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Musings about 2-Wheel Social Distancing

Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
13,467
Reaction score
2,822
Location
Centennial, CO
First Name
Tim
Last Name
Shelfer
In some ways, we riders wrote the book on social distancing. We do activities together, but at a distance of 50 feet to 100 yards. We're armored from head to toe, keeping other people's germs off us, and our own germs contained within our riding clothes.

We can pull into a gas station and fill up without getting within 20 feet of another person, or even having to expose our faces or possibly even fingers. Worst case, we can clean our hands after touching the pump, and be on our way.

Then there's eating. I don't know how many mom-n-pop restaurants are open for business these days. I do know that practically every fast food and casual dining restaurant in America has locked off their dining rooms and only does drive-through business. And that begs a question for the traveling motorcyclist -- how do we eat? Does anybody have experience trying to ride a bike through a drive-through lane at McDonald's or Chick Fil A? Are stop/go gas stations going to allow people to come inside and grab a sandwich or a bag of Doritos?

What about using the restroom? Same thing as above - with the fast food restaurants locked up, that leaves only gas stations. Will their rest rooms be open for business as usual?

Ideas? Any specific experiences over the past week? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
If you fall off your bike, you're going to wind up in an ICU full of flu AND COVID-19 victims, an additional burden on an already strained healthcare system. I'm not riding for that reason, and that reason alone.
I've been thinking about that a lot lately. And adjusting my ride intensity in response.

Thankfully Cresson cancelled my track day next week and took that decision out of my hands.
 
I would be riding except the weather has not cooperated. Already strained medical system? We have 6 confirmed cases in my county. Now if we had 6,000 I would be in agreement with you.

Hopefully we won’t get past 100 cases here.


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I have thought about this for years. I try never to make my decisions based on fear. Wisdom on the other hand should be employed daily. I choose to ride my bikes just like I always do. It like Tim said is social distancing defined. Curling up under the covers is also, but extreme.
Fear, if it is present was there before and event and will be there afterwards. Fear not dealt with is buried alive.
There is truly only one fear and that is the fear of death . All other fears are a microcosm of the big "D".
 
I would be riding except the weather has not cooperated. Already strained medical system? We have 6 confirmed cases in my county. Now if we had 6,000 I would be in agreement with you.
First, the numbers are only where they are because they are not testing enough.

Second, there's a decent chance you'll be lucky #7 if you end up breathing the air in the ER with a broken arm from a bike fall.

Also, there are 362 ICU beds for 2.1 million people in Tarrant County.
 
Finding a restroom is a problem I hadn't considered. Working in Ft. Worth today, I had to make 4 stops before finding an open restroom. Resturant dine-in facilities closed. A 7-Eleven and a Shell station both had signs that the restrooms were closed. I didn't ask if they were out of order or simply closed because of COVID-19 (I could have been in an underperforming restroom zone). The restroom that I finally did find open appeared to have significantly more biohazards than COVID-19. In fact, the COVID-19 virus might not have stood a chance in there.
 
First, the numbers are only where they are because they are not testing enough.

Second, there's a decent chance you'll be lucky #7 if you end up breathing the air in the ER with a broken arm from a bike fall.

Also, there are 362 ICU beds for 2.1 million people in Tarrant County.
I've been riding for 56 years and roadracing for 37 years with no trips to the ICU. So, lets say I have a 1 in a thousand chance of going to the ICU on any given day I ride. That's a lot higher than the actual statistic since I've spent more than 1,000 days at the race track without a single hospital visit and many hundreds of thousands of street miles without a hospital visit.
Lets say the chance of getting Corona by breathing air in the emergency room is 1 in 20. I believe that's a little high since there are more emergency rooms in Tarrant county than there are confirmed cases.
About 5% (1 in 20) of Corona virus patients go to the ICU.

Using my limited math skills, that comes to 1/1000 X 1/20 X 1/20=1 in 400,000 chance that I will ride my bike today, injure myself bad enough to go to the emergency room, contact the Corona virus in the emergency room and become ill enough to go to the ICU. At 72 years old, I have a limited number of rides left. I think I'll take my chances and go for a ride this afternoon.
 
Guys, I really wasn't hoping for a debate on the morality of riding. I'm thinking of running up to northern Arkansas to visit some cousins that I probably won't see again once I move out of Texas. So my questions are really on the practical aspects of eating and peeing and -- you know -- other stuff while on a road trip.
 
1 in 400,000 chance
Your math got a little fuzzy in there.

If you fall and need to go the ER and sit next to someone with the virus, you're going to get it.

Not saying it is something that is going to happen, just something I like to keep in mind when I'm deciding if I can go around that next corner faster or not.
 
Guys, I really wasn't hoping for a debate on the morality of riding. I'm thinking of running up to northern Arkansas to visit some cousins that I probably won't see again once I move out of Texas. So my questions are really on the practical aspects of eating and peeing and -- you know -- other stuff while on a road trip.
Be safe and pee behind a tree.
 
Traffic should be light. That's a good piece of risk that's mitigated to a degree and nay make the ride better to boot.

Moving outa Texas! Wahtchoo talkin bout Tim?
 
"So my questions are really on the practical aspects of eating and peeing"

Take cheese crackers and a tuna kit. Pee under a bridge. It's not that far to Arkansas from Arlington. That being said, I postponed a trip to Key West that I was going to start next week.
 
