Someone recently asked me about doing a flying diary but I haven’t been flying lately. I’m currently out on a medical, nothing serious, but I don’t know when it will be sorted out.
That means I’m pretty much locked down with the rest of you.
To maintain my physical and mental health as much as possible given the circumstances I’ve been trying to bicycle as much as the weather allows. On bad days I ride inside on the trainer. Makes me feel like I’m on a hamster wheel but it’s exercise at least.
The good news is, Ohio has an extensive network of bike paths. I’ve been told we have more than any other state per capita.
The bad news is, I can’t use them. I haven’t been on a bike path since last month. There are just too many people on them to make social distancing possible. Even when they were recommending three feet it was a challenge. It’s almost impossible for me to stay six feet away from someone on a bike path.
That means I have to venture out on the roads. Not always my first choice but these are not normal times.
Fortunately traffic is much lighter than normal right now. Unfortunately the cars that are still on the road are going a lot faster than usual. Not sure where they’re in such a hurry to get to. It’s not like anything is open.
I live in the outer suburbs of Columbus Ohio. Years ago, if I rode 3 miles from my house I was in the cornfields. Now the suburbs have caught up, as they tend to do. Those cornfields are being turned into subdivisions and big-box stores. That means construction which means trucks, big ones.
To stay safe on the road I follow the old adage see and be seen.
To be seen, I run lights front and back. I also put a light on the back of my helmet, at eye level for the drivers of today’s increasingly tall vehicles.
To see traffic I have one of those dorky looking mirrors on my helmet. At my age I have a hard time turning my neck to look over my shoulder. I find the mirror on the helmet works better than a handlebar mounted mirror because it’s always in my field of view.
As an added safety measure I have a taillight with a built in radar. I’m not shilling for anyone but the brand rhymes with Charmin.
The radar taillight interfaces with my GPS (same brand) via Bluetooth. I get a warning beep and a “blip” on my GPS for each vehicle behind me. So if there are three cars back there I’ll see three white dots moving up my GPS from bottom to top. Once they’ve passed I’ll get an “all clear”.
It will spot a car about a half mile back. If something is coming up really fast I’ll get a more urgent warning. It’s an expensive piece of kit, but I’d say it’s worth it if you already have a compatible GPS and log a lot of miles on the road. There’s still no substitute for the good old Mark I eyeball however.
At intersections I take the lane because I’m leery of having a car sitting next to me with the windows down. Mail trucks are especially worrisome because they always have the window open and the driver sits on the right side.
My last line of defense is wide tires. If that sounds odd, my reasoning is that they let me get over onto the shoulder or even off the road if I need to. I run 650b tires on my touring/gravel bike and I put the widest 700c tires on our tandem that would fit it.
I also like the softer ride of the big tires and find I don’t really sacrifice much if any speed. Not that I was ever fast to begin with.
Even out on the roads, people are still a threat. I am amazed at how quickly this pandemic has made me afraid of my fellow human beings.
I am seeing a lot of people out walking, especially on nice days. Usually not a problem, but I have to watch not getting squeezed between a car and a person on the shoulder that I’m trying to distance from. I’ve had to “take the lane” on a few occasions and hope the driver is understanding.
Once or twice I’ve even had to veer all the way over to the opposite side of the road. Not a stunt I like to pull, but I consider people the larger threat at this point.
I’m also wearing a face cover. I have a heavy one for cold days and a lightweight one for warm days. Helps keep the dust out too.
Other cyclists are also a threat. I keep a constant watch behind me for a “fast mover” overtaking me. I’ll pull off the road and give them plenty of room to get by. I don’t want someone passing close by me.
Likewise I don’t want to get too close behind another rider. I really miss the group rides I used to do but there’s no way to safely do a group ride now. The linked article explains that six feet isn’t nearly enough separation at cycling speeds.
How much distance should you leave to the cyclist ahead in a time of pandemic?
In summary, even a “relaxing bike ride” is a nerve-wracking exercise in tactics these days.
This was going to a big year on the bike for us. I was toying with shipping my bike out to California for the l’eroica vintage ride. We had all sorts of plans for group rides and bike tours on our tandem. Obviously that’s all been put on hold until someday in the future — assuming there’s a future.
Yeah, I know “first world problems”. I’ll count myself very blessed indeed if that’s the worst thing that happens this year.
If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
Woody Allen
Stay safe out there everyone.