An expert on CNN says you’re not likely to contract a virus biking
#1
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An expert on CNN says you’re not likely to contract a virus biking
Is this good news? Is it true? An expert says unless you’re with a big group, the amount of virus a cyclist can give you just going past you is very small. He says when you’re in a group for periods of time and then you rub your face, that’s how you get it. He said you shouldn’t worry about contracting the virus just riding alone and passing a rider once in a while.
Do you agree with him?
Do you agree with him?

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That completely depends what you do, and I see tons of riders right next to each other all the time. It only takes one virus particle finding a way into one cell to infect you even if statistically you probably would have to be exposed to many more - but there can be millions in a single droplet from a sneeze or cough which can travel much much further than 6 feet. People should be riding with masks on if they might be anywhere near other people. You could bee sick and incubating for weeks before you know it. Even the flu and colds are mainly spread when incubating.

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There are no experts on CNN, but common sense would tell you that, he or she is right.
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I was biking along a extremely packed narrow bike lane, literally bikes one after another, and the person in front of me gave a huge cough and there was no possible way to even avoid that. It was quite upsetting

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You might get it or you might not. Keep your distance, try to wear a mask and keep clean and try and find a riding route away from others or pick a different time.
CNN, Fox, NBC, NYT, Springfield Shopper, Radio in your teeth or wherever you get the news..whatever doesn't matter what matters is ending this virus as quickly as we can and doing everything in our power to flatten the curve so maybe just maybe we can go back to some modified normal of some sort.
CNN, Fox, NBC, NYT, Springfield Shopper, Radio in your teeth or wherever you get the news..whatever doesn't matter what matters is ending this virus as quickly as we can and doing everything in our power to flatten the curve so maybe just maybe we can go back to some modified normal of some sort.

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You might get it or you might not. Keep your distance, try to wear a mask and keep clean and try and find a riding route away from others or pick a different time.
CNN, Fox, NBC, NYT, Springfield Shopper, Radio in your teeth or wherever you get the news..whatever doesn't matter what matters is ending this virus as quickly as we can and doing everything in our power to flatten the curve so maybe just maybe we can go back to some modified normal of some sort.
CNN, Fox, NBC, NYT, Springfield Shopper, Radio in your teeth or wherever you get the news..whatever doesn't matter what matters is ending this virus as quickly as we can and doing everything in our power to flatten the curve so maybe just maybe we can go back to some modified normal of some sort.

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Usually an "expert" in this context on CNN or elsewhere will be an epidemiologist or at least an MD. If that's the case, absent evidence to the contrary, they will know more than I do. I've never worried that passing another cyclist on the road would be an issue. What bothers me is riding for prolonged periods close to others, even my friends. I'm not convinced it's yet safe to ride in groups and I miss it.


#11
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That completely depends what you do, and I see tons of riders right next to each other all the time. It only takes one virus particle finding a way into one cell to infect you even if statistically you probably would have to be exposed to many more - but there can be millions in a single droplet from a sneeze or cough which can travel much much further than 6 feet. People should be riding with masks on if they might be anywhere near other people. You could bee sick and incubating for weeks before you know it. Even the flu and colds are mainly spread when incubating.

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We need the television to explain things that are within the grasp of simple common sense? There is no hope...

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Is this good news? Is it true? An expert says unless you’re with a big group, the amount of virus a cyclist can give you just going past you is very small. He says when you’re in a group for periods of time and then you rub your face, that’s how you get it. He said you shouldn’t worry about contracting the virus just riding alone and passing a rider once in a while.
Do you agree with him?
Do you agree with him?

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Which "News" network and self proclaimed genius ever pumped this idea? Wait, never mind.

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The key is to learn to recognize good information from bad, and ignore the BS. I've certainly learned some things here.
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Not sure I agree with this. First, who the media call an "expert" often isn't anything of the sort, or their expert opinion is not mainstream ... there are a lot of rogue "experts." One of the ways to ferret out what is true and what is not is to ask others what they have found out themselves. Some respond with their personal opinion, some with links to articles they have found on the subject (either corroborating or refuting the claim ... quite helpful), and some respond with a knee-jerk politically-tainted response or other childish nonsense.
The key is to learn to recognize good information from bad, and ignore the BS. I've certainly learned some things here.
The key is to learn to recognize good information from bad, and ignore the BS. I've certainly learned some things here.

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It would be helpful to know who the expert on CNN was, and what are their qualifications, as well as exactly what they said.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.
“To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they’re wrong about anything. It is a new Declaration of Independence: No longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that aren’t true. All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.”

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It would be helpful to know who the expert on CNN was, and what are their qualifications, as well as exactly what they said.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.