Ideas? Any specific experiences over the past week? Inquiring minds want to know.

For ME, this is a good time to ride my motorcycle. Within a short distance of my garage are miles and miles of little ranch roads with NO traffic. I can ride big loops on such roads and seldom see any vehicles. No problem with rest rooms.....plenty of trees.
The weather is nice. The air is fresh.
A good way to deal with the stress and the best way to get out of the house and avoid contact with other people.
I ride very slow, by myself; like an old man. Well, because I are one! I ride so slow that my gas mileage averages 55+mpg.....on a 25yr old 1340cc Harley.

Wind in the face, fresh air, feeling alive, relieving stress, dealing with cabin fever.
 
Your math got a little fuzzy in there.

If you fall and need to go the ER and sit next to someone with the virus, you're going to get it.

Not saying it is something that is going to happen, just something I like to keep in mind when I'm deciding if I can go around that next corner faster or not.

Turn off the CNN and take a breath. This isn't ebola. Last I looked, 81,000 people in China tested positive. Out of 1,440,000,000 people. That's 0.0056%. Please check my math. Of those there was 3,500ish deaths. Now I'm not saying you should start licking airplane toilet seats or ER waiting room seats and by all means wash your freaking hands, but panicking isn't what's called for and only a few people who test positive for this are even admitted into the hospital. And very few in the ICU. And NOBODY is ever admitted into the ICU for a broken arm (well, maybe if they break their arm and a whole lot more).

I'm staying in for now because of the crap weather and I have my son staying with me. But if he goes to mom's this weekend and the weather clears up, I might ride. And I will ride prudently. Some of my dumber moves involve squirting around cars on the road. With fewer of those out there, it should statistically be safer for me.

But please do what you think smart, just do not panic.
 
"So my questions are really on the practical aspects of eating and peeing"

Take cheese crackers and a tuna kit. Pee under a bridge. It's not that far to Arkansas from Arlington. That being said, I postponed a trip to Key West that I was going to start next week.

I postponed my fly-n-ride trip back to Cali. Was planning on leaving Friday, but I'll wait a month or so now. But I'm up for doing some day rides as the schedule and weather allows.
 
Just gonna leave this here:

1584563855157.png


I'm going to do my best to stay away from the folks that have it down at the ER.
 
Turn off the CNN and take a breath. This isn't ebola. Last I looked, 81,000 people in China tested positive. Out of 1,440,000,000 people. That's 0.0056%. Please check my math. Of those there was 3,500ish deaths. Now I'm not saying you should start licking airplane toilet seats or ER waiting room seats and by all means wash your freaking hands, but panicking isn't what's called for and only a few people who test positive for this are even admitted into the hospital. And very few in the ICU. And NOBODY is ever admitted into the ICU for a broken arm (well, maybe if they break their arm and a whole lot more).

I'm staying in for now because of the crap weather and I have my son staying with me. But if he goes to mom's this weekend and the weather clears up, I might ride. And I will ride prudently. Some of my dumber moves involve squirting around cars on the road. With fewer of those out there, it should statistically be safer for me.

But please do what you think smart, just do not panic.
here here. i do think it is smart to try to social distance and if at all possible shelter in place for a few weeks to try to stop this thing cold and flatten the curve. yes people have to eat and work to survive but prudence in the best medicine.
 
Out-of-town rides? I'd say don't take the chance, especially if you are in a high-risk group. Too many variables for you to be able to minimize exposure.

Family will understand.

Closer to home? I don't see why not. To me, it's no different than driving in a car.
 
I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of the panic and end of earthers. I'm a scientist and have a degree in Microbiology and have what I consider some pretty good training bookwise and life experiencewise.

This is a virus.
Viruses have been around for YEARS.
It is more virulent than most.
Viruses are transmitted in certain vectors.
Certain members of the population are more likely to get/have symptoms than others.
There is a certain timeframe the virus remains active/transmissible on numerous surfaces.
There are certain personal measures that can be taken to mitigate, BUT NOT PREVENT, being impacted by the virus.

Riding a motorcycle and enjoying life is not exactly the worst way to live during these interesting times. If we all say oh geez I need to stay home and watch Faux News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, TBN, Alex Jones, Telemundo....gossip on Facebook and Twitter and NextDoor and even Two Wheel Texans....our life will have the life sucked out of us really quickly.

My biggest fear right now is that this whole work from home, shelter in place, panic is going to change our society into the most miserable place possible. I am concerned about Covid-19, but at 64 I am also concerned about the regular flu that is going around.

So when someone asks if I am still going to ride my only response is YES. I am an adult. I can make my own decisions. I am taking responsiblity for my actions. If I go to HEB or Aldi and someone sneezes or coughs I am not going to run to the drive through testing facility. Heck, it's allergy season so that cough is just as likely to be allergy to oak pollen that is coating everything in Houston as it is to be Covid-19.

Everyone needs to just take a step back. Take a deep breath (as deep as you feel comfortable doing) and live your life. Otherwise when we come out on the other side of this you will be a very miserable person waiting for the next crisis...and trust me there will be another one sooner or later.

Tim.....Jay and I are still going to ride to the East Coast after Memorial Day. We are still going to take weekend rides to get out of the city. There is no reason for you not to ride to Arkansas and visit family. Just do it safely and wisely....and pee behind the nearest pollinating oak. :rider::sun::rofl:
 
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