No coronavirus outside

[AntonioGG]

1 hour ago, Barry said:

This is so true. The fact that flu-like illnesses are way down, yet our death rates from flu-like illnesses are going to be about normal (if we're lucky) is a big clue. 

Yep.  I love that Kinsa site.

[The Tip]

Do you think it's okay to use our new found coronavirus mask making skills to wear them as an anti-GNAT defense? The swarms have been most annoying!

[mack_turtle]

curious- has anyone gone out riding with a mask on? in this heat? I can't imagine trying to breathe with a mask blocking my face. It's probably a good approximation for what it's like to get the disease.

[Chief]

[Tree Magnet]

curious- has anyone gone out riding with a mask on? in this heat? I can't imagine trying to breathe with a mask blocking my face. It's probably a good approximation for what it's like to get the disease.

I’ve done a few rides with a buff over my mouth and nose. It’s not a big deal but it does make the back of my head/neck hot. You get used to it. Reminds me of riding in the winter I guess.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[throet]

I had to end my ride today early to rush back home for a meeting. There wasn't hardly anybody on the BCRT as I raced home, but some asswipe up walking ahead of me was smoking, and I got one breath full of his second smoke, I suppose along with whatever germs he may have been exhaling. I wanted to go back and slap the shit out of him but I would have been late for my meeting. 

[AntonioGG]

3 hours ago, The Tip said:

Do you think it's okay to use our new found coronavirus mask making skills to wear them as an anti-GNAT defense? The swarms have been most annoying!

And those stupid silk worms!  I’m pretty sure I ate one during. Recent ride.  Maybe they are the covid19 prophylactic?

[June Bug]

2 hours ago, throet said:

I wanted to go back and slap the shit out of him but I would have been late for my meeting. 

There's never a good excuse to pass on a teachable moment. 

[ATXZJ]

3 hours ago, Chief said:

Chernobyl cycling team?

[The Tip]

35 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

And those stupid silk worms!  I’m pretty sure I ate one during. Recent ride.  Maybe they are the covid19 prophylactic?

Well, if we spread that rumor, and it becomes known as a thing...no more silk worms anywhere! 

 

Edited to say: Wait. Just had a thought. That would mean even MORE numskulls out blocking the trails. 

Never mind.

Edited April 9, 2020 by The Tip

[Cafeend]

What if the GCW spread Covid?


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[AustinBike]

4 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

curious- has anyone gone out riding with a mask on? in this heat? I can't imagine trying to breathe with a mask blocking my face. It's probably a good approximation for what it's like to get the disease.

OK, finally a topic that I can speak to.

About 3-4 years ago, I got hit hard with cedar pollen. REALLY hard. Face and neck blew up. Arms blew up. And lets just say that sometimes you stop to take a leak on the trail, and well, we don't need to tell the whole story.

Anyway, I was sidelined. I was either going to have to stop riding or figure out how to deal with it. I bought some medical procedure masks on Amazon. Still had a dozen or two left when this whole thing started but I have only used one (Central Market) and the rest are being saved for actual doctor visits, not just running in and out.

Anyway, for about 2 months I was wearing procedure masks on the trails, A procedure mask is basically that blue "paper" mask that you see in the doctor's offices when pandemics are not happening. Simply mask, not N95 (and sad that we all know what an N95 is now...)

Anyway, here are my impressions:

1. Hot as shit. I was riding in Jan/Feb/Mar during cedar season and even though it was cool out, the mask made it very hot.

2. Wet as shit. The better your mask is at filtering, the less air gets OUT, so at the end of the ride the whole mask was a goopy wet mess. Not optimal.

3. Difficult to properly adjust. You'd have days when riding with a mask totally sucked and days when it only partially sucked. Basically I was trying to get the best balance of filtration and exhaust; rarely did I achieve that Nirvana, so it was either really hot or you ended up sneezing. And sneezing in a mask is not pleasant.

4. Not that uncomfortable. Well, actually it was BUT at the same time I was on the trail. If you continue to tell yourself "you're not home on the couch" you can push through and it is not that bad.

5. Not great with glasses. Often I would have glasses fog up. That meant occasionally taking glasses off. Then your eyes get irritated. But irritated eyes could still be functional. In the COVID world riding without glasses is probably not a good thing.

Basically that is the long and short of it. We bought a bunch of cotton handkerchiefs from Amazon and I think the key on those might be creating a "mask" that puts the handkerchief over my mouth and nose but uses the helmet straps. A couple binder clips will help keep it in place and make it really easy to remove when I need to take it off or put it back on. Haven't felt the need to wear anything when I am riding because I never see anyone on the streets. When I do I am 10' or more away. But if the city says masks any time you are out - and I think we are headed that way when they start to lift the bans - then I am set.

[AustinBike]

Just in case any of you are seeing the article about the Belgian "study" on runners and bikers, it will be best to arm yourselves with some real data about that article:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v74az9/the-viral-study-about-runners-spreading-coronavirus-is-not-actually-a-study

 

[Cafeend]

20 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

Just in case any of you are seeing the article about the Belgian "study" on runners and bikers, it will be best to arm yourselves with some real data about that article:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v74az9/the-viral-study-about-runners-spreading-coronavirus-is-not-actually-a-study

 

Saw this as well. I was happy since I could take it to my kids and show a real world example of critical thinking and not believing everything they see online as truth.

