willibrord

People scoff at this, but it is how the Chinese beat the virus. Stay indoors, wear a mask. Sometime in the next two years it will be safe to resume semi-normal activities. Not now.

badger1

NSIS, but if so (and your reference to 'bamboo' would suggest so), is it your contention that one must wear a mask, even if alone in one's (or one's mother's) basement sitting at a computer with a secure internet connection? Just asking.

Elbeinlaw

Good for you. I do the same. I'm sooooooo tired of arguing with the people who say "it's the fresh air, there's no CV out there!"

wolfchild

I don't know about back cold, but I heard that sitting on a cold surface can cause hemorrhoids. I don't know if that's true or not.

indyfabz

Did she also tell you to put butter on a burn?

willibrord

I even wear it while sleeping, just to be safe.

stephr1

There's a vaccine for a specific "strain" of flu. There is no vaccine that covers 100% of the strains that show up throughout the flu season. I've never had a flu shot and have only caught the more serious version once or twice in the past 2+ decades (and maybe some of that is my immune system cuz I don't catch colds very often or very easily at all either). I also know people who have religiously gotten their flu shot *every* year and end up catching it anyway.

I'm not, by any means, an anti-vaxxer. If one wants to get a flu shot, go get one. Just know it's not an absolute cure and may only make you "feel" better. More importantly is to be cautious around other people and keep your body healthy and well-maintained and that should go a long way in minimizing your susceptibility to any virus.

c_m_shooter

gtd

I've been convinced for years that aerobic exercise helps prevent colds, flu, etc. You breath deeply and heavily enough to "blast out" the toxins. It's only my experience but I think it helps.

Homebrew01

While riding, I am further away from other people than at home, shopping work etc.
Safer to ride, no ?

stephr1

If you're out in the street, you're prob'ly fine. Watch for people crossing in front of you, tho.

My ride used to include about 1/3 for MUPs. Since the pandemic, I rerouted primarily to the streets and ride when the sun comes up so there are fewer people and traffic.

However, even that hasn't helped, as of late. I live in the SF Bay Area and we've been surrounded by the biggest fires in the state since late Aug. Today, the lights in my courtyard stayed on because there is so much smoke in the atmosphere the sky has been a yellowish-brown all day. Had to turn on my living room light it was so bad (yet, somehow they are saying the air quality is the best it's been in weeks...go figure |^| This morning I went outside to take care of something and I noticed it was "snowing"....but it wasn't white and it wasn't wet....it was ash raining down

Guess I'm off my bike for a few more weeks...boo hoo....

MntnMan62

I don't see the issue with riding during flu season. Your chances of catching the flu are no better or worse if you ride. Frankly, riding probably helps boost your immune system which likely makes it less likely to catch the flu. Either way, I see them as unrelated. If you get the flu, you stay in bed for a couple days, rest, drink lots of fluids and lots of chicken soup, and when you're better, you get back on the bike.

Skulking

We have an inversion layer over the bay area right now. The smoke that is blocking out the sun and turning the world into a an orange tinted hellscape is above the inversion layer, and the air beneath the inversion layer is only a little unhealthy. I have definitely seen more ash falling over the last couple of days than I had seen for the last few weeks. I'm still not going out to ride in this though.

stephr1

Yep. Read somewhere abt the inversion layer. Someone mentioned to me the sky seemed "primordial". Thought that was a great description, especially at sun up this morning. Not even a remote consideration of riding with what I saw this morning

Friends and family not living in the state of California laugh when they hear me tell them CA has 4 seasons: Fire, Rain, Mudslides and Earthquakes. So, here we are in fire season (and it's been a doozy this year If we get any semblance of normal rainfall this Fall and Winter, I can't wait to hear how mudslide season goes. Good grief....

Machka 

Wrong.

bobwysiwyg

What did you do last, annual flu season and all previous flu seasons?

Just Mark

I feel perfectly safe riding in flu season as long as I'm properly attired.

Outrider1

Not worried one iota. This will all mysteriously vanish November 4.

Thomas15

Any bug that is transmitted person to person can be mostly avoided by staying away from infected persons or the things they touch or spit on.

noimagination

Wow. Just ... wow.