jppe

Just a one day event but one of the larger events in the Carolinas. When it was cancelled for inclement weather no refunds or deferrals were offered.

AOTC = Assault on The Carolinas

AOTC riders,



After reviewing guidance from North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services we have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Assault on the Carolinas (AOTC) bike ride scheduled for April 4, 2020. We make this decision with your health and well-being in mind and we are truly disappointed that the event cannot be held this year.



We are offering all registered riders the option of either a full deferral of this year’s registration fee to next year’s AOTC ride (tentatively scheduled for April 10th, 2021) or a refund of your registration fee. The details of selecting one of these two options will be communicated to you within the next two weeks with assistance of Active Works, our registration vendor.



For our sponsors, we will be in contact shortly with a process of either refunding your donation or deferring your donation to support next year’s ride.



We appreciate your understanding and continued support, and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.



Rotary Club of Pisgah Forest

Biker395 

Yea, been going on for some time here too.

I'm working from home and have canceled all of my PT appointments (I really don't need them anyway), and avoiding groups. Even at my age, I don't think I am at serious risk, but I think it is all part of reducing speed of the disease so the healthcare system isn't overwhelmed for people who really need it.

FWIW, I think it is prudent and a good idea. We'll see how it shakes out in the end.

Sure has been a bizarre 2020 for me. I've been socially isolated since January 9 and was just starting to get out.

big john

Solvang Century is canceled (big charity ride). Sea Otter canceled (bike festival with multiple races and events).

pdlamb

I'm guessing the organizers haven't laid out the money for police escorts, drink mixes, bottled water, port-a-potties, snacks, etc., or they can return them for refunds, by cancelling three weeks in advance. (They might re-sell any toilet paper already ordered and make enough on the turn to keep everybody employed for another year!)

CAT7RDR

I was one click away from registering for the Tour de Big Bear (August) and still might once the future is less opaque. Breathless Agony was also considered but I thought June was just too close to consider. I do not want to expose my octogenarian parents to any illness since I do a lot of household tasks for them.

jppe

If you would have asked me a week or two ago about all the cancellations I would have said everyone is extremely over reacting. I’ve changed my opinion 180 degrees in the last couple of days. Hopefully by reducing the amount of human contact the exponential growth of the spread of the virus can be better contained. It’s interesting how most of the cases cropping up locally have been related to international travel.

When you think about cycling events, it’s extremely challenging to keep them as sanitary as they need to be right now. From rest stops, mobile showers, “snot rockets” and super glamorous port-a-johns they’re just super germy. Throw in people attending from multiple areas and the event could be ripe for contagious viruses.

I recall one week long cycling event was hit by the Noravirus a few years ago and it spread through the attendees overnight. It was awful. It will be interesting to see what decisions are made related to events later this summer and after.

My solo rides are feeling better and better......

Biker395 

The problem is that people are infected and contagious before they know it. And that mass testing is infeasible ... at least for now. So it makes sense to social distance and avoid crowds for a while.

I thought it to be a good idea 2 weeks ago. My SO insisted on a plane flight to the Northwest to visit her mom (over 80) last week, and I'm still irritated about that. There was nothing I could do to convince her it was a bad idea. I was like a voice in the wilderness.

I had the chance to go to a Laker game earlier this week. ON THE FLOOR seats for free. I turned it down. That hurt, and most everyone thought I was crazy, but they don't think so now.

My concern is for people who are most at risk (I know quite a few who have compromised health), and for those affected economically by the shut down. I can simply work from home, with little change in my lifestyle (hell ... the crash had the same effect). Other people, not so much.

DrIsotope

Until humans stop physically moving from place to place (including air traffic,) canceling everything is barely going to make a dent. These are all half-measures, and will ultimately prove ineffective.

The long-term economic impact is going to be significantly worse than the direct effects of the virus.

OldTryGuy

Just checked and my 1 Day 167 mile Cross Florida on April 5th is still a go but only the SHADOW knows.

Just waiting on a email not a Friend

berner

The situation as of today is such that national leaders are testing positive. I suspect that the main consequence of that will be the slowing down of important, (crucial?) decision making in dealing with what is proving to be a pandemic.

canklecat

True, to some extent. But try telling that to dying victims and their families. To them it's personal, not statistics.

Humans are generally able to relate only to whatever directly impacts them. We're not so good at long term planning, deferred pleasures, or sacrificing for the greater good.

Right now, telling government agencies, private industries, etc., to shut down or run minimal staff for a few weeks will impact perhaps a few hundred-thousand people who might otherwise have suffered the effects of illness. Statistically, most people will survive and develop antibodies.

