Ask BikePortland: How can I connect with other riders in the time of COVID-19?

There are other people out there feeling the same as Jason. Those people would probably jump at the opportunity to do something but might not be the people to initiate the “something”.

panem et circenses: the ancient Romans learned from long experience that if you don’t feed regularly your people (panem – bread) and constantly entertain them (circenses – public entertainment), your populace quickly discovers how truly miserable their short lives actually are, and how corrupt and incompetent their government really is, and they typically rioted as a result.

Cancelling public events in a health emergency makes sense on the short immediate term, but it’s been 4 or 5 months now, so if our local event organizers and governments haven’t learned yet how to do events other than by cancelling them, then something is really rotten at the core of our local and state governments. With social distancing, it should be safe to hold large outdoor events, and to require that people wear masks when social distancing isn’t practical or possible.

For me, the worst part is the edict to not travel unnecessarily. Summer in Oregon is the best time and we / I am missing out on a lot of tourist opportunities. Of course, just yesterday I saw a car with Idaho plates with the windows down, no masks. I know we get a lot of people taking refuge from Idaho, by taking up residence here in PDX. I trust my gut when it tells me they were here for tourism. Kind of frustrating, even if these particular people weren’t tourists, I know that it’s happening.

I cope by exploring new ways of expressing my self as a cyclist. Doing more work on my own bike, doing more challenging, but close to home rides. There’s no substitute for the social aspect, but I don’t miss the crowds of bike events.

I’m pretty damn sick and tired of riding Skyline/St John’s Bridge/the Bluff loops solo, but I’m still not willing to get in a pace line. I guess it’s good mental toughness training to prepare for the 8 months of Zwifting that will start in October :-/

I’ve never thought of riding as social — I ride with others maybe a few times a year and actively avoid riding near people I don’t know.

If someone wants to be social with strangers, the parks seem like a good place to do that as people expect to encounter others and it’s easy to both distance and be social at the same time. Dog parks are probably the best bet (you don’t have to have a dog) because the people that do this are naturally social and stay awhile.

The comments on social events make me wonder if one of the reasons the protests have so much staying power is that’s how a bunch of people are socializing — it helps explain why so many of them are held late at night when most people are trying to sleep rather than at times when others would see/hear them.

From my experience during the pandemic, the best way to connect with other riders is to either

A) fall into a ditch, or
B) get a blown out tire

Either way, if you are on a popular route, multiple friendly cyclists will stop to see if they can offer any assistance. I have made many friends this way, although the method was pretty unintentional.

Hey everyone, hi Jonathan. I feel it too. As an “extreme extrovert”, the alone time is definitely tough. If I view it as a challenge to be beat, that does help.

In terms of bike socializing, I’ve split the difference between solo and group rides. I have a few regular friends that I do one on one rides with. And I’ve put together a couple of weekend bike-camping trips with 3-4-5 riders, with an agreement to distance ourselves physically. (Pro tip: inviting couples or families is a big win, because they effectively count as a single viral entity).

I will say that I’ve initiated every single ride / camp trip. I have not been invited on a ride even once since March. Luckily, I like inviting others and making a plan. It gives me a great chance to create the route I want to ride and “make” my friends do it.

That said, feel free to invite me on a ride, friends!!

Perhaps this is the place to make this suggestion: It is time to end the practice of launching snot rockets. Saw one being launched at the start of a busy MUP yesterday by a rider in full kit and carbon. If you can afford that, you can afford a Kleenex. Bike and clothing choices aside, sending nasal juice airborne is just gross at anytime and now seems callous to leave what could be a disease vector lying around. Yeah pros do just about every bodily function while keeping their bikes in motion, but just about all of them will tell you that they have gotten splattered by fluids at some point.