ask specifically, and point out that you are a competent cyclist who won't fall off at the drop of a hat.
TallBrian - recovery from a hernia op has nothing to do with how competent you might be as a cyclist, or the possibility of you falling off......
The op (as you know !) involves repairing damaged muscle through which underlying anatomical structures are p-rotruding or threatening to protrude.
The repair necessarily involves cutting, stitching, wound healing and scarring - as with any invasive surgery.
Recovery involves allowing the wound healing to occur correctly, the formation of scar tissue, and subsequent stability of the wound site.
If you put too much pressure on the wound too early then you risk compromising the integrity of the wound and invite the possibility of a repeated herniation.
The sort of pressure to cause this could come from pushing the pedals round when cycling, lifting a heavy object, or straining too hard on the toilet.
so before the possibility of falling off the bike arises - you need to be sure the wound is healed externally and internally. The only way to be sure this has occurred is to wait and allow the natural healing process to take place - generally in around 7 days a wound is healed sufficiently to be strong enough to hold together under normal forces - however, if you over stress the wound at this stage you can still cause it to fail.
Imagine if you cut your hand deep enough for a scab to form . . . . after several days the scab will be hard and crusty, but if you rub it, or stretch it apart at the edges it will re-open and start to bleed again ( and you run the risk of inviting an infection )
At the end of the day - you put your trust in a qualified surgeon to repair your hernia, why then would you choose not to trust his post op advice and instead invite comments from people you've never met and run the risk of doing further damage ?
Do as the doc says - but ask specific questions re- returning to the bike etc.
