Originally Posted by Novakane

Just thought I would share a little story of my ride a few minutes ago...

As my work day was winding down (I work from home) I looked in the fridge and noticed I was nearly out of beer. I looked outside and it was lightly raining, but still warm, so I made sure to put on a baseball cap to keep the rain out of my eyes and set off to the store to re-provision.

I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and got a little bit wet (not even soaked through) and as I approached the mall I saw people hiding under awnings, afraid to run to their cars. I received so many looks of pity as I passed.

They must be all made of sugar, afraid to melt from a little rain. I would have been wetter and colder had I just stepped out of the shower than I got from my short ride. I never quite did understand the mentality that rain water = bad. I've never really minded the rain or getting soaked by it unless it was the freezing variety.
On a day like today I sometimes say to myself "that looks like a fun rain to go biking in" - and it's not the first time I've decided to go on a not-entirely-necessary bike ride in such weather. I find it refreshing.

Could it be the building-to car-to building isolation from the elements that causes people to react this way, or is that just my smugness interpreting things? .

Originally Posted by zephyr

When Albert Einstein was a professor at Princeton University, he and his wife lived in a home adjacent to the campus. Mr Einstein would typically walk from home to class or office, or anywhere else on campus. One day upon setting off to leave home, his wife told him to take a hat because it was starting to rain outside. Mr. Einstein replied, why should I wear a hat with a little bit of rain? The hat will take hours to dry out, my hair will dry out in just a few minutes?

Originally Posted by nwmtnbkr

Oh arrogant generation that we are, comfortable with our invincibility due to the fairly-recent invention of antibiotics (yes, they may have been around longer than most of us, but in context of human history, their development in the last century is significant and extremely recent). We forget that human concerns about injury and illness stem from the vast portion of our species' history, where life span was short and simple injuries or even just gettng soaking wet and chilled could kill. Don't forget that George Washington died after getting somewhat wet riding in falling snow (doctors and historians aren't exactly sure what his exact cause of death were, but it was precipitated by getting wet and chilled). Simple injuries, like a nick while shaving could result in death if sepsis set in. We should be very concerned about the over use of antibiotics and the rise of resistant strains of bacteria.

Originally Posted by nwmtnbkr

Oh arrogant generation that we are, comfortable with our invincibility due to the fairly-recent invention of antibiotics (yes, they may have been around longer than most of us, but in context of human history, their development in the last century is significant and extremely recent). We forget that human concerns about injury and illness stem from the vast portion of our species' history, where life span was short and simple injuries or even just gettng soaking wet and chilled could kill. Don't forget that George Washington died after getting somewhat wet riding in falling snow (doctors and historians aren't exactly sure what his exact cause of death were, but it was precipitated by getting wet and chilled). Simple injuries, like a nick while shaving could result in death if sepsis set in. We should be very concerned about the over use of antibiotics and the rise of resistant strains of bacteria.

Originally Posted by B. Carfree

I don't think the car-bound are made of sugar. I think they suspect they are descendants of the Wicked Witch of the West and are just playing it safe.

Originally Posted by Roody

Most modern biologists would say that infections are caused by microorganisms, not by getting cold or wet.

Originally Posted by Fasteryoufool

Getting wet and chilled doesn't make you sick. That's nothing but an old wives tale. Bacteria do and viruses do, and being wet and cold doesn't make them more powerful, nor does it make your inherent resistance less.

Antibiotics don't affect virii anyhow. That would be a large part of the reason HIV is such a problem.

Originally Posted by nwmtnbkr

Well, pick your theory, since there are so many "scientific" studies. However, there was a recent study conducted at Cardiff University in Wales found that chilling causes vasoconstriction in the nose, which has two common cold-producing effects--reduces the number of immune cells available in the nasal epithelium and slows mucous clearance, giving infectious agents more time to infect you. In addition, the body is stressed when chilled and when stressed, more susceptible to illness. Never forget, we've got lots of bacteria on our bodies. It's good that we can't see all the microorganisms in the environment.

Originally Posted by nwmtnbkr

LOL, read the University of Cardiff study.

Originally Posted by Roody

But the study doesn't say that chilly conditions actually cause or increase the number of colds, according to your own summary of it. Especially given that the virus and other germs don't survive well in cold air or on cold surfaces. All I can say for sure is that I get fewe colds when I keep active outdoors.

Oh, another thing is that you say the body is stressed when chilled. Well, my body never gets chilled, since I dress properly and stay active. I imagine if you sat on a snow bank in your boxers for a couple hours, you just might get sick, however.