The Coronavirus Chronicles -Three Strikes You're Out

[Guth_imp]

I apologise for being momentarily serious, but this thread has raised questions of whether riding a motorcycle for pleasure is an OK thing to do in the current circumstances. It isn't.

And not because riding a motorcycle is likely to infect you.

The reason the authorities don't want bicycles, cars, motorcycles, people anything much moving around is that, on the evidence of the way coronavirus spreads, almost all the countries from which this forum draws its members are already past the point where their health systems will be able to cope with all the coronavirus patients needing intensive care. Maybe putting that the other way will be clearer: there will be way more COVID19 patients needing intensive care that our hospitals can treat. And that assumes they don't have to deal with anything else like road accident trauma, cardiac disease, strokes, diabetic and asthma attacks, etc, etc. That's why many countries are working hard to 'flatten the curve'. It probably won't reduce the number of infections; but it will mean they're more spread out which will give hospitals and the medical system a better chance of being able to respond and reduce the number of horrendous choices health professionals will have to make.

So, just at the moment, it's not all right to anything that puts you at risk of injury unless you absolutely have to for the simple reason that, if you do get hurt, you'll be putting further pressure on a health system that is, or is about to be, overwhelmed.

A friend of mine pointed out the other day that geezers are not only more likely to be seriously harmed by coronavirus, but are also in the 'throw-on-the-scrap-heap' age range. When the hospitals start having to make the really hard choices about who gets treated and lives and who doesn't and dies—and they almost certainly will—you don't want to be where the scales are already loaded against you.

Well, you guys certainly have given me something to think about. I will discuss this with my wife for her opinion. The likelihood of me being in an accident on my motorcycle is extremely small IMO, I am a very experienced rider, with lots of training, riding in areas I am intimately familiar, with far less other vehicles on the road than normal. But there is always a chance I suppose. After all, that's why we don the gear.

The way I have looked at it is I am out there by myself, a threat to no one, can't catch the disease while riding, can't spread the disease while riding. I go from my garage, spend an hour in a protective suit with no contact with anyone else and return to my garage. If I thought I was going to crash I wouldn't go out at all. The government, Federal as well as my state government says it's ok to go out in limited circumstances. It's ok to walk, or jog, walk your pet, or ride a bike or go to a park as long as you stay 6' from others. How do you get to a park if you don't drive? How do you get to the grocery or pharmacy if you don't drive? As it is, there are so many people walking all day in my neighborhood, it would be virtually impossible for me to go for a walk and not run into other people. IMO it is safer for me to ride my motorcycle than to walk in my own neighborhood, and certainly far safer than when I went to the grocery store yesterday morning with many hundreds of strangers.

I certainly wouldn't want to take up a hospital bed for someone else who may need it, but I NEVER want to take up a hospital bed, period. If I thought that was a possibility I would give up riding. I'm too old to get hurt.

Obviously there was quite an editing job performed on the quote above by myself. However, this is a perfect place to raise one of the issues that I brought up in my earlier announcement. The way that any one of us looks at matters these days is influenced by a large number of things, including the situation at hand in each of our respective locations. I can't say how things are looking in ferret's neck-of-the-woods in particular as I don't live there.

It has only been a a matter of days since I myself had considered heading out for a ride or a drive to get some fresh air. I can't imagine doing so now as a lot has happened here in my local area since then. The same applies to Mickey, the current situation where he is located might be very much like the situation was here in Oregon a week ago or more. I really can't say. Sure, I could pour over information on the Internet with regards to how things have been developing in Ohio right now (where I would no doubt find some photos or videos of the ferret out and about on two-wheels, lol), but I have my own reality to deal with here where I am located.

The one benefit that some of us do have over others by way of this forum (and obviously via plenty of other means) is that we can get a feel from others just how quickly the situation involving this virus is changing elsewhere where people have been unfortunate to be hit with the more notable impacts early on. Through our conversations we can learn how others are going about dealing with the problems they are facing before the spread of the virus reaches our own locals. To that end I thank everyone who is taking the time to keep the rest of us informed as they themselves are being hit hard by the virus before it ultimately reaches others here on the forum.