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Is this good news? Is it true? An expert says unless you’re with a big group, the amount of virus a cyclist can give you just going past you is very small. He says when you’re in a group for periods of time and then you rub your face, that’s how you get it. He said you shouldn’t worry about contracting the virus just riding alone and passing a rider once in a while.
Do you agree with him?
Do you agree with him?
These assertions tend to be based on probabilistic arguments and observations such as who gets sick in a crowded restaurant (people downstream of the airflow from the viral spreader, rather than across the room), and that more traceable contacts occur inside (at choir rehearsals and phone centers) than outdoors.
The main thing to keep in mind is that it takes only one virus particle (under ideal conditions for the virus) to infect you. If you are bombarded by 100,000,000 particles when someone coughs, you are proportionately more likely to contract the disease. Recirculated airflow indoors is worse than being out in the park, but a tightly-packed bevy of cyclists snot-rocketing isn't exactly a guarantee of good health.
The reports I have read basically summarize their statements like this: Six foot distancing might be enough to protect you outdoors, but is probably inadequate (as in the case of the choir) indoors, with recirculated air and prolonged exposure. The longer you are exposed, the higher the probability you will contract the disease.

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It would be helpful to know who the expert on CNN was, and what are their qualifications, as well as exactly what they said.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.

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An expert on CNN says you’re not likely to contract a virus biking
FWIW here Boston, the experts are chiefly M.D.s at the Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospitals, for example on a Governor's COVID Advisory Panel that just yesterday released a four-phase re-opening protocol for Massachusetts. We still have shelter-in-place-mask-on-in-public status, but bicycling and MUPs are not prohibited.
There was this recent discussion about wearing masks while cycling, in particular on the popular Minuteman Bikepath:
Is this good news? Is it true? An expert says unless you’re with a big group, the amount of virus a cyclist can give you just going past you is very small.
He says when you’re in a group for periods of time and then you rub your face, that’s how you get it. He said you shouldn’t worry about contracting the virus just riding alone and passing a rider once in a while.
Do you agree with him?
He says when you’re in a group for periods of time and then you rub your face, that’s how you get it. He said you shouldn’t worry about contracting the virus just riding alone and passing a rider once in a while.
Do you agree with him?
There are no experts on CNN, but common sense would tell you that, he or she is right.
Usually an "expert" in this context on CNN or elsewhere will be an epidemiologist or at least an MD. If that's the case, absent evidence to the contrary, they will know more than I do.
I've never worried that passing another cyclist on the road would be an issue. What bothers me is riding for prolonged periods close to others, even my friends. I'm not convinced it's yet safe to ride in groups and I miss it.
I've never worried that passing another cyclist on the road would be an issue. What bothers me is riding for prolonged periods close to others, even my friends. I'm not convinced it's yet safe to ride in groups and I miss it.

It would be helpful to know who the expert on CNN was, and what are their qualifications, as well as exactly what they said.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.
I agree there are lots of fake experts, many with MDs or other higher qualifications.
However, I am reminded of Tom Nichols' book the Death of Expertise. In this internet age, everybody considers themselves an expert, and real expertise is ignored and looked down upon.

There was this recent discussion about wearing masks while cycling, in particular on the popular Minuteman Bikepath:
quiet day on the Minuteman & saw a new sign

I guess he was 6' from anyone else, so ... no mask for you!

I guess he was 6' from anyone else, so ... no mask for you!
There seemed to be an unusual number of bikes out on Mass. Ave (not a bad thing, there's plenty of room, and most of the riders were masked), and once again there seemed to be more car and truck traffic than we had enjoyed during the quietest part of the Great Pause.
Meanwhile, I was noticing what looked like diminished traffic at the Minuteman crossings. So... I hopped on the Minuteman in Lexington Center, to see for myself...and immediately found myself in 9x traffic compared to the road, with the added treat that about two thirds of it seemed to be either Barefaced or Just Warming My Chin, happy Breathers everywhere you looked.
Meanwhile, I was noticing what looked like diminished traffic at the Minuteman crossings. So... I hopped on the Minuteman in Lexington Center, to see for myself...and immediately found myself in 9x traffic compared to the road, with the added treat that about two thirds of it seemed to be either Barefaced or Just Warming My Chin, happy Breathers everywhere you looked.
Breathing. As Rod said,”it can be quite nice.” I read Professor Erin Bromage’s blog cited distances for different kinds of breathers and sneezers and kept it in mind as I rode a favored 36 mile cloverleaf loop de loop through nearly empty backroads in Sherborn, Dover, Westwood and Medfield.
I found walkers and cyclists well spaced except obvious family members and half the cyclists were, using Rod’s term, chin warmers and the others were solo cycling barefaced.
I pulled my mask up well before I passed anyone In either direction and the two times I stopped. I saw chatting neighbors conservatively distanced by driveways and a lonely walker wearing his mask on an empty road.[
I found walkers and cyclists well spaced except obvious family members and half the cyclists were, using Rod’s term, chin warmers and the others were solo cycling barefaced.
I pulled my mask up well before I passed anyone In either direction and the two times I stopped. I saw chatting neighbors conservatively distanced by driveways and a lonely walker wearing his mask on an empty road.[
I commented to Mrs Ghazmh after my ride yesterday afternoon that half the cyclists I saw had a mask/bandana around their neck (not face) while the other half had nothing. It wasn’t a literal tally but it seemed that way.
In all fairness I did see a few with their faces covered. In the early mornings when I do most of my rides I sometimes see a dozen or more riders while I sometimes see none at all. Often bare faced.
I've ingested far less bugs, airborne landscaping dust and god only knows what else that gets Hoovered in when churning uphill. What’s not to like?
In all fairness I did see a few with their faces covered. In the early mornings when I do most of my rides I sometimes see a dozen or more riders while I sometimes see none at all. Often bare faced.
I've ingested far less bugs, airborne landscaping dust and god only knows what else that gets Hoovered in when churning uphill. What’s not to like?
My riding (commuting) has been through Boston, Brookline, West Roxbury, Dedham and Norwood, mostly on lightly trafficked roads with rare cyclists on the opposite side, and a small fraction of my routes on the lightly cycled Jamaica Pond / Muddy River MUPS.
I wear a mask, but when riding I lower it below my nose.

