Social Distancing and Cycling

[markojp]

Went for a ride yesterday and was asked at a stop light if I had a pump. I did. I've also been carrying latex gloves and a small pack of wipes. The person wasn't very self aware of distancing so had to give a gentle reminder. They got sorted out, I wiped everything down and got going again.... but who rides without a pump or cartridges?

 

[coskigirl]

This is what frustrates me about the whole thing. I was riding along in a neighborhood bike lane at my usual snail's pace, on my mountain bike, when roadie passed me. I had a buff around my neck that I pull up when nearing anyone, but he didn't say anything, just passed me very close by and turned to yell "Good Morning!" at me, no doubt spraying particles all over me. He was gone before I had a moment to recover and say, "Hey, don't do that!" I thought about posting something pissy on NextDoor, but came to my senses. Nothing good ever comes of NextDoor.

Then again, I didn't bring hand sanitizer, hit a pedestrian crosswalk button, and didn't think until much later about the exposure, and that's likely a lot more exposure. And goes to show that we all make mistakes and are often just acting automatically according to ingrained habits.

Then again again, there's not much evidence that anything short of an N-95 actually *does* anything, so really I just wish people would go wide. This is the thing about social distancing - people don't do it perfectly. The only truly effective way to do it is to stay on your own property.

I'm glad you didn't post on NextDoor. I don't look at it but the FB community pages are completely filled with mask and social-distance shaming. I fully believe that if anything about a pandemic destroys our community spirit it will be the shaming (either direction) that is taking place. I've unfollowed all of mine and only go there when I need something or can mentally handle the battery.

I've seen the pictures of the trailhead parking lots. I am way too people-averse right now to consider braving that.

I rode by Marshall Mesa 2 weekends ago. It was an absolute mess and there is no way people can properly social distance without going into the natural habitat on the sides of the trail. If I get on trails at this point it'll have to be early morning on a weekday which I'm not likely to do. Hence, road bike training primarily this summer. The unannounced passes are maddening but I just try to drop back away from the person as quickly as possible and move on.

 

[cantunamunch]

So, anyone else desperately want a stay-the-eff-away-from-people map app?

 

[neonorchid]

So, anyone else desperately want a stay-the-eff-away-from-people map app?

No, would require uninterrupted real-time monitoring or else only as good as its last update.

I want an effective non-lethal to keep them the F' away from me!

Was considering concealing in a fanny pack and or water bottle a battery-powered class D amp (something like this bridged to mono for 2xpower although I can do better building one myself) to drive a bullet horn super tweeter (actually like this one) using iPhone app annoy a teen or a Frequency tone generator to blast the little germ spreaders with ear-bleeding + 120 dB @ 14Khz - 16Khz! Something of a twist on the electric fence/shocking dog collar thing.
I said "was" because what was like an episode of South Park the other day, the leader of the 12" bike tire pack shouted out "Why do you keep assaulting us, pointing at us, running around us and chasing us"! I almost died of laughter, but explained that I've been politely motioning for them to pass on the other side of the wide and empty neighborhood streets and not one to two feet away which is potentially dangerous for them and for me. That the running was me trying to distance myself from incoming and sorry but I can't help it if I run up hills faster then they can peddle! I think they got it. I gave them thumbs up when next they passed in single file on the other side of the street and not all over the place!

Now to figure out what to do about the adult riding around as if in a Pyrenees stage of the Tour ... and if I see that moron on my street I'm going to have difficulty restraining myself from opening the neighbor's backyard fence and letting the large Rhodesian ridgeback loose on the jerk, (he will never know where it came from)! The guy is an idiot, not only has he passed me too close on several occasions but the topper was when he was riding down an endless hill of a street and yelled out at a guy below him who was moving in the same direction while walking a golden retriever (back to the oncoming jerk, had no way of knowing he was even coming), "S _ _ t Head Get Out Of The Middle Of The Street"! WTF, the jerk wasn't going too fast to apply his brakes and navigate in a responsible and civil manner! And the jerk yelled it when approaching me at about two feet in front and to the side! Again the guy with the dog was in the middle of the street to distance from me having passed on one side and someone on the other side, we were all staggered, but enough to stay in the middle until clear to go to one side or the other. :\

And this is why I don't dare venture to the woods and trails of the Wissahickon gorge that I love so much! It is 100 times safer to stay in the neighborhood which is about as hilly as the Wissahickon along with a small creek at the low point of the valley that feeds into the larger Wissahickon creek which flows to the Schuylkill River.

 

[doc]

Nothing good ever comes of NextDoor.

This x1000. If you were y personality pre-COVID you're now Y100, and if you were z personality pre-COVID you're now Z100, and either way its splashed across Next Door posts to my eternal irritation.

 

[luliski]

No, would require uninterrupted real-time monitoring or else only as good as its last update.

