MinnMan

A friend declared that he's not going on any group rides until the coronavirus crisis passes.

What do you all think? Of course, people need to cut out the snot rockets/spitting, sharing of road snacks and bidons. But do you perceive there to be
risks of riding in a pace line?

WhyFi

If I were in regular, close contact with someone more at risk of severe consequences, I might excuse myself from post-group ride activities and be more cautious during coffee stops and the like, but I think that's about as far as I'd go. Quit the rides altogether? No way.

canklecat

I've avoided group rides for months due to asthma and chronic sinusitis caused by allergies. I think my last fast group ride was October 2019. I mostly ride solo 3-5 days a week. Bad enough I'm a phlegm machine. I don't want to add any potential cooties to just being gross. I usually hang off the back of the group when my allergies and asthma are bad, but invariably a gap opens and I end up dropped with one or two other folks.

Finally got an ENT referral for early April. I hope the doctors and nurses are still alive by then.

Bad joke. I used to work in hospitals. Seems like most medical employees develop strong immune systems, or leave the profession. I've had persistent respiratory problems due to chronic inflammation and allergies, but I can't remember the last time I had the flu (decades ago), and rarely get a common cold either. But I've had bronchitis and occasionally pneumonia from neglecting to take care of my allergies.

Rides4Beer

As far social distancing goes, it's a smart move. If someone sneezes in front of you, you're riding right through it, they might as well have sneezed right in your face.

jpescatore

The big local club around here, Potomac Pedalers, put out some good common sense guidelines here, based on advice from a member who is a physician. I like how she avoided using the term "snot rocket" - "If you must forcefully eject your mucous while moving, please be considerate of your neighbors. Just like the shooting component in biathlon, know your target and beyond."

Back in 2013 I had surgery for a torn rotator cuff and I kept bugging the surgeon when I could ride on the road and he said "This next month is the only time your shoulder can heal - every other month after that you can bike. Don't take chances this month!"

I'm kinda hearing his voice in my head during this - I mostly ride solo anyway and only do one or two group rides per month, but will skip them for the next month and stick to solo rides.The faster the curve flattens, the faster some form of normal can return.

seypat

Not a problem for me. I get dropped on the first/all hills anyway. That's all the social distancing I need.

rower2cyclist

Organizers who are not cancelling the group rides right now are as responsible as the politicians who didn't prepare for the approaching pandemic. Stay away from other people as much as you can for your own and other people's health.

Cypress

WhyFi

And this kind of sentiment is why there's so much pressure to overreact.

Phil Gaimon, on IG this morning, summed up my feelings pretty well -

rower2cyclist

We are (over)reacting to save lives. There's no pressure at all, it's just common-sense.

Re Gaimon, the only thing he knows is how to ride a bike full-time, promote cycling equipment and pimp CDB oils. He's def not the person I'd look for expert advice on this topic. How this virus spreads is pretty well documented. You can be asymptomatic while carrying the virus. He is just uninformed.

kingston 

Healthy people aren't going to die from this virus, so you avoid social contact to slow the outbreak, not to keep yourself safe.

If you care enough to read a pretty long article, this one does a very good job of explaining the difference in outbreaks in countries that took this seriously (China) and ones that did not (Italy). Right now, the US is forecast to look a lot more like Italy than China, which means doctors deciding who gets to live on a ventilator and who dies because we don't have enough for everyone.

For the good of other people I'll be avoiding as much social contact as I can for the next two weeks at least, maybe longer. I'm still doing solo rides but no group rides until we have a handle on this.

WhyFi

It's out of the box - it's not going back in. It will spread far and wide, so the goal is to slow it so that it doesn't overwhelm the system. Meeting up with the weekly group ride to exercise in open air, with others that are willing to self-police their sniffles, is pretty low risk; I'm not sharing bottle, I'm not making out with anyone, I'm not licking their handlebars, I'm not shooting snot rockets at the front of the paceline - common sense.

CAT7RDR

If you are close enough to smell someone's breath, transmission of a virus is possible. Something to consider on a group ride. I think I would just ride solo for awhile and avoid organized rides/events.

kingston 

I assume everyone has seen this graphic already. Mortality rates are an order of magnitude lower if we are able to slow the progression.

It's peculiar to me that people are stocking up on toilet paper yet still doing things like group rides that we know will result in unnecessary mortality. This kind of cavalier attitude will result in a lot of dead americans in the coming months. I don't see why it's such a big deal to miss a few weeks of group rides.

WhyFi

Hoo boy.

I'll be aight, though -

Cyclist0108

Another interpretation is if you are relatively young and healthy, you might be better off going out of your way to get infected early, to remain well on the left-hand side of the curve, and if you do have a complication, the health care system will be less overwhelmed and better able to take care of you.

(Unfortunately, the assumption that young and healthy people have little to fear is wishful thinking.)

kingston 

If you're young and healthy, you probably won't even have to go to the hospital. Over 80% of the cases are mild and don't require any medical attention at all. That's not the issue. In South Korea, coronavirus was contained for the first 30 cases. Patient 31 was a super-spreader who passed it to thousands of other people. Because the virus spreads before people show symptoms, by the time the authorities realized the issue, the virus was out there.

deacon mark

I am the Lone Ranger 99% of the time so I guess I can ride all I want. One problem though will groceries be on the run and shut down.. I bike to eat.

Cypress

What's slightly ironic is that the shutting down of things has caused people to flock to the same locations. The Costco in Salem, OR must have at least 3000 people in it right now with an endless line of cars waiting to get in.

Carbonfiberboy 

One of my clubs just cancelled all rides until whenever. I'm sending an email in a few minutes cancelling all rides for the private group I lead. We rode last week, and until yesterday, I assumed I'd lead a ride this coming Sunday, but things are moving really fast now. In Italy, people are quarantined along with the bodies of their dead relatives. We need to do everything we can to prevent that from happening here, IOW, stay home.

We're all hoping for a summer respite, like in 1919.

Carbonfiberboy 

Experience of other countries is that groceries and pharmacies will not close, though they should have staff at the door with one of those gun thermometers.

You can make your own hand sanitizer: https://www.foxla.com/news/cant-find...-make-your-own
Scale it down to suit your needs. I did, about $1/pint. I carry it with me in one of those Hammer flasks, good for rest stops. Alcohol is good for cleaning counters, too.

kingston 

The average person is literally incapable of assessing the risk of catastrophic events. There is absolutely zero risk that grocery stores will close because of this. It's a pandemic not a hurricane. Next week the shelves will all be restocked except for maybe the hand sanitizer and some cleaning supplies that will take a few weeks to replenish. Luckily Carbonfiberboy comes to the rescue again with a homebrew recipe if the ingredients are still available.

Cyclist0108

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...eath-life.html

kingston 

For healthcare workers the increased viral load and exhausting schedule is enough to kill even young healthy people, and in the US we don't have enough protective equipment to keep them safe if the outbreak continues to grow exponentially. They will be putting their lives on the line to take care of our sick friends and relatives. Another reason to skip the group ride this weekend.

Cyclist0108

Being married to a virologist does not yield an optimistic outlook.

But on a lighter note, I finally bought a Gilles Berthaud saddle.