With the mask over my nose at rest, I have some fogging of my prescription eyeglasses, though the moisture is ventilated while riding, but breathing is improved through unencumbered nostrils. During the recent “cold” snap, the mask indeed was a chin and cheek warmer.
There have been recent reports of vigorous law enforcement of wearing masks, e.g. a young mother arrested in the Brooklyn subway for lowering her mask to answer her phone (not necessary IMO). If this starts to occur in Boston, I hope my slightly lowered mask we’ll give me enough “cover” to avoid being stopped.
I do wear the mask when riding because if I want to enter an enclosed space.e.g. a store or Commmuter Rall car, it's cumbersome to remove my helmet with the chin strap over my ears, to secure the ear elastics of the mask, but so easy to just raise it above my nose since it is in place already.

I wear a mask, but when riding I lower it below my nose.

With the mask over my nose at rest, I have some fogging of my prescription eyeglasses, though the moisture is ventilated while riding, but breathing is improved through unencumbered nostrils. During the recent “cold” snap, the mask indeed was a chin and cheek warmer.
There have been recent reports of vigorous law enforcement of wearing masks, e.g. a young mother arrested in the Brooklyn subway for lowering her mask to answer her phone (not necessary IMO). If this starts to occur in Boston, I hope my slightly lowered mask we’ll give me enough “cover” to avoid being stopped.
I do wear the mask when riding because if I want to enter an enclosed space.e.g. a store or Commmuter Rall car, it's cumbersome to remove my helmet with the chin strap over my ears, to secure the ear elastics of the mask, but so easy to just raise it above my nose since it is in place already.
...Another “social” advantage of the mask to hide my ever-increasing scruffy beard. I have looked into beard trimmers, but once had a bad outcome when I tried to use scissors. 
I’m waiting to hear the Governor’s plan for phased re-opening and decide if I can wait for my excellent barbershop to resume business.

I’m waiting to hear the Governor’s plan for phased re-opening and decide if I can wait for my excellent barbershop to resume business.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 05-19-20 at 05:10 PM. Reason: added quote about the beard

#23
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Is this good news? Is it true? An expert says unless you’re with a big group, the amount of virus a cyclist can give you just going past you is very small. He says when you’re in a group for periods of time and then you rub your face, that’s how you get it. He said you shouldn’t worry about contracting the virus just riding alone and passing a rider once in a while.
Do you agree with him?
Do you agree with him?

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#24
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You don't have any idea what kind of person I am. I care about the 100K that died from this flu just as much as the 100K that died from the last one or that die every day in all kinds of ways. The only thing you need to know for sure is that I am apparently not nearly as fearful as you and certainly not as easily manipulated. My best to you but I will not live in a world where I have to wear a mask outside in the open air away from anybody. Don't worry though ,I'll stay more than 6 feet away from you. I'm just sad that freedom died without so much as a whimper, let alone a good fight. My motto is, "I'm going to live,or die trying!" I won't live a life full of the fear of dying.

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#25
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My take: Riiiiigggghhhhttttt,....only CNN has "experts" that state these types of "facts". Fox would NEVER do such false pontificating,... Question is, as asked, who was the "expert"? Inquiring minds would like to know. Otherwise,...meh,... Only the MEDICAL experts are worth their salt. And not left OR right leaning.
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