rsbob 

What is, or even do you have a strategy, for overtaking a non-household member on the road or trail? (This is not intended as some twisted political thread)

For me, I will swing out wide much sooner than pre-CV to minimize being in their slipstream. I am also good at holding my breath, but is considerably more difficult when hill climbing. I don’t mask since I would saturate it quickly with my exhalations rendering it useless.

so what do U do?

Fahrenheit531 

When passing someone going nearly the same speed I used to grab their wheel for a short time and get that little breather; now I tend not to. Other than that I've just been giving everyone a little bit of extra space as I'm able. I suspect the actual danger of exposure in this setting, outside with rapid airflow, several feet of distance and proximity lasting seconds or less, etc., is pretty minimal. I don't mask up while riding, but I do carry one because you never know.

Rolla

As I approach another rider, I just cough really loud and wheeze and spit. They always give me a wide berth.

Princess_Allez

Make sure to cough in their direction as you pass for maximum effect.

canklecat

The best available info indicates the coronavirus Super Cooties is mostly about the dosage, like any toxin. Most of us probably won't get irretrievably ill from a single micro-organism sniffed into our gullets. The danger is the repeated exposure to clouds of the stuff in crowded and/or poorly ventilated areas.

So I wouldn't worry much about occasionally passing another cyclist or pedestrian, even on a narrow MUP or shared sidewalk. In my area the MUP is just a sidewalk, a typical 4 foot wide thing made of lots of slabs of squared concrete. It's impossible to maintain distance while passing. But I wouldn't worry too much if I passed only two or three people over a 10 mile ride. I'd worry more if I was following two or three cyclists over a 10 mile ride. I'd worry a *lot* more riding with 20-50 people any distance, which is why I've avoided group rides this year.

I wore a mask on the MUP the few times I rode that route this spring because of the heavier than normal traffic. Lots of folks off work, kids out of school, no way to avoid crowds or pass safely.

By summer it was hot and the MUP was far less busy, so occasionally I'd use it as a shortcut from my neighborhood to downtown.

But I try to avoid any route where I'm likely to need to pass people closely.

I mostly ride a suburban/rural route nearby and might see two or three people at most on a typical 20-40 mile ride. There's plenty of room to pass with at least 10 feet between us. I don't wear a mask on those routes.

While masks aren't comfortable for high effort rides, I wore one for an hour long ride on the hottest day this summer, 107 degrees F, and video recorded it as a demonstration. I have allergies, asthma, a deviated septum from boxing that can sometimes make breathing a little difficult with sinus congestion. I'm 62, with Hashimoto's, an annoying auto immune disorder that killed my cancer, but is generally otherwise non-fatal. Just pesky and drains my energy some days.

The only difference from my usual midday summer rides was my heart rate was about 10-15 bpm higher, so I needed to decrease my effort to stay under my preferred threshold heart rate. My max HR is 173, and for most hard workout sessions I set my bike computer's HR monitor to sound an alarm when I exceed 160. That's my warning that on a normal day I can sustain that effort for up to 60 seconds before my legs will begin turning to jelly. But for steady riding on a really hot day, I want to stay around 140. That was hard with a mask on. I couldn't go by my usual perceived effort for a tempo pace because I'd have overheated quickly without monitoring my heart rate. But for a casual piddle pedal on the MUP, no problem.

And in bitterly cold, dry winter I'll wear an ordinary surgical mask for comfort. It gets soaking wet, and sometimes develops little icicles hanging from the bottom of the mask. It's not easy to breathe through a wet mask but for a casual effort ride it's okay. Beats the alternative -- painful sinuses from cold, dry air.

I've heard all the excuses for not wearing a mask, especially from other military veterans my age or younger. It's uncomfortable. I'd rather not do it on bike rides. But it can be done. But my demo had zero effect on anyone's opinions. They just kept moving the goalposts, making up new excuses ("I'll poison myself from my own toxins," etc.). As a former Navy Hospital Corpsman I was disappointed by the number of fellow veterans who rebelled against simple requests to wear a mask for visits to VA facilities for medical appointments, etc., and their relentless disinformation trolling of social media posts from the VA asking vets to mask up where appropriate. I dunno how those guys got through boot camp as teenagers and 20somethings years ago, with full packs, recon shuffle in heavy boots, following orders no matter how seemingly pointless, if they can't cope with 3-ply piece of paper/cloth attached to rubber bands now.

But I digress.

Also, keep in mind that if you're healthy enough to ride a bike at all, you're already in the low risk zone. COVID-19 is merciless on folks with comorbidities: notably, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc. Combine that with inadequate rest, poor diet, etc., it's pretty nasty. Even some medical professionals in their 20-40s have died from COVID-19. But the likely causes appear to be a combination of heavy exposure in patient care scenarios, combined with inadequate self care: not enough rest, poor diet, extreme stress, etc. Of all people, medical professionals need more self care than ever now. Ideally they'd have at least three days a week off, and no work days exceeding 10-12 hours, with mandatory rest breaks for food and to decompress. Yeah, in our dreams. I worked in health care long enough to know it will take a major overhaul of the system before that happens.


From my August experiment riding masked in temperature up to 107 degrees F for an hour. No fun but doable.

canklecat

Yup, I remember your posts describing those conditions. You're tougher than most of us.

