12 July 2020
11 July 2020
Who And What Are They Trying To Keep Out?
The European Union is closed to visitors from the US and other places.
For what may be the first time in history, the border between the US and Canada is closed, except for "essential" travel and people returning to Alaska.
Even the border between the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria is closed.
Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, when my hometown of New York was one of the "hot spots," other states required visitors from our state, and others, to self-quarantine. Beaches and parks in New Jersey and Long Island were open only to local residents.
Now that the "curve" has "flattened," at least for for the time being, we and neighboring states are requiring visitors from Florida, Texas and other states that have become new "hot spots" to self-quarantine upon arrival.
But as far as I know, no place has had any "no outsider" ban that applied specifically to cyclists. At least, not until this past Tuesday, when the village of Key Biscayne, Florida banned all bicycle travel by non-residents.
The reason the village, located on a barrier island off Miami and Miami Beach, gave for its prohibition is to stop the spread of the corona virus. Lawyers representing several Miami-Dade residents said the ban "based on a report of a few individuals not wearing masks" is "absurd." One of the lawyers, Phil Prazan, said that because cars are still allowed into the village, the new rule is a "poorly veiled excuse to ban cyclists."
Hmm...I wonder how many people--local residents or outsiders--are congregating, sans masks, on area beaches.
10 July 2020
Recovery: I Want It Now!
I am learning new meanings to words I've long used: "trauma" and "recovery."
The "lesson," if you will, came yesterday. I pedaled up to Harbor Island Park (in Mamaroneck) and back. That's a little more than my typical "long" ride to and from Greenwich, Connecticut. Yet it tired me out more than the trek to and from the Nutmeg State.
One reason, of course, is that I have done so little riding since my accident. Until then, this riding season had been one of my best in a long time: I'd been spinning 300 kilometers or more a week since the first of January. I think I had been more than making up for the commuting miles I lost once I started working from home.
Still, I found it hard to believe that I could have lost so much conditioning in less than a month. Whether or not I did, there was another clue as to why I went horizontal after my ride: I realized that I'd drunk the full contents of my water bottle--in addition to another bottle of water and an energy drink I picked up along the way.
Yesterday turned out to be the hottest day I've ridden this year: A bank thermometer in Larchmont gave a reading of 34C, or 94F. And the sun was beating down on me. Even after replenishing my sun screen, I could see and feel my skin reddening.
As it happened, my doctor called just after I got home to schedule an appointment. I complained that a ride "I can do in my sleep" left me exhausted. "Well, you're suffering from trauma," he reminded me. "That's what trauma does to you." Even though I haven't experienced any loss of cognition and the only pain I'm feeling is around my shoulders, my body is still dealing with the shock of the crash, he explained. "Don't beat yourself up," he admonished me.
That is when I realized what "recovery" means: You don't snap your fingers or flick a switch and return to what was before the shock, before the trauma. Recovery is a process, and processes nearly always take time.
Still, I want to ride as I did a month ago. And I want it now!
The "lesson," if you will, came yesterday. I pedaled up to Harbor Island Park (in Mamaroneck) and back. That's a little more than my typical "long" ride to and from Greenwich, Connecticut. Yet it tired me out more than the trek to and from the Nutmeg State.
One reason, of course, is that I have done so little riding since my accident. Until then, this riding season had been one of my best in a long time: I'd been spinning 300 kilometers or more a week since the first of January. I think I had been more than making up for the commuting miles I lost once I started working from home.
Still, I found it hard to believe that I could have lost so much conditioning in less than a month. Whether or not I did, there was another clue as to why I went horizontal after my ride: I realized that I'd drunk the full contents of my water bottle--in addition to another bottle of water and an energy drink I picked up along the way.
Yesterday turned out to be the hottest day I've ridden this year: A bank thermometer in Larchmont gave a reading of 34C, or 94F. And the sun was beating down on me. Even after replenishing my sun screen, I could see and feel my skin reddening.
As it happened, my doctor called just after I got home to schedule an appointment. I complained that a ride "I can do in my sleep" left me exhausted. "Well, you're suffering from trauma," he reminded me. "That's what trauma does to you." Even though I haven't experienced any loss of cognition and the only pain I'm feeling is around my shoulders, my body is still dealing with the shock of the crash, he explained. "Don't beat yourself up," he admonished me.
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| From Active.com |
That is when I realized what "recovery" means: You don't snap your fingers or flick a switch and return to what was before the shock, before the trauma. Recovery is a process, and processes nearly always take time.
Still, I want to ride as I did a month ago. And I want it now!
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