I want an effective non-lethal to keep them the F' away from me!

Was considering concealing in a fanny pack and or water bottle a battery-powered class D amp (something like this bridged to mono for 2xpower although I can do better building one myself) to drive a bullet horn super tweeter (actually like this one) using iPhone app annoy a teen or a Frequency tone generator to blast the little germ spreaders with ear-bleeding + 120 dB @ 14Khz - 16Khz! Something of a twist on the electric fence/shocking dog collar thing.
I said "was" because what was like an episode of South Park the other day, the leader of the 12" bike tire pack shouted out "Why do you keep assaulting us, pointing at us, running around us and chasing us"! I almost died of laughter, but explained that I've been politely motioning for them to pass on the other side of the wide and empty neighborhood streets and not one to two feet away which is potentially dangerous for them and for me. That the running was me trying to distance myself from incoming and sorry but I can't help it if I run up hills faster then they can peddle! I think they got it. I gave them thumbs up when next they passed in single file on the other side of the street and not all over the place!

Now to figure out what to do about the adult riding around as if in a Pyrenees stage of the Tour ... and if I see that moron on my street I'm going to have difficulty restraining myself from opening the neighbor's backyard fence and letting the large Rhodesian ridgeback loose on the jerk, (he will never know where it came from)! The guy is an idiot, not only has he passed me too close on several occasions but the topper was when he was riding down an endless hill of a street and yelled out at a guy below him who was moving in the same direction while walking a golden retriever (back to the oncoming jerk, had no way of knowing he was even coming), "S _ _ t Head Get Out Of The Middle Of The Street"! WTF, the jerk wasn't going too fast to apply his brakes and navigate in a responsible and civil manner! And the jerk yelled it when approaching me at about two feet in front and to the side! Again the guy with the dog was in the middle of the street to distance from me having passed on one side and someone on the other side, we were all staggered, but enough to stay in the middle until clear to go to one side or the other. :\

And this is why I don't dare venture to the woods and trails of the Wissahickon gorge that I love so much! It is 100 times safer to stay in the neighborhood which is about as hilly as the Wissahickon along with a small creek at the low point of the valley that feeds into the larger Wissahickon creek which flows to the Schuylkill River.

Running is an adventure on the paths in my neighborhood. I run in the road now too.

 

[Cheizz]

There has been a study in The Netherlands and Belgium about the appropriate distance while running and cycling. It's a white paper by researchers from Technical University of Eindhoven and the University of Leuven.

 

[markojp]

No, would require uninterrupted real-time monitoring or else only as good as its last update.

I want an effective non-lethal to keep them the F' away from me!

Was considering concealing in a fanny pack and or water bottle a battery-powered class D amp (something like this bridged to mono for 2xpower although I can do better building one myself) to drive a bullet horn super tweeter (actually like this one) using iPhone app annoy a teen or a Frequency tone generator to blast the little germ spreaders with ear-bleeding + 120 dB @ 14Khz - 16Khz! Something of a twist on the electric fence/shocking dog collar thing.
I said "was" because what was like an episode of South Park the other day, the leader of the 12" bike tire pack shouted out "Why do you keep assaulting us, pointing at us, running around us and chasing us"! I almost died of laughter, but explained that I've been politely motioning for them to pass on the other side of the wide and empty neighborhood streets and not one to two feet away which is potentially dangerous for them and for me. That the running was me trying to distance myself from incoming and sorry but I can't help it if I run up hills faster then they can peddle! I think they got it. I gave them thumbs up when next they passed in single file on the other side of the street and not all over the place!

Now to figure out what to do about the adult riding around as if in a Pyrenees stage of the Tour ... and if I see that moron on my street I'm going to have difficulty restraining myself from opening the neighbor's backyard fence and letting the large Rhodesian ridgeback loose on the jerk, (he will never know where it came from)! The guy is an idiot, not only has he passed me too close on several occasions but the topper was when he was riding down an endless hill of a street and yelled out at a guy below him who was moving in the same direction while walking a golden retriever (back to the oncoming jerk, had no way of knowing he was even coming), "S _ _ t Head Get Out Of The Middle Of The Street"! WTF, the jerk wasn't going too fast to apply his brakes and navigate in a responsible and civil manner! And the jerk yelled it when approaching me at about two feet in front and to the side! Again the guy with the dog was in the middle of the street to distance from me having passed on one side and someone on the other side, we were all staggered, but enough to stay in the middle until clear to go to one side or the other. :\

And this is why I don't dare venture to the woods and trails of the Wissahickon gorge that I love so much! It is 100 times safer to stay in the neighborhood which is about as hilly as the Wissahickon along with a small creek at the low point of the valley that feeds into the larger Wissahickon creek which flows to the Schuylkill River.

... cat 6 strava bros. They just don't get it.