NordicSkier wrote:
jmechy wrote:
devashish_paul wrote:
I am not getting your point. Are you saying that people should not do group riding which is far less risky than many things already legally permitted in most of the world coming out of lockdown (indoor shopping, indoor bars and restaurants to name a few), or are you saying its OK to do given how insanely low the risk is. Most of the protour peloton should be dead after 2 months of racing on Covid19 laden fan packed roads and getting it from each other, but it looks like no one has picked it up from another rider yet.The riders were tested before being allowed to race, thus they weren't drafting people spewing aerosolized covid. They may have ridden by people with covid, sure, but that's why most outdoor sports are considered safe - you are coming into very brief possible contact. It's an entirely different story when you are drafting someone, or multiple people, who are contagious.
The infectious disease specialist and professor at the local university that I chat with skiing sometimes told me straight out that sports like Nordic skiing and cycling, where you can exercise in a paceline, are extraordinarily low risk. He said if you think they are dangerous you probably shouldn't leave your house ever. He went on about dispersion rates and viral load, etc... but the basic message was go exercise with your buddies, just don't hang out in a closed space for food and drinks after.
Personal experience tells me that riding in a paceline puts me in the "snotstream" of the riders in front of me. Everyone who has ridden in a group has emerged from rides with someone else's snot on them at some point.
If you don't think this is a problem, give your buddy a spray bottle filled with beet juice, and set it to the mist setting. Now ride behind them while they spray small amounts from that bottle directly in front of them every second or so. I promise you that you will find beet juice all over your face, your bike, and your clothes. Now imagine being in a group of 20-50 guys, all with spray bottles for multiple hours at a time. Then remember that beet juice doesn't have the potential to kill you, permanently damage your hearts lungs or brain, and isn't contagious.