude.

Weighing the "should I go to work" thing along with "should I bike to work" thing and while I do this, I wondered how y'all decide whether or not to bike sick...

eofelis 

I didn't ride to work today. I was very tired and achy. Even went into work 2 hrs late. Drove the car.

I'm fairly liberal about deciding to drive if I don't feel well. I figure I'll get over it faster if I take it easy for a day or two. I end up driving about once every two weeks, maybe once a week in the winter.

DogBoy

If it's just in my head, I ride. Riding tends to loosen things up, providing great rocket material. I know, TMI. However, if anything gets into my chest or I have nausea or other digestive issues and I do not ride.

bhop

I don't go to work sick. If I do, I get sent home anyway since I work with germ freaks.

DX-MAN

If I can ride, I can work; if I can work, I can ride. The yardstick for that is pretty simple: can I stand up without focused effort? Go to work. Get on the bike and go.

Exception: deep snow and/or ice. THEN, I get on the bus.

silmarillion

I agree with DX If I can go to work, then I can probably ride. However, I do think that it's wise not to push an illness. Sometimes it makes sense to drive especially if it's cold out and you have a bad cold.

Chest colds are way different though. If you can't clear your chest normally by coughing it up, then pushing yourself can lead to pneumonia. Which in turn can knock you out of the saddle more than a few days it would have taken to rest and get rid of the cough.

I'm a firm believer in a daily vitamin everyday, and OD'ing on vitamin C when I'm fighting an illness. Helps you recover faster and builds resistance when everyone else around you is sick.

dcrowell

How far is your commute?

My tiny 3.5 miles commute? I ride if I can work. When I had commute 5x longer, I rode when I felt able.

modernjess

+1 But I really don't want to spread my sickness to others and I can usually cover a lot of my work from home if need be. I don't think riding is necessarily bad for you when you are sick, on the other hand rest is always good for you.

silmarillion

My ride is 13 miles each way.

One thing I do know, when it's really cold out...freezing or below, if you are breathing heavy, then you are taking in frigid air into your lungs. Sometimes this will intensify the coughing and I don't know if this is necessarily a good practice.

DataJunkie

I used to but it seemed to make things worse. Now I go on a nice fast ride to kick the bug into high gear and then sleep a ton.

recumbenttoad

Starve a cold, pedal a fever...or is it Draft a cold, starve a fever?

oneeyedhobbit

My days are pretty long atm (full time work to put me through college), and usually my 7 mile ride to and from campus/work are my main R & R. Obviously weekends hanging with friends are a different story, but typically my rides to and from campus are the best part of my day. If I'm sluggish and tired the first mile sucks, but when I hit campus I feel like an Adonis. If I'm already feeling invigorated it just gets better. As such, if I'm too sick to ride I usually try to push myself and realize life is great. If I start riding (or never make it there) and realize I'm still to sick, its a day best spent in bed playing Zelda or reading.

L.L. Zamenhof

If I'm good enough to go to work, I ride. My ride isn't that long or strenuous, so my physical state has little impact on whether or not I ride.

Blues Frog

If a sinus infection I might call in. Then get my gear on, wear plastic sweats, drink about 16 oz.s of HOT water and go for a sprint for at least more than double my normal short commute. Get back in and take a long hot bath, Get in bed and sleep. Make sure you eat well and take a natural C supplement. Watch the dosage. Too much and you will soon know how the body rejects excess C.

DX-MAN

I guess my work situation is unique, in that I can pretty much control co-worker contact; I work in an isolated area, with at most one other person, and just being grumpy can assure me I'll be alone all day.

Rest, if 'overdone' (easier to do than you realize), CAN be bad for you, too. Riding ramps up the metabolism, makes the crap come up and out (I spit a LOT when I'm riding, ALL the time, winter or summer), and the effects last a while after getting off the bike. Rest is best when you near 'the wall'.

hyhuu

The last two times I got sick, riding made the conditions much worse so I prob won't do that anymore. My commute is also long.

cehowardGS

Yesterday, after the commute to and from work, in 25 degrees in the morning, I caught a little something. It felt like the beginning of a cold. So, I reluctantly passed on riding the bike to work today. After I got home yesterday, I told me wife how I was feeling, and she gave me two tablespoons of cold medicine, hot soup, and a sandwich and gently laid me down to sleep. It all worked too. Even though I drove the truck to work, I am feeling great. Looking forward to tomorrow when I ride the bike again.

We got to take a break when we feel that cold coming on. When the cold hits us, there is no question not to ride. The worst the cold, the longer you are away from riding. My advice, do not play with the colds/flu etc.. Heed the warnings..

In the meantime, wishing all healthy and safe commutes...

ceh

Zrane

Off topic, but I once knew a gentleman that liked to dabble in recreational drugs. And by dabble, I mean was high as a kite, tweaking, or tripping balls all day, every day. He once took a large dose of a certain hallucinogenic substance and decided that, hey, OJ is good for you when you're on this stuff so this giant wholesaler bottle of chew-able vitamin C supplements must be great.

He was on the porcelain throne for hours, and his pitiful wails of "Oh god, I'm ****ing fire!" have kept me wary of too much good ol' vitamin C for years since.

snowman40

You have a fever, you should be staying home. If you want to ride, ride, just not to work.

Only times I don't ride are intestinal issues (because it is never what you think it is....) and nausea.

snowman40

I was hungry....but not anymore.....

fietsbob

Your Co-Workers already have the seasonal Cold? if not, will hate you
if you spread yours around the place.

tjspiel

Generally if I'm too sick to ride, I'm too sick to go to work.

If it's something like a cold, yes I'll ride. Sufficient rest is important in getting better but my personal experience is that doesn't preclude partaking in some exercise.

My wife never understood why I'd go running even if I was feeling under the weather. It actually helps me. Of course there are limits. If I'm so sick that it's all I can do to get out of bed, I'm not going to run or ride, but then, I'm not going to go to work either.

I'm fairly lucky. Before we had kids I rarely got sick. Now, even though I do catch more bugs, they generally follow a particular pattern and I almost never miss work.