Be careful of wording and the sources of their truth, even from me.    And I dont claim to be a critical thinker. I am a self described pessimistic optimist.-- I think you are screwing me over but I hope you are not , so I am wary.

 

[AustinBike]

The biggest takeaway for me was that the original article called it a "study" while the reality was that this was a white paper.

As a guy who has written hundreds of white papers, I can truly appreciate the difference, it's clear that many authors don't know the difference (or don't care). There is a huge difference because white paper = opinion, study = validated opinion (notice I did not say study = fact.)

 

[Bamwa]

Wondering in another thread but there are folks here so......is LGT closed or open for Easter weekend? Fed land inside Wilco. Who will win? Thanks

[circuitbreaker]

3 hours ago, Bamwa said:

Wondering in another thread but there are folks here so......is LGT closed or open for Easter weekend? Fed land inside Wilco. Who will win? Thanks

As far as i can tell, the trail is open? All the individual parks are closed, but you should still be able to park by the damn. Maybe try and call.

Please be aware, facilities at this location are closed. This includes facilities like visitor centers, entrance kiosks, museums and more. Keep in mind, trails and roads may be open for use. Local managers are committed to the health and safety of recreational visitors and our staff. We are following the guidelines from our agency and the CDC regarding COVID-19, closely monitoring the situation and responding to current conditions. Please contact the local facility before your visit for details and continue to monitor this page for status updates.

[Bamwa]

On 4/9/2020 at 2:07 PM, mack_turtle said:

 in this heat? 

Are you new to Austin? This week has been the best temps we will get all year. At least until Nov.

[JMR]

7 hours ago, circuitbreaker said:

As far as i can tell, the trail is open? All the individual parks are closed, but you should still be able to park by the damn. Maybe try and call.

Please be aware, facilities at this location are closed. This includes facilities like visitor centers, entrance kiosks, museums and more. Keep in mind, trails and roads may be open for use. Local managers are committed to the health and safety of recreational visitors and our staff. We are following the guidelines from our agency and the CDC regarding COVID-19, closely monitoring the situation and responding to current conditions. Please contact the local facility before your visit for details and continue to monitor this page for status updates.

Overlook? The gate is locked and there’s a sign posted. I saw it as I drove by. Best bet is to park outside cedar breaks. 

[Tree Magnet]

Keep in mind if you do need help out there for some reason you better be prepared to handle the scrutiny that will come with it.

“Wait...the parks were closed and some mountain biker thought they could go ride around the lake anyway? Who do they think they are? “

Make your own call but this is one weekend where I’m choosing to not ride a trail in a closed park. It doesn’t pass my “how would this look on the news?” test. Same reason I never went on that middle of the week cruise and left my teenagers at home alone no matter how cheap the ticket.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mack_turtle]

10 hours ago, Bamwa said:

Are you new to Austin? This week has been the best temps we will get all year. At least until Nov.

I've been living in Texas almost half my life. anything over 60 is still too hot for me to wear anything but the bare minimum when i ride. I barely ride at all from June to October because I can't keep water in my body. If I ride when it's hot out, I drink 3 liters an hour and then have horrible sleep. I am pretty sure I'd end up in the ER if I tried to ride with something covering my mouth.

 

Also, Violet Crown Trail is "closed," but I walked past the Convict Hill trailhead yesterday and it was wide open. dozens of people on it. families, cyclists, dog walkers. none of them gave a single flying fig what is going on. and VCT specifically said the trail is closed, but did nothing to inform the public other than a casual note on their Facebook page after I asked them about it this week. The longer we clown around, the longer this is going to take.

Edited April 11, 2020 by mack_turtle

[RidingAgain]

2 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

Also, Violet Crown Trail is "closed," but I walked past the Convict Hill trailhead yesterday and it was wide open. dozens of people on it. families, cyclists, dog walkers. none of them gave a single flying fig what is going on. and VCT specifically said the trail is closed, but did nothing to inform the public other than a casual note on their Facebook page after I asked them about it this week. The longer we clown around, the longer this is going to take.

You should go out and picket it. Seriously... Take action for the greater public cause. But I'm thinking that not many will love you for it. Some may even be offended by you for doing it. Others may blacklist you too; and even attack you — verbally and physically. It's not easy putting yourself out there in support of the kind of social responsibility many prefer to ignore.

[ATXZJ]

Or we could just hold our city officials and enforcers accountable for not doing their jobs. 

 

[RidingAgain]

35 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

Or we could just hold our city officials and enforcers accountable for not doing their jobs. 

 

For sure... But history should tell us how that goes.

And the time and effort needed to even get a little attention from them.

Picketing is kind of more grassroots local and immediate messaging... Which can often have a bit of effect.

But sure... Hold city officials and enforcers accountable.

[ATXZJ]

35 minutes ago, RidingAgain said:

For sure... But history should tell us how that goes.

And the time and effort needed to even get a little attention from them.

Picketing is kind of more grassroots local and immediate messaging... Which can often have a bit of effect.

But sure... Hold city officials and enforcers accountable.

Why create direct conflict by picketing people who are too stupid follow rules?  Take that energy directly to the officials who are paid by us to run our cities. After coronageddon, I think people are going to be a little less patient with the continued status quo from our "leaders".  In a position of leadership you're either competent , complicit or negligent. We can't take the boot off of them long enough to make excuses.

 

rant/ off (again)

Edited April 11, 2020 by ATXZJ