Originally Posted by John Ridley
My wife gives me a hard time when I ride the bike on blood donation days, but so far, so good. I certainly don't try to set any records, either on the way there or on the way home afterwards. I tried to go normal speed on the way there once, it's about 10 miles to the donation spot, and I had to wait 30 minutes for my pulse/bp to get down to where they'd let me give. Last time I just spun in nice and easy, and was well within the range by the time I got to the testing table.
I work as a phlebotomist at a donor center, and I also give blood and then ride home, so I see it from both sides. You have to be careful when you ride in too hard and then donate. Your body produces liver enzymes when you exercise hard, and that can throw off the tests for hepatitis and liver function. You definitely want to take it nice and easy on your way in. Biking home afterward is fine, as long as you hydrate well BEFORE as well as after donating. Most people who come in to donate don't drink nearly enough before hand. It helps so much with post donation recovery, that I try to make all of my donors drink while they give.
On another note, the commute today was great! I actually met up with two other commuters this morning for the first time! I have only passed one person, and have been passed by two others since starting this almost a month ago, so it was nice to be able to chat with someone else doing the same thing in my neighborhood! They were both so friendly, although one thought my peddling in Tevas was pretty funny. I definitely felt like a rookie, until I found out he had only been doing it a week or so longer than me.
Great weather too. The warm temps and no rain seems to be holding out for an exceptionally long time, and the trees are getting prettier by the day!
Kat