COVID-19 - Shelter In Place - To Ride Or Not To Ride?

These are strange times. 

I think any one of us can be forgiven for feeling like we are living in a Hollywood disaster movie with all of society, and it seems the world, and our normal lives put on hiatus indefinitely it seems

Depending on where you live in the world you may be under different severity of 'lockdown' from advisory to compulsory. Here in the United States there is no federal guidelines on a lockdown or shelter in place (as of April 9th). It is being left up to the individual states themselves to decide on what to do for the best for their own citizens. Here in Massachusetts the recommendation of the governor is Shelter In Place with only essential workers being allowed to travel to/from work, and any outside travelling limited to gathering essentials such as food or medications or medical treatment. 

Reading the official state guidelines of what outside activities are allowed we have the following paragraph.

" You can still go outside to get fresh air, but make sure you practice social distancing and avoid touching surfaces frequently touched by others. Don’t participate in close contact activities such as pick-up sports games. "

This is the 'out' that most of need to justify riding our bikes during this crisis. So, is it ethical to still be riding?

Reading the various online forums and Facebook groups that I'm a part of there doesn't seem to be a lot of consensus on this question. Some say we shouldn't be risking injuring ourselves even if taking it easy on the trails, or risking being asymptomatic, or possibly getting infected when passing someone else on the trails. The other side of the argument is the right to exercise, and if done responsibility, in isolation, is A-OK. I myself lean to this way of thinking but add the caveat that any outdoor activity should be done only locally, you shouldn't be driving/traveling any distance to reach your favorite trail or park.

I for one really enjoy being outside, away from technology, away from the news cycle but with that comes the responsibility to ensure that both myself (and others) are not being put at any adverse risk in our sport which is inherently dangerous, we ride 2 wheels relatively fast down (and up) rocky, rooted, winding and hopefully flowing trails. Trails that normally are shared with other users, but in this time of crisis these trails have become even more shared, even more people out hiking, dog walking and just trying to get some fresh air too. We need to be even more cognizant of others and perhaps 'dial back' on riding it full send, now is not the time to be learning that new skill but polishing your existing ones and maintaining your fitness level, both mental and physical, safely and enjoyably and responsibly.

I consider myself very lucky to live in the Boston area and working in the IT industry so I can work from home in these difficult times. Lucky, that I do have access to local trails such as the Middlesex Fells Reservation on my backdoor for detoxing from the daily stresses of life that are elevated for us all these days. So I don't have to drive to a park, find a parking spot and worry about parking lots overflowing with others looking to do the same. I do however still have to deal with crowds at trail heads and staying the recommend 6ft+ away from people even on fire roads can be difficult when they are crowded so do my best to patiently move to the side, cover my face (I've taken to wearing a facemask at all times these days).

Let's all enjoy our local outdoors responsibly and respect each other's rights and personal space and stay safe!

What do you think? Are you still riding or hiking your local trails? What measures are you taking to protect yourself and others beyond the extreme of staying home completely?



- Andy