What are you doing for COVID cycling and safety?

[jamawani]

Article is 3 weeks old.

Meanwhile Wyoming has one of the lowest incidence & death rates in the country.
Wyoming has a death rate of 1 per 100,000. (7 total deaths)
Alabama's is 7 (349 deaths), Miss'sippi's is 13 (396 deaths), and Joja's is 12 (1317 deaths)!
Lawsy!

I'd rather be riding in Wyoming.

[jinx]

Well, I got tired of riding around the block so I'm now back on my favorite rail-trail again but not everyday like I used to be. The crowds have subsided a little as people return to work and businesses partially open. The trail still has more than the former pre-Covid-19 amount of people traffic during the afternoons when I'm usually there. I'm still avoiding the more densely populated areas doing 10-1/2 miles instead of 14. I don't wear a mask while I'm riding be I do have a strategy.

On-coming people or cyclists are typically not a problem. I get over to the right as far as I can go, they to the left, then I hold my breath and look to the side as I go by. People walking in my lane are more troublesome. They're usually walking side by side instead of 6 feet apart inline as I approach. I give the 'on your left' alert well behind them and wait for them to move right. Some do, some don't. I give the alert again if I need to and wait. If they still won't move to the right I'll hold my breath and pass as far to the left as I can, sometimes on the grass.

Cyclists traveling fast are also not a problem. When I spot one approaching in my mirror I again hold my breath and turn away as they quickly pass. When they're 50-75 feet ahead I resume breathing. But slower multiple cyclists passing by are more problematic. They pass slowly taking longer than I can hold my breath. When I spot them coming I slow down to a crawl and hold my breath as long as I can while they're passing. When they're 50-75 feet ahead or more I resume my speed. Not wanting to breath in someone's slipstream is what I most want to avoid.

But the good part is I'm back out riding and enjoying myself with some new method to my madness. I keep telling myself, 'get used to it', it's the new norm. There are too many people in the world today interacting in too many different ways. Today it's Corona, tomorrow it'll be some other virus or something. We're just a too big of a food source to go untapped.

[UncaBuddha]

Glad you are back at it Jinx. Remember that the virus is being expelled in a plume behind the walkers and riders. The riders plume is longer. I have read that by 30' most of the virus has settled to the ground. And infection seems related to exposure amount PLUS time. If you are getting just a few virus particles and then none you are probably ok. That having been said, I do NOT want to get sick. I go to work with a mask!

[John Nettles]

I'd rather be riding in Wyoming.

What do the locals Wyomians/Wyomites/folk think of outsiders?
John

[jinx]

"That having been said, I do NOT want to get sick."

I'm with you UncaBuddha. At 72 with a quadruple bypass, if the Coronies get me, I'm out of here. Not good dying having fun or trying to be healthy. Seems a little counter-productive.

I'm trying to be safe. I've also picked-up a pair of tight fitting curved sunglasses for the occasion. I usually wear a small-rimmed cloth hat mainly as a sweat band and sun shade. But if I drop my hatted head, air tends to mushroom around me a little better avoiding my face. And I'm not opposed to riding a little wet, or when it's hot or when it's cold, for uncomfortable weather reduces the crowds.

But I'm not doing weekends or holidays anymore when people do gather more often. And if I'm out and about and I starting feeling uncomfortable or creeped-out with my surroundings, I'll turn it around or head in another direction.

[froze]

I live in a city of 300,000 or so people, I ride the paths, I wear NO protection whatsoever, I'm not that paranoid about it.  In fact the only time I wear protection out in public is if my wife is with me who insists that we wear masks, or if the store I go into says we have to wear one, otherwise I don't wear the masks.

I have friends and a daughter who are nurses, they've had a few C19 patients, and yet they haven't even tested positive.

[canalligators]

Yeah, what do all those doctors and scientists know anyway?

[froze]

I don't care what the doctors know!  I will not let fear run my life.

[John Nettles]

I don't care what the doctors know!  I will not let fear run my life.

Seriously?!?  Without trying to sound rude, then you are being foolish.  We have lost 2 friends to the virus.  My wife is a Hospitalist (doc who works only in a hospital) and she treats covid patients on a daily basis.  Without going into all the numbers and details, you REALLY should wear a mask when in ALL public enclosed areas and yes that means no dine-in restaurants.  She has treated patients aged 21 to 85.  Typically, the older you are the more likely you are to die.  If you don't die, most have severe lingering effects (hard to breathe, very lethargic, etc.) that are very slow to recover and some have not yet who had it in late February.  Some are asymptomatic (usually the younger). Those with underlying conditions (diabetes, overweight, etc.) have a much greater chance of dying.

Taking precautions is not fear.  You cross the street at crosswalks with a green light so as not to get killed by a car hopefully.  That is a reasonable precaution.  The green light does not guarantee you will not be killed but it greatly reduces the chance.  However, walking on across the intersection when you get to the intersection because you won't let a light decide when you should walk is pure foolishness. 

It really is not that big of a deal to wear a mask.  Yes, it totally sucks. Yes, I really do not like them or being told I should wear one.  But would you rather wear a mask when in an enclosed public area and most likely not get sick or would you rather continue to be free and potentially get sick and possibly get your wife (and/or others) sick because of your choice?  This is not some theoretical question.  This is potentially a true life and death question and you should seriously consider the pros and cons.

BTW, have your nurse friends actually been tested?  The vast majority of healthcare workers are not been tested so they could have it and not know.  To me, not testing healthcare workers is also foolish but that is another issue.

Regardless of your choice, I hope you stay healthy.

[froze]

I'm not worried, I know I will stay healthy.

In case you haven't read, people who run or ride bikes have far less chances of contacting C19 then the typical couch potato, so I know you'll stay healthy as well.

[canalligators]

John, we should just save our breath and time.

[John Nettles]

I'm not worried, I know I will stay healthy.

You remind me of the religious parents who refuse to seek modern medical help because they "know" God will save their child from the severe infection, cancer, etc. their child currently has".  Note that I am a very strong Christian believer so am not an anti-God zealot.  God let Luke hang with Him and Luke was a physician so I figure God doesn't have a problem with medicine.

In our part of the country, when we meet someone like you we just say, "Well Bless his heart."  I will leave it like that and hope you stay healthy so you do not get others sick.

[adventure124]

I would also recommend riding your bike early in the day.

[Hiking with Shawn]

Being in such a rural area - it is easy for me to physically distance away from others. I pack my mask with me just in case and carry hand sanitizer.

When it first happened, everyone quit cycling, I did not.

[staehpj1]

I'm not worried, I know I will stay healthy.

You remind me of the religious parents who refuse to seek modern medical help because they "know" God will save their child from the severe infection, cancer, etc. their child currently has".  Note that I am a very strong Christian believer so am not an anti-God zealot.  God let Luke hang with Him and Luke was a physician so I figure God doesn't have a problem with medicine.

In our part of the country, when we meet someone like you we just say, "Well Bless his heart."  I will leave it like that and hope you stay healthy so you do not get others sick.

Yeah, I agree.

That said...  Being fit does give folks some additional resistance to infection when it comes to colds and the flu so maybe very fit folks might be a less likely to contract covid 19.  On the other hand some very fit professional and college athletes have contracted the virus.  Whether they have better outcomes may be likely, but long term problems that may crop up later are an unknown and their infection of others is a problem even if they are completely asymptomatic.

On the other hand, I sometimes push a little too hard riding long miles day after day on tour and may actually be at higher risk at some point due to getting run down somewhere along the way on a multi month tour.