The loss of revenue and efficiency will impact tens or hundreds of millions of people later. Particularly folks who are disabled, on Social Security and Medicaid. There is enough capital in relatively few hands to offset a shortfall, but it's extremely unlikely those wealth holders will make that sacrifice for the greater good. At most there might be a short term, high interest loan to the government to offset the loss of taxes and payroll withholdings to fund Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, etc. And a likely condition of any such loan will be political clout to sway the entire economic and social system

We'll be experiencing the effects of this for years to come, long past the point when most people will have forgotten how and why we got to such a desperate future point.

But it wouldn't go over well to tell essential personnel to continue going to work, taking reasonable precautions. If a single person died who fit the right demographic type for heart-tugging tragedy news features, it could cause a seismic shift in politics, economics and culture.

Right now I'm not concerned about the loss of a few t-shirt rides and vanity events like the MS150. Seriously, how did multiple sclerosis, a rare and incurable ailment, become the most overhyped of all money-begging "charity" rides? I suppose something had to fill the void left over from Jerry Lewis and his smarmy muscular dystrophy telethon vanity event. After being haunted by Lewis' increasingly grumpy, disheveled and incoherent monologues as a kid, because adults insisted on tuning into that MD telethon, I could never watch his old movies again.

Participants would put their money to better use donating it directly to medical facilities that actually deal with patients who have MS, instead of buying new kit for the ride, etc. The whole "raise awareness" hype is just a smokescreen to cover for-profit "nonprofit" events that mostly benefit the organizers and marketing staffs.

beefTLR

Earlier in the week the discussion at my work was that we should get ready to work from home starting in the next week or so. My supervisor just notified us yesterday afternoon that we were to begin working from home starting today. Things are ramping up fast.

Hondo Gravel

Good thing I ride solo on gravel roads in the boonies. I guess we will see what happens.

JanMM

Glad that we are heading into Spring and can go ride a bike as this covid19 thing ramps up. The trick is to ride faster than the novel virus.

Andybasi

here in Italy all competition, at every level (from children to professional) for every sport have been cancelled; also, going out even for a solo training is forbidden, police can stop you and fine you for leaving home without a seriuos reason (training is considered a serious reason only if you are a professional rider).
Andrea

GeezyRider 

Your situation makes me feel ashamed of my fellow U.S. citizens for complaining abut minor inconveniences here like their local store not having any toilet paper. I wish you the best and hope that Italy and the rest of Europe can turn the corner on this situation very soon.

Retro Grouch 

The effects of under reaction are easy to quantify.
Over reacting is pretty much impossible to quantify. If you had no bad results, did you over react did you do just barely the right amount?

Kabuki12

I recently found out that Eroica California has been postponed. I was expecting it but I cannot say I was not disappointed. My daughter is in the medical supply business and called to make sure we were aware of the importance of observing the precautionary details that have been circulating. The folks in her business are saying we are maybe ten days behind Italy. If this is the case, we should all do what we can. If that means giving up my favorite ride of the year so be it.

TakingMyTime

By ensuring or at least attempting to mitigate the spread of the virus it will slow down the hit that the hospitals are going to take. It would be easier to treat people over a 4 month period than a 4 week stretch.

I am still on the fence as to whether rides like these should be cancelled. But for now I'll agree with the decision.

Leisesturm

What are you saying exactly? People are no longer using airplanes. If someone is on an airplane they HAVE to be. Are you suggesting we ground all air flights? What if the heart or liver that you need is on that flight? Shall we really throw the baby out with the bathwater because these cancellation 'half measures" are "barely going to make a dent"? They are not only going to make a dent they are going to make a damn big dent in the rate of transmission of the virus. You have to define "ineffective". If 1000 people are going to get sick this week or 1000 people are going to get sick spread out over a months time those are VERY different scenarios. The cancellations spread out the rate at which people come in contact with potentially infected people.

gif4445

That would be tough to turn down, but you made the right choice. Now if it was back in the Showtime days, I'm not so sure.

gif4445

You sound like me and my 48 hour journey. I went from thinking it was just another flu bug, to giving the situation the respect it deserves. After talking to cycling friends around the globe, particularly one in South Korea, I arrived at the sobering reality of it all. The cancelled sports and bike rides didn't seem quite as important.

Lazyass

My daughter is in nursing school and I rented a cabin up in Boone, NC for her spring break vacation. School has just been canceled for at least two weeks and that kills spring break. I was going to bring my MTB and hit the trails up there, dammit.

Tusk

What is keeping you from going?

I am still heading up to Brevard the first week in April to ride around in the hills.

Ald1 

Well I'm in Fl. for my annual snowbird vacation. Signed up for two events , the ride for animals in Duneden which was cancelled this weekend, and the clean air ride in inverness sheduled for next Saturday which I'm thinking is getting cancelled too. Anyway all this might be a BIG overreaction BUT better safe than sorry, I guess. It will be a very interesting year..........