Last week I alluded to some trail activity fun, and tomorrow you can look forward to the debut of the bicyclincoln Scavenger Hunt. We’ll post three easy, two medium, and one hard destination per week. Be watching our FaceBook page to see what to do.
The trails were certainly busy Sunday. On the Mopac at Walton it was almost hard to keep a social distance. It’s great to be outside in the warm spring air and I don’t know I’ve ever seen the trails this popular. But be smart about it. I ran across a sobering article I’m passing the link along to called Riding in the time of Covid-19. Here’s an excerpt:
“A respiratory signature is, in non-textbook terms, the footprint we leave in the air every time we expel air from our lungs through our nose and mouth. This can be anything from simply exhaling, to laughing, talking, and yes, coughing and sneezing. And with that exhalant comes anything that may also be hanging out in our nose, tonsil area, and upper respiratory tract. Things like pollen particles (especially this time of year), mucous, bacteria that live happily in our system without ever causing us harm, and yes, even dangerous viral particles. Those particles, being as light as they are, will stay afloat in the air for a decent amount of time, creating this sphere of breath from the person who coughed, snot rocketed, or even just talked for a while (kind of like I’m doing now). Each person out there has their own unique – or signature – sphere. This is why it’s constantly being drummed into our brain spaces right now to maintain at LEAST a six-foot distance away from another person, especially a person of unknown health status, because that’s typically the radius of our respiratory signature.” And it goes on to show how those you ride with and other trail users will come into contact with your respiratory signature, and you with theirs. I’m using a mask on the trails now, at least in the city. http://www.bikeirvine.org/news/2020/4/1/riding-in-the-time-of-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR0tUPWKUzmBC7dN26hNMlum-GoCqxe5q7nq3pqyJ0xR1ntKe8qclKf0lSU
Last week there was quite a lot of discussion about trail closures so take a good look at the press release that just came out. The Homestead south of Roca is thankfully open now. I appreciate that the closure at train wreck bridge is only when needed and not ongoing. Can’t the same be done north of Saltillo? At least weekends and after hours when no workers are on site?
The word is that many of these projects were originally planned to be staggered and spread over different years. Because of various delays and challenges like last year’s flooding, they all ended up starting at once. I am glad to see them happening, and closures are annoying, but cyclists are resourcful people and can find other other routes around blockages. It will be exciting to have these projects finished.