Ok. The ride is officially off. I was ahead of the curve on this when I decided to cancel. ( it’s often been said I’m ahead of the curve). The coordinators did the right thing and cancelled the trip AND we got full refunds and will receive a special edition cycling jersey.
Larry Love and his partner Chuck were great. They took a bit of a financial bath but Larry said there are a lot of small businesses that are in worse shape. He’a a class act. This was their last year. He did say that if the CV-19 thing gets under control they would consider an October Trans- America ride.
I guess if anyone is interested in the business let me know and I’ll put you in contact with Larry.
This blog will be a 3 part harmony. One part biking, one part CV-19 observations and one part humor (we can all use a little right now)
BIKING
On the biking front I continue to ride and train. We are seeing a lot of folks on the road riding out here. With everything closed I guess it’s a good healthy option. Weather has been darn near perfect for riding but the heat is coming soon.
I heard someone say the social distancing and self quarantine will result in a lot of pregnancies and divorces. Well, I won’t be in the former group and maybe it’s just a coincidence I have upped my miles substantially this past week with many 2 a day rides😎. I want to stay out of the latter group for sure!
This past week I logged a decent number of miles including one 82 mile day. with a fair amount of ascent feet (for me). Below is my Strava chart for the week.
I’m still planning my pseudo Trans-America ride. We will see how this plays out but I’m feeling pretty good right now.
CV-19
On the Coronavirus front, we are living through an unprecedented event for many. Frankly, it’s felt eerie here in Green Valley. Snow birds (what we call our winter visitors) are leaving early for their homes and most business is shut down. Like many states, restaurants, bars, and places where people typically congregate are closed.
My best description is how I felt during the eclipse a couple of years ago. I came off the river from fishing and there was a strange sense I could not explain. Everything felt off. Then I remembered it was the eclipse. The whole countryside was shadowed and it was a bit unnerving. I remember how weird it felt driving home sort of an out of body experience
Here are a few of my thoughts on CV-19
We Americans are pretty resilient and many of us older folks have been though significant events in our lives. Here are a few during my lifetime
We have also endured epidemics such as AIDS (which has killed 32million) , Ebola, SARS. Just to name a few. I guess I should throw in polio, measles, mumps and chickenpox, and the Hong Kong Flu of 1968 which killed 1 million and then there is the bird flu scare as well.
I have lived through the Korean War, Cuban Missle Crisis, Both Kennedy assassinations, Vietnam War, MLK assassination, Hyper-inflation under Regan, Black Monday (the stock market crash of 1987), the Gulf War, Y2K, the dot-com bubble, the attack on the Twin Towers, the Gulf War, the Sub-Prime crisis which paralyzed the financial markets and required bailouts, the bear market of 2007-2009.
I’m certain there are other events I’m missing but the underlying theme here is that when faced with crisis. the American people have Come Together and we have Gotten By With a Little Help From Our Friends (you knew that was coming). In the end we came out stronger and better in most all cases and learned from it.
Now I’m sure that recently you have witnessed both good and bad behavior in response to CV-19. People are hoarding items, buying more guns and ammo and engaging in reckless behavior (see spring break 2020). They are angry that they can’t go out to eat or congregate. They don’t like impositions, they are entirely self focused. But trust me, if things get out of hand and this virus grows exponentially, we could in the extreme see Marshall law. This will be a hell of a lot more limiting of personal freedoms than what we are experiencing now. But I don’t believe for a moment it will come to that.
We are also seeing good,responsible behavior. People are sharing, being kind and thoughtful, helping the elderly and assisting in many ways. Our public servants,first responders, medical staff, fire fighters, National Guard, Military and many others are doing great work as are the staffs of many supermarkets who are keeping the shelves stocked. And this is just to name a few. At times like this there are many unsung heroes who rise up when things get tough.
Now is a time to unite and bring the CV-19 to a halt. We have that capability. Social distancing (I’m well practiced) wash hands, sure I can do that. Self quarantine. If need be I can cocoon. All these have proven effective in slowing the transmission of the disease.
So, let’s be sensible. The life you save may be your own. Remember what Winston Churchill said during WW2
I think Spike Lee has it right
I‘ll close with a little humor from some memes I have seen
How are the Starship Enterprise and Toilet Paper similar? Both circle Uranus looking for Klingon’s
Ok. If any of these offended you, I apologize. CV-19 is not a laughing matter for sure. But as the Reader’s Digest used to say “Laughter is the Best Medicine.
Til next time smooth roads and the wind at your back. Stay healthy and be wise. DO THE RIGHT THING
Growing Up All Over Again 