I've occasionally worn a mask before the pandemic for dusty gravel roads, but it's rarely humid and hot enough here in North Central Texas to be a serious problem.

Litespud

if I’m passing another cyclist or a runner, I pull over to the center line 20-30 yd early, give them an “on yer left” just because, then edge back in 20-30 yd past. If there’s traffic coming, I hang back until the road is clear. Most of this is for the peace of mind of the passed individual - the likelihood of being exposed while on my bike in the open air is extremely low. I don’t do MUPs, so it’s all open road. I don’t wear a mask while on the bike but I carry one in case I need to interact with anyone

JohnDThompson 

The risk of airborne transmission of the virus is a function of proximity and duration. So, when overtaking another cyclist, pass them quickly and as distant as practical to minimize the risk.

jamesdak 

No changes for me. I ride alone all the time and hardly see others on the road. If I do encounter other riders I'm not doing anything different than I would normally do.

Phil_gretz

I don't do anything differently at all. Of course, I don't think about the virus at all most days. And I refuse to be afraid of anything. It's way more likely that I'll be struck and killed by a car, and I don't even concern myself with that much...

jadocs

Exactly what I was going to post.

Skulking

You do you, but reality doesn't agree with your risk analysis. Cyclist death from being involved in a collision with a motor vehicle were 854 in 2018 which is the most recent year I can find data for. Confirmed COVID cases in the US are currently just under 7.4 million with just under 210,000 deaths.

rsbob 

It’s good to hear you don’t live in fear, which can debilitate some people.

How would you act if you knew were an asymptomatic carrier? But the rub is most asymptomatic carriers never know unless they are tested.

Phil_gretz

We're still talking about riding bicycles, right? Thanks for framing a question that can be discussed. If I knew with certainty (two positive tests) that I was previously infected, and asymptomatic, then I'd work backward to determine the point/time of infection. That tells me how long I must quarantine. This would affect my riding (overtaking), as I would swing wider, and wouldn't ride alongside to share pleasantries with strangers. With my current riding partners, nothing would change except a conversation explaining my test results and the likely "active" period end date.

According to my training, we're concerned about the "three C's": Confined spaces, Crowded places, and Close (and prolonged) contact. I don't have any of this, so am extremely unlikely to come into contact with the virus. My training says danger can be within 6 feet for a duration of 15 minutes. So, that I haven't had with anyone but my wife for 6 months. So, still in the context of cycling, I'd avoid bike shops or working alongside any of my own customers for the period of the self-quarantine. Then, proceed as normal.

burnthesheep

And........folks had to make it political. Couldn't resist could ya? You all should get negative like points for that move.

I'll answer the question: I have avoided the greenways at all costs. I eat the time taking hillier and curvier silent neighborhood streets alone. If I do encounter a person I will first choose to alter my route. I know the area I ride well enough I can make anything link up. If that isn't reasonable, I make a really wide pass treating myself as a car passing a cyclist (the proper legal way). While doing so, I make it expedient and move on along without delay.

jamesdak 

Well complete the scenerio.... how many of those 210,000 deaths were active cyclist?

tgenec86

I do absolutely nothing different than I have ever done. And I'm not going to start. The good thing about people getting all uptight, self-righteous, and accusatory on how awful of a person I must be is - I have to acknowledge them and bring myself to be emotionally invested in their opinion. You can guess for yourself if I do.

Metieval

Passing what people? I don't see people. And if I do, then we shake hands like the good ole days.

yamsyamsyams

I’ve definitely been avoiding popular trails and hitting the roads or less traveled gravel trails this year. Might as well explore this year and build up alternatives for 2021!

Outrider1

Nothing different here.

billridesbikes

Over the months I’ve modified my position. Close contact in confined spaces with poor ventilation are the highest risk, even with a mask you’ll eventually get sick in these cases given long enough exposure. Your transmission risk outside appears to be very small. You need a certain viral load to get sick, so the less air you share the less chances of getting sick.

One study out of Japan found you’re 1850% more likely to contract the virus indoors. Another study in Singapore tried to measure the outdoor risk with weather conditions and found higher humidity and temperatures caused higher amount of cases while windy conditions caused fewer cases, although correlation may not be causation in this case.

Therefore, when I resumed riding outside in mid-June after the lockdown ended, I don’t wear a mask, and only ride with a few select friends who are WFH. However, I do try to give joggers and other riders a ‘good’ pass, wait for clear traffic and pass from the far left side of the road so they have at least 6’.

mstateglfr 

Interesting. I cant remember the last time I saw people shake hands. I also dont remember ever shaking someone's hand I meet while riding.

Metieval

Apparently I've been around the real deal this summer/fall CO, NM, AZ, UT, MT, ID

To quote one man after shaking hands. He said "You can know a lot about another person by the way they greet you"

My reply "I am not a typical cyclist"

My American flag bandana is for dust, not a disease. I guess Ranchers love America and they love people that unmask to say hello.

One hand shake led to a place to go to in Az and ride when their house is done being built.

Bottom line, I'm not going to quit hand shaking just because I ride bicycles. Or other reasons.

mstateglfr 

is your name Charlie?

Hiro11

Not doing anything differently. I've been doing group rides all summer in fact.