Page 3 - is it ok to ride in the cold...

30-01.-2008, 01:29 AM

#31

frenchyge

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Location: Kansas City, USA

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Re: is it ok to ride in the cold...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_B

Too Cold to Exercise? Try Another Excuse

But lungs are not damaged by cold, said Kenneth W. Rundell, the director of respiratory research and the human physiology laboratory at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa. No matter how cold the air is, by the time it reaches your lungs, it is body temperature, he explained.Some people complain that they get exercise-induced asthma from the cold. But that sort of irritation of the respiratory tract is caused by dryness, not cold, Dr. Rundell said. “Cold air just happens not to hold much water and is quite dry,” he said. You’d have the same effect exercising in air that was equally dry but warm.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/h...ion/17BEST.html
(requires free subscription)

Yep, that's exactly the interesting-but-uninformative article that I was referring to in post #11. Regarding the bolded statement, see my real-world, extreme example in post #11 and let me know if you can imagine a single place on earth where you could find warm air that was equally dry -- except in a laboratory utilizing dessicant dryers to remove the moisture. Plus, as Garage Sale GT correctly pointed out, as that cold air does warm up inside the body it is just ACHING to absorb more moisture, and it will readily suck it from the respiratory tract with each breath. Breathing through the nose will help this by preheating in the sinuses, but as was pointed out early on, if you overdo it such that you're breathing *heavily via mouth* then you increase the risk for the respiratory irritation that the article describes -- whether the air is cold & dry, or just dry.

BTW, Yojimbo if you're still reading this, I'm sorry if I jumped your butt about this before. Earlier that day a teammate of mine had sent me the above link and it had kind of got me spun up about the idiotic stuff that gets reported as news. It had nothing to do with you, I was just a little fiesty on the topic already when you posted.

30-01.-2008, 01:32 AM

#32

frenchyge

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Re: is it ok to ride in the cold...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sillyoldtwit

a 55 year old friend of mine in England (an ex coal miner), was as fit as a fiddle running 5-10 miles everyday whereas most of his colleagues had already died or were very sickly with pneumoconiosis, emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Clearly all the bad-stuff about breathing coal dust is just scaremongering. I mean, here's a fellow that lived to be 55 without any issue whatsoever.

30-01.-2008, 01:42 AM

#33

TheDarkLord

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Re: is it ok to ride in the cold...

Quote:

Originally Posted by frenchyge

Naturally on Earth - probably not. But what about the air in the airplane at cruising altitude? That is supposed to be extremely dry, no?

30-01.-2008, 02:09 AM

#34

frenchyge

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Re: is it ok to ride in the cold...

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDarkLord

Naturally on Earth - probably not. But what about the air in the airplane at cruising altitude? That is supposed to be extremely dry, no?

Serious? We're still talking about cycling, right?

To answer your question, yes it's probably dry, but also cold.... OMG-you-freeze-to-death-in-a-heartbeat cold. That's why folks are discouraged from stowing away in the baggage compartments or with the landing gear of airplanes.

30-01.-2008, 02:34 AM

#35

TheDarkLord

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Re: is it ok to ride in the cold...

Quote:

Originally Posted by frenchyge

Serious? We're still talking about cycling, right?

Who asked the question of whether there is any place on Earth with warm air with humidity equivalent to heated cold air??

Quote:

Originally Posted by frenchyge

Obviously, I'm not referring to air outside - it is air inside the passenger compartment. Pilots have posted that the humidity inside is usually in the low single digits. Thank goodness nobody is really exercising in a plane in the middle of a flight.

30-01.-2008, 04:44 AM

#36

frenchyge

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Join Date: Apr 2005

Location: Kansas City, USA

Posts: 3,617

Re: is it ok to ride in the cold...

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDarkLord

Obviously, I'm not referring to air outside - it is air inside the passenger compartment. Pilots have posted that the humidity inside is usually in the low single digits.

Ah, "air in the airplane." Sorry, I missed that part before. That air is crappy in so many ways, but you're right -- also dry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDarkLord

Thank goodness nobody is really exercising in a plane in the middle of a flight.

If there's a "Mile-high Club" forum, then hopefully they're getting the news and using their humidifiers.

30-01.-2008, 01:27 PM	#37
garage sale GT Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,147	Re: is it ok to ride in the cold... cold and dryness don't have to reach the lungs to contribute to infection. working out at lower intensities can be safe in cold weather (or hypothetically on an airplane) because you still haven't exceeded your body's ability to replenish lost heat and moisture. So your average NYTimes reader can go out for a stroll or a jog in weather which would floor an athlete who moves much more air. Conversely, if your nose hurts from breathing and your lungs feel chilled, just slow down or breathe through a scarf. breathing through a scarf is almost as effective as my mask but is more restrictive. __________________ Your mouthwash ain't makin' it.*

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